By Elliott West
“I wouldn’t say I was the best manager in the business. But I was in the top one”.
Brian Clough
Introduction
Brian Clough was probably the best manager England never had. Someone who shot from the hip, was self-opinioned, waspish and pulled an iron punch. His nasal furore was legendary on and off the pitch, stubborn yet brilliant. Brian’s theory on football management was it was his way or the highway. He could be difficult and explosive but what he didn’t know about the beautiful game was not worth knowing. A man who had cut his teeth on the football pitch as a player, a prolific striker who played for Middlesbrough and Sunderland and scored 267 goals between the two clubs and won two England caps against Wales and Sweden in 1959.
The Football Giant
Without Peter Taylor, Brian Clough would probably not have become the force that he was. A mentor who saw Clough’s potential voiced his virtues and promoted his career. The reserve goalkeeper who turned Brian from a third-choice centre-forward fresh out of the RAF became the talk of the town in his debut match for Middlesbrough against Barnsley in 1955. A playing career that came to a bitter end on Boxing Day 1962 whilst playing for Sunderland, a club that he had only signed up for a year earlier. Yet Taylor was the crucial piece in the puzzle who helped Brian make the leap of faith from player to football manager. A player career that ended when Clough collided with Bury’s goalkeeper and tore a cruciate ligament beyond repair.
The Iron Manager
The path to success is never easy and Brian had to learn the hard way. A short-lived position as a youth coach would lead to being sacked. A dismissal that Clough didn’t and caused him to hit the bottle heavily and a period of desperation. Yet in 1965, he was offered a managerial position at nearby Hartlepool and Peter Taylor left his job as Burton Albion manager to join him. What followed was inspiring, turning a club on the skids, in the second division and on the verge of extinction into a thriving prospect. The pair breathed life into the club and prevented it from becoming a football dodo. They were brilliant at reading the transfer market and bought players such as Roy McFarland and Archie Gemmill, future stars of the game for a low fee, transforming Derby County as well. Actions that caused the club to be promoted to the second division. Under their reign, they won the championship in 1972 and the semi-finals of the European Cup in 1973. Yet cracks would start to form when Taylor found out that Clough had been given a £5,000 salary increase without him knowing. A decision that caused a lifelong rift between the two. The duo also came under fire from the chairman, Sam Longson which would lead to the pair resigning. Despite protests from the local community, the pair never returned to the club.
Clough then moved to the Third-Division club Brighton and Hove Albion. A move that he probably wished in hindsight that he hadn’t made. He adopted an almost dictatorial stance, trying to turn limited players into superstars. A bullying tactic that backfired on him and he would only manage the club for eight months. What followed would go down in football history as a disastrous car crash. Brian had always wanted to manage Leeds United and when the opportunity arose in the summer of 1974, Clough jumped at the opportunity.
The Fatal Error
Clough time at Leeds would haunt him for the rest of his life. A surprise appointment that raised eyebrows, especially as Brian had been highly critical of Don Revie and the players before the move, branding them as cheats. His 44 days at the club would be acrimonious and the players would never sing from the same hymn sheet under him. Don Revie had left the club with a clean sheet, having won the League Cup in 1968 and the FA Cup in 1972. The club was also challenging for the First Division title before accepting the England manager job in 1974. Brian splashed the cash and alienated the players. Moves that came with disastrous results, winning just one of the eight matches and losing three of them. After a 1-1 draw with Huddersfield, the players met in the dressing room and held a vote of no-confidence to force Brian out of the club. The board followed suit and sacked him after just 44 days in charge. One of the shortest tenures in the history of football. Clough left the club a demoralised man and became the arch-enemy of Don Revie.
The Forest
Despite this pain and anguish, Clough managed to pick himself up, dust himself off and start again. In January 1975, Brian was offered the managerial job at Nottingham Forest, the great rival to Derby. He was joined by Taylor in 1976 after he resigned from Brighton. This was a seismic moment and one when the club sprung into action. In 1977 the club was promoted to the top flight and the following season won the league title. The first time they had won it in the club’s history. Clough became only one of four managers to have won the English league with two clubs. Forest would go on to win two consecutive European Cups in 1979 and 1980 and two League Cups in 1978 and 1979. Taylor retired in 1982 but Brian would carry on with further victories after his departure. His further decade in charge would lead to his winning two more League Cups in 1989 and 1990 and reaching the FA Cup final in 1991. His reign ended in 1993 when Nottingham Forest was relegated from the Premier League which led to Clough retiring.
Brian’s Legacy
Brian Clough died from stomach cancer on 20 September 2004 in Derby City Hospital at the age of 69. A footballing icon who had an acid tongue and who was not prepared to deviate from his unique football blueprint. He was a brilliant manager and will be remembered for this time rather than his playing career. A manager who was just like a clockwork toy, wind him up and he could talk for England. A fantastic orator who knew the game inside out and didn’t care how many enemies he made. Unphased, powerful and a football giant. His statue looms over Middlesborough and he had tram No. 215 on the Nottingham tram system named after him. A man who was played brilliantly by Michael Sheen in the 2009 film The Damned United, telling the story of his time at Leeds United. A true grit northerner who will go down in history as, like Marmite, you either love him or hate him. Nevertheless an arrogant genius.
