Wes Brown

He worked very hard on the pitch. Wasn't the most technical, prone to the occasional error, but his work rate made up for it.

Like others have said there's something very likeable about him.
 
Far better than any of our central defenders in the last few years. Plagued by injuries, but he really was a top player. Best tackler we had. Hard working and unassuming.
 
Man-United said:
Read some comments from him in the Off the ball podcast today and it got me thinking about him as a player. Did you rate him? How good do you reckon he was? I remember Fergie saying he was the best natural defender in England back in 2001. Injuries didn't help with his 12 or was it 18 month out around 2000?
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Here's the vid
Big bad Wesley Brown reckons the 99 team is better than the 2008 team.
 
Wes Brown played 90+ both at Barca for the 0-0 and at OT for the 1-0 in 2007-8 that sent United through to the final. He was epic at OT that night.
 
Sir Scott McToMinay said:
Not a chance, I never ever ever trusted him in CB.
He was very good in 2007-2008 as a RB and as a CB in that match vs Barca, but he was never a better CB than Maguire or even Smalling, that’s just revisionism.
He was bang average for us in the early to mid 00’s, cost us many times with serious blunders.
Him and Silvestre / Blanc in CB was the stuff of nightmares.

But despite all of that I really really liked him and he was tough as nails and I would have liked if he was playing for us nowadays.
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This is a laughably bad assessment. Seriously, I'll have some of whatever you're smoking. He was a very, very good player. Smalling better than Brown :lol:. That's got to be one of the dumbest things I've heard on here. Sorry.

sparx99 said:
He was a phenomenal tackler
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Correct. From the time he broke into the first team, he was a stand out prospect because of his ability to stay on his feet at nearly all times. You rarely saw him dive in, because his positioning and awareness was so good. His timing in the tackle was first rate. I would rate him about on a par with Maguire, but with different qualities. Wes was quick, and an excellent defender. He was very composed too. Maguire is slightly better on the ball (but Wes was also excellent with the ball at his feet), and is superior in the air. He would be a nailed on starter for us today, and instantly improve our defence. His drawback was that he was so injury prone.
 
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He was likable but not lovable.
 
simonhch said:
This is a laughably bad assessment. Seriously, I'll have some of whatever you're smoking. He was a very, very good player. Smalling better than Brown :lol:. That's got to be one of the dumbest things I've heard on here. Sorry.
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That’s your recollection of things, mine is different.
I was always nervous whenever Brown started at CB, he was prone to serious mistakes, which is a killer for a CB.

Jones, Rojo, Brown, Evans (his first season aside), Silvestre, not saying they were all on the same level but I’ve always shat my pants whenever any of them played in CB.
What Smalling has over them is world class athleticism which helped him to compensate for positional mistakes and poor touches.

Brown never had long spells of solid performances in CB like Smalling had in his United career.
And I’m far far from being Smalling’s
biggest fan.
 
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People comparing his career to Ledley King's :lol:
He won the Premier League 7 fecking times.
He was also part of BOTH of Fergie's Champions League winning teams and assisted Ronaldo's goal in the final against Chelsea.

He was an amazing player, a very brave defender. He could play Centre Back or Right Back and was brilliant at both. A proper United player. He was unlucky, that he had probably the best two defenders the Premier League has ever seen, in his team at the same time. If one of Rio or Vidic wouldn't have been there, he would have been the other Centre Back. But he was to good to leave out of the team, so he played Right Back. He was a brilliant player for us, how the hell is this even a debate? :wenger:

I think the problem here is, most of the poeple read to much on Forums and watch to many United Fan Channel videos on YouTube, than actually watch the games themselves. They just repeat common myths that other people say than actually having an own opinion about players. these things get repeated so many times that it almost becomes a fact. For example "Smalling can't pass a ball". I've seen him make defence splitting passes many a time. Also "Smalling won't stand a chance when VAR comes in". These kind of comment's were made a week or two after he dominated Kylian Mbappe away in the Champions League were VAR was used. Also the people who called Nani inconsistent but love Rashford. If Nani was inconsistent what is Rashford? People need to stop copying what other people say and make their own opinions on matters.
 
A valuable squad player but had his entire career for us greatly overrated by UK fans because of his amazing 07/08 season, his role as a backup and being an academy product. I remember well our non-UK fans nervous and opposition fans delighted whenever he plays. I strongly believes that if our CBs post Vidic and Ferdinand, especially Smalling and Jones, were used more sporadically they would be viewed in a more positive light.

Sir Scott McToMinay said:
That’s your recollection of things, mine is different.
I was always nervous whenever Brown started at CB, he was prone to serious mistakes, which is a killer for a CB.
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Apparently he has the same amount of own goals for us as Jones (4) and one more than Smalling yet the latter two are regarded as own goal specialists by our fans. http://www.mufcinfo.com/manupag/own_goal_scorers/own_goals_grouped.html
 
I actually remember Brown getting a ton of criticism on the Caf for his performances at RB for most of the 2007-08 season. It wasn't until towards the end of the season, especially after his assist in the CL final, when people started praising him. I love Brown but the idea that he was "amazing" that season is very revisionist.
 
GifLord said:
I remember in his early days he made quite a lot of feck ups. Him, Barthez and later Carroll looked like the Keystone Kopps at times.
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Agree.
Wes in the early days of his career,when we started to really begin relying on him, was a real calamity at the back.

The 2001 season still remains one of the most exciting campaigns I've watched with United but boy were we absolutely tragic at the back with Brown,Silvestre,Blanc and Barthez trying to outdo each-other in the number of cock-ups they could inflict upon the team in any given moment.
We could've achieved real success that season had SAF not sold Stam or atleast replaced him with someone who could actually move.
 
AFC NimbleThumb said:
Outside of United the general consensus is that most of our players were crap.

VvD having finished 3rd & 2nd is apparently the best ever PL CB.

Ronaldo with 3 prems & 1 champs league in 6 seasons & not even near his peak is never [I can’t remember hearing] spoken about as the EPL legend he was.

RvN goalscoring record for us was sensational, again no accolades.

People will look you in the eye with a straight face & try to debate the merits of Scholes coming 3rd in a debate between Gerrard & Lampard.

The list goes on. Other clubs celebrate their mediocre ‘legends’ whilst we degrade anyone beyond the universal fan favourites.

If Wes Brown played for Liverpool he is Jamie Carragher & some.
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I agree with you.I hate wankfest on this forum about F Torres but RVN was only about scoring goals.
 
I loved Wes Brown, he was just one of those great players like Butt and Ole that could come in to the starting team and the difference in quality of the injured/rotated/suspended player wasn’t much at all.

Right now Wes Brown would be our first choice centre back and looking back it shows just how backwards we’ve gone in terms of quality throughout our squad. We packed so much squad filler into the squad that there’s little quality throughout and it’s going to take a few years before we’ve probably got a squad in a position to compete consistently again.
 
simonhch said:
Correct. From the time he broke into the first team, he was a stand out prospect because of his ability to stay on his feet at nearly all times. You rarely saw him dive in, because his positioning and awareness was so good. His timing in the tackle was first rate. I would rate him about on a par with Maguire, but with different qualities. Wes was quick, and an excellent defender. He was very composed too. Maguire is slightly better on the ball (but Wes was also excellent with the ball at his feet), and is superior in the air. He would be a nailed on starter for us today, and instantly improve our defence. His drawback was that he was so injury prone.
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He loved diving into tackles. That's how we got the term "brwned".
 
Big Ben Foster said:
I actually remember Brown getting a ton of criticism on the Caf for his performances at RB for most of the 2007-08 season. It wasn't until towards the end of the season, especially after his assist in the CL final, when people started praising him. I love Brown but the idea that he was "amazing" that season is very revisionist.
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Not really, it just shows that the Caf as a collective have been consistently shite at rating players performances.
 
Sir Scott McToMinay said:
Not a chance, I never ever ever trusted him in CB.
He was very good in 2007-2008 as a RB and as a CB in that match vs Barca, but he was never a better CB than Maguire or even Smalling, that’s just revisionism.
He was bang average for us in the early to mid 00’s, cost us many times with serious blunders.
Him and Silvestre / Blanc in CB was the stuff of nightmares.

But despite all of that I really really liked him and he was tough as nails and I would have liked if he was playing for us nowadays.
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:lol:
 
Alot of short memories on here!

Him and Silvestre were the Phil Jones and Chris Smalling of their time.

Wes was unfortunate with injuries but he was reduced to squad player once Rio and Vidic came in. He was much better when those two were around, versus when he was paired with Silvestre or Blanc etc.

Solid player and got better with maturity.
 
Never came close to reaching his full potential, such an exciting young player but the knee injuries harmed his development and I always thought he had issues with balance and turning quickly, meant he could be very uncertain with his touch as well. Brilliant when on it, aggressive but too many weaknesses to reach an outstanding level consistently, would put him well below Ledley King and even Woodgate of the injury prone English CB's of that generation.
 
JPB said:
People comparing his career to Ledley King's :lol:
He won the Premier League 7 fecking times.
He was also part of BOTH of Fergie's Champions League winning teams and assisted Ronaldo's goal in the final against Chelsea.

He was an amazing player, a very brave defender. He could play Centre Back or Right Back and was brilliant at both. A proper United player. He was unlucky, that he had probably the best two defenders the Premier League has ever seen, in his team at the same time. If one of Rio or Vidic wouldn't have been there, he would have been the other Centre Back. But he was to good to leave out of the team, so he played Right Back. He was a brilliant player for us, how the hell is this even a debate? :wenger:

I think the problem here is, most of the poeple read to much on Forums and watch to many United Fan Channel videos on YouTube, than actually watch the games themselves. They just repeat common myths that other people say than actually having an own opinion about players. these things get repeated so many times that it almost becomes a fact. For example "Smalling can't pass a ball". I've seen him make defence splitting passes many a time. Also "Smalling won't stand a chance when VAR comes in". These kind of comment's were made a week or two after he dominated Kylian Mbappe away in the Champions League were VAR was used. Also the people who called Nani inconsistent but love Rashford. If Nani was inconsistent what is Rashford? People need to stop copying what other people say and make their own opinions on matters.
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Don’t disagree with the premise of your post but this is not true. Find me a highlight video of Smallings killer balls for Utd. The man could defend and had great athleticism, but he was an absolute donkey on the ball and never really had a pass like Lindelof played against Leeds on his locker.
 
Early days Fergie overhyped him in public.

Shame he was injury prone. Otherwise would have racked up a load more appearances.

I remember being gutted when he done his knee in summer 1999...wiped him out of the 99/00 season..

I liked him , good no-nonsense defender.
 
Solid defender, had a fantastic season at right back when we won the CL and league in 2008.

I saw one of the posters say he wasn't as good as smalling?? Wow, he was miles better than smalling!
 
GueRed said:
Early days Fergie overhyped him in public.

Shame he was injury prone. Otherwise would have racked up a load more appearances.

I remember being gutted when he done his knee in summer 1999...wiped him out of the 99/00 season..

I liked him , good no-nonsense defender.
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I disagree with the idea that Fergie over hyped him to begin with. Had he not had such bad luck with injuries so early on I've always believed that we may not have gone in to buy Rio, when we did. The Wes Brown we look back on now and who I'm sure has no regrets over his career could have been as vaunted as Rio, Vidic, Stam and any other star defender of the past 25 years.
 
Big Ben Foster said:
I actually remember Brown getting a ton of criticism on the Caf for his performances at RB for most of the 2007-08 season. It wasn't until towards the end of the season, especially after his assist in the CL final, when people started praising him. I love Brown but the idea that he was "amazing" that season is very revisionist.
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Can't speak for the caf, but I thought he was pretty good that season.

I wouldn't say amazing, but he didn't look out of place in the starting XI.
 
Tribec said:
I disagree with the idea that Fergie over hyped him to begin with. Had he not had such bad luck with injuries so early on I've always believed that we may not have gone in to buy Rio, when we did. The Wes Brown we look back on now and who I'm sure has no regrets over his career could have been as vaunted as Rio, Vidic, Stam and any other star defender of the past 25 years.
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Nah Wes was good but no way near as good Fergie was describing him in those early days like "best young defender in the country".

Rio Ferdinand at around 17/18 was levels above Wes. Harry Redknapp and the London sports press were labelling him the new Bobby Moore he was that good.
 
I remember Wes debut with us. He was around 17-18 at the time and he was expected to mark hasselbaink. The Dutch man was one of the finest strikers in the EPL at the time but Wes destroyed him. Things got so embarrassing that hasselbaink ended up kicking him, seeing red in the process

Wes was ruined because of two things ie injury and SAF's insistence of throwing him in the deep end far too early. Things would have been different if he had Stam beside him instead of an ancient Blanc and Silvestre.

Could he be better then Rio? They were different type of players. However he was far better then Jones, Smalling and any CB signed post SAF and pre Ole.
 
He's still being underrated all these years later!

I remember when Wes came through, and I've always thought he was quality. Great with his head, could carry the ball out, knew when to stay on his feet and when to slide in, could deliver a mean cross. He had every attribute to be a top, top defender, would have been a great foil for Rio, but he just couldn't stay fit. CB is the one place you need consistency.

Unfortunately, like Phil Jones, he had one of those memeable faces after he made a mistake. For example, if Rio screwed up, he'd be shouting at everyone around him, whereas Wes always looked as if he was on the verge of tears.
 
Peter van der Gea said:
He's still being underrated all these years later!

I remember when Wes came through, and I've always thought he was quality. Great with his head, could carry the ball out, knew when to stay on his feet and when to slide in, could deliver a mean cross. He had every attribute to be a top, top defender, would have been a great foil for Rio, but he just couldn't stay fit. CB is the one place you need consistency.

Unfortunately, like Phil Jones, he had one of those memeable faces after he made a mistake. For example, if Rio screwed up, he'd be shouting at everyone around him, whereas Wes always looked as if he was on the verge of tears.
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Wes was 10 times the player Meme is.
 
With all due respects he was a squad player, nothing more nothing less. Not overrated or underrated. Maybe it was because of the world class talents we had as CB during his time.

Rio and Vidic were in the league of their owns. One of the best pairs we had in the history.

IMO, in terms of raw talents Evans, Jones and Smalling are comparable if not better.

SAF made almost any player look good in his team including the squad players.
 
Yakuza_devils said:
With all due respects he was a squad player, nothing more nothing less. Not overrated or underrated. Maybe it was because of the world class talents we had as CB during his time.

Rio and Vidic were in the league of their owns. One of the best pairs we had in the history.

IMO, in terms of raw talents Evans, Jones and Smalling are comparable if not better.

SAF made almost any player look good in his team including the squad players.
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Smalling had his attributes but in raw talent wes blows him away. Same as Evans and Jones. People always undersell Wes because of his injury problems but he was a quality player.
 
Peter van der Gea said:
I was only comparing the post-mistake gurning. Wes was much more than 10x
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Wes was genuinely unlucky and poorly managed. He lost Stam early in his career and was made up to play alongside CBs who were clearly not good enough. That was at a time when we lacked a decent GK. Injuries started piling up but we needed Wes on the pitch so we barely gave him time to recover.

Then SAF seem to have lost patience with defence and he started buying every decent defender on the market (Heinze, Rio, Vidic, Evra)

Take away the injuries and Wes had all the potential to be a United first team CB
 
Oldyella said:
Smalling had his attributes but in raw talent wes blows him away. Same as Evans and Jones. People always undersell Wes because of his injury problems but he was a quality player.
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IMO, Jones is the best amongst them but he had worse injury records than Brown.
 
I remember when we played Real Madrid away in 2003, watching on the telly as they panned across the players faces during the line up at the beginning. Brown looked like was bricking it. He performed pretty badly and we got whopped. We then played Newcastle a few days later and slaughtered them. Brown cruised it that day. That always summed up Brown for me. Reliable against domestic opposition, but when you were on the continent playing at the highest level in high pressure situations, he came up short.

Still, at least he played well in the CL Final, which somewhat redeemed him
 
2008 season he was unreal. Best RB in the league and it wasn't even his natural position.
 
largelyworried said:
That always summed up Brown for me. Reliable against domestic opposition, but when you were on the continent playing at the highest level in high pressure situations, he came up short.

Still, at least he played well in the CL Final, which somewhat redeemed him
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He was exceptional in both legs at CB against European champions Barcelona in 2008. Reasonably high pressure situation…
 
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