Tim Brown's goal celebrations are many and varied - which is good for a midfielder once described as lacking creativity
The most common one has been the X. It was a plea for him to join Paul Ifill and Chris Greenacre in the British strike force, as they have been dubbed, because Tim Brown was also born in England. He was accepted last month.
There's also been the aeroplane -
a reference to the fact both he and defender Ben Sigmund are ambassadors for the Life Flight Trust charity - and then the M.
That's M for muppets, which is what those players who don't make the playing squad are affectionately known as by their team-mates.
These have been Brown's goal celebrations with the Wellington Phoenix this season.
They have been on show a fair bit this year and, while he likes to have a bit of fun with it, it's a symbol of the fact the 28-year-old has enjoyed a breakthrough season.
Brown has had a difficult existence at both the Wellington Phoenix and All Whites. He's a regular in both but has struggled to win acclaim for the way he plays.
Many seemingly expect him to unlock defences with thread-the-needle passes or to dribble his way to goal. One former All White once exclaimed his grandmother's fingernail possessed more creativity than Brown, or words to that effect.
New Zealand is hardly blessed with creative midfielders. Leo Bertos can trouble defenders but you really have to go back to the likes of Michael McGarry in the mid-1990s to find a truly international-class player.
"I cop a bit of criticism, maybe more than most," Brown says.
"Sometimes people don't know what they are talking about but at other times, it's spot on. When they criticise you for something you're not, there's not a lot you can do about it.
"I will give my all every single game, but technically I have shortcomings. I'm not the playmaker and can't do things a [Steve] Corica or [Carlos] Hernandez can. But I have found my role. If there's one thing that's been obvious this year, you need all different types of players in different moulds to be successful and I have certainly played my part."
Eight goals from midfield before last night's preliminary final with Sydney would seem to suggest that. It makes him the second highest goal-scorer at the Phoenix behind Ifill and the second most prolific midfielder in the A-League behind Melbourne's Hernandez (13). It's also only one behind Shane Smeltz's tally in his first season with the Phoenix, when he cleaned up the club's awards.
In truth, Brown should have bagged more, having missed a handful you would expect him to score, but it's a significant improvement on the four he collected in his first three seasons in the A-League.
"In terms of goal-scoring it's definitely a breakthrough year. I think I had a really solid year last year but I think goals and a winning team make that contribution look better.
"This year has been good and getting forward more is something I have enjoyed and scoring goals has helped the team a lot. It has been a good year."
It will get even better when he goes to June's World Cup. He is yet to score for the All Whites in 28 internationals and it's something he's keen to redress.
There might even be a new goal celebration on show if he can deliver in South Africa.
