Allan Duncan Brown (12 October 1926 – 20 April 2011) was a Scottish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. Brown played as an

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

for East Fife,

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

. He also represented

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, scoring six goals in 14 international appearances, and the

Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...

. Brown was

player/manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

of Wigan Athletic, and also managed

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

and

. As a player, Brown won the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

with East Fife in 1949–50. As a manager, he guided Luton Town to the Fourth Division title in 1967–68.

Playing career

Brown, who was born in

Kennoway Kennoway is a village in Fife, Scotland, near the larger population centres in the area of Leven and Methil. It had an estimated population of in . It is about three miles inland from the Firth of Forth, north of Leven. This position gave it i ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, started his professional playing career at East Fife, joining them in 1944 from his local side Kennoway.http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/player/allanbrown.html Independent site profile Brown made 62 league appearances for the Fifers, scoring 20 goals as well as numerous cup appearances. He left in December 1950. Brown made his full

debut whilst with East Fife in April

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

, a 3–1 win over

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

. This was followed in the same season by two further games away to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, as well as helping his club team win the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

. Brown moved to

for a fee of £26,500 (then the largest fee received by a Scottish club), joining compatriots

Jackie Mudie John Knight Mudie (10 April 1930 – 2 March 1992) was a Scottish international footballer who played as a forward. He won seventeen caps for his country, helping the Scotland national team to qualify for the 1958 FIFA World Cup. Startin ...

Ewan Fenton Alexander Ewan Fenton, more commonly known as Ewan Fenton (17 November 1929 – 3 April 2006) was a Scottish professional footballer. He spent thirteen seasons at Blackpool, with whom he was victorious in the famous FA Cup Final of 1953. Pl ...

, Hugh Kelly and goalkeeper

George Farm George Neil Farm (13 July 1924 – 18 July 2004) was a Scottish professional football goalkeeper and manager. Born in Slateford, a suburb of Edinburgh, Farm represented his country on ten occasions, the last three of which occurred after a ga ...

, where he earned the nickname ''Bomber''. At Blackpool he enjoyed success; however, he missed the Seasiders' 1951 FA Cup Final appearance after injuring his knee ten days earlier. He also missed the famous 1953 FA Cup Final victory after breaking his leg whilst scoring an 88th-minute winner in the quarter-final against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

on 28 February 1953. On 22 October 1955, Brown was placed on the transfer list of his own volition, reportedly telling club manager Joe Smith he would "only sign for a Scottish club ..I want to get back over the Border". Brown was inducted into the

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

at Bloomfield Road, when it was officially opened by former Blackpool player

Jimmy Armfield James Christopher Armfield, (21 September 1935 – 22 January 2018) was an English professional football player and manager who latterly worked as a football pundit for BBC Radio Five Live. He played the whole of his Football League career at B ...

in April 2006. Organised by the Blackpool Supporters Association, Blackpool fans around the world voted on their all-time heroes. Five players from each decade are inducted; Brown is in the 1950s. While at Blackpool, Brown won a further eleven international caps, scoring against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

at both the start of the 1952–53 and 1953–54 seasons. Brown was selected for the 22-man squad for the 1954 World Cup finals. The

Scottish FA The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for ...

decided to take only 13 of the 22 to the finals. Brown was among those who travelled. Brown's final two games came in the finals against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. Brown moved to

in February 1957, for a fee of £8,000, scoring on his league debut at

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

. He scored five goals in the Hatters' successful 1958–59 FA Cup run, including scoring the only goal in their sixth-round victory over his former club, Blackpool. He at last played in a

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

final, as Luton lost 2–1 to

in the 1959 FA Cup Final. He scored 51 goals in 151 league appearances for Luton. Brown moved to

in March 1961.

Managerial career

In August 1963, Brown joined then

non-league Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

as player-manager, replacing

Johnny Ball Johnny Ball (born Graham Thalben Ball; 23 May 1938) is an English television personality, a populariser of mathematics and the father of BBC Radio 2 DJ Zoe Ball. Early life Ball was born in Bristol and attended Kingswood Primary School on th ...

. He remained at Wigan until July 1966. In November 1966, he returned to Luton, this time as manager of a side struggling in the Fourth Division. He soon changed the fortunes of the Hatters, leading them to the Fourth Division title in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

. They started the next season promisingly (and were eventually to finish in third place); however, Brown was sacked in December 1968 after it was discovered he had applied for the vacant managerial post at

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

. Brown's departure from Luton is memorialized at the 47:51 mark of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", when the character Campbell can be seen reading a newspaper with the prominent headline "Why Brown had to go". He was not out of work for long, joining

as manager in January

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

. He kept the Gulls comfortably in

Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the ...

during his first two-and-a-half seasons in charge (finishes of sixth, thirteenth and tenth), but after a poor start to the 1971–72 season, he was sacked in October 1971. Torquay would eventually be relegated later that season. On 20 June 1972, Brown became manager of

, leading them to twelfth place in Division Four at the end of his first season in charge. The following season, 1973–74, Bury started brightly, and would eventually be promoted in fourth place; Brown, however, had left on 19 November 1973, to manage

, and took them to seventh place by the end of the season. The following

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

, Forest started badly and Brown upset the fans by selling

Duncan McKenzie Duncan McKenzie (born 10 June 1950) is an English former footballer who played as a striker in the Football League for Nottingham Forest, Mansfield Town, Leeds United, Everton, Chelsea and Blackburn Rovers in the 1970s, in Belgium for And ...

Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Englis ...

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

. He was sacked on 3 January 1975, shortly after a 2–0 home defeat to local rivals

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

. Clough replaced Brown at Forest. On 5 May 1976, Brown was appointed manager of another of his former playing clubs,

, who at the time were in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. The following

saw them battle for promotion and eventually finish in fifth place, missing out on a return to Division One by two points. During the next season the club were again challenging for promotion, but after an argument with chairman Billy Cartmell, on 6 February 1978 Brown was sacked. Cartmell had made remarks in a daily newspaper about Brown's job being on the line despite five-goal home wins in recent games, to which Brown responded by calling the chairman a "back-stabbing rat", which the board felt was unacceptable. After his departure, Blackpool won only one more game, dropped down the table, and were narrowly relegated at the end of the season. Later that year he moved to

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

to manage Quadsia, but returned to manage

in March 1981 as a replacement for Alan Ball; however, he was unable to prevent their relegation to Division Four for the first time in their history. The following season saw a mid-table finish, and Brown left Blackpool in May 1982.

Death

Brown died on 20 April 2011, at the age of 84."Allan Brown dies, aged 84"
– ''

Blackpool Gazette The ''Blackpool Gazette'' (locally marketed as simply ''The Gazette'') is an English daily newspaper based in Blackpool, Lancashire. Published every day except Sunday, it covers the towns and communities of the Fylde coast. It was founded as '' ...

'', 20 April 2011 A

wreath A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a circle . In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and Chri ...

was laid behind the South Stand goal before the fixture between Blackpool and

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

at Bloomfield Road three days after his death.

Honours

As a player

;East Fife *

winner: 1949–50

As a manager

;Luton Town *

Division Four The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

championship: 1967–68

References

;Sources * * *

External links

*
Brown in East Fife history

Brown at Forest

Allan Brown at Blackpool

Brown in the Blackpool Supporters Association Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Allan 1926 births 2011 deaths Footballers from Fife Scottish footballers Scotland international footballers Blackpool F.C. players East Fife F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Scottish football managers Blackpool F.C. managers Bury F.C. managers Luton Town F.C. managers Nottingham Forest F.C. managers Southport F.C. managers Torquay United F.C. managers Wigan Athletic F.C. managers 1954 FIFA World Cup players Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players English Football League players English Football League managers Association football inside forwards People from Kennoway FA Cup Final players