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Mark Brown Article, Sunday Mail


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28 May 2006

CRITICS BRANDED US JOURNEYMEN BUT WE TRAVELED FIRST CLASS IN SPL SAYS MAILSPORT STARCHECK WINNER MARK BROWN

Scott Mcdermott

HE racked up 167 games on the trot for Inverness Caley and kept 15 clean sheets last season.

He was the most consistent goalie in the SPL and has just scooped the Sunday Mail's Starcheck award for 2005/06.

But Mark Brown admits the one game he missed was TORTURE.

Rested for the second-last game of the campaign against Falkirk he could barely watch from the stand.

Brown, 25, has come a long way since having skelves in his backside during four years on the bench at Rangers.

He was bumped in Motherwell's financial cull after just 14 months but is now established in the SPL and has a genuine shout for a Scottish cap.

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His consistency has been incredible since he signed for the Highlanders in August, 2002.

Brown doesn't pick up many awards so when MailSport presented him with his silver salver he was delighted.

Having played behind virtually the same back four all season he sees it as a team honour. According to Mark it's time Charlie Christie's men got the credit they deserved.

In their first-ever SPL game Caley were beaten 3-0 by Livingston and the knives were out for the new boys.

Brown insists the criticism is still acting as a driving force behind the club.

Caley finished last season top of the bottom six on 58 points - two more than fourth-placed Hibs.

After being labelled "skinheads" and "journeymen" Mark believes it's about time people changed their views. He said: "When we first got into this league everyone shot us down.

"We lost our first game at Livi and the headline was 'can't score, can't defend.' We were written off for the entire first season and constantly tagged 'workmanlike journeymen.'

"We haven't got the credit we've deserved, still don't. People still see us as a long-ball team but with Dennis Wyness and Craig Dargo up front how can we go long?

"We wouldn't have got the results if we hadn't played decent football and towards the end of the season we showed that.

"We won five game without conceding a goal and you need quality to do that.

"The criticism in the first year has certainly driven us on, it got to us. We were dreadful against Livi but people called us a team of skinheads - only two boys had their heads shaved!

"We were caned by everyone despite making two cup semis the previous year.

"It spurred us on. Then last year the critics questioned whether we could do it in the second year but we proved them wrong again. "Even if we have yet another great season we'll probably still be called journeymen but we're used to it now."

If it wasn't for 19-goal hitman Dargo, Brown would surely have won every player-of-the-year trophy at the Caledonian Stadium.

And he still has ambitions to play at the highest level possible.

Mark's game is similar to that of Stefan Klos, his mentor at Ibrox who kept him on that bench for so long.

Brown revealed how the methodical Klos approach has shaped the way he goes about his business.

He said: "I got five games for the first team but was so frustrated. I felt the same way Graeme Smith and Allan McGregor must have felt last season.

"Stefan was so unbelievably good and never made mistakes. Eventually I knew I had to move on to get the experience I needed.

"I worked with some top keepers at Rangers - Klos, Andy Goram, Antti Niemi, Lionel Charbonnier.

"They all had their different ways and Stefan is a quiet guy. You learn from just watching him in training.

"His professionalism and preparation are outstanding. Seeing that has shaped the way I try to conduct myself both in training and on the pitch.

"I learned a lot from Klos. He never joked in training, he took his work so seriously and that's why he's so good.

"I'd like to think I have a similar style to Stefan or even Andy. We're not the biggest and I probably tried to mirror Stefan's style.

"But I have to be an individual on the pitch and put everything I picked up from them into my own game. When you're involved in Rangers' first team early you think it's great, you're excited. But after 50 games on the bench without ever getting on it gets to you.

"My decision to leave was made easy when Stefan was injured and they brought in Jesper Christiansen. That was the last straw.

"I knew I had to go. I was fed-up and wanted to make a name for myself somewhere else."

And Mark has. After his traumatic spell at home town team Motherwell he was without a club for four months before getting a break from then Caley boss Steve Paterson.

Brown hasn't looked back since and that 167-game record only came to an end on May 3.

He said: "I've not hit my peak yet. At 25 there's more to come.

"I was rested for our second-last game but watching was torture, horrendous.

"However, I know I made the right decision to leave Rangers."

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Inverness doesn't quite realise the privilege it has to host SPL football. Mark Brown is one of many very talented players who have helped put the city on the world map. This award is richly deserved. Hopefully for Mark he will make the breakthrough to international level sooner rather than later.

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I guess he must know how Michael Fraser feels then, eh... Still, it's good to have two good goalies at the club! :021:

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Nice to see one of our players getting a bit of good press and well deserved recognition for his contributions this year, and last year. Well done yersel, Broonie. :021:

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Well done Broonie..but I thought that the little editorial clip beside it, with a couple of veiled quotes from Brown, said more about our transfers situation than anything else I have read. You may have to be psychologically minded tho to read between the lines.

Yeah - Point well made, Sigmund..... Keep up with the prescribed medication..... :015:

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That's an excellent article, and it's good to see so much space in a national newspaper devoted to it.

Without a doubt, much of our recent success has been down to Broonie, and he's probably our most valuable player. Who else kept 15 clean sheets in the SPL?!

Walter Smith what are you thinking?!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Its amazing that a goalkeeper who is part of the 4th meanest defence in the league last season and not far behind the top three can be consistently overlooked by Smith who picks a Celtic bench player every time as understudy to Gordon.

To be Honest Craig Gordon is Scotlands clear 1st choice number one and Neil Alexander should also be there, but why someone who is as consistent as Brown everyweek is always overlooked for the squad even as No3 is astounding.

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Yeah good article. I notice they didn't point out that it was a retard journo who said we couldn't score and couldn't defend, Hugh Keevins you're an erse!

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Guest Arabest

Brown was top notch at Motherwell and seems to have gotten better in the Highlands, only a matter of time before he is a fixture in the Scotland set-up.

I feel for his understudy, Browns form has kept him out the team for a while.  How do you rate Fraser?

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Michael Fraser is a great young keeper.  Hopefully he will go on loan to Livi for the season where he will get regular games.  I'm glad to see that the club still have faith in him, but understand that he has to play 1st team games.  A condition of the loan deal will be that we have a recall clause if Mark Brown is unable to play.

Very confident talented and entertaining keeper.  :004:

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