PHIL BROWN
Our guest columnist on the crazy world of football
I’LL always remember going to the Riverside Stadium with my old Hull team towards the end of the 2008-09 season.
Gareth Southgate was the Boro manager. We lost the game 3-1, but ultimately stayed in the Premier League whilst they got relegated.
Yet today, Gareth is the England manager and I’ve just been sacked by a club in League Two. It just shows that you never know what’s coming in this crazy business.
I certainly wasn’t expecting to leave Swindon last month. That was a real shock to the system. It is a big club in League Two and the league position wasn’t great - I get that.
I’m not having a go at the club, either. They pay the wages and they’re entitled to do what they want.
Turnover
But we had a turnover of 27 players in the August window. Sixteen left and 11 came in. It takes time to gel those players, get that DNA out on the field of play.
I believed the owners recognised that, and we’d actually won two of the previous three games when the axe fell. That’s the bit I don’t get.
Does it hurt? Yes. When you lose a job there’s almost a period of grieving and I’ve found it pretty difficult this time.
You wake up in the mornings and there’s that lack of direction. I’m a working class lad from the north east of England who was brought up in an environment where everybody got up early to go and graft. It doesn’t matter what lifestyle you lead or what industry you choose to work in, losing that gets to you.
But I keep myself active, I keep my brain working. Part of that is working to get your contract settled. In my case, that’s not just at Swindon but with my previous club, Southend.
You’re in constant contact with the League Managers Association (LMA), who do a great job for managers out of work. You’ve also got to take a step back from the game a little bit.
Since leaving Swindon, I’ve not been to see a single football match, which is a rarity for me. On the first Saturday I went to Cheltenham. On the second I went to Haydock Park. This weekend I’ve been to Aintree.
It’s been a nice distraction but, of course, the aim is to get back in. I’ve had a couple of interviews and been pleasantly surprised by the level of club who’ve shown an interest. I’ve also had a job offer from abroad which starts in January.
I’d certainly be up for that. Bobby Robson is one of my heroes, a legend of the game. He cracked not just one but three different countries. Roy Hodgson was a real pioneer.
It doesn’t matter what age you are, you can always learn a new culture and a new language. I think a lot of managers are frightened that you fall off the map once you leave the UK - that all the doors and pathways here will close.
I don’t subscribe to that. John Gregory has just won the league title in India and I don’t think any owner in England would frown on that.
Luxury
Wherever you go, getting a job takes work. You can sit at home and wait for a call if you want to but only the very best have that luxury. I’m not sitting here thinking I’m so special that chairmen will come running to me.
People like me have to network. You have to get yourself out and about. Media work, columns like this one. You have your CV ready. You find out who makes the decisions at certain clubs – a chief executive, the owner himself and use your contacts to get their numbers. Yes, you can use an agent. Plenty do. But I believe face-to-face, man-to-man makes a better impression.
In my eyes, a chairman wants to see someone who can be the figurehead of his company, not somebody who hides behind an agent.
Even when it comes to negotiating a salary, the LMA is every bit as good as an agent. They’ve got negotiators, barristers, specialists in contract law. If you’re a paid-up member, it’s foolish not to use it.
Will it work for me this time? I believe so. The statistics say you don’t get a second chance in this game and I’ve had four or five in my career so I must be doing something right.