Michael BROWN

The photograph of Manchester City's Michael Brown was taken by Stuart Franklin on 16th. September 1996.   © G.H.

Hartlepool-born Michael Brown joined Manchester City straight from school, and after progressing through the ranks it did not take him long to carve out a reputation for himself as a tenacious and tough-tackling midfielder. At the age of just 18 he made an inauspicious first-team debut when he was sent off only ten minutes after coming on as a late substitute in the third game of the season, a 1-0 away defeat at QPR on August 26th 1995. It would be a feature of Brown's later career in professional football as his fiery and often unpredictable temperament would let him down on numerous occasions despite his undoubted footballing ability.

Following the QPR defeat it was not until the beginning of November that new manager Alan Ball was able to celebrate his first league victory in charge, a 1-0 home win over Bolton Wanderers after eleven previous attempts had ended in failure. It had been a disastrous start to the season, Brown having come on twice as a substitute the previous week as City suffered two hammerings in the space of four days by Liverpool at Anfield, 4-0 in the League Cup and 6-0 in the league. Results then picked up with three straight 1-0 wins in the next month over Wimbledon, Aston Villa and Leeds United, and Brown finally got his chance of a decent run in the side when he stepped in for the suspended Garry Flitcroft. Despite his inexperience he kept his place and was a regular over the next two months, but unfortunately this coincided with a downturn in form and the team slipped into the relegation zone. After a 2-1 fourth round defeat at local rivals Manchester United put paid to any FA Cup hopes he lost his place as manager Ball relied on his more experienced players, and it was not until the middle of March that Brown once again got his chance when Flitcroft was sold to Blackburn Rovers. Although he played in six of the last seven games City were relegated on the final day of the season, a 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Maine Road condemning them to the drop after seven years in the top flight. Brown had made 21 appearances during the season and had also made his England Under-21 debut against Croatia in April.

The 1996/97 campaign would turn into one of the most traumatic times in City's history. Although Michael was in the side for the first month of the season he lost his place as the club went through a succession of managers, Alan Ball resigning in August to be replaced by caretaker boss Asa Hartford. Steve Coppell then took over only to leave after just 33 days in charge, he himself being replaced by his assistant Phil Neal on a caretaker basis. Brown had fallen out of favour, being reduced to a couple of appearances as a substitute, and when it was announced in December that Frank Clark was to become the club's fifth manager in just four months he was sent out on loan to his home-town club Hartlepool United, having made just 11 league appearances the whole season as the Blues finished in a mid-table position. (David Redshaw)

 The picture above of Michael Brown playing for Manchester City was taken by Dave Pinegar in 1998.  © G.H.

Michael Brown continued to struggle to gain a first team place once again at the start of the 1997/98 season, manager Clark keeping faith with a number of players he had brought into the club, but when the team dropped into the relegation zone in October, and were also knocked out of the League Cup on penalties by Blackpool, Brown was brought back into the side and became a permanent fixture until the end of the season. At the turn of the year he also managed to score his first goal for the club in a 2-0 third round FA Cup win over Bradford City, but a 2-1 defeat at home to West Ham (the photo above is during the game) in the next round put paid to any hopes of a cup run. With the Blues still entrenched in the bottom three manager Clark resigned after a 1-0 home defeat to Bury to be replaced by former City favourite Joe Royle, but it was not enough to save the club from relegation as they went down on the last day of the season despite a 5-2 win at Stoke City. After regaining his place in the side Michael had played in 26 league games, though crucially he had missed five games through suspension during the run-in. Nevertheless he was named the club's Player of the Year by the supporters, although it was scant consolation as the club would be playing in the third tier of English football the following season.

The 1998/99 Division Two season began with Brown unable to obtain a regular place in the side, manager Joe Royle seeming to question the player's attitude, and he was limited to occasional substitute appearances. With the team struggling to adapt to life in the lower divisions he was eventually given an opportunity in a second round FA Cup replay at home to Darlington, and duly obliged by bagging the only goal of the game in extra time. Although a 1-0 defeat at Wimbledon sent the Blues tumbling out in the next round Michael had also won his place back in the league side and would be an ever-present until the end of the season with his new-found approach. He also managed to score his first-ever league goal for the Blues in a 2-1 home win over Notts County in March, following up three weeks later with City's goal in a 1-1 draw at Preston as the team eventually finished in third-spot and qualified for the play-offs. After a 2-1 aggregate win over Wigan Athletic the final against Gillingham at Wembley finished 2-2 after extra-time, with City winning a nervy penalty shootout 3-1 to bounce back to Division One at the first attempt, the hard-working Brown having made 31 league appearances and been instrumental in the club's promotion success.

At the start of the 1999/2000 season Michael found himself out of the first team picture once again due to the increased competition for places, his only outing being a 1-0 second round League Cup win at Burnley, and he was reluctantly placed on the transfer list in October by manager Royle. He then went out on loan to Portsmouth where he linked up again with Alan Ball, the man who had given him his City debut, and after two months at Fratton Park he was loaned to Sheffield United who eventually made the deal permanent with a £400, 000 transfer. In his time at Maine Road he had made 110 league and cup appearance (including 27 as a substitute) and had scored 4 goals, but for one reason or another his face never seemed to fit with a succession of managers. He had also earned 4 England Under-21 caps and would later go on to play Premiership football with Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham and Wigan Athletic. (David Redshaw)