Brown, Mark

B | Player Pics | A-Z of Players

Personal

Fullname: Mark Brown
Born: 28 February 1981
Birthplace: Motherwell
Signed: 18 January 2007
Left:
30 January 2010
Position
: Goalkeeper
Debut: Hibernian 2-1 Celtic, League, 20 May 2007
Internationals: none

Biog

Brown, Mark - Kerrydale StreetGoalkeeper Mark Brown came to Celtic from Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 17th January 2007.

The keeper had started his career with Rangers (he was on their bench when Celtic won 5-1 in season 1997/98) before moving on to Motherwell and then Inverness Caley where he had impressed with his solid displays. With just six months remaining on his Inverness Caley contract he signed a three-and-a-half year deal with the Bhoys.

Brown knew he would be understudy to the world class Artur Boruc but despite Hibernian and Falkirk offering first team opportunities in the summer he couldn’t resist the chance to try his luck at Celtic Park.

He would have to wait for the last game of the season to make his first start for his new club (a 2-1 defeat at Hibs on May 20th) but an injury to Boruc meant Brown was also in goals at the start of the 2007/08 campaign when Celtic grabbed a vital 1-1 draw at Spartak Moscow in a Champions League qualifier.

After that occasion, opportunities were rare for Brown. He stood in for the injured Boruc in December but failed to impress as Celtic struggled to a 1-1 draw at home to St Mirren and then crashed 3-2 to Inverness Caley. Regarded as a deputy & occasional stand-in there were few (if any) Celtic fans who, after being spoilt by the top quality displays of Boruc, were happy with Brown as the No.1.

In truth he was not a great keeper, and overall a poor signing. His ability was much questioned especially after the aforementioned 3-2 loss to Inverness Caley, and there are few who would argue that Brown wasn’t at fault. One problem with having Brown was that it made Boruc overly comfortable in his slot, knowing that there was no serious substitute for him and likely partly contributed to Boruc’s loss of form.

Following the arrival of Zaluska to the squad as a new reserve goalkeeper, Brown was relegated in the pecking order (much to the relief of the more critical Celtic fans), and in August 2009 he was loaned out to Kilmarnock.

In January 2010 he moved to Hibernian for an undisclosed fee, and carried on from there. He wasn’t going to make it at Celtic and a change was for the best.

We wished him the best.

Post-Celtic

Despite not making it at Celtic, he did play a number of games, and followed this up with being a regular at Hibs, Ross County and then Dumbarton where he wrapped up his time in 2017.

Since moving on from football, he moved on to a career in the police service.

Playing Career

Club From To Fee League Scottish Cup League Cup Other
Hibs 30/01/2010
Kilmarnock 01/09/2009 30/01/2010 Loan 14 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 1 (0) 0 0 (0) 0
Celtic 18/01/2007 30/01/2010 Signed 13 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 1 (0) 0
Inverness CT 02/08/2002 18/01/2007 Free 170 (0) 0 16 (0) 0 11 (0) 0 6 (0) 0
Motherwell 01/06/2001 02/08/2002 Free 19 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 1 (0) 0 0 (0) 0
Rangers 01/07/1997 01/06/2001 Youth 4 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 1 (0) 0 0 (0) 0
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals

Honours with Celtic

Scottish League Cup

Pictures


Articles

Thursday 30th March 2017

GOALKEEPER Mark Brown has left the club to pursue a career with the police.

Manager Stevie Aitken confirmed the news today.

Mark, who is one of a handful of players who has played for both Old Firm clubs, Rangers and Celtic, was in the second year of a two-year deal with Dumbarton which he signed in 2015.

Now a qualified goalkeeping coach, he made 170 appearances for Inverness, 33 for Hibs and 62 for Ross County.

He made 31 appearances for Sons, with his last outing as a substitute for Alan Martin against Morton in January.

Everyone at DFC wishes him all the best in his new career.

Alan Findlay