Summer signing Michael Brown is hoping he can make it two Nationwide Conference championship medals in a row! The former Boston United midfielder enjoyed celebrating conference success last season with the Lincolnshire club and now he's hoping he can emulate those events at the Deva Stadium.

“I'm very optimistic,” said Brown. “I’m settling in really well. I want to start every game but with the squad we’ve got I think the manager will want to change it around week in, week out. Regardless of how we get on, if we win, lose or draw, I think he’ll be changing it around all the time.” Brown continued: “The team spirit is as good as any club I’ve been to. We’ve got one of the better squads in the league and we all feel pretty confident that we are going to do something this season. We’re all enjoying it, but obviously frustrated with our home performances.”

Brown proved he could become a promising attacking midfielder and displayed some bouts of good pace and ability during his home debut against Scarborough, however the player was disappointed with the overall result. “It was really frustrating to be honest with you. As far as my debut was concerned I didn’t think I did too badly. Obviously with the heat and it being my first game I did tire and got a bit sore, that’s why I came off towards the end. As far as the players are concerned though, we were all really frustrated. We dominated for most of the game, but we didn't create enough opportunities. It’s four games now undefeated and we haven’t conceded a goal so, we can’t be too despondent.”

Michael Brown first broke into football with Shrewsbury Town as an apprentice in 1985 and got his first big opportunity in the first team a year later. He went on to have spells with Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End and Rochdale, but in each case he returned back to his native Shrewsbury to continue his footballing career. Overall he has made an outstanding 418 Football League appearances, scoring 36 goals along the way.

After impressing in pre-season trials, Brown signed for Boston United at the beginning of the 2001/2002 season, but the gruelling treck to Lincolnshire from his home in Shrewsbury contributed greatly to his decision to sign for the Blues. “I was at Boston last season and I was doing a lot of travelling. I live in Shrewsbury so when I heard that Mark Wright was interested, I jumped at the chance to come here. He first spoke to me back in January and told me he was going to bring in a lot of players. He sold the club to me and said he was going to have a go at getting this club back into the football league. I’m happy to come here because this is a club that is looking to improve, looking to strengthen and wants to get out of this Conference league.”

Rob Ashcroft
29 August 2002