Wes Brown
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Wesley Michael Brown | ||
| Position(s) | Defence | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Manchester United | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2005 | |||
Wesley Michael Brown (born October 13, 1979 in Manchester, England) is an English football player. A talented central defender, the born-and-bred Manchester man plays for Manchester United.
The 6'1”, 75 kg Wes Brown began his serious football career as a schoolboy playing for the local Manchester and Greater Manchester youth sides, and was a former student of the FA School of Excellence. Wes showed talent and maturity at an early age, signing full professional terms with boyhood club Manchester United on November 4, 1996 at the young age of 17.
Brown went on to success with the reserve and youth sides, winning the FA Youth Cup and a Lancashire Division One medal with the reserves. He also added a Denzil Haroun Young Player of the Year award to his take.
On May 4 1998, Brown made his full first team Premiership debut against Leeds United, coming on a substitute. His breakthrough would occur the next year, the 1998-99 season, where he made several first-team appearances at right-back as well as his more natural position of centre-back. He forged a promising defensive partnership with Jaap Stam at the heart of United's defence. The season could not have gone any better for Brown, as United captured the legendary Treble. Tipped to be United's next big defender, Brown suffered the first of what would be a string of disheartening injures while training for the 1999-00 campaign. His strong comeback the following year prompted praise from all corners, with club manager Sir Alex Ferguson making waves by proclaiming Wes to be Manchester United's most talented defender.
A fine 2000-01 campaign was followed by another solid year in 2001-02, as Wes was given a place on the England
squad. His reputation grew even greater during the 2002-03 season, but again, his performances were marred by injury. Brown tore a knee ligament on the final day of the season, and did not return until midway through the 2003-04 season. Brown finished the season in good form, notably giving an imperious, man-of-the-match performance in the FA Cup semi-final win over Arsenal. It was after this fine display that Ferguson re-iterated his belief that Brown is "the best natural defender" in England. Respected pundit Alan Hansen concurred, calling Brown "a class act". Despite this, Brown was not able to parlay his form into a place in the England Template:Ec2 squad.
Signed until 2008, Wes Brown should continue to be a factor for both England and Manchester United in the future. His injury ills have kept him from fulfilling his potential, but a quality run in the side should cement his reputation as a talented and reliable defensive force.
Recently Wes Brown has performed consistently well. This has led to his recall to the England squad for the friendly game against Uruguay. Although he played no part in this fixture he could still make it into the final England squad for the
.
Honours
- 1999 - English Premier League Winner (Manchester United)
- 1999 - English F.A. Cup Winner (Manchester United)
- 1999 - European Champions League Winner (Manchester United)
- 2001 - English Premier League Winner (Manchester United)
- 2003 - English Premier League Winner (Manchester United)
- 2004 - English F.A. Cup Winner (Manchester United)
- 2006 - Carling Cup Winner (Manchester United)
External links
References
- Wes Brown Soccernet.com. Wes Brown. Retrieved August 14th, 2004.