Spurs stories | Michael Brown - City, Spurs, 'crazy games’, and running the London Marathon

Michael Brown enjoyed what turned out to be a brief stop at Spurs on a career journey that spanned 22 years and nine clubs.

The all-action midfielder scored three goals in 64 appearances for us between 2004 and 2006 - finding himself up against the likes of Michael Carrick, Edgar Davids, Sean Davis, Jermaine Jenas and Pedro Mendes for a place in Martin Jol’s side.

The Hartlepool-born midfielder’s career began at Manchester City for whom he netted four times in 103 matches between 1995 and 2000. Loaned to Hartlepool United, Portsmouth and Sheffield United during his time with City, Brown joined the Blades on a permanent basis in 2000 and also represented Fulham, Wigan Athletic, Leeds United and Port Vale before hanging up his boots in 2017. He has since launched a successful career in the media and has worked for the likes of BBC Sport, BBC Radio 5 Live, Sky Sports and Quest TV.

Andy Greeves spoke to Browny for our Official Matchday Programme ahead of our Carabao Cup fourth round clash against City - here’s what he had to say...

First of all Michael, can you tell us about your early career with Manchester City?

Michael: "I was invited to go to Manchester City one holiday when I was 14. I was based in the north east, in Hartlepool, and a few clubs approached me and gave me the opportunity to visit them too. I went to City and quite early on, they wanted to sign me. I had a good feeling about the place and, rather than offering me a schoolboy deal, the contract they offered was a two-year scholarship followed by a two-year professional deal. To be offered something like that at 14 was incredible, having that longer term security. I remained living in Hartlepool as a schoolboy, so I only went to City on school holidays. I moved there when I left school at 16. City have always had a good pathway for young players and I was one of the lucky ones who went on to make it through to the first team."

What memories do you have of your first team debut for City, at Queens Park Rangers in August, 1995?

Michael: "It was a bizarre first team debut for me. Then-City manager Alan Ball gave me the opportunity to travel with the first team down to London on the Friday for the QPR game the following day. I was only young and I hadn’t really played a reserve game yet or trained with the first team. I was in the changing room before the game and I heard my name read out amongst the substitutes and it was such a surprise to me. I only thought I was travelling to the game for experience. About 60 minutes in, I was warming up and I had the call to go on (as a substitute for Steve Lomas). And suddenly, I was making my senior debut. It was all quite surreal. Ten minutes later, I got a red card for pulling a shirt, with the referee judging that I was the last man. I thought my career was over in all honesty, but, the following day, when I was back in my digs, I got a call from Alan Ball saying ‘don’t worry about yesterday, son, you’re playing again on Tuesday against Everton’. Footballers will have ups and downs in their career and I experienced so many highs and lows within the first few days of having got into the first team."

What was it like playing for City’s first team?

Michael: "It was very enjoyable. I got to play in the Premier League as a young player. We also had adversity, with the relegations, which ultimately went against me staying at the club longer. By the age of 22, I had already had 12 different managers at City! I played in the famous Play-Off Final victory over Gillingham in 1999 but I knew my days at City were numbered by that time. Myself and (then-City manager) Joe Royle didn’t see eye-to-eye and it was time to go."

Fast-forward in your career, how did your move from Sheffield United to Spurs come about in January 2004?

Ange: "It was a strange one, as I pretty much had a deal in place to be signing for Liverpool at the end of that season on a free transfer, because I was out of contract. And the same thing was in place with Rangers. But Sheffield United decided they wanted to sell me in January. Spurs offered a fee that Sheffield United accepted and I went to meet Daniel Levy and Spurs manager David Pleat, and we did the deal. When I arrived at Spurs, I was suspended for a few weeks and ironically, my Spurs debut ended up being against Liverpool - a game we won 2-1 at White Hart Lane. Liverpool always seemed to be a team I had connections with during my career. My dad supported them for starters! When I was relegated out of the Premier League with Manchester City, the season I made my league debut (1995/96), we were playing against Liverpool that day. I was also involved with some memorable cup games for Sheffield United against Liverpool."

Speaking of memorable games, you were involved in some high-scoring matches early in your Spurs career - a 4-3 home win over Portsmouth, a 4-2 away victory at Charlton Athletic and a 4-4 draw with Leicester City at White Hart Lane...

Ange: "That’s right. There was never a dull moment at Spurs, that’s for sure! I got a goal against Leicester in the 4-4, which was nice getting my first goal for the club. They were crazy games to be involved in."

There was also the 4-3 FA Cup fourth round replay defeat to your former club Manchester City around that same time too?

Ange: "Every time I work for Manchester City’s TV channel, I am always reminded about that game! It was a crazy game, obviously to have led 3-0 and then lost 4-3. It’s difficult to put into words the feelings after a match like that. We were absolutely gutted. For City, it was the ultimate way to win, but sadly for us, it the worst way to lose."

How do you look back on your time at Spurs as a whole?

Michael: "I loved my time at Spurs and I would have loved to have stayed longer. The problem was, every transfer window there was a new midfielder coming in! And not just any midfielder… players like Michael Carrick and Edgar Davids! I had a great relationship with Martin Jol and I remember when Fulham came in for me. He said: ‘the club might have agreed to sell you, but I’m not letting you go’. I told him I wanted to go and play regular football and that he’d only be bringing in another midfielder anyway, knowing him! So, eventually, I left for Fulham. As I say, I’d liked to have stayed at Spurs longer but I was never prepared to be at a club and be sitting on the bench. I always love coming back to Spurs and I’m always made to feel very welcome. There are still a lot of familiar faces at the club, which is great. The new stadium is incredible and the kind of football Spurs play means they are a team I always like to cover in my media roles."

Who were your best mates during your time at the club?

Michael: "My best mate at the club was probably Simon Davies, who I’d travel in to training with. I still work with Paul Robinson in the media and it’s always great to see Robbo while Ledley (King) is someone I see at games and Daws (Michael Dawson) too. They are all great guys."

You ran the London Marathon last year. What was that experience like?

Michael: "It was an amazing experience. I did it for charity. I had a cancerous mole removed and I wanted to give something back to the Christie Charity - an organisation that delivers world-class cancer care. It was also a personal challenge for myself, something to get my teeth into. I ran for three and a half hours on the day and we raised lots of money. I really enjoyed running through London and the support was amazing. And it’s something I’d certainly consider doing it again. I ran the marathon the day after I’d been at Wembley Stadium to cover my two old clubs, Manchester City and Sheffield United, in an FA Cup semi-final. I worked that day, went to bed early and then woke up and ran the marathon the following day!"

Can you tell us a bit about what you’ve been up to since retiring from playing?

Michael: "I’m a co-commentor and a pundit. Since retiring from playing, I’ve worked for Sky and I’ve also been involved with various BBC networks for the last six years. I also work for a variety of overseas broadcasters too. I really enjoy it, getting to games whether it’s to do pitch-side coverage or co-commentaries. It’s the next best thing to playing in my opinion."

What are your thoughts ahead of this evening’s match?

Michael: "I’ll be at the game, I’m covering it for City. I’ll be pitch-side pre-match, then we’ll film the reaction straight after. It’s an interesting match for sure. Pep Guardiola has said he’ll make several changes to his team but we know the strength any City team that he fields will have. The fans at Spurs really want a trophy and if they were to get past City, they’d have a really good chance in this competition this season. We’ll see what happens."