Allan Brown

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Allan Brown
Personal information
Full name	Allan Duncan Brown
Date of birth	October 12, 1926
Place of birth	Kennoway, Fife, Scotland
Height	5"10
Nickname	Bomber
Position	Midfield
Club information
Current club	retired
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1944-1950 1950-1956 1956-1960 1960-1962 1963-1966	East Fife F.C. Blackpool F.C. Luton Town F.C. Portsmouth F.C. Wigan Athletic	151(51)
National team
1950-1954	Scotland	14(2)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Allan Duncan Brown (born October 12, 1926) was a Scottish footballer and manager.

[edit] Playing career

Allan Brown started his professional playing career at East Fife, joining them in 1944 from his local side Kennoway. He made his full Scotland debut whilst with East Fife in April 1950, a 3-1 win over Switzerland at Hampden Park, followed by 2 further games away to Portugal and France the same 1949-50 season, as well as helping East Fife win the Scottish League Cup.

He moved to Blackpool in December 1950 for a fee of £27,000, where he was to win a further 11 Scotland caps scoring against Wales at both the start of the 1952-53 season and the start of the 1953-54 season. His final two games coming in the 1954 World Cup finals against Austria and Uruguay. At Blackpool he enjoyed great success playing alongside Stanley Matthews. He missed the 1951 FA Cup Final for Blackpool after injuring his knee 10 days before the final, and missed the 1953 FA Cup final after breaking his leg whilst scoring a late winner in the quarter-final against Arsenal.

He moved to Luton Town in February 1957, for a fee of £8,000, scoring on his league debut at Leeds. He scored five times in Luton's successful 1959 F.A.Cup run and at last played in a Wembley Final, Luton losing the 1959 FA Cup Final 2-1 against Nottingham Forest (Team: Manager Syd Owen,1 Ron Baynham,2 Brendan McNally,3 Ken Hawkes,4 John Groves,5 Syd Owen,6 Dave Pacey,7 Billy Bingham,8 Allan Brown,9 Bob Morton,10 George Cummins,11 Tony Gregory). After 51 goals in 151 league appearances for the Hatters, he moved to Portsmouth in March 1961.

[edit] Managerial career

In August 1963 he joined then non-league Wigan Athletic as player-manager, replacing Johnny Ball. He remained at Wigan until July 1966. In November 1966 he returned to Luton Town, 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. They started the next season promisingly (and were eventually to finish in 3rd place), however, Brown was sacked in December 1968 after applying for the vacant managerial post at Leicester City.

He wasn't unemployed for long, joining Torquay United as manager in January 1969. He kept Torquay comfortably in Division Three during his first two and a half seasons in charge (finishes of 6th, 13th and 10th), but after a poor start to the 1971-72 season was sacked in October 1971. Torquay would eventually be relegated later that season.

On the June 20, 1972 he became manager of Bury, leading them to 12th place in Division Four at the end of his first season in charge. The following season, Bury started brightly, and would eventually be promoted in 4th place. However, Brown had left on November 19, 1973 to manage Nottingham Forest, and taking them to 7th place by the end of the season. The following season, Forest started badly and Brown upset the fans by selling Duncan McKenzie to Brian Clough's Leeds United. He was sacked on January 3, 1975, shortly after a 2-0 home defeat to local rivals Notts County.

On the May 5, 1976 he was appointed manager of second division Blackpool, and the following season saw them battle for promotion, and eventually finish in 5th place. In the next season the club were again challenging for promotion, but after an argument with the Chairman, Billy Cartmell, on February 6, 1978, Brown was sacked. 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 to manage Quadsia, but returned to manage Blackpool in March 1981 as a replacement for Alan Ball, but 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.

Preceded by: Johnny Ball	Wigan Manager 1963-1966	Succeeded by: Alf Craig
Preceded by: George Martin	Luton Town Manager 1966-1968	Succeeded by: Alec Stock
Preceded by: Frank O'Farrell	Torquay Manager 1969-1971	Succeeded by: Jack Edwards
Preceded by: Tommy McAnearney	Bury Manager 1972-1973	Succeeded by: Bobby Smith
Preceded by: Dave Mackay	Nottingham Forest Manager 1973-1975	Succeeded by: Brian Clough
Preceded by: Harry Potts	Blackpool Manager 1976-1978	Succeeded by: Jimmy Meadows
Preceded by: Alan Ball	Blackpool Manager 1981-1982	Succeeded by: Sam Ellis

[edit] References

• Allan Brown in East Fife history.
• Allan Brown at Forest.
• 1959 FA Cup 6th Rd scorer for Luton.
• Allan Brown at Wigan.
• Allan Brown at Blackpool