The story of Phil Brown and the suicidal woman is worthy of the Kremlin itself

By David Anderson

Published 08:30 07/10/09

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I think it was Winston Churchill who once said that the Soviet Union was an enigma wrapped inside a riddle, hidden inside a Sudoku puzzle.

OK, I made the last bit up, but the point he was making was that it was hard to figure out Joe Stalin and his cronies.

Audiences with Phil Brown are a bit like dealing with the old Kremlin.

You come out from his office at Cottingham not sure whether he's said something for effect or is just spinning you a yarn.

Take his claim that he talked a woman out of committing suicide during a team-bonding walk with his Hull players on the Humber Bridge.

It came from a flippant remark Brown made at the start of his press conference on Thursday morning and within 24 hours he was plastered all over the national media as some sort of hero.

Never one to shy away from the limelight, by Saturday even Brown realised things had got out of hand and that it was all a bridge too far.

"I just talk to anybody, me," he said sheepishly when asked about his 'heroics' after the win over Wigan.

Brown's reticence was understandable, especially because the word from the dressing room was that there was no woman.

The players walked behind Brown during their stroll on Wednesday and can't recall him speaking to any woman, let alone one who looked like she was about to end it all.

Perhaps the players were mistaken and surely Brown wouldn't spin such a far-fetched yarn to divert attention away from himself and the team's terrible form?

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