Obviously MR sees a lot more than we do, but Malaga looked decent in the games he played. Brown, whilst clearly being a talented footballer, just appears a touch too weak for me.
I think his issue is that (this may sound a little odd) he's actually too good a footballer for this level. He wants to get the ball down and play football the right way, when really you generally need tougher, stronger players to just simply defend. If the ball needs to be hoofed clear, then hoof it clear, don't try to play a cute little flick that ends up putting you under pressure. McPake would have been a classic example, and an absolute brute in this league. It's a shame he kept picking up injuries.
Just my opinion anyway.