Net closes in on Phil Brown

He was given a stay of execution by his new chairman but I still fear Phil Brown’s days are numbered.

Adam Pearson returned to the club two years after his departure, replacing Paul Duffen, who saw the club join the Premier League under his tenure but also accrue alarming levels of debt at the same time.

Pearson immediately backed Brown ahead of a crucial clash with Stoke next Sunday but refused to confirm whether he would stay on further, saying:

"Phil will be manager on Sunday but there's no point me saying he's got a job for life, that's not the case. We need results, quickly, and that puts pressure on everyone at the club."

Damning praise indeed.

What makes Hull's position near the bottom of the Premier League all the more worrying is the comments from Deloitte last week regarding the club's finances.

The club, which has the seventh highest wage bill in the top flight, apparently needs to raise £23million just to cover their costs before the season is out. The Premier League TV money is vital to that and if it is taken away, it’s hard to see where the money is going to come from. The club's most bankable asset, Michael Turner, has already been sold while other high earners, such as Giovanni and Jimmy Bullard, have little re-sale value.

Sadly, Brown or no Brown I see Premier League relegation ahead for the Tigers. Their fantastic start to last season raised expectations to unrealistic levels and their plummet down the table and subsequent struggles this season is more realistic for a club which spent much of the last decade in the bottom two divisions.

Sadly, during their brief stay at the top table they have maxed out the credit card and with little or no assets to pay it back, the administrators may soon be knocking at the door. Once that chain of events has been started the decline will prove very hard to arrest...just ask Charlton and Leeds fans.

If they upset the Premier League football betting odds and win on Sunday, this may give Brown a stay of execution. But while they can win that battle I can’t see them winning the war and I fear a swift return to the Championship, and all the financial woes that entails, is beckoning.