His squad may boast star names Jay-Jay Okocha, Henrik Pedersen, Nick Barmby and Dean Windass, but the ageing quartet struggle to keep fit and clear of injuries.
There are also question marks over why, after overhauling his squad, he is resorting to selecting players such as Damien Delaney, Bryan Hughes and Steve McPhee out of position.
He must be commended, though, for finally getting the best out of Michael Turner and Dean Marney, who struggled after being signed by Phil Parkinson but now look like genuine Championship-quality players.
The squad made no secret of the fact they wanted Brown to get the job on a permanent basis and gave it their all during his caretaker period. However, Jon Parkin, Michael Bridges and Danny Coles have all revealed their struggles to get on with him, so his man-management skills could be questioned.
Consistency has been the biggest thing missing from Brown's time in charge, and any spells of form have been undone by following performances.
While City have shown they can be a match for any team in this league, defeats to out-of-form teams near the bottom of the league have been particularly disappointing and all too frequent.
However, after a year in charge it could be argued that Brown is still in the infancy of his spell in charge, and consistency of results will come with consistency in management. There's five months to go until Brown completes his first full season in charge, and then may be the time to better judge his performance as manager.
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