Without a club at the age of 20, Lee Brown made a life-changing phone call that reignited his career – and it’s an example to all young footballers that they should never give up on their dreams.
After being released by QPR, Lee was heading into a new season contemplating life outside football, but a call to then Bristol Rovers manager Paul Buckle changed everything.
What followed was Lee giving absolutely everything to make it as a footballer, moving away from home for the first time on a 10-game deal to earn a contract.
Fast forward 13 years and Lee, who helped Bristol Rovers to a successive promotions and EFL Trophy Final success with Portsmouth, is aiming to pass on all of his experience to our young players, including fellow full-back Jack Currie.
In an extensive interview for a recent matchday programme, Lee talked about the experiences that shaped his career, making more progress with his property business, and his switch to centre-back at the age of 33!
In case you missed it, the full interview is reproduced below.
You’ve been showing how much you can still offer at the heart of our defence, but have you been making plans for when your career is over?
For the past five or six years I’ve been involved with property – I own a development company. I’m really passionate about this and it all started when I was in Bristol. I bought a house when I was there, I built one on the side, and things just developed from there. I’ve been buying land and building 6-10 houses all over South London and it’s really gathering pace. It’s something that I’ll definitely be doing more of when my football career ends. I started it all in Bristol on my own, so it was a bit of a risk, but it all paid off. There’s a lot of time, effort, and research that goes into it.
You’ve been revitalised recently by a switch to centre-back – did the change of role come as a surprise to you?
Yes, it was a surprise. It has come about due to a negative situation with injuries to other players. If Joe and Ryan were fit I wouldn’t be getting the opportunity – I’m fully aware of that – but football is a funny game. I had been waiting for a chance to play since the first 9 or 10 games this season, I was playing then because Jack was injured.
I feel I’ve done okay, but I’m certainly not the finished article at centre-back – that’s for sure! I can remember playing one game there at Stevenage, but this has been the first time I’ve played a run of games in this position. At this stage of my career, you just want to play as much as you can and take every opportunity you get. If I can make some sort of impact on the pitch for the team, then that’s great.
Do you thrive on passing on your experience to the younger players in our squad?
I enjoy that side of things – watching JC develop as a left-back and helping him in any way that I can. We have a really good relationship, I try to support him in any way possible, and I really want him to do well in his career. If I can help him improve by one or two per cent, just by passing on some advice, it will mean a lot. I try to give him as much support as possible because I’d love him to go on and have a great career in the game.
How did you first get started in football?
I was playing local football for Croydon FC and I got spotted by a scout from Arsenal. I was there from the age of nine until 15. It was good because I was at one of the best academies in the country and players I was with went onto have fantastic careers. Steve Bould and Paul Davis were my main coaches, so it was a very good grounding from a young age. After leaving Arsenal I went to QPR, where I stayed until I was 20.
After being allowed to leave QPR, was it a real challenge to get your career moving in the right direction?
I remember Neil Warnock informing me that I wasn’t going to get another year at QPR and I thought I was on the scrapheap. I had nothing on the table that summer, but I went on holiday to Mexico with a friend who had been due to sign for Bristol Rovers and he encouraged me to call Paul Buckle. It was getting really late in the window, so I got back from holiday and asked my friend for Paul’s number. I remember I was at my Dad’s garage and I called Paul, saying, ‘it’s Lee Brown, I’m not sure you know me, but I’ve just been let go by QPR, do you need a left-back?’ Paul told me I had called him at the right time because he was just about to sign a left-back, but he was mucking him about. Paul said, ‘give me five minutes and I will call you back’. He contacted Mick Jones, who was Neil Warnock’s Assistant, and asked him what I was like. Mick must have given me a good reference because Paul called me back and said, ‘tell me a bit about yourself, I really appreciate you calling me and not your agent’. I told him that I would give everything for the opportunity and thankfully he offered me a deal.
Did you feel that this was your big opportunity to make it as a footballer?
I couldn’t believe it, I nearly fell off my chair! I was offered peanuts – it was next to nothing – but Paul said he would give me a new contract if I had proven myself after 10 games. I told my Dad and he couldn’t believe it! I was 20 years of age and it involved moving away from home, but it was a great opportunity to stay in football and earn a new contract. I was very fit at the time – probably the fittest I’ve been in my career – and I started every game. Paul was true to his word as I signed a new contract after showing what I could do. It was a risk to move away from home with no guarantees, but it was well worth it in the end.
It was the most important phone call I ever made. It was probably rare for someone so young to call up a first-team manager, but Paul seemed to really appreciate it.
What would you say is the highlight of your career so far?
Scoring the goal for Bristol Rovers in the last minute at home that earned promotion was so special. I’ve had three trips to Wembley, including winning the EFL Trophy for Portsmouth versus Sunderland in front of 80,000 people. Winning that and taking a penalty in the shoot-out meant a lot.
What has been the toughest spell in your career?
I would say my first six months here when we got relegated. It had happened to me before, but that was early on in my career. It was very tough to take because of the run that we went on without winning a game.
Who have been the key coaching influences on your career?
Darrell Clarke and Marcus Stewart were really good to me and we achieved a double promotion, I still speak to them now. We were so together as a squad to achieve what we did, they created something special, and I’ve got to give them a lot of credit for that.
What would your advice be to a young player aiming to forge a career in the game?
To stick at it and keep going. I could easily have given up as it was late in the window and close to the start of a new season. I didn’t have one phone call offering me an opportunity that summer, so I could easily have decided that football wasn’t for me and gone down another avenue, but sometimes you have to risk it for a biscuit!
What are the main things that you do away from football?
I have three beautiful children, and they take up a lot of my time. I’ve also got the business that I oversee, so that doesn’t leave me with much spare time outside of that and the family.
Is coaching also an option for you later on in life?
I’d like to stay in football in some capacity, what that looks like I’m not too sure. I’m only 33 and I still feel I’ve got a lot to offer, in terms of knowledge and experience. I’m quite relaxed about the situation, but I do want to stay in football.
You’ve had success in your career – promotions and EFL Trophy success at Wembley – so do you think we’re in a good position as a club to push forward?
We’re in a reasonable position. I think it has been a blow for us losing Ali, there’s no getting around that because you only get bought for that money by Ipswich if you’re a good player. After losing a player like that, it was always going to take time for us to adapt, but we’ve got a good squad and we’re all together. We’re pushing as much as we possibly can to get into the play-offs and I think if you had said at start of the season that we would only be four points outside the top-seven with 10 games to go we’d have taken that.
After playing for two well supported clubs – Bristol Rovers and Portsmouth - do you feel a real sense of pride in playing for a fan-owned club at a new stadium?
I wouldn’t have left Portsmouth for any other club, I made that well-known when I signed. Wimbledon is a fantastic club, in terms of the infrastructure and the stadium, which is very good, especially at League Two level. Have we still got improvements to make at the Club? Of course we do, but I feel we’re making the right steps to be a real force going forward.
