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City vice-chairman calls it quits
7:32am Tuesday 13th May 2008
Comments (243) Have your say »
Jim Brown today announced he is standing down as City's vice-chairman.
The 51-year-old, one of the key members of the steering committee that helped the club back from the financial brink in 2004, feels his position is no longer so relevant with two men at the Valley Parade controls.
If they had told me four years ago the position we’d be in now, then I would have taken it. That was such a bleak time that you couldn’t look any further than a week on Friday
Jim Brown
"My role has changed in the last 12 months," he said, referring to the arrival of Mark Lawn alongside Julian Rhodes. "When you've two chairmen in charge, it's not that critical.
"We've got new ownership of the football club now and they have their own ideas. It's time to give the new brush a chance and I wish them well.
"I don't leave with any bad feelings and I'm very grateful for the support I've always been given by Julian.
"He deserves so much credit for his self-sacrifice and consistently going above and beyond the call of duty. The club was a mess four or five years ago but we are moving forward slowly and on solid foundations."
Brown, a former chairman at Halifax, was appointed to the City board by Rhodes in January 2005 - six months after that fateful day when the club's future hung by a thread.
He said: "I remember the administrator running round like a lunatic that morning and it didn't look good. He was getting a bit nervous wondering where we were heading.
"When you think about the masses of problems we had in all areas, it was an absolutely dreadful time.
"My biggest fear was not making it to the season. Two weeks before the first game we didn't have anything.
"We didn't have a team; we didn't have a safety certificate so couldn't have played any home games; we hadn't even sorted out a coach to travel away.
"I thought Colin Todd did a great job under difficult circumstances. I don't think people realised just how difficult they were.
"I know we've been disappointed with the results and where we are in the league but when you look at the resources available for teams like Peterborough and Darlington, there is never a level playing field.
"But at least we've got a football club. It's a real testimony to the hard work of so many people that we have got this far.
"If they had told me four years ago the position we'd be in now, then I would have taken it.
"That was such a bleak time that you couldn't look any further than a week on Friday.
"It's going to take some time to start getting back up but hopefully we will have learned lessons from before."
Rhodes said: "I would like to thank Jim for everything he has done. It's a tall order to ask somebody to do things for nothing and we've become very good friends over the years.
"Jim has taken flak at times, as we all do, but it is undeserved flak. In all my dealings with him, I've found Jim to be an honest and honourable gentleman to deal with."
Brown can now concentrate on running his property restoration business and he is also chairman of governors at Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College. But he will still be a regular watcher at Valley Parade.
"I've always been a hands-on individual and always believed in a team effort and people pulling together. There's a new team at the helm, they've put the money in and it's how they see it going forward from here.
"But I've always been a supporter of the club and that won't change. I will be there at home games, whether it's in a box or sitting in the stand."
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Your Say YourBradford
EVO, Brands says...
7:55am Tue 13 May 08
EVO, Brands says...
7:55am Tue 13 May 08
Bendix, skipton says...
8:26am Tue 13 May 08
Bendix, skipton says...
8:26am Tue 13 May 08
Bendix, skipton says...
8:26am Tue 13 May 08
JM, Skipton says...
8:26am Tue 13 May 08
While the club were still in adminstration during the first few months of the 2004/05 season, Brown was effectively in charge and his leadership during such difficult times should not be forgotten.
He's always come across as a honest and likeable character, with the club's best interests at heart. if it wasn't for people like him there would be no BCFC and however we progress over the next few years, we should never forget how close we came to going bust.
BCFC has had some horrible times, but we're still all here supporting them and under stuart we will start to go forward. Mark Lawn is making a difference, but it's only thanks to the efforts of people like Brown that he can.
a true city gent
JM, Skipton says...
8:26am Tue 13 May 08
While the club were still in adminstration during the first few months of the 2004/05 season, Brown was effectively in charge and his leadership during such difficult times should not be forgotten.
He's always come across as a honest and likeable character, with the club's best interests at heart. if it wasn't for people like him there would be no BCFC and however we progress over the next few years, we should never forget how close we came to going bust.
BCFC has had some horrible times, but we're still all here supporting them and under stuart we will start to go forward. Mark Lawn is making a difference, but it's only thanks to the efforts of people like Brown that he can.
a true city gent
JM, Skipton says...
8:26am Tue 13 May 08
While the club were still in adminstration during the first few months of the 2004/05 season, Brown was effectively in charge and his leadership during such difficult times should not be forgotten.
He's always come across as a honest and likeable character, with the club's best interests at heart. if it wasn't for people like him there would be no BCFC and however we progress over the next few years, we should never forget how close we came to going bust.
BCFC has had some horrible times, but we're still all here supporting them and under stuart we will start to go forward. Mark Lawn is making a difference, but it's only thanks to the efforts of people like Brown that he can.
a true city gent
tyker, midland road says...
8:28am Tue 13 May 08
thank you for your efforts Mr Brown:very few would have stepped forward at the time you did.
To all those who constantly carp about the way the club is run and managed may I make a suggestion.
provide us please your full analysis of how you would manage this club, its limited financial input and its considerable expenses.
Factor into your calculations how, if you want to sack the manager and his team, the costs of that exercise and how those costs would be funded.
Please provide your fully costed analysis of how this club can be turned around say within 12 months and explain how you reach those conclusions.
Tell us please why your proposals are better than those already in place and how these are more likely to be successful. Please build in a contingency just in case your plans do not work out. For instance where would you raise the cash and from whom to ensure that your plan was financially viable.
If, exceptionally, you cannot do any of this and have it subjected to detailed scrutiny and analysis, then you must forego you right to be destructive in your postings.
If you are to be destructive about every small detail about the club then you should be able to put forward constructive and viable proposals for the immediate benefit and future well being of the football club most of us hold dear.
if not then go forth and multiply and do it quickly: please.
tyker, midland road says...
8:28am Tue 13 May 08
thank you for your efforts Mr Brown:very few would have stepped forward at the time you did.
To all those who constantly carp about the way the club is run and managed may I make a suggestion.
provide us please your full analysis of how you would manage this club, its limited financial input and its considerable expenses.
Factor into your calculations how, if you want to sack the manager and his team, the costs of that exercise and how those costs would be funded.
Please provide your fully costed analysis of how this club can be turned around say within 12 months and explain how you reach those conclusions.
Tell us please why your proposals are better than those already in place and how these are more likely to be successful. Please build in a contingency just in case your plans do not work out. For instance where would you raise the cash and from whom to ensure that your plan was financially viable.
If, exceptionally, you cannot do any of this and have it subjected to detailed scrutiny and analysis, then you must forego you right to be destructive in your postings.
If you are to be destructive about every small detail about the club then you should be able to put forward constructive and viable proposals for the immediate benefit and future well being of the football club most of us hold dear.
if not then go forth and multiply and do it quickly: please.
tyker, midland road says...
8:28am Tue 13 May 08
thank you for your efforts Mr Brown:very few would have stepped forward at the time you did.
To all those who constantly carp about the way the club is run and managed may I make a suggestion.
provide us please your full analysis of how you would manage this club, its limited financial input and its considerable expenses.
Factor into your calculations how, if you want to sack the manager and his team, the costs of that exercise and how those costs would be funded.
Please provide your fully costed analysis of how this club can be turned around say within 12 months and explain how you reach those conclusions.
Tell us please why your proposals are better than those already in place and how these are more likely to be successful. Please build in a contingency just in case your plans do not work out. For instance where would you raise the cash and from whom to ensure that your plan was financially viable.
If, exceptionally, you cannot do any of this and have it subjected to detailed scrutiny and analysis, then you must forego you right to be destructive in your postings.
If you are to be destructive about every small detail about the club then you should be able to put forward constructive and viable proposals for the immediate benefit and future well being of the football club most of us hold dear.
if not then go forth and multiply and do it quickly: please.
richard, cleckheaton says...
8:38am Tue 13 May 08
richard, cleckheaton says...
8:38am Tue 13 May 08
richard, cleckheaton says...
8:38am Tue 13 May 08
utters, Skipton says...
8:40am Tue 13 May 08
Thank you Jim, your efforts over the past few years are well and truly appreciated. In saying that I'm sure I'm speaking on behalf of every true city fan the world over. Cheers!
utters, Skipton says...
8:40am Tue 13 May 08
Thank you Jim, your efforts over the past few years are well and truly appreciated. In saying that I'm sure I'm speaking on behalf of every true city fan the world over. Cheers!
utters, Skipton says...
8:40am Tue 13 May 08
Thank you Jim, your efforts over the past few years are well and truly appreciated. In saying that I'm sure I'm speaking on behalf of every true city fan the world over. Cheers!
The Russian, Brizzal says...
8:46am Tue 13 May 08
The Russian, Brizzal says...
8:46am Tue 13 May 08
The Russian, Brizzal says...
8:46am Tue 13 May 08
Waynus, Bradford 6 says...
9:42am Tue 13 May 08
One other point and I acknowledge I may be reading too much into this, is this; Does Brown and Lawn see eye to eye? Brown praises Rhodes for all he has done for the club and doesn't mention the work Lawn has since undertaken. Rhodes responded with kind words towards Brown for the assistance he has given him. No praise given from Lawn. Am I reading too much into this?
Thanks Jim for helping save our club. You are more than welcome at valley Parade any time.
Waynus, Bradford 6 says...
9:42am Tue 13 May 08
One other point and I acknowledge I may be reading too much into this, is this; Does Brown and Lawn see eye to eye? Brown praises Rhodes for all he has done for the club and doesn't mention the work Lawn has since undertaken. Rhodes responded with kind words towards Brown for the assistance he has given him. No praise given from Lawn. Am I reading too much into this?
Thanks Jim for helping save our club. You are more than welcome at valley Parade any time.
Waynus, Bradford 6 says...
9:42am Tue 13 May 08
One other point and I acknowledge I may be reading too much into this, is this; Does Brown and Lawn see eye to eye? Brown praises Rhodes for all he has done for the club and doesn't mention the work Lawn has since undertaken. Rhodes responded with kind words towards Brown for the assistance he has given him. No praise given from Lawn. Am I reading too much into this?
Thanks Jim for helping save our club. You are more than welcome at valley Parade any time.
Mr Sensible, Bingley says...
9:42am Tue 13 May 08
Mr Sensible, Bingley says...
9:42am Tue 13 May 08
Mr Sensible, Bingley says...
9:42am Tue 13 May 08
cowboybob, Bratfud says...
9:57am Tue 13 May 08
Anyway, thank you Mr Brown, job well done in very difficult circumstances !! Up the Bantams !!
cowboybob, Bratfud says...
9:57am Tue 13 May 08
Anyway, thank you Mr Brown, job well done in very difficult circumstances !! Up the Bantams !!
cowboybob, Bratfud says...
9:57am Tue 13 May 08
Anyway, thank you Mr Brown, job well done in very difficult circumstances !! Up the Bantams !!
Respect For All, Keighley says...
10:21am Tue 13 May 08
our loss will definitely be someone elses gain. he's a fantastic chap that jim brown and no, i'm not his PR agent. just appreciative of an honest, hard-working bloke.
Good luck jim, and thanks.
Respect For All, Keighley says...
10:21am Tue 13 May 08
our loss will definitely be someone elses gain. he's a fantastic chap that jim brown and no, i'm not his PR agent. just appreciative of an honest, hard-working bloke.
Good luck jim, and thanks.
Respect For All, Keighley says...
10:21am Tue 13 May 08
our loss will definitely be someone elses gain. he's a fantastic chap that jim brown and no, i'm not his PR agent. just appreciative of an honest, hard-working bloke.
Good luck jim, and thanks.
tyker, midland road says...
10:30am Tue 13 May 08
stated:
Jim is a very honouable and honest man, not like a lot of names
so on that basis your allegations of fraud at City must be put at the door of either JULIAN RHODES OR MARK LAWN. Would that be correct?
perhaps you would do us all a favour and go 50/50 eliminating the one wrong answer and leaving the correct answer.
Or are you alleging both are involved in fraudulent activity at City?
Perhaps, thereafter, you would tell us exactly what fraud has be committed, on whom and for how much.
tyker, midland road says...
10:30am Tue 13 May 08
stated:
Jim is a very honouable and honest man, not like a lot of names
so on that basis your allegations of fraud at City must be put at the door of either JULIAN RHODES OR MARK LAWN. Would that be correct?
perhaps you would do us all a favour and go 50/50 eliminating the one wrong answer and leaving the correct answer.
Or are you alleging both are involved in fraudulent activity at City?
Perhaps, thereafter, you would tell us exactly what fraud has be committed, on whom and for how much.
tyker, midland road says...
10:30am Tue 13 May 08
stated:
Jim is a very honouable and honest man, not like a lot of names
so on that basis your allegations of fraud at City must be put at the door of either JULIAN RHODES OR MARK LAWN. Would that be correct?
perhaps you would do us all a favour and go 50/50 eliminating the one wrong answer and leaving the correct answer.
Or are you alleging both are involved in fraudulent activity at City?
Perhaps, thereafter, you would tell us exactly what fraud has be committed, on whom and for how much.
boparob, Bradford says...
10:46am Tue 13 May 08
tyker wrote:We agreed to ignore them. Come on. If we carry on biting, they'll carry on with drivel. DON'T TAKE THE BAIT.
Mr Sensible, Bingley stated: Jim is a very honouable and honest man, not like a lot of names so on that basis your allegations of fraud at City must be put at the door of either JULIAN RHODES OR MARK LAWN. Would that be correct? perhaps you would do us all a favour and go 50/50 eliminating the one wrong answer and leaving the correct answer. Or are you alleging both are involved in fraudulent activity at City? Perhaps, thereafter, you would tell us exactly what fraud has be committed, on whom and for how much.
LEAVE IT AND STICK TO THE POINTS IN THE ARTICLE OR OTHER POSTS.
<<IGNORE SENSELESS AND SHAUN>>
boparob, Bradford says...
10:46am Tue 13 May 08
tyker wrote:We agreed to ignore them. Come on. If we carry on biting, they'll carry on with drivel. DON'T TAKE THE BAIT.
Mr Sensible, Bingley stated: Jim is a very honouable and honest man, not like a lot of names so on that basis your allegations of fraud at City must be put at the door of either JULIAN RHODES OR MARK LAWN. Would that be correct? perhaps you would do us all a favour and go 50/50 eliminating the one wrong answer and leaving the correct answer. Or are you alleging both are involved in fraudulent activity at City? Perhaps, thereafter, you would tell us exactly what fraud has be committed, on whom and for how much.
LEAVE IT AND STICK TO THE POINTS IN THE ARTICLE OR OTHER POSTS.
<<IGNORE SENSELESS AND SHAUN>>
boparob, Bradford says...
10:46am Tue 13 May 08
tyker wrote:We agreed to ignore them. Come on. If we carry on biting, they'll carry on with drivel. DON'T TAKE THE BAIT.
Mr Sensible, Bingley stated: Jim is a very honouable and honest man, not like a lot of names so on that basis your allegations of fraud at City must be put at the door of either JULIAN RHODES OR MARK LAWN. Would that be correct? perhaps you would do us all a favour and go 50/50 eliminating the one wrong answer and leaving the correct answer. Or are you alleging both are involved in fraudulent activity at City? Perhaps, thereafter, you would tell us exactly what fraud has be committed, on whom and for how much.
LEAVE IT AND STICK TO THE POINTS IN THE ARTICLE OR OTHER POSTS.
<<IGNORE SENSELESS AND SHAUN>>
Philip Simpson, East Coast {Lincs} says...
10:57am Tue 13 May 08
Philip Simpson, East Coast {Lincs} says...
10:57am Tue 13 May 08
Philip Simpson, East Coast {Lincs} says...
10:57am Tue 13 May 08
paul_wakefield, Wakefield says...
10:58am Tue 13 May 08
paul_wakefield, Wakefield says...
10:58am Tue 13 May 08
paul_wakefield, Wakefield says...
10:58am Tue 13 May 08
Chris, Bradford says...
10:59am Tue 13 May 08
Chris, Bradford says...
10:59am Tue 13 May 08
Chris, Bradford says...
10:59am Tue 13 May 08
tyker, midland road says...
11:37am Tue 13 May 08
I cannot remmber making that agreement but have sympathy with the idea.
It is interesting to note that he never commented on the fact that several of his postings stating that there was fraud being committed at VP were removed from the thread. It is a very distinct possibility that those withdrawn commenst are now in the hands of the club solicitor.
He will probably come back here with some inane and utterly senselesss comment and observation which has no relevance to anything in particular.
tyker, midland road says...
11:37am Tue 13 May 08
I cannot remmber making that agreement but have sympathy with the idea.
It is interesting to note that he never commented on the fact that several of his postings stating that there was fraud being committed at VP were removed from the thread. It is a very distinct possibility that those withdrawn commenst are now in the hands of the club solicitor.
He will probably come back here with some inane and utterly senselesss comment and observation which has no relevance to anything in particular.
tyker, midland road says...
11:37am Tue 13 May 08
I cannot remmber making that agreement but have sympathy with the idea.
It is interesting to note that he never commented on the fact that several of his postings stating that there was fraud being committed at VP were removed from the thread. It is a very distinct possibility that those withdrawn commenst are now in the hands of the club solicitor.
He will probably come back here with some inane and utterly senselesss comment and observation which has no relevance to anything in particular.
Chris, Bradford says...
11:47am Tue 13 May 08
Chris, Bradford says...
11:47am Tue 13 May 08
Chris, Bradford says...
11:47am Tue 13 May 08
Waynus, Bradford 6 says...
11:52am Tue 13 May 08
cowboybob wrote:Jim Brown left the club today and not one word of praise from him to mark Lawn an vice versa. Now, I notice we have also allowed Jon Pepper to leave too. Why the cost cuttings?
I was thinking the same Waynus, but being the cynics we all are on here I think we may just be over reacting ! Anyway, thank you Mr Brown, job well done in very difficult circumstances !! Up the Bantams !!
If Pepper is under contract, surely he shouldn't be allowed to leave until a replacement has been hired. Is this not business sense?
I don't want to sound like one of the 'doom brothers', but am I reading too much into the this morning's news stories relating to Brown & Pepper?
Waynus, Bradford 6 says...
11:52am Tue 13 May 08
cowboybob wrote:Jim Brown left the club today and not one word of praise from him to mark Lawn an vice versa. Now, I notice we have also allowed Jon Pepper to leave too. Why the cost cuttings?
I was thinking the same Waynus, but being the cynics we all are on here I think we may just be over reacting ! Anyway, thank you Mr Brown, job well done in very difficult circumstances !! Up the Bantams !!
If Pepper is under contract, surely he shouldn't be allowed to leave until a replacement has been hired. Is this not business sense?
I don't want to sound like one of the 'doom brothers', but am I reading too much into the this morning's news stories relating to Brown & Pepper?
Waynus, Bradford 6 says...
11:52am Tue 13 May 08
cowboybob wrote:Jim Brown left the club today and not one word of praise from him to mark Lawn an vice versa. Now, I notice we have also allowed Jon Pepper to leave too. Why the cost cuttings?
I was thinking the same Waynus, but being the cynics we all are on here I think we may just be over reacting ! Anyway, thank you Mr Brown, job well done in very difficult circumstances !! Up the Bantams !!
If Pepper is under contract, surely he shouldn't be allowed to leave until a replacement has been hired. Is this not business sense?
I don't want to sound like one of the 'doom brothers', but am I reading too much into the this morning's news stories relating to Brown & Pepper?
Respect For All, Keighley says...
12:10pm Tue 13 May 08
Chris wrote:as MANY companies (inc football clubs!) have...there are as many reasons why a company can't co
Sensible, I believe one of his companies has gone into liquidation same as Halifax did, so its probably best he moves on, good luck Jim Bob.
EVO, Brands says...
7:55am Tue 13 May 08