Exclusive Interview with Wes Brown: Insights on Manchester United’s Future, Paul Pogba, Sunderland’s Ambition, and the Modern Game

Last updated: 20 May 2025 by Leon Marshal

Wes Brown is a former Premier League defender, renowned for his long and successful career with Manchester United, winning numerous trophies, including five Premier League titles and two Champions League medals. The ex-England international, who also represented Sunderland, joins the Best Betting Sites team for an exclusive interview to share his insights on his time at Sunderland, the prospects of Paul Pogba at Manchester United, youth development, managerial situations, and much more from across the footballing world.

Brown’s Thoughts About Sunderland

Wes Brown – © Wikimedia Commons, CC-by-sa 4.0 (Image widened by A.I)

During your time at Sunderland, the recruitment policy was different to where it is now. Do you think things would have gone differently if those policies were in place back then?

Yeah, I think it would have been a bit different. I think back then, they went for some really big players, especially when I was there myself. John O’Shea came in, and a few other players. I think the problem we had over the five years I was there is simple: we had seven different managers. That’s over a manager a season.

Those managers, they will all want to bring their own players in, they will want to bring their own staff in, and it didn’t quite work. I wasn’t there when they went down. It was a shame when they did, but the issues I saw first-hand didn’t really change after I left. We were always struggling, and I think the main issue at the time was we couldn’t score goals. If you look at that overall, if you watched us week in, week out, we weren’t particularly that bad. We just couldn’t score.

It was very difficult, we obviously managed to stay up but there was never really any progress, and I think it hampered it a lot. And then once they went down. I mean, we all watched the documentary. It probably couldn’t have been any worse. It was such a shame.

“But the right mentality wasn’t there and the whole process of bringing in players wasn’t right.”– Wes Brown on Sunderland’s previous struggles..

But this season’s gone really well up until now and I’m hoping, especially when they look back to where they’ve been, they’ve just got that little bit of edge now going into the final.

This is a young Sunderland squad. If they win the play-off final, do you think the club should stick with what got them there, or do they look to add more experienced players to the starting XI?

It’s tough. If you look at the percentages of the teams that come up, normally they go back down. Sometimes, maybe a club really has a good season and we’ve seen that happen. One team of the three can often do quite well, but normally at least two of the three go down. So there’s a chance Sunderland need to look at the future, and the long-term. Going up this time might not mean staying up. We’ve seen teams go up, back down, then up again and stay up. And that’s okay too.

Yes, they should bring in a few experienced guys, but I think it would be good if that was done carefully, and only in the right places. Do you go to the extreme and completely change this squad to older players with Premier League experience? I don’t think they will. I think especially if you’ve got some of these players contracted over two or three years, I think you can work with that.

I think they will bring some extra experience in, in small doses. You have to bring that dimension in because you just look at Ipswich as a good example. Look how nicely they set themselves up and how well they played. But in the Premier League, it just didn’t quite work out.

The other teams were stronger, and even though Kieran McKenna has done a great job, it was just a case of, if you don’t bring in the extra reinforcements, it’s very hard to compete with the top teams and the top players in the Premier League. So that’s a decision you have to make.

I think you can take a little bit of a gamble on seasoned players recruited for their experience of the top flight, but I think also the team that got you there absolutely deserves to have a chance and show what they can do.

Sunderland are a side where the fans can often be heard saying: ‘we belong in the Premier League’. Would you agree?

I get that many will believe that nobody ‘belongs’ anywhere – you earn it on the pitch. But listen, the fans at Sunderland are so passionate. If you look at the attendances across the leagues they’ve been in, theirs are by far the highest. This club has the stature to do it.

And they’ve not managed to get there yet, but they’ve managed to get themselves in a position where they could be back in there with one more win, and you have to remember the fans, by going to the games, they also help week in, week out. They’re still keeping the club going, and they want to see them back there.

Sunderland are a club that have the history. Even how they got back to the Premier League in the first place after being out for many years. The club and the fans definitely earned the right to feel like they deserve to be there. I completely understand that.

And it’s not just a case of it being just an opinion of theirs. It’s a state of mind. It’s the belief that is driving them forward from where they once were. Do you know why they say that? Have you ever been to Sunderland? Believe me, Sunderland is football, and that’s it.

It doesn’t matter if you go into the local shop, it doesn’t matter if you go to a restaurant. The whole place is just focused on football. It’s absolutely brilliant. And that’s the reason they say that, I would say. They turn up every week regardless of where they are, or who they’re playing, and you have to give them credit for that.

After all the work Sunderland have put in over the last few years to turn things around, it now comes down to that one game. How does the mentality change?

Yeah, it’s crazy. I mean, honestly. I’ve been in many finals and obviously won a lot, but I’ve lost a fair few as well. And I think with these games, tiredness doesn’t come into it. The adrenaline will be so high, and it’s all about remembering how you got there in the season, all the difficult times, all the good times, and you must try and focus your mind on playing well for this one game to do the entire season justice. It’s as simple as that.

And it isn’t just individually, but as a team. First of all, individually you don’t want to make any mistakes, but can you handle the pressure? And that’s what it all comes down to. Mentality. I honestly believe that. And that’s where the team aspect comes in. If I do my job, everyone else is doing their job. We’re here for a reason. We’ve got a chance and it’s as simple as that. Yes, you want things to go well on the day. You want to have a little bit of luck if possible. But I always think you make your own luck as well. So, if you give it everything, you know in your mind the team’s got a great chance to win, regardless of who it is, and that’s how you have to approach the game.

How do you think Sunderland would cope with a Premier League return?

Well, first, they’ve got to win the play-off final, of course. I think it can happen, and obviously in some way it’s a bit of a gamble because it could work out, but when it doesn’t, it can set you back quite a bit, they’ve been through that more than once in the past, and I think that’s where Sunderland have got to.

And then it’s just a matter of, you’ve just sort of got to start again a little bit. Last time in the top flight, obviously the calibre of players they were trying to buy were Premier League players but it just didn’t quite work out. And for the last, what, six, seven, eight years? It’s taken them that long to get back into the mix but it’s a great club. The fans, the staff that have been there for years off the pitch… they’re all brilliant people and they deserve to be as high as they can be.

Brown’s Thoughts on Manchester United

Your other former team, Manchester United, are in the Europa League final, but against fellow Premier League side Tottenham. Do you think United would have preferred to be facing someone from another league in the final?

Probably. I think, well, they beat us three times this season, and for whatever reason, this particular tournament has gotten the best out of the players. Whether it’s the atmosphere, maybe being away from the problems in the league, the climate of European nights, I don’t know.

In the Premier League, obviously, we’ve been very poor. It’s as simple as that. But in this cup, we’ve not only shown that we can play well, but we can come back and get back into a game and really energise the fans into sort of the old ways, you know… that winning mentality. Regardless of what the score is, we can get back into it.

The good thing is that it is away, and we’ve already played at Bilbao as well. They know the stadium a little bit. The problem you’ve got is you’re now playing a Premier League team. It’s been good against the European teams. The way they play is a little bit different. They’ve worked that out. It’s just whether now this is going to be the same or it’s going to turn into an English Premier League game.

And all you can say is that you watch all the games you played against them this season, you look at their strong points, and you basically will know the players off by heart. You know what they’ve got. It’s not like sometimes in European game where yes, you do your homework, you know who you’re up against, but you’re not necessarily playing against these players every week.

They’ll have the benefit of knowing they beat us this season. But I think both teams understand that it’s not been a brilliant season in the Premier League.

“I’m guessing both teams will say, if we play well on the night, we’ll win because both teams have been as bad as each other in that sense.”– Wes Brown on the Europa League final.

The bonuses of winning this match are massive, and both teams will understand that, but at the same time, sort of put that at the back of their minds because being able to finish the season they’ve both had with a Champions League place is the biggest bonus you can think of. It’s like a ‘get out of jail free’ card. So the pressure will be immense for both teams and who puts that at the back of their minds most will be important. Just forget about the pressure and play the game. It’s going to be interesting.

Bruno Fernandes has urged the likes of Joshua Zirkzee, Amad Diallo, Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho to “step up” next season and beat him to the club’s player of the season award – which of those four can you see winning the award next season?

Bruno’s definitely been our star this season. I think Mazraoui’s played brilliant. And Amad as well. If he would have been able to stay fit and not get injured. I honestly think he would already be up there as well. I think he’s a great threat for the team. So if he’s fit next season, you can see that happening.

“But it’d be tough to beat Bruno. He shows up every game, even when the team is not playing well. He’d always be trying to do his hardest, and I think that’s what he expects the other players to do, really put in the work and show what they’ve got. “– Wes Brown on Bruno Fernandes.

But by far, Bruno deserves it this season.

Andre Onana’s future is subject to debate. Would you keep him as the club’s number one?

Yeah, I think you have to. Listen, he’s made some mistakes this season, and you don’t want that from a goalkeeper. But at the same time, I feel sometimes the pressure has been immense. Maybe he’s not handled it the best way, but at the same time, he still come back, the manager still puts him in.

Plus, I don’t think he can just sell somebody like that anyway. These players cost a lot of money. Fans need to understand, it’s not like a video game where you press one button and the player is sold. There’s a lot of factors. And I get these questions. I mean, we all do. I have talks with my mates all the time, and they’ll say ‘yeah, you should do this’. But it doesn’t work like that. I get what they’re saying, but it actually doesn’t work like that.

So, yeah, he will be there next season, and you can just hope he steps up and that’s all you can do. Because if he does, then all this talk goes out the window. It’s as simple as that. But you do have to give the lads some support, if they have had some bad games, you need to let them see that they’re still good enough, even after a bad game. Otherwise, it only gets worse.

But you definitely also have to trust going forward that he’s going to give more, he’s going to get better and be more consistent, because he’s a great shot stopper at times. He’s let in some silly goals. I think everyone admits that, but I think you need to give him the chance.

Next season as we go forward, obviously there’ll be new players there as well, and then it’s up to him. At times it’s been rough, but it’s the case for every player this season. At times, they’ve not been good enough. You can see it all over the pitch sometimes, and the standard needs to raise a little bit.

Based on what you have seen of them so far, can you see Ayden Heaven, Harry Amass or Tyler Fredricson establishing themselves as first team regulars?

They’ve honestly done really well. They’re great young lads like you said, When Fredricson played, you just never knew he was going to start, and then he’s on a team sheet one day, and he was excellent. You can see these lads are still growing physically, mentally.

This will sound bad but I was actually glad the gaffer didn’t play them more even though when they played, they were brilliant. Because you could see that they can do it. But at the same time, we’ve had a really difficult season overall, so you don’t want to keep playing them and tacking too much of their growth onto this horrible season, if you know what I mean.

“I’m hoping Ruben Amorim has told them: ‘you’re in the squad next season, you’ve done enough, but there’s no rush’. They’re still so very young. Like I said, not just mentally but physically as well, there’s more to come. “– Wes Brown on Manchester United’s breakthrough youngsters.

But by going carefully with them, he can tell them: ‘this season is not on you, next season is your season’. We just want them to progress in a really nice way, the right way. And next season, they’ll all obviously be a bit more mature as well.

But I think the gaffer has done really well in terms of managing their progress. He could have played them more when we’ve had the defensive injuries, but he’s been careful and when they have played, they’ve stepped up and done exactly what they’ve needed to do. Going forward, you will see a lot more of them next season.

How important is Champions League football for United to attract the calibre of players the club needs next season?

I think with United, don’t get me wrong, I still think they do get the players. Their reputation, their history, that is enough for some players, honestly. But being in the Champions League is massive. There are some of the top players who do think: ‘I want to be in the Champions League. I want to show what I can do there because it’s a big stage. It’s a big competition’.

Well, it’s the biggest competition, let alone a big one, and they want to be a part of that, the biggest competition. So obviously being in there will be massive, and it only helps out financially as well. And also, the next season’s a fresh start for every team. It’ll help attract the players, the Champions League money will help land them, and a lot of players, at the end of this season, will forget about what United have been through and just think it’s a new season, a new chapter, and it’s at Man United.

If you could pick one player that United sign this summer, who is it and why?

Well, I’m really fussy, me. I would stick to Premier League players because I think with them, you’ve seen that they can do it in this competition. Players that join from other leagues… I’m not saying they struggle, but you don’t know which ones will and which ones won’t. And United need some assurance right now. Some dead certs.

It’s horrible to think that they probably won’t be able to get some of the players they used to, like Alexander Isak. A player United would be linked with all day, in another time. But I would love to see another striker come in. I think Hojlund’s had to take a lot on this year by himself, and he’s not had the help. The backup is a 17-year-old. A really good player, but just through the Academy, and we need depth.

“With Premier League experience, I’d pick Matheus Cunha. He’d be the guy who, you know, he’s just like Bruno Fernandes. He’s that sort of guy who can do special things individually and also help the rest of the team, give them a lift. “– Wes Brown on who Manchester United should sign.

He takes responsibility. I think that’s a massive thing to add.

Bruno also does that at the moment and United have always had players like that, and we need more now. I think Cunha would love it at United.

There’s also Liam Delap. You can see he’s getting better and better for his age. You can see he’s got all the attributes. He’s quick, he’s strong, he works hard and if you’re building a team, I think that’s a big thing. He’s an absolutely perfect player.

I think Cunha has more, he’s obviously a little bit older, he’s more experienced and he can be that special sort of player for the club. But I did say we lacked depth, so I’d love a situation where we signed both Cunha and Delap! That would be perfect. Delap looks like he’s listening as a young lad and really wants to do well. Put him in a bigger club, that would help him tremendously. And Cunha is more of the flair player, who can get it done on big occasions. If United signed both, they’d be gaining big in two areas.

Do you think we could ever see Paul Pogba play for Man United again?

I think it’ll be difficult. Not many players go somewhere for a third spell. Maybe more in Italy, or somewhere else, I’m not sure. I just doubt it’ll happen. Pogba’s been out for a long time now and I know he’s working hard to get back. He’s doing his training. But United again? It’ll be tough.

I love Paul. I think he’s a brilliant player. He got a lot of stick, obviously, when he was here the last time. But you can’t fault his abilities or his contributions. He’s a top player, but I can’t see United happening again, going forward. I’m not sure the manager’s views on it, but I think United need other players right now and Paul needs a different club.

“He’s 32 now, and he’s not finished by any means. Paul is pure quality, but he has been out of the game for a while now, and that does take a little bit out of you. Yeah, believe me, I’ve been injured. It takes a bit out of you. United will need something else. It wouldn’t be a good fit. “– Wes Brown on Paul Pogba re-joining Manchester United.

Both Pogba and United have a lot of clawing back to do right now, but in different ways, I suppose.

There’s a prevailing belief that if Spurs lose the Europa League final, Ange Postecoglou could lose his job, but that Ruben Amorim isn’t under the same risk. Would you agree?

Yeah, I do. I think it’ll be fine. Listen, obviously we’d be disappointed if we don’t win and likewise so will Spurs, but Ruben’s had just over half a season. He would want to still get some of his players in which he won’t if the United board are trigger-happy, and then it’s back to square one again.

Obviously, he won’t be able to get them all in just in one summer, but he’ll still want to have time with the team, get his players in and obviously have a good preseason and go from there. I think he’ll be absolutely fine there. This, the chance to somehow get back in the Champions League from the bottom half of the table, is a complete crazy bonus. Never mind the financial gains, but the chance of playing in the Champions League when you’ve had such a disappointing season in the Premier League is massive. But I think Amorim will be absolutely fine.

Brown’s Thoughts About The FIFA Club World Cup

The FIFA Club World Cup will have some massive names taking part, who do you view as favourites?

It’s a tough one because the players play a lot, don’t they? And I know even in my day we played a lot, but they actually play more now, and that’s a fact. And whether it’s five or six games more, or even more than that. It’s hard. You don’t want players getting injured. You will still want to win the tournament, so there will be teams that are going out there to win it, and there’ll be teams that I think want to win absolutely anything they’re in.

But does that sacrifice make sense now? If players are tired, late doors in the season, players, the bodies… they need a bit of a break. Whether it’s three or four weeks and they need a little bit of a break. So it’ll be interesting to see how that goes.

But I still think once you go into a tournament, you go into it to win it, regardless. I’ve never heard a manager say, right, we’re going to ease off today in a game. And you’re just hoping that luck stays on your side regarding injuries, but you still go into every match trying to win the game, so everyone will want to win it. Simple as that.

The Team Behind This Interview

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