The 20th of September marked 11 years since the death of legendary striker and manager Brian Clough.
He is a man who’s stature in football is demonstrated perfectly by the fact that fans across the board, and not merely those of the clubs he had brought so much joy to (namely the East Midlands arch-rivals Derby County and Nottingham Forest), adored and revered him for the genius he truly was. A man who never held back, always had strong words for the football establishment and no doubt would be greatly dismayed at what our great game has evolved (or rather devolved) toward. Possibly the best manager England never had, but we will never know. Above all, Clough epitomised the best of British and the best of football.
Words like genius and legend barely do justice to the man that was Brian Clough.
Before becoming a remarkable football manager, he was a stunning footballer in his own right. Born and bred in Middlesbrough, he became the Golden Boy for his hometown club at centre-forward. His strike rate for Middlesbrough and Sunderland was truly phenomenal and has been surpassed by few, if any in English football. Virtually all of his career was played in the Second Division, save for an attempted comeback in the top flight with Sunderland. In 1958, players like Johnny Haynes (Fulham), Ronnie Clayton, Bryan Douglas (Blackburn) and Alan A’Court (Liverpool) were all Second Division footballers, selected to represent England in that year’s World Cup in Sweden.
That alone illustrates the quality that was available throughout the English game, pitifully lacking today. Clough himself won a mere two full caps for the national side and could have had many more. He joined Sunderland in 1961, narrowly missing promotion in his first season, but on Boxing Day 1962, would be injured in a collision with the opposition goalkeeper in a match against Bury. His playing days were virtually over, save for an attempted comeback two years later after the Black Cats had been promoted.
Clough began his managerial career at Hartlepool United and the club soon made a measure of progress. In 1967, he became manager of Derby County, an East Midlands club that had seen better fortunes, promise periodically shown under Harry Storer and Tim Ward not translating into a return to top-flight football. He set about a radical reconstruction of the team, with only a few established players being retained such as Colin Boulton, Kevin Hector, Alan Durban and Ron Webster, and recruiting players who became household names – John McGovern, John O’Hare and Alan Hinton. So good was the team he built, they won the Second Division in 1969 at a canter and kicked on in the top-flight, finishing fourth in 1970.
By 1971-72, a formidable Derby lineup featured the additions of Roy McFarland and Colin Todd in defence, and Archie Gemmill in midfield. They would win the League in one of the most tightly-contested seasons ever, only learning of the triumph after the completion of the final fixtures. A dispute with the board led to Clough’s departure the next year, but enough of a legacy was left for Dave Mackay to continue their success.
In 1975 after spells at Brighton and Hove Albion, and more infamously at Leeds United, Clough became the manager of Nottingham Forest. It was here that the football world saw his genius would in full-flow over his 18 years in charge at the City Ground. It took him two years to get Forest back into the top flight, putting together what would be a sensationally successful squad with Martin O’Neill, John Robertson, Viv Anderson, Ian Bowyer, Peter Shilton, Kenny Burns, Archie Gemmill, John McGovern, Garry Birtles and Tony Woodcock. They would win their first and only League title in 1978 and a League Cup for good measure. Two European Cups in succession were also achieved, in an era where the trophy stayed on English soil for six seasons.
The secret lay in Clough’s ability to get some very ordinary names to perform above themselves, the fact that players were recruited to do a specific job and concentrate on what they did best. Brian Clough had a philosophy of playing ball-to-feet, famously stating, “if God had wanted us to play football in the clouds he would have put grass up there“. He despised long ball and catenaccio tactics which were seen as anti-football, always the aim under Clough’s time at the helm.
After the European successes money was spent and not all of it well – they had broken the transfer record for Trevor Francis, a masterstroke signing that was not small by the standards of the day. But Forest were able to bring through players or find some real gems somewhere, youth products like Des Walker, Steve Hodge and Colin Walsh, Dutch imports Hans van Breukelen and Johnny Metgod, and ultimately such players as Stuart Pearce and Neil Webb. Evidence of the value of finding talent at lower levels was demonstrated, for instance, by the signings of Roy Keane and Ian Woan in 1990. While playing staff changed, what never changed was the style. Clough had his team playing attractive football that consistently won plaudits, if not always as consistent results compared to their earlier successes, two more League Cups and an FA Cup final appearance notwithstanding.
Sadly, by the time the Premier League had come into being in 1992, Clough looked to have run his course and relegation was the outcome in what would be his last season in charge. His successor, Frank Clark, was able to keep Forest going for a few more years after winning promotion, and they have so far not recaptured the magic of those years.
Magic is one word that can be used to sum up the managerial career of Brian Clough, for it was always in abundance during his time at both Derby County and Nottingham Forest, for he was as entertaining in his outspokenness as he was with the football his teams played. Magic too, was a time when Forest were not the only English club capable of making waves in European football as they were in good company. Hope springs eternal, however, that some of the magic can be discovered again.
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