Brown expecting a good game on his Shay return
FORMER HALIFAX Town captain Phil Brown says he is expecting a good game when he returns to the Shay with Southend United on Saturday.
Brown made 165 appearances over three seasons for Halifax between 1985 and 1988, winning the supporters’ player of the year and earning a place in the PFA Fourth Division team of the year in his final season at the club.
“Once a Shayman, always a Shaymen, that’s what they say,” Brown said.
“We had a great time, I had two or three years there, met some really nice people, settled in the area, got myself a wife and family, had a pub.
“You couldn’t say I didn’t invest in the area that’s for sure!
“We were under the John Crowther regime, I wouldn’t have said they were overly wealthy men and it was very difficult, fighting in a league that had one or two that were financially well-off and consequently, you struggled against certain teams.
“But we had a great spirit. I loved the management team of Billy Ayre and Mick Jones, I thought they were brilliant.
“They taught me an awful lot about football management, that’s for sure, and I’d say were probably one of the main reasons I went into management.
“They were a pleasure to play for, you always wore the shirt with pride when you played under them.
“We produced players, we had a good team - Alan Knill, Micky Galloway, Rick Holden.
“We tended to play the right type of football, I thought, and it stood me in good stead for my move to Bolton, so I’ve got a lot to thank Halifax Town for.”
Halifax go into the game having won two and lost two of their first four matches.
“I’ve watched them a couple of times, they’re a very organised team, they look to play the right kind of football,” said Brown.
“They’re what I would class as open and expansive, the modern day way of playing the game, which is pleasing on the eye.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s game, Brown said: “I’m expecting a good football match.
“We’re playing the right way, we know Halifax are trying to play the right way, so I’m expecting a good game of football.
“From what I can remember of the Shay, it’s a big old football pitch and I don’t think too much has changed where that’s concerned.
“The demands of the Halifax public are to play the right way, but you’ll never get away from the ‘Yorkshire grit’ mentality. There’s no such thing as a free game in Yorkshire and I’ll be drumming home that message to my players no doubt.”