When did it start to go wrong for Phil Brown?

It's October 2008 and Hull City are riding high in the Premier League. They won back to back matches in North London against Arsenal and Spurs and Phil Brown was the toast of the Premier League. The media were running out of superlatives describing him and his success. Phil Brown, a great tactician, a great man manager, getting the best out of Ashbee and Myhill, former League 2 players holding their own in the Premier League. Potential England manager maybe? A great new English manager certainly. However, just five months later, Hull are in serious trouble and could easily be relegated. This is not a major surprise, as nobody expected Hull to be mixing it with the big boys all season. But what is surprising, is how rapidly Brown's stock has fallen. The man who could do no wrong in October, is now, in some people's eyes, an embarrassment to Hull City Football Club.

When did it start to go wrong for Phil Brown though? Many people have suggested it was half time at Eastlands, when he held his team talk on the pitch, aggressively ranting and pointing at his players, humiliating them in front of an astonished public. However, did it all go wrong for Brown before this? Perhaps it was when he started to believe his own hype. When he started to don his horrendous coat and scarf combo. Phil Brown, patrolling the touch-line, perma-tanned, dressed like Mourinho.

I believe this was the beginning of his downfall. Since then, things have gone from bad to worse, for Phil Brown and Hull City. Hull's form has been terrible and Brown's outbursts have become stranger and stranger. Is this a coincidence? From making irresponsible jokes about Geovanni failing an imminent drugs test, to claims Cesc Fabregas spat at his assistant Brian Horton, even though there is no evidence to suggest he did. Brown even claimed Arsene Wenger didn't shake hands with him after the game, despite TV replays showing that Wenger clearly did. How can anybody take him seriously now?

"No one is bigger than the club", declared Brown, after Geovanni obviously disagreed with his decision to substitute him recently. Is that right Phil? Then why attract so much attention to yourself, with your high profile media outbursts, constant refereeing criticism and your al fresco team talks. Put your coat and scarf back on the hook, after all, no one is bigger than the club.

Looks like a hand-shake to me