‘I’ll Drive You There’ – Part 2: The Players Lincoln City Saw Turn To Gold

Phil Brown

Phil Brown had already cost Stockport County money when he arrived at Sincil Bank in the summer of 1987. County had paid a joint £10,000 fee to Chesterfield for Brown and Ernie Moss only months earlier, but his spell at Edgeley Park never really got going. He made 23 league appearances as Stockport battled against relegation and scored just once, before being allowed to leave for a City side who had just suffered the humiliation of becoming the first club automatically relegated out of the Football League.

On the face of it, that hardly looked like a move destined to transform his career. Brown was dropping into the Conference with a club facing arguably the most important season in its history, but he quickly became central to Colin Murphy’s side. Rather than looking like a player Stockport could afford to discard, he emerged as City’s leading goalscorer as the Imps won the Conference title and secured an immediate return to the Football League.

Brown remained at Sincil Bank for another two seasons before moving into non-league football with Kettering Town, but that first campaign alone earns him a place here. Stockport had spent money on him, got one goal from 23 league appearances and moved him on, yet the same player immediately became the leading scorer for a side carrying enormous pressure to win promotion at the first attempt.