Nordic Football News

“Please don’t take my Wayne Brown away” is the last line of a TPS supporters’ chant composed to honour one of their campaign’s heroes. But talking to NFN minutes after he coolly netted a last-second penalty to give TPS a vital set of points against Tampere United, he revealed that as much as he appreciates his fans’ prayers, they are to no avail.

“I am going to play against VPS in Vaasa (on August 16th). Then that’s it for me, I’ll be going back home.”

The Fulham loanee, who turns 21 on August 6th, always had his loan deal expiring on August 16th, but TPS supporters hoped he might re-join the club through the back door. The fact that by the time Brown gets back to London, Fulham have already kicked off their season at Portsmouth’s Fratton Park only added weight to the hopes, as it could have been an indication that Brown is not actively involved in manager Roy Hodgson’s first-team plans. But his agent has been in contact with the former Finland head coach during Brown’s loan spell, and Brown himself is targeting a more active role with the first team.

“When I go home, the first thing I will do is rest for a week or two, as I have played constantly for about a year now. Then I want to try and break into the first team. Train with them every day and hopefully play a few more games”, says the Fulham Academy graduate, who made his Premier League debut in Fulham’s 3-0 loss against Manchester United last February.

While Brown clearly has no intention to come back and stay until October, when the Finnish season ends, he has still enjoyed his stay in Finland.

“This has been exactly what I needed, the very reason I came here was playing games. This has been great for my experience as a player. It was a great decision from me to come here.”

“I get to play in front of crowds every week. I have played vital games, like derbies and games like today – you know, TamU would have been on the same points with us if we had lost.”

“Everyone has been great to me – the club, the players and the fans. I’m delighted that we are doing so well in the league”, enthused Brown, whose penalty meant TPS reduced the gap to HJK to just one point at the top of the table.

Nobody needs a journalist or a loan player from a Premier League team to tell a Finn that Veikkausliiga is not quite on level terms with its English counterpart, but Finns do have a tendency to underestimate their own league. Wayne Brown’s opinion is that the standard of the Finnish game is quite alright.

“TPS play a bit like Fulham, passing out through the back, come through the midfield, use the wide players, so it’s really good for me. And in general, there are some very good players in the league.”

Brown himself has been integral to his team’s fortunes. He has scored four goals and assisted four in just 17 games, and generally helped his team a lot with his ability in the midfield. Replacing him will be a challenge for TPS, but if they somehow manage to pull it off, they could be on their way to title glory.