Paul Browne (footballer)

Paul Gerard Browne (born 17 February 1975 in Glasgow) is a Scottish retired football defender.

Paul Browne
Personal information
Full name Paul Gerard Browne[1]
Date of birth (1975-02-17) 17 February 1975
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Playing position(s) Central defender
Youth career
Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1996 Aston Villa 3 (0)
1996–2003 Raith Rovers 218 (11)
2002 → Arbroath (loan) 16 (0)
2003 Nuneaton Borough 26 (3)
2003 → Hinckley United (loan) 22
2003–2004 Arbroath 21 (0)
– Scotland under-21 4[2]
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Browne began his career in England with Premier League side Aston Villa, featuring in two league matches towards the end of the 1995–96 season. Despite his two starts, Browne was sold to Scottish Premier Division side Raith Rovers in the summer and made his debut for the Kirkcaldy side in a 1–0 defeat against Rangers. Featuring in a number of matches that season, Browne played the majority of the following season following Raith's relegation, scoring twice. In the 1998–99 season, Browne suffered from ill discipline, receiving eleven bookings and one dismissal as Raith finished in eighth place, in a season which saw him fail to add to his two goals from the previous season. Browne netted four goals in 1999–00, helping Raith to mid-table safety but the following season yielded no goals as Raith survived relegation by just three points. In 2001–02, however, Raith finished bottom and were relegated to the Scottish Second Division. Browne featured initially for Raith, playing in a Scottish League Challenge Cup match and league match, but was sent on loan to Arbroath for the remainder of 2002, featuring sixteen times. Browne never played again for Raith and spent the remainder of the season with Nuneaton Borough[3] and Hinckley United on loan.

Hoax controversy

In July 2003, Browne returned to Arbroath, after previous target Eddie Forrest left on the promise of full-time football at Raith Rovers. Arbroath manager John Brownlie signed Browne as a replacement for Forrest, then discovered that Forrest had been duped. A telephone call that Forrest had believed to be from Danny Smith, the Raith chairman, had been a hoax. The caller had been Browne, Forrest's prospective replacement, although Browne argued it was "a friend". Forrest was reinstated at Arbroath and Browne summarily sacked, fleeing Scotland, although Forrest subsequently demanded to be allowed to join Partick Thistle, which led Brownlie to re-sign Browne to fill the defensive gap. Brownlie had to check with captain Andy Dow that the players would accept Browne after the hoax.[4][5][6]

Following his season back at Arbroath, Browne moved into junior football with Lochore Welfare, where he was playing up to 2008 before joining St Andrews United. In May 2009, Browne helped St Andrews defeat former club Lochore to clinch promotion to the Scottish Junior Football East Region Premier League.

Browne was capped by Scotland under-21 during his time at Aston Villa.

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References
  1. "Paul Browne". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  2. "Paul Browne". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  3. "Browne joins Nuneaton". BBC Sport. 3 January 2003. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  4. "Browne flees home after hoax". BBC Sport. 6 July 2003. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  5. "Arbroath to forgive hoaxer". BBC Sport. 14 August 2003. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  6. McColl, Graham (23 August 2003). "Strange case of the hoaxer and the Arbroath defender". The Times. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
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