Guiseley Academy graduate Ollie Brown has signed a new two-year deal with the club and hopes the re-modelled squad can get off to a flying start, writes Rachel O’Connor.
As he enters his sixth season with the club Brown has committed himself to the Lions for the 2026/27 and 2027/28 campaigns as he looks to add to his 164 first team appearances. He reached the landmark 150th appearance last season in his second spell at Nethermoor.
Before the 2024/25 season the defender, who can also play in midfield, hadn’t struck a goal for the club but now has four to his name having netted twice in each of the last two campaigns.
Brown broke through to the first team in the Covid-19 hit 2020/21 campaign, a season where he led the Guiseley Academy to a landmark FA Youth Cup win at Bolton Wanderers.
The following season he made 30 appearances for the first team before joining Alfreton Town at the end of the 2021/22 campaign as he sought experience at senior level. After not being involved in the early stages of the season Brown moved to Atherton Collieries on loan where he remained for the rest of the campaign and this proved to be a valuable learning curve for him as he put in many notable performances.
He was then brought home to Nethermoor for his second spell and capped off the last two campaigns by winning the Young Player-of-the-Season award. This past season he also won the Craig Shearstone Guiseley AFC Supporters’ Club Player-of-the- Season award by a landslide of a vote.
Very popular with the Nethermoor crowd as a home-grown player 23 year-old Brown has now got used to being asked for his autograph saying: “A customer at the garage where I work in Yeadon even asked me to sign something, it is a bit unreal. Some responsibilities come with being a bit of a favourite with the fans but it is good that they support a local lad. I have been with the club since the age of 15 and I suppose the fans like to back one of their own and it is nice to feel that support but to be fair the Guiseley fans back all their players.
“It is a unique club in the way the players and fans interact, it makes it a great environment to be in. If you make a mistake they are more lenient with you than fans would be at some other clubs. We as players are proud of that link with them and I personally am honoured to have been given a two year contract.
“The new stand at the Railway end has only added to the atmosphere in the ground, it is more closed in now, and we are all looking forward to the new Fan Zone being built. It will all add to the experience for our supporters and that in turn will help us as players,” said Brown.
Of the approaching season Brown said: “It is good that the club and manager have got the squad formulated really early. We have signed some good players to build on the squad we had and we will be looking to get in a good pre-season so that we get a flying start when the league campaign opens. We are determined to get that good start as the least we should be aiming for is the Play-Offs but what we really want is to go up as champions. It may sound cliched but we must really aim to take it one game at a time, although seeking promotion will always be at the back of your mind.”
Asked what position he might be playing the versatile player said with a laugh: “The gaffer mentioned centre-back or right-back but maybe left-back or centre mid, I have played them all but so long as I am in there I don’t mind.”
One thing he is looking forward to seeing after the Summer break is the joyous look on fans’ faces when things are going well. He commented: “It makes us as players happy to see the joy on people’s faces when we play well. This a great club with so many great volunteers and a great Supporters’ Club backing you all the time. They are a massive part of it.”
