PERS. INFORMATION

CLUB HISTORY

• Aberdeen FC | Youth – 2013
• Forfar Athletic FC | – 2011 (loan)
• Forfar Athletic FC | – 2013 (loan)
• Peterhead FC | 2013 – 2018
• Cove Rangers FC | 2018 – 2020
• Peterhead FC | 2020 – …

INTERVIEW

Introduce yourself…

Hi I am Jordon Brown, 32 years old now and privileged to be current co player/manager of Peterhead Football Club. I have been in this role alongside Ryan Strachan since April 2023 when I was the youngest manager in the SPFL at 30 years old. It has been a quick step into the management side of things across this period but everyday is about learning and improving and I wouldn’t swap anything about this journey. I’ve played professionally now since the age of 16 which has been 4 years full time at Aberdeen FC and 9 years at Peterhead so far across 2 spells with periods on loan at Forfar and a successful time at Cove Rangers playing a part in their rise into the senior leagues. At the age of 29 I was offered the chance to join the coaching side at Peterhead under Jim McInally as a player coach and this kick started my journey into coaching/management.

How do you prepare mentally and physically before a game to ensure you’re sharp throughout? 

It is a bit different now with the management side of things on your mind 24 hours a day, always looking forward whilst reflecting on what could be improved on, to ensure the players and team as a whole are best prepared to get the right result in the next game. Physically I haven’t been involved as much this season but I have and always will prepare as normal throughout the week as if i was going to be playing 90 minutes on the Saturday. This involves our 2 training sessions together, 4 gym sessions, a sensible diet and the key part is getting the correct amount of rest and recovery in and amongst all of the above. This has become more challenging as my day job as a Project Manager at a global oil and gas company has become more demanding as well as raising my 16 month old daughter with my fiancée, but this again just about balance and I am clearly someone who enjoys being busy so it keeps the calendar full and in as much routine as possible!

Jordon, can you take us back to your early days in the Aberdeen FC youth system? What were some of the key lessons you learned during that time?  

Priceless lessons learned which at times you wish you could go back and bottle all of the advice up to refer to and share throughout your career. We were lucky in that we had a really successful youth team with the major making appearances for the first team and a lot also going on to have top careers. I had some brilliant coaches even from under 14 level in Raymond Yule, to under 17s in Colin Walker and then when I was lucky enough to go full time and play in the under 19s/20s/reserves I learned so much under probably the person who had the biggest impact, which was Neil Cooper. He was hard but fair in what was probably a slightly different type of game back in 2009-2010. Every player had that right level of fear and respect for him which looking back drove the best out of the majority of players and toughened us all up for strong careers.

How did it feel to sign your first professional contract with Aberdeen FC in 2009? Did you feel ready for the step up?  

It was a dream come true to go full time at my boyhood club where I was born and raised. I actually did feel ready as I had done an extra year at under 17s which allowed me to stay on at school and achieve highers that would set me up for live outwith full time football. I was also a November birthday so left at 16 instead of 15. I loved everything about it and everyday was a privilege.

Your first-team experience at Aberdeen FC included appearances in pre-season friendlies against big teams like Villarreal and Borussia Mönchengladbach. What was that like?  

When I got in and around the first team after scoring quite a few goals in the youth team it always felt really surreal. My first experience was under Mark McGhee when I was on the bench a few times in 2010/2011, I will always remember the first one at Motherwell away and clapping the fans which included my family then one of the first times at Pittodrie was against Rangers who my family had always supported which was special too. Although I never got on during this season, it was really special to be involved. My first taste like you say was in these pre season trips where we played against players like Marco Reus and Ter Stegen as well as the one against Villarreal at Pittodrie who had players like Marcos Senna who had won the World Cup. Playing in these games made you feel like you were more and more ready to compete for appearances in the first team.

A high was also playing in Stavanger for the first team and scoring alongside Cammy Smith who is also a teammate now and key player for our Peterhead team. Making my official debut at Kilmarnock in October 2012 was the icing on the cake and a day I will always remember, along with my only other official appearance against St Johnstone later on that year.

What was your reaction when you got your first loan move to Forfar Athletic in 2011? How different was the playing experience there compared to Aberdeen? 

It was so important at this stage of my career around the fringes of the Aberdeen first team that I went out and played senior football. Nicky Low and Joe Shaugnessy had just went out and Dick Campbell had asked Craig Brown for me too, so when 2 managers of that experience tell me I’m going on loan, I jumped at the chance. I started really well scoring 2 goals in a friendly and then hitting the post on my debut but I think it was a real eye opener to how competitive and good the standard really was, with a lot of ex pros playing their trade in these leagues, which has only increased now! Obviously as per the below my time was cut short in only my 4th appearance.

Unfortunately, your time at Forfar was cut short due to a serious cruciate ligament injury. How did you cope with that setback?   

This was the real point in my career when looking back I don’t think I realised how serious this injury was. It wasn’t something I had heard of but nowadays you see it happen more and more regularly and therefore the treatment is getting stronger and stronger. I was so so lucky to be full time when it happened and at 18 although it clearly meant I missed almost a full year of football, it allowed me time to recover and come back stronger. I actually done both my medial and cruciate ligament and have to give full credit to the Aberdeen physio team at the time Davie Wylie and John Sharp who saved my career. There were players who had been through similar around the same time such as Fraser Fyvie and Russell Anderson who really helped in my recovery.

Of course you always think what might have been had it not happened but for me it created a stronger mental and physical resilience and made hungry to still have a good career. Making my first team official debut for Aberdeen after this was always my aim and thankfully I achieved this along with over 400 career appearances and 60 odd goals on a personal note, with numerous trophies and a national cup final on a team level.

Signing for Cove Rangers in 2018 must have been an exciting new chapter. Can you tell us about your time there and the incident that led to the abandoned match?  

Cove Rangers was unique and really special in the sense that the majority of the team were all really close mates from either our Aberdeen youth days or from just general out of football friends. It was a team spirit that was without doubt the closest I experienced and think it would be right up there with any team throughout the world due to our on and off field connections. We were all also in the peaks of our careers and this allowed us to win the Highland league and 2 cups then make it through the semi final and final of the gruelling play off promotion pyramid to make the step up to the senior leagues for the first time in the clubs history.

Scoring in both legs of the play off final then in the first league game the following season was personally a proud moment in my career, and completed the full journey from that scary day when the stadium was opened and game abandoned. Looking back it was again a really low moment in my career in which I just went on for an obnoxious header with a former teammate Andy Considine and he headed my temple which in turn knocked me out. Luckily I spent the day in hospital, all the staff were incredible and I got away with severe concussion. However the following 3 months were really really challenging physically and mentally so to finish the season like we did is something that makes me look back on this time with a real pride and positive emotions.  

Jordon, you returned to Peterhead FC in December 2020. What drew you back to the club?  

Peterhead had always felt like home as it was my first club I signed for at a part time level and had brilliant success in winning a league, promotion and playing in a national cup final. It was also the same manager who had such an influence in my career, Jim McInally, that was still there and was keen to get me back when I had fallen out of favour at Cove so it was great to feel wanted again. I also belief it is the best move I could have possibly made as I wouldn’t have been in the position I am today if I didn’t decide to leave cove and return to Peterhead when I did.

What advice would you give to young players trying to break into professional football?

As cliche as it is, it has to start with hard work and not just hard work in a run yourself into the ground way, but hard work in a smart way where every session you do or workout you do is worthwhile and you are gaining something from it. Go out and play senior football at the earliest age possible for that exposure no matter if it is below the level you see yourself at, it will do world of good long term. Preparing and managing yourself to be in peak condition for a matchday is different for everyone so don’t feel the pressures of someone else doing things differently, it will likely also change season on season as you progress through your career and that’s a good thing, change is good with the correct timings to be able to constantly improve. Football has changed a lot with the technologies so take advantage of these but don’t get over complicated by them, preparation, rest and recovery are just as important. Have that personal pride and care in your own performance and a good one I always thought of was look to get a mention in the match report, positively of course!