Brown: the new Fans Favourite??

Saturday, against Cardiff, was the kind of performance you could only have dreamed about before kickoff. Before Plymouth, the team had looked dispirited and as if they really didn’t want to be out on the field. Scared of making mistakes, they unconsciously retreated into a defensive frame of mind. As a consequence, Phil Parkinson paid the price and was asked to leave the building.

Phil Brown assumed the reins and like a breeze through a wind-chime factory, the change in atmosphere and attitude was plain to see. At Home Park, although City lost, it was a better performance with players starting to want to play. To encourage it, Adam Pearson promoted the £5 ticket, as he is allowed to do under Football League rules, and made certain a big crowd would cram into the KC against Cardiff. A big crowd for a big game, so what would it do for City on the pitch?

A high-tempo start, 2 goals within the first 10 minutes and the team was playing football, passing to feet, looking comfortable on the ball and generally dictating the game in a way that a City team hasn’t done for a long time. We had McPhee looking like the player Taylor thought he could be, we had Barmby rolling back the years and then Dean Marney proving that he CAN play! It is a little unfair to pick out individuals in that performance but they all played to their abilities as a team.

Is it too much of a coincidence that since Phil Brown took temporary charge, the team have rediscovered their hunger for the game? Its obvious that the players like ‘Brownie’ (as Damien said in his post match interview) and are wanting to work under his guidance to drag City of the position they are in, something that wasn’t apparent before.

If Adam Pearson wants to make it up to the fans, as he feels he has let them down, in my opinion, it would be best to leave the status quo in place and let the players work with Brown. They have the desire to do that, and he’s rebuilt their confidence to perform on the pitch. If a new manager was brought in, there would be a real danger that this confidence might be damaged through having to get used to a different manager for the 2nd time this year.

Best leave well alone Adam, listen to the players, they’ll tell you what they’re wanting. Sometimes, its best to not to appoint who YOU want, and forgetting the players points of view. If the players want Phil Brown, let them have him, then they have to go out and place their money where their mouth is, as they will then have to prove they’re right. Adam, its up to you.