Alan Brown (footballer, born 1914)

Alan Winston Brown (26 August 1914 – 8 March 1996) was an English professional

Early life

Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, Brown is best remembered for his managerial career. Although he never won a major trophy, he was regarded as one of football's most inventive tactical minds and earned a reputation for honesty and openness amongst his peers.^[1] His passion for the game is illustrated by a famous quote in which he, in all sincerity, described football as "one of the biggest things that happened in Creation."^[1]

Brown was the son of a painter and decorator and was sent to

In 1933, Brown was persuaded by his cousin Austen Campbell, who was the captain of Huddersfield Town at the time, to join the club as a trainee. Brown hoped that the club would sponsor his further education, although he soon realised that he was regarded as little more than a member of the ground staff at Huddersfield and that the club had no interest in funding his study. Unable to settle, he left the club and spent the following 2+1⁄2 years as a policeman.[2]

Brown's love for football eventually led him to quit the police force but as the rules of the day did not allow players to change clubs he was forced to re-join Huddersfield Town. He made 57 league appearances for Huddersfield before League football was suspended in September 1939 due to the

Burnley

Following the war, Brown was finally given a transfer and moved to Burnley. By the opening day of the

Upon retiring from playing football Brown moved back to Burnley and opened a restaurant. After a few years he was persuaded by the then Secretary of the Football Association, Stanley Rous, to return to the game, and in 1951 he joined Sheffield Wednesday as a coach. After 3+1⁄2 seasons at Wednesday, Brown left to start a managerial career.^[1]

Back to Burnley

In 1954, Brown returned once more to Burnley when he was appointed as manager. His arrival back at the club was not well received by some of the senior players at Burnley who were unhappy in anticipation of being managed by such a figure of moral integrity. Undeterred by the potential backlash, Brown set about instilling in the club the same values of integrity, hard work and honesty that he held dear.^[1]

He oversaw the development of a new training centre on the outskirts of the town, and, as well as using paid labour, helped to dig out the ground himself. Brown also "volunteered" several of his players to help out, including big names such as Jimmy McIlroy and Jimmy Adamson.^[4]

Perhaps to compensate for his own poor treatment as a youngster, Brown, with the support of new chairman Bob Lord, developed a strong youth setup at Burnley which continued to be fruitful long after his departure. He also became known for his tactics and his pioneering use of short corners and huge array of free kick routines which were copied across the land.^[5]

Brown kept Burnley in the top half of the First Division for three seasons but could not resist the opportunity to move back to the North East and manage his boyhood club, and was appointed as manager of Sunderland in 1957.^[4]

Sunderland

Brown was appointed as Sunderland manager at a time when the club was in the middle of a series of scandals over illegal payments to players and was struggling at the bottom of the First Division table. Brown saw the appointment as an opportunity to "clean up" the club that he had supported as a child. At a time when paying young players' parents bribe money to sign for a particular club was commonplace, Brown refused to do so:

On two occasions parents have said to me, when I came to the point of signing their lads, "Well, what about a bit of so and so?" My reply was, "Look, you can take your boy home if you like, but you won't get anything illegal here." Then they said, "Well, what about a suit of clothes for the lad?" I replied, "If and when he goes abroad with us he'll get his blazer and flannels like everybody else." – Alan Brown, 1968.^[2]

Despite Brown's arrival, Sunderland were relegated at the end of his first season at

Brown spent time coaching in Norway and assisting at Plymouth Argyle.^[4] He then left the game completely and spent a retirement blighted by ill health until his death in Barnstaple, Devon, in 1996.^[1]

Managerial statistics

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	L	D	Win %
Burnley		June 1954	June 1957	138	57	49	32	41.30
Sunderland		June 1957	June 1964	332	138	106	88	41.57
Sheffield Wednesday		July 1964	February 1968	174	60	70	44	34.48
Sunderland		February 1968	November 1972	200	60	77	63	30.00

References