In the Brown stuff... but Hull's Phil deserves respect

By Mark Lawrenson

Published 22:43 30/10/09

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Phil Brown has been left very isolated at the KC Stadium after this week’s turmoil at Hull City.

At any football club, the relationship between the guy who runs the club and the manager has to be the most important of all.

Brown clearly had a terrific understanding and working relationship with Paul Duffen up until he left as Hull chairman this week.

The problem now is that the manager, under pressure to turn things around quickly, has lost his biggest supporter.

That comes on the back of Hull being booed by their own fans for the first time against Portsmouth last week during the goalless draw against a team in an even worse state than themselves.

It is a miserable state of affairs at Hull and Brown will now be under no illusions about the job in front of him.

But it all comes down to the fact that Hull do not have enough up front as, just like all the other struggling teams, they lack the most commodity of all: goals.

That might sound an easy statement to make. But just look at the contrast between Hull and another of last season’s strugglers, Sunderland.

Sunderland, with fresh investment and a new manager in Steve Bruce, went for Darren Bent in the summer. So did Hull.

Sunderland got their man, paired Bent with Kenwyne Jones, and they look a totally different proposition altogether.

Hull, meanwhile, missed out on Bent, missed out on Alvaro Negredo, missed out on Michael Owen - and they are struggling to score goals as a result.

Let’s be honest, the strikers didn’t want to go to Hull because of the way they finished last season.

You knew and could foresee this season would be a struggle. Then to add to Hull’s problems, they sold Michael Turner for £6m when originally Brown was talking as if he was worth at least twice that.

Hull are clearly having to cut back, budget and don’t have big money to spend and they clearly cannot afford to be relegated. Nobody can.

But they are a club in trouble and need results quickly. Forget about the team talk on the pitch at Manchester City for a moment. Forget about the end-of-season karaoke performance.

It’s not even a case of whether Brown has got it in himself to turn it around, it’s more about whether the team are able to produce the performances for him.

Brown says the players are 1,000,000 per cent behind him. No-one has suggested that Brown has in any way lost the dressing room.

But they really need to dig in and deliver for their manager now. They need results - and fast.

They started last season in great form and finished appallingly. If their season had gone the other way round - appalling start and then great finish to stay up against all the odds - then Brown would be lauded as Manager of the Year.

But where has all that promise and excitement from a year ago gone? Remember Geovanni? Wasn’t he supposed to be a world beater? He is just a typical example of the players losing their way.

Through all of this and whatever happens next, people will still remember Brown as a character. He attracts media attention and headlines.

Let’s be honest, Hull have had more coverage and column inches with Brown in charge than they would have had without. With Brown at the helm last season, Hull probably got more coverage than, say, Middlesbrough. Is that a bad thing?

Clearly, Brown enjoys the limelight. The karaoke. The half time team talk on the pitch. That's what Brown is remembered for.

And just look at the statistics since that famous team talk. Played 29, won 3, drawn 7, lost 19. However much Brown plays down that team talk, the stats tell their own story.

So what next for Brown? He needs to turn things round very quickly at Hull otherwise he will be on his bike. I sincerely hope he turns it round because I never, ever want to see a manager sacked.

But if he loses his job, then of course he’ll come back. He may not resurface straight away in the Premier League.

However, don’t forget he took Hull City into the Premier League, put them on the map and, despite everything, deserves huge respect for that.