Wesley Michael Brown (born 13 October 1979) is an English former professional
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
defender.
Brown began his career with
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, joining the club's academy at the age of 12 in 1992. After turning professional in 1996, he made his senior debut in 1998 and became a semi regular first team player during the
1998–99 season, when the club won the
Treble
Treble may refer to:
In music:
*Treble (sound), tones of high frequency or range, the counterpart of bass
*Treble voice, a choirboy or choirgirl singing in the soprano range
*Treble (musical group), a three-piece girl group from the Netherlands
*T ...
. After a year-long hiatus due to injury, Brown became a regular fixture in the first team from 2000 onwards. Over the next eight years, he won numerous honours, including four more Premier League titles, an
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
, a
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
and another
Champions League. Former United manager
Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all tim ...
has stated that Brown is "without question the best natural defender this club has had for years".
[ After 15 years with Manchester United, Brown was allowed to leave for Sunderland.
Brown earned his first England cap in 1999 and was selected to play at the ]2002 World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
. He played in the UEFA Euro 2008
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...
qualifiers but England failed to progress to the final tournament. He scored his first international goal in 2008 against the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
. Brown announced his retirement from international football on 8 August 2010, just a day after being recalled to the England squad by Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional football manager and player.
As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career which ...
.
Club career
Manchester United
Born in Longsight
Longsight is an inner city suburb of Manchester, England, located south of the city centre. It is bounded by Ardwick and West Gorton to the north; Levenshulme to the south; and Chorlton-on-Medlock, Victoria Park and Fallowfield to the west. ...
, Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, Brown began his football career as a schoolboy playing for the Burnage High School
Burnage Academy for Boys, formerly known as Burnage High School for Boys, is a secondary school with academy status, located in Burnage, Manchester, England.
History Grammar school
The school was founded in September 1932 as Burnage High Schoo ...
and Fletcher Moss Rangers, a Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
youth side, and was a former student of the Lilleshall Hall FA School of Excellence, as well as spending time at United's football Academy, which he joined at the age of 12. Brown showed talent and maturity at an early age, signing full professional terms with boyhood club Manchester United on 4 November 1996 at the age of 17.
Brown went on to success with the reserve and youth sides, winning the FA Youth Cup
The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...
and a Lancashire Division One medal with the reserves. He also added two Jimmy Murphy (Young Player of the Year) awards to his collection, becoming only the second player to receive the award for a second time (the other being Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs (né Wilson; 29 November 1973) is a Welsh association football, football coach and former player. Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Giggs played his List of one-club men in association football, entir ...
).
On 4 May 1998, Brown made his full first team FA Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
debut against Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...
, coming on as 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. The season could not have gone any better for Brown, as United completed the treble
Treble may refer to:
In music:
*Treble (sound), tones of high frequency or range, the counterpart of bass
*Treble voice, a choirboy or choirgirl singing in the soprano range
*Treble (musical group), a three-piece girl group from the Netherlands
*T ...
, winning the Premier League, FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
and UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
.
Brown suffered the first of what would be a string of injuries while training for the 1999–2000 campaign. As a result, he did not play a single competitive game all season, while United went on to seal their sixth Premier League title in eight seasons.
His strong comeback the following year prompted praise from all corners, with club manager Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all tim ...
making waves by proclaiming Brown to be Manchester United's most talented defender.
A fine 2000–01 campaign was followed by another solid year in 2001–02. 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-winning performance in the FA Cup semi-final win over Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
. It was after this fine display that Ferguson re-iterated his confidence in Brown's abilities.
Brown was a member of the side that won the FA Cup that year, against Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...
at Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, and later went on to collect runners-up medals in the 2005 and 2007 finals.
The signing of Nemanja Vidić
Nemanja Vidić ( sr-Cyrl, Немања Видић, ; born 21 October 1981) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is best known for his time at Manchester United, was part of the Serbia national team, and is ...
in January 2006, who would go on to forge a highly successful partnership with Rio Ferdinand
Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for BT Sport. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and was ...
, along with Brown's continuing injury problems, meant the defender continued to struggle to hold down a place in United's starting line-up. In the 2007–08 season, however, Brown established himself as the club's first-choice right-back. He ended the season by assisting Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...
's goal in the 2008 Champions League final, which United eventually won on penalty kicks to complete a league and European double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* Th ...
.
After nearly three years without scoring a Premier League goal for United, Brown scored on 23 March 2008 against Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, the first in a 3–0 win.
After initially rejecting a new contract offer in December 2007, Brown signed a new five-year contract along with fellow defender Rio Ferdinand and midfielder Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick (born 28 July 1981) is an English professional football manager and former player who is currently head coach of Middlesbrough. He is one of the most decorated English footballers of all time and is best known for his 12-year p ...
in April 2008, which was to keep him at Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
until 2013.
On 4 October 2008, Brown scored only the fourth goal of his Manchester United career when he headed in Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while als ...
's cross in United's 2–0 win away to Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
. The goal was controversial, however, as Blackburn's players believed that Nemanja Vidić had impeded their goalkeeper, Jason Brown, allowing Brown to head in at the far post.
Brown was ruled out of first team action for around five weeks in November 2008, following an exploratory ankle operation. Brown made his first start in eight months away against Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...
on 24 May 2009.
Brown started the following season, featuring throughout August in the league, but between September and October only appeared in United's League Cup campaign, before injury to both Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidić saw Brown return to Premier League action as he partnered Jonny Evans
Jonathan Grant Evans (born 3 January 1988) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Leicester City and the Northern Ireland national team.
Evans started his career at Manchester United and progressed th ...
in central defence against Blackburn, and both men produced an assured and professional display. This was Brown's first Premier League start since the 2–1 victory against Arsenal, at the end of August.
Brown captained the League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
game against Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
in which they won 3–2. On 19 February, he scored his first FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
goal in Manchester United's 1–0 win over Crawley Town
Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team co ...
. He also captained United again in the Crawley match.
Sunderland
Brown joined Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
on 7 July 2011 on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee. Brown made his debut on the opening day of the season at Liverpool, where he was awarded man of the match as Sunderland drew 1–1. On 5 November 2011, Brown scored an own goal in a match against his former club, Manchester United. Brown's first goal for Sunderland came on 21 December 2011, when he scored the winning goal with two minutes remaining in a 3–2 victory away to Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
. Brown's season ended through injury in the FA Cup Fourth Round tie with Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
in January 2012.
He made his Premier League comeback on 2 November 2013 in a 1–0 defeat against Hull. On 23 November 2013, Brown was sent off during a 2–0 defeat against Stoke City
Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
, a decision that was overturned on appeal on 26 November 2013. Brown was sent off again on 21 December 2013, in a 0–0 draw against Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
. Brown was given his third red card of the season in the fourth minute of Sunderland's 2–0 defeat to Hull City.
On 28 February 2015, Brown was sent off during a match against Manchester United, which Sunderland lost 2–0, though it was John O'Shea
John Francis O'Shea (; born 30 April 1981) is an Irish professional football coach and former player. He was known for his versatility in playing several positions on either side of the pitch or the centre.
Born in Waterford, O'Shea joined Man ...
who actually committed the foul. Referee Roger East insisted he got the decision right. The red card was later rescinded after Sunderland won an appeal.
At the end of the 2014–15 season, Brown was named as one of several Sunderland players available on a free transfer at the end of his contract in June 2015. On 12 June 2015, however, manager Dick Advocaat
Dirk Nicolaas Advocaat (; born 27 September 1947) is a Dutch former football player and coach who is currently the head coach of Eerste Divisie side ADO Den Haag.
Advocaat was successful as a football player and as a coach, including three sti ...
signed Brown to a one-year contract extension.
Blackburn Rovers
On 21 September 2016, following a number of injury set-backs and three-and-a-half months training with the club to regain fitness, Brown signed a short-term contract with Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
, lasting until the end of the season. As part of the deal, Brown would also take up a coaching role with the club's development squad, a team for which he had played a number of games while regaining fitness. He worked alongside existing coaches Damien Johnson
Damien Michael Johnson (born 18 November 1978) is a Northern Irish football coach and former international player. Sincce 2019 he has been first team technical coach & head of player development at Blackburn Rovers.
He began his career with P ...
and David Dunn
David John Ian Dunn (born 27 December 1979) is an English former professional football player and manager; he is now a coach at club Port Vale.
Dunn played as an attacking midfielder and spent the majority of his playing career representing ...
and offered guidance and advice to the club's younger players. He made his debut and scored his first goal for Blackburn against 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 ...
on 17 December 2016.
Kerala Blasters
Brown reunited with former Manchester United coach René Meulensteen
Reinhard Jozef Petrus Meulensteen (born 25 March 1964) is a Dutch former footballer and coach who is currently assistant coach of the Australia national soccer team. He spent the early parts of his career working in the Netherlands before taking ...
in August 2017, joining Meulensteen at Indian Super League
The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...
club Kerala Blasters
Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to as The Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of football in India. The club was established i ...
.
Coaching career
Brown was part of the Blackburn Rovers Under-23s and Academy coaching setup during his time with the club.[ He holds the UEFA 'A' Licence, which he achieved with the ]Irish Football Association
The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became the Northern Ireland national football team.
...
.
International career
Brown has represented England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
at international level, making 23 appearances since debuting in 1999. He was notably part of the England squad at the 2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
in Japan and South Korea.
Brown made his debut in 1999 against Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
and booked a place in Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson (; born 5 February 1948) is a Swedish football manager and former player.
After an unassuming playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management between 1977 and 2001, winning 18 ...
's squad for the 2002 World Cup, although he spent his time on the bench.[
Brown performed consistently well in the 2005–06 season which led to his recall to the England squad for the friendly game against ]Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
. Although he played no part in this fixture, he hoped to make it into the final England squad for the 2006 World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
, though he was ultimately not selected.
He was once again recalled to the England squad by coach Steve McClaren
Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English former professional footballer and coach who currently serves as an assistant coach for Premier League club Manchester United, in his second spell at the club.
McClaren began his coaching care ...
, and played in a defeat of Andorra
, image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg
, symbol_type = Coat of arms
, national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...
in UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying on 2 September, partnering John Terry
John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea, the England national team and Aston Villa. He was most recently the assi ...
at the heart of the England defence in place of injured Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand. He replaced Terry in a friendly against Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
on 1 June 2007, but he slipped up with his first touch of the ball and nearly scored an own goal.
Fabio Capello era
Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional football manager and player.
As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career which ...
named Brown as a starter in both of his first two games in charge of the national team, against Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. He also played 56 minutes in England's 2–0 win over the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
on 28 May 2008.
Brown scored his sole senior international goal in a friendly against the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
on 20 August 2008 at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
, heading in a David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...
corner in the 45th minute.
Brown made three appearances for England in their qualification
Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to:
* Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...
for the 2010 World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
in wins over Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
(4–1), Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
(5–1) and Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
(3–1).
Brown was called up for the England squad to face Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
in a friendly match on 5 September 2009, but was an unused substitute. He was then called up for a friendly against Brazil to be played Khalifa International Stadium
Khalifa International Stadium (, , ) is a multi-purpose stadium located in Al Rayyan, Qatar, around west from the centre of Doha. Its ground comprises a running track and a grass pitch. Opened in 1976, the stadium was named after then-Emir of ...
in Qatar, where he played the full 90 minutes.
Brown also played in England's 3–1 win over Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
on 3 March 2010. He did not, however, make the England squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa after an injury-hit season.
Brown retired from international football on 8 August 2010, one day after being selected for a friendly against Hungary.
Personal life
Brown is married to Leanne Wassell, with whom he lives with their three daughters, Halle, Lilia and Lola. His father, Bancroft Brown, died in February 2008. His half-sister, Claire Fallows, died on 19 July 2008 during pregnancy.[ Brown's younger brother, ]Reece
Reece derives from the Welsh name Rhys. It may refer to:
* Recce (filmmaking)
* Reece (name), people with the given name or surname
* A-Reece (born 1997), South African rapper and record producer
* Reece, Kansas, United States
* Mount Reece, in t ...
, played for Bury
Bury may refer to:
*The burial of human remains
*-bury, a suffix in English placenames
Places England
* Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village
* Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire
** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
having joined the Manchester United Academy at the age of nine, also plays at centre-back and is an England under-20 international. Another brother, Clive, was on the books of Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
as a youth player in the late 1990s, before going on to play for Hyde United
Hyde United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England. Formed in 1919, they were renamed Hyde F.C. between 2010 and 2015 as part of a sponsorship deal with Manchester City.[Bangor City
Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...]
, Mossley
Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, southeast of Oldham and east of Manchester.
The historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshire ...
, Woodley Sports and currently plays for New Mills
New Mills is a town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England, south-east of Stockport and from Manchester at the confluence of the River Goyt and Sett. It is close to the border with Cheshire and above the Torrs, a deep gorge cut thro ...
.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honours
Manchester United
*Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
: 1998–99, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08
*FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
: 1998–99, 2003–04
*Football League Cup
The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...
: 2005–06, 2009–10
*FA Community Shield
The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...
: 2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
, 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
*UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
: 1998–99, 2007–08
Individual
* Jimmy Murphy Academy Player of the Year: 1997–98, 1998–99
*PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...
: 2000–01 Premier League
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Wes
1979 births
Living people
People from Longsight
Footballers from Manchester
English footballers
Association football defenders
Fletcher Moss Rangers F.C. players
Manchester United F.C. players
Sunderland A.F.C. players
Blackburn Rovers F.C. players
Kerala Blasters FC players
Premier League players
English Football League players
Indian Super League players
FA Cup Final players
UEFA Champions League winning players
England under-21 international footballers
England international footballers
2002 FIFA World Cup players
Association football coaches
Blackburn Rovers F.C. non-playing staff
English expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in India
English expatriate sportspeople in India
People educated at Burnage Academy for Boys
Black British sportspeople