Mark Brown (born 28 February 1981) is a Scottish 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 lea ...
, who played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), 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 i ...
.
Brown played for both
Old Firm
The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...
clubs,
Rangers
A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...
and
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
, and also played for
Motherwell
Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...
,
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, Inverness CT or just Inverness, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team competes in , the third tier of the Scottish Professional Footba ...
,
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...
Dumbarton
Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...
. Brown represented Scotland B twice, during his time with Inverness.
Club career
Early career
Brown, a
goalkeeper
In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), 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 i ...
, started his career with
Rangers
A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...
, where he made just five first team appearances as a young player, before moving on to
Motherwell
Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...
. Brown made 19 appearances with Motherwell before the club's financial difficulties forced them into administration; Brown was one of 19 players released by the club to lessen its wage bill.
Inverness CT
Brown earned a contract with
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, Inverness CT or just Inverness, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team competes in , the third tier of the Scottish Professional Footba ...
in the summer of 2002 after impressing then-manager Steve Paterson, and quickly became an indispensable member of the first team squad. Brown also played international football for Scotland B.
After joining Inverness, Brown's reputation as a talented goalkeeper grew, helped by his performances for the club in the
Scottish First Division
The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship.
History
The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...
, the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,SPL. The highlights of his career include a Scottish Cup Player of the Round award in March 2003, after his performance in goal helped Inverness to a 1–0 quarter-final win against
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
.
Celtic
With Brown's contract due to expire in the summer of 2007,
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, Inverness CT or just Inverness, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team competes in , the third tier of the Scottish Professional Footba ...
accepted an undisclosed "six figure" transfer fee from
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
for the goalkeeper's services in January, rather than risk him leaving on a free transfer at the end of the season. The player joins the list of players to have crossed the
Old Firm
The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...
divide and play for both teams. Brown largely served Celtic as a back-up to
Artur Boruc
Artur Boruc (; born 20 February 1980) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Boruc began his career in the Polish third division with hometown club Pogoń Siedlce. He joined Ekstraklasa team Legia Warsaw in 1999 ...
, making only 13 league appearances for the club. The signings of
Dominic Cervi
Dominic Cervi (born July 9, 1986) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper.
Personal life
Cervi grew up in Norman, Oklahoma. He played eight seasons for his youth club, Norman Celtic '86. He attended Norman No ...
and
Łukasz Załuska
Łukasz Załuska (; born 16 June 1982) is a Polish former professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper.
After playing for Stomil Olsztyn (football), Stomil Olsztyn, Legia Warsaw, Ja ...
pushed Brown down Celtic's selection order.
Hibernian expressed interest in signing Brown during the summer of 2009, but Celtic rejected this approach as they wanted a transfer fee for his services. Brown was then loaned instead to fellow SPL side
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...
in September 2009, until January 2010. Kilmarnock required cover for the injured
Alan Combe
Alan Combe (born 3 April 1974) is a Scottish football coach and former player who is goalkeeping coach. He played as a goalkeeper for Cowdenbeath, St Mirren, Dundee United, Bradford City and Kilmarnock. He has previously worked as a goalkeeping ...
; Brown played in 14 league matches for the Ayrshire side.
Hibernian
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
released
Released may refer to:
* Released (Jade Warrior album), ''Released'' (Jade Warrior album), 1971
* Released (Patti LaBelle album), ''Released'' (Patti LaBelle album), 1980
* ''Released: 1985–1995'', an album by Kronos Quartet, 1995
* ''Released'' ...
Brown in January 2010, which allowed him to sign for Hibernian. Brown competed with
Graeme Smith
Graeme Craig Smith (born 1 February 1981) is a South African cricket commentator and former cricketer who played for South Africa national cricket team, South Africa in all formats. In 2003, he was appointed Captain (cricket), captain of the So ...
and Graham Stack for the Hibernian goalkeeping position, an area which
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
John Hughes John Hughes may refer to:
Arts and Entertainment Literature
*John Hughes (poet) (1677–1720), English poet
*John Hughes (1790–1857), English author
*John Ceiriog Hughes (1832–1887), Welsh poet
*John Hughes (writer) (born 1961), Australian au ...
said had caused him "concern". Brown did not play for Hibs during the rest of the 2009–10 season, partly due to injury. He had to wait until a 3–0 defeat by
Rangers
A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...
on 22 August to make his debut for Hibs, 204 days after he signed for the club.
Brown kept his place in the Hibs team until January 2011, when new manager
Colin Calderwood
Colin Calderwood (born 20 January 1965) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player.
As a player, he was a centre-back who played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa and in the Football League for Mansfi ...
decided to give opportunities to his other goalkeepers under a rotation policy. Brown played less often during the 2011–12 season, featuring only in
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports 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 ...
ties during the early part of the season. He played in four games during January after Stack was injured, but he was dropped after a 4–0 defeat against Rangers. Stack was then injured during the Scottish Cup semi-final victory against Aberdeen, allowing Brown to play for the rest of the season.
Despite a poor performance in the 2012 Scottish Cup Final defeat by Hearts, his agent Kevin Drinkell said that Hibs wanted to agree a new contract with Brown. Later in the close season, however, Hibs signed Ben Williams as first choice goalkeeper and gave a new contract to Calum Antell. Brown then went on trial with
Southend United
Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...
.
Ross County
Brown signed for Ross County in August 2012 and made his debut the same month in a
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports 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 ...
4–1 defeat to
Raith Rovers
Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League.
The club has won f ...
. He signed a new contract with Ross County in June 2013. After playing 30 times during the 2013–14 season, Brown signed a new one-year contract on 19 May 2014, the new deal also including taking up the position of the club's goalkeeping coach. At the end of the 2014–15 season, Brown was released by Ross County.
Dumbarton
In June 2015, after leaving Ross County the previous month, Brown signed a two-year deal with
Scottish Championship
The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...
side
Dumbarton
Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...
. He left the club and retired from the game in March 2017 after making 32 appearances over almost two seasons, to take up a role with the Police.
Career statistics
International career
Brown's impressive form for Inverness Caledonian Thistle earned him a call-up to the Scotland "B" squad, where he played part of the second half in a friendly against
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
in April 2005 and the first half against
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
in March 2006.
Honours
Inverness CT
*
Scottish First Division
The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship.
History
The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...
: 2003–04
*
Scottish Challenge Cup
The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
(2): 2006–07, 2007–08
*
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports 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 ...