Full name James Craig Brown CBE Years Team Career end 1971 Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland Name Craig Brown Position Wing half | Playing position Role Football player Siblings Jock Brown 1958–1960 Rangers Career start 1962 | |
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Date of birth (1940-07-01) 1 July 1940 (age 75) Similar People Archie Knox, Andy Roxburgh, Jock Brown, Derek McInnes | ||
Craig brown roadtowembley part 9 craig previews match with sky sports news at trafalgar square
James Craig Brown CBE (born 1 July 1940) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. He is currently a non executive director of Aberdeen. Brown was manager of Scotland from 1993 to 2001, the longest tenure for a Scotland manager and was undefeated in 50 of his 70 games in charge. Under Brown, Scotland qualified for both UEFA Euro 1996 in England and the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. He has also managed Aberdeen, Motherwell, Preston North End and Clyde.
Contents
- Craig brown roadtowembley part 9 craig previews match with sky sports news at trafalgar square
- Playing career
- Clyde
- Scotland
- Preston North End
- Motherwell
- Aberdeen
- Personal life
- Managerial statistics
- Player
- Manager
- Personal
- References
He was awarded the CBE in 1999 for services to football. He has 2 Honorary Doctorates, a BEd(Hons) and BA degree.
Playing career
Brown was born in Glasgow, but brought up in Hamilton. Educated at the former Hamilton Academy, Brown played for the school in Scottish schools competitions and in youth and junior international teams, before joining Rangers in 1958 from Coltness United.
He failed to find a regular first team place, and moved to Dundee on loan in January 1960. Brown was the first signing of Dundee manager Bob Shankly. The move was made permanent in the summer of 1960. Brown always travelled with the Dundee first team squad but as this was before substitutes were commonly used, he didn't make a competitive appearance until November 1961 when captain Bobby Cox was injured. Brown played in nine consecutive league games before becoming injured himself on 31 March in a 3-2 win against bottom placed Stirling Albion. Dundee won the Scottish league title that season and Brown's nine appearances entitled him to a medal. Brown stayed at Dundee for four and a half injury dogged years. He was never a first team regular and only made 16 appearances for the Dark Blues.
He signed for Falkirk in 1965 and went on to make 17 appearances at Brockville. He called time on his playing career in 1967 after five operations on his knee.
Clyde
Brown quickly showed a keen interest in being involved in the coaching side of football and he became assistant manager of Motherwell in 1974. He got his first managerial job as part-time manager of Clyde in 1977, where he spent ten seasons – winning the Second Division championship in his first season – whilst also working as a primary school head teacher then a lecturer in primary education.
Scotland
He returned to football full-time in 1986 when SFA Secretary Ernie Walker appointed him as assistant manager to the national men's senior team. Brown was also in charge of Scotland's youth teams. In 1989, he coached Scotland's Under-16s to the final of the 1989 FIFA U-16 World Championship and three years later coached the under-21s to the semi-finals of the 1992 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.
Brown was appointed as manager of Scotland in December 1993, having been caretaker manager for the games against Italy and Malta. Brown took Scotland to Euro 96 and the 1998 World Cup, but resigned in 2001 having failed to take Scotland to Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup. He was replaced by German Berti Vogts. Under Brown, Scotland beat England in the last ever Euro Championship qualifier at the old Wembley in 1999 by one goal to nil, although they lost the tie 2–1 on aggregate. He took charge of Scotland for 70 international matches, more than any other Scotland manager.
Preston North End
He then had a spell in club management when he was appointed as manager of Preston North End in 2002 but left by mutual consent on 29 August 2004 after a poor start to the league campaign. He later had a brief spell as football consultant at Derby County under former protégé Billy Davies, helping them win promotion to the Premier League in 2006–07.
In October 2008, 68-year-old Brown was linked to the vacant managerial position with Scottish First Division side Dundee, but the job went to Jocky Scott.
Motherwell
On 28 December 2009 it was announced that Brown would be taking charge of Motherwell, with Archie Knox as his assistant. Brown and Knox established Motherwell in the top six of the Scottish Premier League during their time in charge.
Aberdeen
Brown, who was working without a contract at Motherwell, rebuffed an initial approach by Aberdeen on 8 December 2010. He then had a change of heart after a second approach was made, and was appointed Aberdeen manager on 10 December.
On 14 March 2013, Brown announced he was retiring from football management at the end of the 2012–13 season. His retirement date was brought forward when Derek McInnes was appointed to the position on 5 April, with Brown accepting a position on the Aberdeen board.
Personal life
His brother is commentator Jock Brown. His other brother Bob was a Minister at Queen's Cross Parish Church in Aberdeen until retirement in 2008.