Ex-Leeds midfielder Michael Brown: David Lampitt was out of his depth - he cost me six months at Portsmouth

Nonetheless, six months spent grounded at Fratton Park still irritate.

The combative midfielder once skippered Pompey in the Premier League and lined-up against Chelsea in the 2010 FA Cup final.

Yet following 61 appearances, a complex contact situation ensured he never again represented the Blues after Boxing Day 2010 – despite continuing to train.

An August 2009 arrival from Wigan, Brown was entitled to an additional 12 months should he reach 25 appearances during the 2010-11 season.

Crucially for a Pompey side by then competing in the Championship and having recently emerged from administration, it would retain his existing wage level.

And Brown blames the subsequent unsatisfactory outcome on David Lampitt, the Blues’ chief executive he has accused of being ‘out of his depth’.

Brown told The News: ‘I had a good relationship with the Pompey fans, the only issue was how I was portrayed towards the end of my tenure when I couldn’t play.

‘I couldn’t be picked for six months because of my contract. There was a deal to be done to change that, we wanted to try to do it.

‘However, there was one particular person who came in and tried to make it very, very difficult – David Lampitt.

‘He was ridiculous, he wouldn’t see any kind of reason, he wouldn’t answer calls. It was a joke.

‘Let’s be honest, it is hard for a player to criticise someone of that power when you are sat in a club. I can speak now, though, and everyone should realise he was out of his depth.

‘If we are being brutally blunt, he hindered so many things at that football club. Lampitt was out of his depth.

‘He didn’t know how to deal with these situations and players, he hadn’t done it before at any sort of level. That was the issue. A bit more experience behind him probably would have helped.

‘We tried to offer a solution, we tried to make everything well, we tried to come to a compromise – I wanted to play football. I could reduce my wages and stay a couple of years longer, there were suggestions put forward by us.

‘I was on a good salary and it wasn’t as if we didn’t try to do another deal to reduce the impact, but it was impossible. That’s because of Lampitt.

‘I trained every day in case that situation changed, but it just couldn’t. I remember Liam Lawrence shouting in one training session “This is a joke, how can he not be allowed to play and help us?”.

‘We wanted to try to do it, it was such a shame I couldn’t play. It’s a low point when any footballer is prevented from playing football.

‘Richard Hughes was in the same situation. We would have loved to play for Pompey again – but there was no reasoning with Lampitt.’

Appointed by administrator Andrew Andronikou in June 2010, Lampitt possessed an impressive pedigree.

The qualified chartered accountant had previously spent six years with the Football Association, rising to the position of head of financial regulation, yet now sought club involvement as a chief executive.

In addition to the Brown situation, he also inherited Richard Hughes’ contract scenario.

In the contract extension Hughes signed in January 2009 under Peter Storrie was a 12-month option which triggered after certain terms were met.

Effectively, should the midfielder appear on 22 team sheets during the 2010-11 season, he would receive another year on the same pay.

Brown’s final Pompey outing was a 1-1 draw with Millwall on Boxing Day 2010.

He had been an ever-present in their 24 fixtures of the 2010-11 campaign, starting 22 of them, and scoring three times.

The following match saw him replaced by Hughes, who netted in a 3-3 draw at Leeds United – and never again played for the Blues.

With the situation unable to be resolved, Pompey had to continue paying the pair for the remainder of the season.

While in playing terms, Jonathan Hogg was recruited on loan from Aston Villa to cover their first-team absence.

‘Do you know what? Towards the end of that January transfer window I could have joined Wolves in the Premier League,’ added Brown.

‘But it occurred to me that should I leave the club, what would actually happen to the money I was owed?

‘I was reassured “Yeah, yeah we’ll get you it”. But I didn’t trust David Lampitt one bit. So I stayed.

‘Years later, when the club was in different hands, I dealt with Mark Catlin and Tony Brown for money owed. They are proper people who understand football and try to make things right.

‘Pompey have a fantastic chief executive in Mark who knows how to look after things – and I have the utmost respect for him.

‘These are good people for Pompey, who are trying to make it right. Not everyone will see it eye-to-eye, but all I can say is in the stuff I have dealt with and conversations I’ve had, they’ve tried to do it properly for the football club.

‘In fairness, at the time it was difficult for Steve Cotterill. I can only imagine what he had to go through as manager with all the promises which never came through.

‘I had a good relationship with him. Once I couldn’t play, we understood each other and I would still train. I’d be there three or four days a week and also watch the boys in matches.

‘I was always there to help and offer encouragement. I had to be ready in case I was asked to play again, I so wanted to play again.

‘All the players understood our situation, Steve understood – but David Lampitt just couldn’t put it right.

‘That’s just the way it goes at times. We tried to do something, but it was impossible.’

Departing Fratton Park in June 2011 upon the expiry of his contract, Brown found a new footballing home at Leeds.

Recruited by Simon Grayson, initially on a year-long deal with a 12-month option, he would go on to spend three seasons at Elland Road, making 78 appearances.

Brown next represented Port Vale, with his final outing in October 2016 – at the age of 39 years, eight months and seven days.

His playing career spanned 21 years, consisting of nine clubs, 658 games and 59 goals.

He said: ‘I left Pompey after not playing football for six months. Clubs in the Championship were asking “Oh, you’ve not played for so long. So can you still do it?”.

‘I trained all the way through that summer and Leeds took me in. I was told “This is the deal, come and meet us in Glasgow for pre-season and we’ll sign the contract”.

‘The truth was they had doubts whether I was fit enough and if I could still do it at my age.

‘A training game was put on that morning. I told them: “I can’t really play in this because I have no contract”. Imagine what would have happened if I’d hurt myself in that session without a deal.

‘Instead they ran me at the side of the pitch and I blitzed it. I signed a contract the next afternoon.

‘I was aged 34 and at that stage your age goes against you. You’re always trying to prove your worth – yet I ended up being at Leeds for three years. It just shows there was a little left in me.

‘Some fans will say me and Hughesie were out of order, but I think the bulk of the people knew the sort of people we are, characters who give everything – on and off the pitch – until the very end.

‘We wanted to keep playing for Pompey, but you have to understand that, when you’re being taken advantage of, enough is enough.

‘Richard Hughes is technical director at Bournemouth, we are not talking about people who aren’t intelligent and don’t think things through. We’ve actually both gone on and done all right for ourselves.

‘We tried – but it was just impossible with David Lampitt.’

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