ON PAPER the most successful manager in Hull City’s history, Phil Brown departs the KC Stadium as a widely ridiculed figure, arguably with his reputation in tatters.
ON PAPER the most successful manager in Hull City’s history, Phil Brown departs the KC Stadium as a widely ridiculed figure, arguably with his reputation in tatters.
The consensus is that, despite leading Hull into the Premier League for the first time two years ago and averting relegation last season, albeit narrowly, the 50-year-old will struggle to find a comparable post.
If grabbing a microphone and belting out a version of Sloop John B minutes after results elsewhere reprieved Hull, who had just lost at home to Manchester United, from Championship football last May raised doubts about Brown, that solo was far from his strangest moment.
Back in the autumn Hull’s manager boasted to reporters about “sweet talking” a woman out of jumping off the Humber Bridge while leading his squad on a morale-boosting walk.
Strangely no Hull player noticed any such exchange and the Humber Bridge Board, which monitors the crossing, has no record of the incident.
When subsequently put to Brown that the episode had been a figment of his imagination, he looked distinctly sheepish, hung his head and eventually said: “No comment.”
By then, Adam Pearson had just replaced Brown’s good friend Paul Duffen as Hull’s chairman and rumours mounted that defeat against Stoke City in an impending game at the KC would cost the manager his job. In the event, Hull won 2-1 courtesy of Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink’s stoppage-time winner. As the stadium erupted in celebration, the chairman’s face remained impassive.
When a companion whispered something in his ear, Pearson shrugged. Body language can be hugely misleading but it hardly looked a vote of confidence.
Indeed a relationship which would limp on for five more months was very much a marriage of convenience. Pearson expects to name the club’s new manager tomorrow morning.
Meanwhile, David Beckham yesterday underwent a successful operation on a fully ruptured left Achilles tendon and is expected to make a full recovery. Beckham’s chances of appearing in the World Cup finals were shattered on Sunday when he ruptured his Achilles tendon on AC Milan duty against Chievo. But the 34-year-old’s hopes of resuming his career were boosted by a successful operation in Finland.
Wigan have close to a fully-fit squad for tonight’s Premier League clash against Aston Villa at the DW Stadium.
Mario Melchiot is their only major absentee with the thigh injury which has kept him out for the last two games.
Aston Villa’s leading scorer Gabriel Agbonlahor could return.
He missed the FA Cup quarter-final win at Reading through illness and was among the substitutes for the weekend’s goalless draw at Stoke.
National League Premier Division
