Phil Brown (footballer)

Phil Brown

Phil Brown (born 30 May 1959) was born in South Shields. He is a former professional footballer, mainly at Bolton Wanderers where he also became coach. In 2005 he became team manager of Derby County, where he developed his own particular variant of the English language, commonly known as 'Brownish'. His unusual syntactic structure often baffles the untrained ear, disorientating the listener. He was sacked from Derby in January 2006 and made manager of Hull City later that year. In his second season at Hull, he led the Tigers to promotion to the top flight for the first time in their history.

Quotes

• That's a lot of hard work gone under the water, under the bridge.
  • Jun-2005, DCFC website

• The players have got to know that we are not firing at them by the seat of our pants.
  • Jun-2005, DCFC website
  • He means that he is prepared (apparently).

• If that's foreign strength or that's English strength, it doesn't matter to me.
  • Jun-2005, DCFC website
  • Phil wants to strengthen his team but will look abroad if necessary.

• I've got to try and educate not only the players but the Derby fans and the board of directors that...
  • 29-Jun-2005, Radio 5
  • I'll learn 'em.

• If we stand still, we're going backwards. We've got to keep moving forward and appear to be moving forward.
  • 29-Jun-2005, Radio Derby
  • I think he's covered all the angles there.

• They know, in that changing room, that the strength is that changing room.
  • 30-Jun-2005, Radio Derby
  • Answers on a postcard please.

• The way they questioned my decisions was absolutely disgraceful.
  • 1-Oct-2005, Radio Derby
  • Reaction to the booing against Leicester City after Peschisolido was substituted.

• There was pride in the shirt. There was sweat in the shirt. There was blood in the shirt.
  • 1-Oct-2005, Radio Derby
  • A good washing powder was required after the game.

• I asked for 11 men and I asked for 5 men as substitutes.
  • 1-Oct-2005, Radio Derby
  • No women allowed.

• You've got a good manager.
  • 1-Oct-2005, Radio Derby
  • That's you, Phil.

• If I get the good pictures I was getting at the beginning of the season, Lee Holmes will be knocking at the door.
  • 5-Oct-2005, DCFC website
  • Phil collects pictures. Lee Holmes is a door-to-door art salesman?

• We're knocking on the door of success.
  • 5-Oct-2005, DCFC website
  • Said after 9 games without a win.

• They will watch his decision-making process.
  • 18-Oct-2005, DCFC website
  • Poole will show the young goalkeepers.

• The walking wounded are starting to walk.
  • 2-Nov-2005, DCFC website
  • How bizarre.

• I don't know what Murdo's talking about.
  • 5-Nov-2005, Radio Derby
  • Phil responds to the director of football's desire to get more involved.

• Inigo limped out of training but it was a precautionary limp out.
  • Dec-2005, DCFC website
  • He has such a way with words.

• Inigo is, without a shadow of a doubt, a player.
  • 6-Dec-2005, DCFC website
  • No arguing with that one.

• Stern is a goalscorer but did not score for us in seven games.
  • 15-Dec-2005, Radio Derby
  • Yes, I know what you mean, Phil. I think.

• We've got 8 points from 4 games. That's automatic promotion form.
  • 15-Dec-2005, Radio Derby
  • An optimistic extrapolation.

• His Prozone stats are often in the 80s, 90s.
  • 17-Dec-2005, DCFC website
  • Yes but what does Thirwell do?

• It was his elbow. He landed on his elbow. I've just had a little joke with Andy. He went on and pulled off the best two headers of the game with an injured shoulder, arm, whatever it was.
  • 26-Dec-2005, Radio Derby
  • Phil gives a definitive answer to which part of Andrew Davies' anatomy was injured - then talks himself out of it.

• We impacted upon the substitutions.
  • 28-Dec-2005, Radio Derby
  • The substitutions had an impact.

• At this moment in time, it's pointing in the direction that the players aren't good enough, to be able to (i) take on the instructions that we give them and (ii) deal with the situation when the pressure is turned up - and it's disappointing. OK, there's a disappointing group of players in there but you keep on shooting yourself in the foot week in and week out. Something has to change.
  • 2-Jan-2006, Radio Derby
  • PB blames the players for DCFC's poor record.

• The whole team needs solidifying.
  • 3-Jan-2006, Radio Derby
  • We have been losing a lot of games and the team needs to become more solid.

• If one or two do go out, hopefully the players we get in will be better players.
  • 4-Jan-2006, teamtalk.com
  • After the transfer window opened, PB made an obvious but worrying statement.

• The plans we put in place this week have gone according to plan.
  • 7-Jan-2006, Radio Derby
  • He had a plan about the plans - maybe.

• We used the home advantage to our advantage.
  • 7-Jan-2006, DCFC website
  • The quotes come thick and fast.

• It's my job not always to put square pegs in square holes but sometimes to put the odd square peg in a round hole.
  • 7-Jan-2006, DCFC website
  • You're just going to have to work that one out for yourself.

• The fans were asking me "was I watching?". Of course I was watching.
  • 14-Jan-2006, DCFC website
  • Phil displays a poor understanding of rhetoric.

• His manager is a former player of Derby County and is recommending that Derby County is the place to be, that guy being Mikkel Beck. He speaks very highly of me. It's ongoing again. These scenarios take time.
  • 17-Jan-2006, Radio Derby
  • Phil lacks a detailed knowledge of DCFC history as Mikkel looks to offload a player.

• You have to be horrible when you haven't got the ball.
  • 20-Jan-2006, DCFC website
  • A new slant on the beautiful game.

• It's vitally important that as manager you make decisions.
  • 20-Jan-2006, DCFC website
  • Brown, management guru.

• I'm not saying alarm bells are ringing at this moment in time.
  • 21-Jan-2006, Radio Derby
  • Phil steadies the ship after 6-1 defeat at Coventry.

• I have spoken to the referee and I spoke to him like a man.
  • 21-Jan-2006, Radio Derby
  • An oft-repeated theme. Phil likes "men".

• He will hopefully bring a mentality in both penalty boxes.
  • 26-Jan-2006, DCFC website
  • Darren Moore signs - with attitude.

• It's Colchester's cup final.
  • 26-Jan-2006, DCFCwebsite
  • Phil fails to check league and form tables.

• All the boxes are ticked. The yeses and the positives are coming back from the medical department.
  • 28-Jan-2006, Radio Derby
  • Standard nonsense.

• The fans are starting to get disgruntled with the board, with the players.
  • 28-Jan-2006, Radio Derby
  • Phil deflects from himself after another sorry defeat at Colchester.

• Unfortunately we've come on the end of a loss.
  • 16-Jan-2007, BBC TV
  • Phil returns to the fray with some simply-executed locution.

• Nick has thrown his hat into the ring and I've had a long chat with him
  • 05-Mar-2007, Hull City OWS
  • Phil won't stand for any of this hat-throwing nonsense.

• Dean Marney has also thrown his hat into the ring after Saturday. The more hats there are in the ring, the harder my job is
  • 06-Mar-2007, Hull City OWS
  • It's tough maintaining discipline with all this hat-throwing going on.

• If you score first, you have a 75 per cent chance of not losing the game. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to work out that you have to get off to a good start and score.
  • 06-Mar-2007, Hull City OWS
  • It's maths, not rocket science.

• It was a fantastic result and credit has to go to the players. The application they have shown since I got the job has been first class. They've just asked for four or five days off this week, but I've said I want them back in on Tuesday.
  • 30-Apr-2007, Hull City OWS
  • When the players ask for a holiday, that shows their hard-working attitude!

• Lee has been with the physio all week and hasn't trained. David Livermore has trained so the shoe is on the other foot there and he has thrown his hat into the ring.
  • 06-May-2007, Hull City OWS
  • More hat-throwing, and poor shoe control.

• Those are the pictures you want from pre-season, so although we beat a Premiership side, I can take those away with me.
  • 02-Aug-2007, Hull City OWS
  • Victory against Newcastle allows Phil to add to his picture collection.

• We gave ourselves a hill to climb and we climbed it.
  • 11-Aug-2007, BBC Radio Humberside
  • You have to give yourselves stretched targets.

• The lads are on top of the ground at the moment and they look as though they're looking forward to tomorrow.
  • 24-Aug-2007, Hull City OWS
  • As opposed to under the ground?

• Today's draw is another little brick in the wall.
  • 15-Sep-2007, BBC Radio Humberside
  • An interesting metaphor, erm...

• He had his hands full with Adi Akinbiyi when he came on, he had his hands full with Andy Gray from the start and in other ways he had his hands full with Kyle Lafferty and Robbie Blake as well. He's had four or five strikers coming at him and he's stood up to them manfully.
  • 07-Nov-2007, Hull City OWS
  • No comment.

• When you compare the changing room to last season, there is a massive, massive difference. The changing room now is full of men
  • 14-Jan-2007, Hull City OWS
  • Last season they were women?

• It's hard to say how long he'll be out but he's 100 per cent doubtful for the weekend, that's for sure.
  • 13-Mar-2008, Hull Daily Mail
  • There's no doubt that he's definitely doubtful - I think.

• I know my best team, but my best team has got 15 players in it.
  • 14-Mar-2008, BBC website
  • Err.. that's not allowed, Phil.

• You get pictures in pre-season. You get pictures of fitness, you get pictures of attitude, you get pictures of mentality, you get pictures of systems and the way players play and you also get pictures of whether people can step up to the plate in the Premier League. I was getting all those pictures in the first half
  • 28-Jul-2008 Hull City OWS
  • The pre-season friendly against Crewe provided a huge boost to Phil's picture collection.

• In any game, you get pictures and at half time there were 11 players who had half a shirt for Saturday.
  • 27-Aug-2008 Hull City OWS
  • More pictures for Phil's collection, but unfortunately also something of a kit problem.

• For me today, Hull City beat Hull City.
  • 1-Sep-2008, Guardian website
  • It was a bit of a one-sided game as Hull lose at home 0-5 to Wigan.

• We were very hopeful of getting Fraizer all the way through. We'll keep in-house what went on, but we were involved with Fraizer until the moment he went to Tottenham.
  • 3-Sep-2008, Setanta website
  • Just missed out there then.

• The way the game is, players come to a football club with baggage. Whether that's positive or negative, they come to a new club with some luggage. Tony's baggage over the last four or five years has been not playing so many games at Tottenham.
  • 6-Feb-2009, Hull Daily Mail
  • Anthony Gardner's suitcase struggled to break into the Tottenham first team.

• The other night was like when my daughter was being born and I was in the waiting room. You are waiting for good news and obviously the good news didn't come through this time.
  • 20-Feb-2009, Hull Daily Mail
  • Waiting for news on Jimmy Bullard's knee injury. Unfortunately, it turned out Bullard wasn't even pregnant.

• It's important that you win games at any level.
  • 27-Feb-2009, Hull Daily Mail
  • He's getting the hang of this football management lark!

• I'm looking forward to the game because I think it will be a great spectacle. [...] He's the type of guy that can pull a rabbit out of the hat every so often and I'll be watching out for that.
  • 28-Feb-2009
  • Sam Allardyce will occasionally liven games up with the odd magic trick.

• Thirty minutes into the game, I was quite comfortable. Then they [...] got two goals back-to-back which certainly turned the game in their favour.
  • 02-Mar-2009, Hull City OWS
  • No kidding!

• This is the start of the season for us - an 11-game season
  • 3-Mar-2009, Hull City OWS
  • Phil is very confused about how the Premier League works.

• I remember being asked at various stages last season "Would you take 17th place now?". Come the last game of the season, the answer was definitely yes. At the start of the season, then the answer was probably yes. But looking back at the season as a whole, then the answer is probably between yes and no.
  • Jul-2009, City Magazine
  • Yo?

• Seriously if I had a gun I would have shot the plane down.
  • MY-2011, Lancashire Evening Post
  • Did he not like Blackpool's stunt

• They will carry us over the finishing line every so often, and we’ll carry them over the line other times. It’s a mutual respect at the moment.
  • Oct-2011, Lancashire Evening Post
  • That nearly makes sense.