About Phil Brown (footballer, born 1959)
Philip Brown (born 30 May 1959) is an English former professional footballer and coach who is currently director of football at Southern League Premier Division Central club Peterborough Sports. As a player, Brown was a right-back who made over six hundred league appearances in an eighteen-year career, but never made it to the top flight. However, as a manager, he became the first to lead Hull City to the top division in their 104-year history, winning the Championship play-offs in 2008 after a 1–0 win against Bristol City at Wembley Stadium. He also guided Southend United to promotion from League Two to League One in 2014–15. Since 2011, Brown has appeared as a match summariser on BBC Radio 5 Live. == Playing career == Born in South Shields, County Durham, Brown started his career playing Sunday league football for South Shields side Red Duster in the South Shields Business Houses League, in the same team as Ray Dunbar and Bobby Davison, who went on to play for Derby County and Leeds United. As a professional, Brown played at full back for many years with Hartlepool United, followed by a spell at Halifax Town (with fellow north-easterner Billy Ayre at both clubs and under him at the latter), In 1988, he moved to Bolton Wanderers, winning the Associate Members Cup in 1989. Brown joined Blackpool in 1994, playing under Sam Allardyce until 1996 while also being his assistant manager. == Managerial career == === Coaching === Brown's first coaching role was as assistant to Sam Allardyce at Blackpool. He returned to Bolton Wanderers after his playing career ended and served as assistant manager to Colin Todd.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.