Michael Brown (footballer, born 1977)

Michael Brown

Brown training with Leeds United in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Michael Robert Brown
Date of birth	(1977-01-25) 25 January 1977 (age 40)
Place of birth	Hartlepool, England
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Port Vale (manager)
Number	17
Youth career
	Manchester City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1995–1999	Manchester City	88	(2)
1997	→ Hartlepool United (loan)	6	(1)
1999	→ Portsmouth (loan)	4	(0)
1999–2000	→ Sheffield United (loan)	4	(0)
2000–2004	Sheffield United	147	(28)
2004–2006	Tottenham Hotspur	50	(2)
2006–2007	Fulham	41	(0)
2007–2009	Wigan Athletic	58	(0)
2009–2011	Portsmouth	45	(4)
2011–2014	Leeds United	66	(2)
2014–	Port Vale	52	(4)
National team
1996	England U21	4	(0)
Teams managed
2016–	Port Vale
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:00, 2 October 2016 (UTC).

Michael Robert Brown (born 25 January 1977) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder; he is now manager at EFL League One club Port Vale. A former England under-21 international, his hard-tackling style has sometimes caused him to take criticism from others in the game.

He began his career with Manchester City having come through their youth ranks, and was named as the club's Player of the Year in 1998, before featuring in their Second Division play-off final victory in 1999. He also spent time on loan at Hartlepool United, Portsmouth and Sheffield United, before he was sold to Sheffield United for a £400,000 fee in January 2000. He scored 36 goals in 174 appearances during a four-year stay in Sheffield, being named as the club's Player of the Year in 2002 and named on the PFA Team of the Year the following year.

He moved back to the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur for a £500,000 fee in January 2004. After two years with Spurs he moved on to Fulham for an 18-month stay. He was transferred to Wigan Athletic in July 2007, where he would spend two seasons before making the move to Portsmouth in August 2009. He played for the club in their 2010 FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea, but could not prevent them from being relegated out of the top-flight that same year. He joined Leeds United in July 2011, and went on to spend the next three years at Elland Road. He signed with Port Vale in July 2014, and also took on a coaching role with the "Valiants", before becoming assistant manager to Bruno Ribeiro in June 2016. He was promoted to caretaker manager following Ribeiro's resignation in December 2016, but could not prevent relegation out of EFL League One at the end of the 2016–17 season, after which he was confirmed as the club's permanent manager.