There is nothing more exciting for a football scout than seeing one of his discoveries reach the top. Two weeks ago, Harry McShane had just that thrill as Wes Brown became the latest in a long line of Manchester United youngsters to pull on an England jersey - not that anyone noticed. All the attention was on another new cap, Kevin Phillips, "who once cleaned Alan Shearer's boots".
McShane is father of Ian, who played the part of the charming rogue Lovejoy in the BBC drama series. For three decades he has trawled the suburbs of Manchester in search of talent. "We are both on the lookout for collector's items," says McShane snr.
His uncovering of Brown was a happy accident. He received a phone call from another scout advising him to run the rule over a tall right-back playing for Fletcher Moss Rangers Under-12s in East Didsbury in the early 90s. There was some urgency: Manchester City were about to sign him. The right-back in question was Clive Brown, who was playing in the same back four as his older brother, Wes.
"I saw this tall, slim central defender stop one of their forwards, bring the ball forward, pass it, then return to his place in the back four," McShane recalls. "It was such a sensible piece of play for a youngster. He made it look so easy, so I noted his name and told United. To be honest, Wes's brother wasn't half as good."
While Wes was pulling on an England shirt against Hungary last month, Clive was reeling from the shock of being released by City after another trial last month.
Wes Brown's introduction to first-team football at United a year ago must seem like a sepia memory. An awful lot has happened since Alex Ferguson pitched the then 19-year-old into the hurly-burly of the Premiership, at Barnsley in the final game of last season.
Ferguson and McShane have since seen the potential they recognised begin to bear fruit. Not only did he celebrate his first England cap last month, he also signed a five-year contract at Old Trafford, which saw his wages rise from Stg£600 a week to an estimated £8,000.
Born in Longsight, a rundown area of east Manchester three miles from Old Trafford, Brown, a graduate of the FA centre of excellence at Lilleshall, is now a fully paid-up member of Old Trafford's boy band alongside Giggsy, Becks, Scholesy, Butts and the Neville brothers.
In a team whose dazzling attacking instincts have brought a smile to the Premiership this season, Brown has remained out of the limelight. Somehow it barely changed when Kevin Keegan picked him for England. Brown never gives interviews.
Tigerish in the tackle one moment, a near Olympic sprinter the next, the baby in Ferguson's class of '99 has been preferred to United's £5 million defender Henning Berg this season. Though he has started only 11 Premiership games this term, that simply reflects the strength of the squad.
Eric Harrison, the man credited with creating the conveyor belt which has reeled out half an England team from Old Trafford in the past five years, has little doubt Brown would be a regular in most Premiership sides.
"The first thing to hit me about Wes was his speed," enthuses Harrison, now youth consultant at United. "We all like quick players, but you have to have a few other ingredients to go with it and Wes has. Speedwise, he is in the Ryan Giggs category.
"He has similarities to Paul McGrath: pace, a great physical presence and a very good understanding of the game. Wes was marking Leeds's Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in one game, and he's no slouch. At one point, Jimmy got clear of our back four and I thought, `Oh no', but the next thing Wes is right up there alongside him. That is Wes all over . . . and it was Paul McGrath."
Brown's future glows with promise. On the field, he is "loving" his football and cherishing the chance to learn from the likes of Berg, Jaap Stam, Denis Irwin, Ronny Johnsen and Gary Neville.
Away from it, he still hangs out with his mates in south Manchester. Not for him are the bright lights of film premieres, sarongs and oddly named babies. Brown went to school in Burnage, hardly England's most glamorous suburb, save for it being home to Liam and Noel Gallagher.
Brown is still a regular visitor to his old school, Burnage High, whose list of old boys includes the Busby Babe Roger Byrne. By the time Byrne became a victim of the Munich air crash in 1958, the Old Trafford full back had captained the Reds and England.
Graham Williams, Brown's PE teacher at school, has no hesitation in claiming that the young defender can follow suit. "We talk about Roger Byrne to the boys even now, and these days Wes Brown is also held up as a perfect example to them," he says.
"We're all very proud of Wesley and we think he can go on to captain United and England. The day after he played for England, our headmaster talked about him in assembly. Wes can certainly be a positive example to the boys here."
Nobby Stiles, who helped Harrison nurture Brown during his early days at Old Trafford and a man who knows a thing or two about what it takes to become a defensive legend at United, has no doubt about Brown's talent.
"Wes is Mr Cool," says Stiles, a member of United's 1968 European Cup winning side. "He has the ability and the attitude to stay at the top."
