| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mark Brown | ||
| Date of birth | 28 February 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Motherwell, Scotland | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Hibernian | ||
| Number | 31 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1997–1999 | Rangers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1999–2001 | Rangers | 4 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Motherwell | 19 | (0) |
| 2002–2007 | Inverness CT | 170 | (0) |
| 2007–2010 | Celtic | 13 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | → Kilmarnock (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2010– | Hibernian | 26 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2005–2006 | Scotland B | 2 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Mark Brown (born 28 February 1981 in Motherwell) is a Scottish professional footballer, currently playing for Scottish Premier League side Hibernian. Brown, a goalkeeper has played for both Old Firm clubs, Rangers and Celtic. Hibs is Brown's sixth Scottish Premier League club, having also played for Motherwell, Inverness CT and Kilmarnock. Brown has also represented Scotland B twice.
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Brown, a goalkeeper, started his career with Rangers, where he made just five first team appearances as a young player, before moving on to Motherwell. Brown made 19 appearances with Motherwell before the club's financial difficulties forced them into administration; Brown was one of 19 players released by the club in order to lessen its wage bill.[1]
Brown earned a contract with Inverness CT in the summer of 2002 after impressing then-manager Steve Paterson, and quickly became an indispensable member of the first team squad. Brown has also played international football for Scotland under-21s.
After joining Inverness, Brown's reputation as a talented goalkeeper grew, helped by his performances for the club in the Scottish First Division, the Scottish Cup and the SPL. The highlights of his career include a Player of the Round award from Scottish Cup sponsors Tennent's in March 2003, after his performance in goal helped Inverness to a quarter-final win against Celtic.
With Brown's contract due to expire in the summer of 2007, Caley Thistle accepted an undisclosed "six figure" transfer fee from Celtic for the goalkeeper's services in January, rather than risk him leaving on a free transfer at the end of the season.[2] The player joins the list of players to have crossed the Old Firm divide and play for both teams. Brown largely served Celtic as a back-up to Artur Boruc, making only 13 league appearances for the club. The signings of Dominic Cervi and Lukasz Zaluska pushed Brown down Celtic's selection order.
Hibernian expressed interest in signing Brown during the summer of 2009, but Celtic rejected this approach as they wanted a transfer fee for his services.[3] Brown was then loaned instead to fellow SPL side Kilmarnock in September 2009, until January 2010.[4] Kilmarnock required cover for the injured Alan Combe;[4] Brown played in 14 league matches for the Ayrshire side.
Celtic released Brown in January 2010, which allowed him to sign for Hibernian.[5] Brown will compete with Graeme Smith and Graham Stack for the Hibernian goalkeeping position, an area which manager John Hughes said had caused him "concern".[5] Brown did not play for Hibs during the rest of the 2009–10 season, partly due to injury.[6] He had to wait until a 3–0 defeat by Rangers on 22 August to make his debut for Hibs, 204 days after he signed for the club.[7]
Brown kept his place in the Hibs team until January 2011, when new manager Colin Calderwood decided to give opportunities to his other goalkeepers under a rotation policy.[8]
Brown's impressive form for Inverness Caledonian Thistle earned him a call-up to the Scotland "B" squad, where he played part of the second half in a friendly against Austria in April 2005 and the first half against Turkey in March 2006.[9]
Inverness CT
Celtic
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