 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Craig Brown | ||
| Date of birth | (1940-07-01)1 July 1940 | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 26 June 2023(2023-06-26) (aged 82) | ||
| Place of death | Ayr, Scotland | ||
| Position | Wing half | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Kilmarnock Amateurs[1] | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1957–1961 | Rangers | 0 | (0) |
| 1957–1958 | →Coltness United (loan) | ||
| 1960–1961 | →Dundee (loan) | ||
| 1961–1965 | Dundee | 14 | (0) |
| 1965–1967 | Falkirk | 17 | (0) |
| Total | 31 | (0) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1977–1986 | Clyde | ||
| 1986–1993 | Scotland U21 | ||
| 1993–2001 | Scotland | ||
| 1994–1995 | Scotland B | ||
| 2002–2004 | Preston North End | ||
| 2009–2010 | Motherwell | ||
| 2010–2013 | Aberdeen | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
James Craig BrownCBE (1 July 1940 – 26 June 2023) was a Scottish professionalfootball player and manager. After his playing career withRangers,Dundee andFalkirk was curtailed by a series of knee injuries, Brown entered management withClyde in 1977. He then coached various Scotland youth teams until he was appointedScotland manager in 1993. He held this position until 2001, the longest tenure for a Scotland manager, and they qualified for theUEFA Euro 1996 and1998 FIFA World Cup tournaments. He later managedPreston North End,Motherwell andAberdeen. He retired from management in 2013 and was appointed a non-executive director of Aberdeen.
Brown was born on 1 July 1940 inCorkerhill, Glasgow,[2] but brought up with two younger brothers inTroon,Rutherglen andHamilton, mother Margaret Caldow, moving with his father's career as aphysical education teacher, later a senior advisor on the subject.[1] He was a keen golfer as well as watchingQueen's Park andHamilton Academical matches.[1]
Educated at the formerHamilton Academy, Brown played for the school in Scottish schools competitions[1][3][4][5] and in youth international teams, before joiningRangers in 1957, being considered a top prospect.[1]
Brown was initially farmed out toColtness United to gain experience, and was selected for theScotland Junior squad.[1] He failed to find a regular first team place at Rangers, with his progress halted by a knee injury and the arrival ofJim Baxter who played in the same position, and moved toDundee on loan in October 1960.[1]
Brown was the first signing of Dundee managerBob Shankly. Although knee surgery meant he barely played for the first team during his loan, the move was made permanent in the summer of 1961.[1] Brown always travelled with the Dundee first team squad but this was beforesubstitutes were commonly used. Thus he did not make a competitive appearance until November 1961, then waited until February 1962 for his league debut when captainBobby Cox was injured.[1] Brown played in nine consecutive league games before becoming injured himself on 31 March in a 3–2 win against bottom placedStirling Albion.[1][6] Dundee won theScottish league title that season and Brown's nine appearances entitled him to a medal.[1] Brown stayed at Dundee for four and a half injury-affected years, making 16 total appearances for the Dark Blues[6] but playing no active part in the club'sEuropean Cup run, or the1964 Scottish Cup Final which they lost to Rangers.[1] During that time he also completed a course in physical education and primary teaching atJordanhill College,[1] and was also a member of the pop music group Hammy and the Hamsters formed by six Dundee players.[7]
Brown signed forFalkirk in 1965 on a part-time basis and went on to make 42 total appearances atBrockville.[8] He was released in 1967 and signed forStranraer, but his injured knee almost immediately required him to call time on his playing career, and he returned the signing-on fee he had received from the club.[1]
Brown quickly showed a keen interest in being involved in the coaching side of football and he became assistant manager ofMotherwell in 1974.[9] He got his first managerial job as part-time manager ofClyde in 1977, where he spent ten seasons – winning theSecond Division championship in his first season[10] – whilst also working as a primary school head teacher then a lecturer in primary education at Craigie College, Ayr.[11]
Brown was in charge of Scotland's youth teams. In 1989, he coached Scotland's Under-16s to the final of the1989 FIFA U-16 World Championship[10] and three years later coached theunder-21s to the semi-finals of the1992 UEFA Under-21 Championship.[12]
In July 1986, he took up the post of assistant manager of Scotland, also with responsibility for the under-21 team.[13] Brown was assistant manager toAlex Ferguson for the Scotland senior team's campaign at the1986 FIFA World Cup (the appointment he said 'changed his life' as it enabled him to move from being a part-time manager and teacher to a full member of the national coaching setup), and served the same role underAndy Roxburgh at the1990 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 1992. He succeeded Roxburgh initially on an interim basis, after the team failed to qualify for the1994 FIFA World Cup; his debut was a 3–1 loss away toItaly.[14]
Brown took Scotland toEuro 96, as the team only conceded three goals in 10 qualifying matches[14] as they finished second inGroup 8. AnAlly McCoist goal againstGreece, scored with his first touch as a substitute after a long period out of international football due to a broken leg, proved key to securing qualification.[15]
Scotland were drawn in the finals with theNetherlands,England (the host nation) andSwitzerland. The opening game against the Netherlands ended in a goalless draw, then the match against England hinged on two moments late in the second half. With the score standing at 1–0 to England,Gary McAllister had apenalty kick saved byDavid Seaman and almost straight awayPaul Gascoigne scored a brilliant goal to secure a 2–0 England win.[16] This left Scotland needing an unlikely combination of results from the final games to qualify, but for a while this was happening as another McCoist goal gave them a 1–0 lead against Switzerland while the Netherlands were losing 4–0 to England.[17] The Scots were unable to add to their lead, however, and a goal byPatrick Kluivert narrowed the Dutch defeat to 4–1, which meant that they progressed on goals scored.[17]
Scotland also qualified for the1998 World Cup under Brown, again only conceding three goals in their 10 qualifying matches[14] as they finished second inUEFA Group 4. A notable incident during that qualifying phase was whenEstonia refused to turn up for amatch in Tallinn against Scotland.[18] Brown had complained about the poor standard offloodlighting at theKadriorg Stadium, which prompted FIFA to bring forward the kick-off time on the morning of the game.[18] This decision upset the Estonians, who had their preparations disrupted and stood to lose some television revenue.[18] Brown thought the Estonians would just protest the kick-off change and turn up at the last minute, but they did not and Scotland were left to kick-off without any opposition.[18] The FIFA delegate at the match believed Scotland would be awarded a walkover win, but instead a committee ordered the game to be replayed at a neutral site.[18]
Scotland were drawn inGroup A at the finals withBrazil,Norway andMorocco.[19] As Brazil were the World Cup holders, this meant that Scotland played in the opening match of the tournament.[19] Much of the preparation for that match focused on how to stop the star Brazilian strikerRonaldo, with his former club managerBobby Robson advising Brown that the only way would be to stop him receiving the ball.[19] The Scots were able to restrict Ronaldo, but lost 2–1 due to aCesar Sampaio header from acorner and an unfortunateown goal byTom Boyd.[19] Brown cited a lack of on-field preparations immediately before the game, which were limited by opening match ceremonies, for them conceding the first goal from aset piece.[19][20]
A 1–1 draw with Norway left Scotland needing a positive result against Morocco in their third match to have a chance of progressing.[19] Scotland lost that match 3–0 and were eliminated them from the tournament, although a Norwegian win against Brazil meant that Morocco did not progress either.[19] The result against Morocco was heavily criticised as Scotland had rarely conceded more than two goals in a game under Brown, although he cited secondary statistics (shots at goal, possession and corners) which suggested the performance was better than the one-sided scoreline.[19]
Scotland finished second in theirUEFA Euro 2000 qualifying group, which meant they entered aplayoff againstEngland. Scotland lost the first leg 2–0 atHampden Park, but then won 1–0 at the oldWembley in the second, losing 2–1 on aggregate.[21]Paul Scholes scored both England goals in the tie.[22] Brown cited an injury toPaul Lambert, who would have been assigned with the task of marking Scholes, as being key to the Scots losing the tie.[22]
After Scotland finished third in their2002 FIFA World Cup qualification group and failed to qualify for theWorld Cup, Brown resigned as Scotland manager in October 2001.[23] He was replaced by GermanBerti Vogts. Brown took charge of Scotland for 70 international matches, more than any other Scotland manager. He won 32 games, drew 18 and lost 20.[14] Scotland did not qualify for another major tournament untilEuro 2020, and 1998 is still their most recent appearance in a men's World Cup finals.[14][22]
Brown then had a spell in club management when he was appointed manager ofPreston North End in April 2002, but left by mutual consent on 29 August 2004 after a poor start to the league campaign.[24] He later had a brief spell as football consultant atDerby County under former protégéBilly Davies, helping them win promotion to thePremier League in2006–07. He was one of eight members of staff sacked alongside Davies in November after a poor start to the2007–08 Premier League season.[25]
In October 2008, the 68-year-old Brown was linked to the vacant managerial position withScottish First Division sideDundee, but the job went toJocky Scott.[26]
On 28 December 2009, it was announced that Brown would be taking charge ofMotherwell, withArchie Knox as his assistant.[27] Brown and Knox established Motherwell in the top six of theScottish Premier League during their time in charge.[28]
Brown, who was working without a contract at Motherwell, rebuffed an initial approach byAberdeen on 8 December 2010.[28] He then had a change of heart after a second approach was made, and was appointed Aberdeen manager on 10 December.[29]
On 14 March 2013, Brown announced he was retiring from football management at the end of the 2012–13 season.[30] His retirement date was brought forward whenDerek McInnes was appointed to the position on 5 April, with Brown accepting a position on the Aberdeen board.[31]
Brown was appointedCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the1999 Birthday Honours for services to football.[32][33] Brown was also awarded an honorary Doctorate of Arts byAbertay University in 2001.[34]
Brown had two brothers:[1]Jock was a football commentator, and Bob was the minister atQueen's Cross Parish Church in Aberdeen from 1984 until his retirement in 2008.[35] Brown's grandson and namesake, Craig, plays forMontrose.[36]
Brown died on 26 June 2023, five days before his 83rd birthday.[14][2][37] His funeral was held at Masonhill Crematorium inAyr, followed by a memorial service atAyr Racecourse, on 25 July.[38]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Clyde[39] | August 1977 | May 1986 | 410 | 136 | 118 | 156 | 033.17 |
| Scotland U21[40] | September 1986 | November 1993 | 44 | 19 | 7 | 18 | 043.18 |
| Scotland[41][a] | 13 October 1993 | 30 October 2001 | 71 | 32 | 18 | 21 | 045.07 |
| Scotland B[44] | February 1994 | February 1995 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 050.00 |
| Preston North End[45] | 29 April 2002 | 29 August 2004 | 106 | 36 | 30 | 40 | 033.96 |
| Motherwell[46] | 29 December 2009 | 10 December 2010 | 44 | 21 | 9 | 14 | 047.73 |
| Aberdeen[46] | 13 December 2010 | 6 April 2013 | 106 | 36 | 30 | 40 | 033.96 |
| Total | 791 | 282 | 216 | 293 | 035.65 | ||
Dundee
Clyde
Scotland U16
Scotland U21
Individual
Scotland squads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
