Wes Brown

The common analysis on the Caf back in the day was that Wes was a potentially great CB who just had issues with concentration. You couldn't have a Wes thread back then without routine mentions of his concentration level.
 
GueRed said:
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.
Click to expand...
I mean fair enough, I probably agree with you that I don't think Brown could have reached Ferdinand's levels, but why dismiss what Sir Alex said about Brown, while at the same time take Harry Redknapp's word on Rio? Yes we know how their careers played out, but obviously Brown got a bad injury at a key point in his young career.
 
El Zoido said:
He was brilliant in the 2008 season, assisted Ronaldo in the CL final [b/] and had a great season all around. Really good player in his prime, injuries held him back.
Click to expand...


Left foot cross from the RB spot I think? Also one of the rare games Hargreaves played for us in his injury plagued time here lol
 
choiboyx012 said:
Wes brown was a natural aggressive defender similar in style to Vidic but had a career more similar to Ledley King with the injuries. When fit he actually did surprisingly well at RB after Gary Neville declined and before Rafael/valencia broke into the team.
Click to expand...

For the 8 seasons from 2000 he played 41/24/35/25/37/31/37/52 games. That’s comparable to Rio’s appearance record for the most part. I think his brother died the year after he won the Champions League and he didn’t feature much. He picked up a few injuries But he wasn’t a crock and can’t fairly be compared to King.
 
Solius said:
2008 season he was unreal. Best RB in the league and it wasn't even his natural position.
Click to expand...

He started 48 of our 55 games that year, more than anyone except Rio, and we kept 26 clean sheets in those games. He wasn’t amazing going forward (didn’t exactly need to be with who was in front of him) but he was a huge part of what made that defence one of the best in the history of English football.

If he hadn’t done his ankle the next season we might have got another four or five years out of him as a regular (especially with what happened to Vidic).
 
Last edited:
2008 stand out season for Wes, my dearly departed friend slated him everytime he played. But even he had to admit 2008 was his best season, threw away another treble that year, Pompy in FA cup.
 
Wes was a monster in 2008, in that Barca match he was evrawhere. In others years as others have commented, he was often on the cusp of great form only to be continually pegged back by injury.

One of the few to have won 2 Champions Leagues at United though. Pop quiz, who were the others ??
 
Adebisi's Hat said:
Wes was a monster in 2008, in that Barca match he was evrawhere. In others years as others have commented, he was often on the cusp of great form only to be continually pegged back by injury.

One of the few to have won 2 Champions Leagues at United though. Pop quiz, who were the others ??
Click to expand...

Scholes, Giggs, Gary Neville.
 
Wes Brown was really good the moment he started getting game time as a youngster. Not sure if i've dreamt this but have a memory of him hitting the bar with a long range shot against Leeds at Old Trafford - does anyone remember that happening (might have been his league debut?)

He had bad luck with injuries but still had a great career at United.
 
Hughie77 said:
2008 stand out season for Wes, my dearly departed friend slated him everytime he played. But even he had to admit 2008 was his best season, threw away another treble that year, Pompy in FA cup.
Click to expand...
How can anyone dislike him is beyond me. There were other bigger scapegoats around at the time anyways, like Silvestre, Fletcher, OShea, and then later Park
 
Has he just retired as well? What’s Kleberson up to anyway
 
Properly talented, just never developed the authority experienced centre backs have. Always a bit nervy. Mentally he never really changed from his 20 year old self. Super quiet on the pitch as well.
 
Adebisi's Hat said:
Wes was a monster in 2008, in that Barca match he was evrawhere. In others years as others have commented, he was often on the cusp of great form only to be continually pegged back by injury.

One of the few to have won 2 Champions Leagues at United though. Pop quiz, who were the others ??
Click to expand...

Scholes, Giggs, G. Neville.
 
stu_1992 said:
I mean fair enough, I probably agree with you that I don't think Brown could have reached Ferdinand's levels, but why dismiss what Sir Alex said about Brown, while at the same time take Harry Redknapp's word on Rio? Yes we know how their careers played out, but obviously Brown got a bad injury at a key point in his young career.
Click to expand...

Wasnt just Redknapp though. Everyone was raving about him
Rio Ferdinand picked up West Ham's player of the season award 1997/98 at just 19

I reckon Fergie knew who really was the best young defender in the country at that time

He tried to bring him over twice in 1996 and 1997 before landing him for a record transfer fee in 2002.

Rio Ferdinand.
 
Gary_Walsh_Nou_Camp_Hell said:
Wes Brown was really good the moment he started getting game time as a youngster. Not sure if i've dreamt this but have a memory of him hitting the bar with a long range shot against Leeds at Old Trafford - does anyone remember that happening (might have been his league debut?)

He had bad luck with injuries but still had a great career at United.
Click to expand...

not sure...

I do remember later that year October 1998 against Wimbledon at home he hit a fantastic long range shot with his left foot after a foraging run from right back only for it to be tipped over the bar by Neil Sullivan.
 
Dont get me wrong i loved Wes Brown in his youth and thought alongside John Curtis was a dead cert to be a first team player.

But he was no Rio Ferdinand.
 
In the NFL this used to be a rampant issue before financial advisors were hired by the union to curb ludicrous spending by players.
 
He is a very good lad. Shit happens, hopefully he and the family bounce back stronger.

Don’t know the reasons for his bankruptcy but not everything has to be attributed to overspending. In a volatile economy, investments can also go wrong.
 
Hopefully it's in the 50 cent and trump way rather than the average Joe's way of bankrupt. Always liked him and he seemed a nice enough guy.
 
Stobzilla said:
That is a shame, I know he has an MUTV gig so he probably won't hurt for money going forward but still sad to see one of my favourites go through some hard times.
Click to expand...

He’s there only occasionally and I doubt MUTV pay that well.
 
Quite a few of his era have recently. I wonder if they were all involved in similar investment schemes that have gone tits up.
 
Vidyoyo said:
Quite possibly but there is a bit of a theme because Bellamy was declared bankrupt earlier this month too - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65152140
Click to expand...

Basically just thick rich people who get taken advantage of as they're prime targets. Why the hell would you hand over all your wealth to someone who isn't evdn regulated?

Wouldn't be surprised if there's some blackmail involved somewhere.
 
I don’t get why footballers use investment schemes when they’ve already got loads of money.
 
People underestimate how easy it is to burn through millions once you stop earning on a certain lifestyle.
 
Solius said:
I don’t get why footballers use investment schemes when they’ve already got loads of money.
Click to expand...
Because they only earn loads of money for a short time, unless they "invest" it doesn't last, once you've driven a Bentley you ain't gonna drive a Civic or a Corolla
 
Smores said:
Basically just thick rich people who get taken advantage of as they're prime targets. Why the hell would you hand over all your wealth to someone who isn't evdn regulated?

Wouldn't be surprised if there's some blackmail involved somewhere.
Click to expand...

Yep that's what Bellamy alluded to. He basically said he was told to trust people with his money and it all went tits up.
 
Red in STL said:
Because they only earn loads of money for a short time, unless they "invest" it doesn't last, once you've driven a Bentley you ain't gonna drive a Civic or a Corolla
Click to expand...

It does last if you can control yourself and not live beyond your means.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.