Simon James Brown (born 5 December 1976, in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Playing career

Brown started his career with

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

as an apprentice but did not make a first team appearance at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

. Instead, he spent several spells on loan at lower league clubs before signing for

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

in 1999. After five years and more than 100 starts for the

Layer Road Layer Road was a Football League stadium in Colchester, England. It was only used for football matches and was the home ground of Colchester United before being replaced by the Colchester Community Stadium. The stadium held spectators and was ...

club, he moved north to join Hibernian in 2004. Brown struggled to hold down a regular place with Hibernian and was given a free transfer at the end of the 2006–07 season. Upon his exit from Hibs, Brown made a number of public criticisms of manager John Collins, claiming that his training techniques and vanity had alienated the squad during the latter half of his final season at the club.

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

manager

Terry Butcher Terry Ian Butcher (born 28 December 1958) is an English football manager and former player. He works as an academy coach for Ipswich Town. During his playing career as a defender, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 caps ...

signed Brown on 25 June 2007. Brown was transfer listed at the end of his first season with the club. He joined

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

in a five-month loan deal on 2 August 2008. After his loan spell at Darlington, Brown returned to Brentford after the five months to serve as back up for

Ben Hamer Benjamin John Hamer (; born 20 November 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Championship side Watford. Career Early career Hamer was born in Chard, Somerset, and is a Bristol City fan. His family moved to G ...

who was on loan from

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. Brown came on as a sub for Hamer on the second last day of the season against Darlington to help Brentford secure promotion to League One. Despite being offered a new deal, Brown left the club when his contract expired on 1 July. On 11 September 2009, Brown signed with

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

on a contract until January 2010. After making two appearances for the Cobblers, he signed for

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

on a free transfer on 11 February 2010. On 3 January 2012 he left Cambridge United by mutual consent, joining

Welling United Welling United Football Club is a professional football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The club's first team play in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football. History Welling United Foot ...

. He debuted for the club in their 5–1

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

home victory over Truro City on 7 January 2012.

Career statistics

Honours

As a player

;Hibernian *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

: 2006–07 ;Brentford *

Football League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

: 2008–09

As an individual

Player of the Year: 2002–03

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Simon 1976 births Living people Footballers from Chelmsford English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Kingstonian F.C. players Aylesbury United F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Welling United F.C. players English Football League players Scottish Premier League players National League (English football) players