Manager Biographies - Brian Clough

Outspoken, controversial and stubborn - could Brian Clough be summed up better in just three words? Well... yes, actually. Genius football manager!

Hailing from Middlesbrough and spending most of his playing days at his hometown club, to say Clough was a prolific striker would probably be an understatement. A record of 197 goals in just 212 league appearances for Boro (almost one a match) speaks for itself, and when he moved to Northeast neighbours Sunderland, his ratio was no different, bagging 54 goals in 61 games.

Despite this record, Clough made only two appearances for England and failed to grab a goal, though he probably would have donned the England jersey more had a cruciate ligament injury not bought his career to an untimely end at the age of just 27.

After a very short-lived playing return (three games to be precise), Clough accepted his career was over and his thoughts moved onto management. Soon he landed the role of Hartlepool boss and immediately appointed close friend and confidante Peter Taylor as his assistant.

In 1967, two years into the job at lowly Hartlepool, the partnership of Clough and Taylor had impressed to such a degree that Derby County came knocking with a contract offer. Unable to resist the opportunity both Clough and Taylor moved and set about implementing their hard-work ethic into the squad.

Mr Clough, as he demanded to be called, was stern and commanded obedience from his players and staff. Those that failed to toe the line would (without fail) find their careers plummeting, but on the flipside there appeared to be a magic about the Clough / Taylor partnership that allowed players who worked hard to turn into world-class talents seemingly beyond their god-given ability.

Promoted to the top flight within two years of Clough taking charge, Derby set about the big boys with a lack of fear and a hunger that saw the club brushing shoulders with Liverpool and Leeds United at the top of the table by 1971-72 (largely due to an unbeaten record until mid-October.)

The title race went down to the wire with Derby scalping Liverpool in their final game, leaving them top of the table, but with both the Merseyside club and Leeds still able to leapfrog them with victory in their last matches. With the pressure reaching breaking point Clough and Taylor took the squad off to Majorca to calm the nerves. It was whilst there that they learned both their rivals had squandered their opportunities, handing the title to Derby and instigating a full-blown party in the sun.

Not content with taking the club to the title for the first time in their history, Clough and Taylor turned their eyes to the European Cup and they didn't have to wait long before a European giant came calling at the Baseball Ground. In the second round Derby were paired up with a Benfica team led by the legendary Eusebio, but the favourites were stunned in a sparkling first 45 minutes which saw goals from Roy McFarland, Kevin Hector and Jon McGovern. Clough sent his men to Portugal for the second leg with staunch orders to defend, and a 0-0 saw them progress.

A Quarter Final win over Spartak Trnava meant that suddenly only Juventus stood in the way of a fairytale European Cup Final for Clough and Taylor. But alas, in controversial circumstances, the 'Old Lady of Turin' prevailed, winning 3-1 in Italy followed by a second leg which involved a sending off, missed penalty and ultimately European heartbreak for County.

Throughout his reign as Derby boss Clough had become infamous for his outspoken comments to the media, not least his catalogue of anti-establishment outbursts directed mainly at the FA. In October 1973 it was largely these comments that led to a falling out between Clough and the Derby board and resulted in him and his assistant Taylor handing in their resignation. Following their departure Derby County resumed their role of East Midlands yo-yo club.

A brief stint at Brighton & Hove Albion ensued, followed by the briefest of stints at Leeds United. Clough was brought in to replace Leeds legend Don Revie, a man he had openly criticised several times in the press. He immediately began to implement his iron-glove managerial approach, but unfortunately for him the Leeds squad were less than happy and protested to the board about his tough-love approach.

With many top-class England internationals leading the protests, player-power eventually won and Clough's reign famously lasted just 44 days. Whether Peter Taylor's decision not to join Clough at Elland Road contributed to his downfall is a matter open to debate.

For Clough, it was a quick return to management and the East Midlands - not with Derby, but with rivals Nottingham Forest, known to the world for Robin Hood alone. Not for long though!

Taking the helm in 1975 when Forest languished in the 2nd Division, and joined by Peter Taylor a year later, Clough started to build a squad that stormed to promotion in 1976/77, and miraculously won the League Cup and League title in their first season in the top flight (this with a team almost identical to the previous season.)

Clough had shown a man-management style never seen before, taking underachieving players such as John Robertson who appeared to be on the way towards a quiet end to their career, and turning them into world-beaters. This made the man who once dubbed himself 'Old Big 'Ead' the first boss since Herbert Chapman to win the league title with two different clubs, a feat that has since been matched by Kenny Dalglish (Liverpool and Blackburn).

Sadly, the 1978/79 season failed to see Clough deliver a second title, but a trophy of much greater magnitude was to soften this blow. During the season Forest broke the British transfer record making Trevor Francis the first £1m player in his move from Birmingham City (Clough has characteristically claimed since that the official sum was £999,999), and although the side's league form struggled, they took to Europe like a duck to water.

With the likes of Robertson, O'Neil, Shilton, Lloyd and Burns in the side, Clough had built a team mixed with youth and experience, and he was onto a winner. His side were written off when in the 1st Round of the European Cup they drew defending champions Liverpool, a team eager for revenge for losing the league the previous year.

However, Clough had the perfect game plan, almost identical the one that beat Benfica during his Derby reign - hit them early. An early goal and subsequent second gave Forest a 2-0 lead after the first leg, but with Anfield still to come Liverpool were expected to get back into the game. Clough's approach? The same as the second leg in against Benfica in Portugal - defend like hell! And it worked, a 0-0 draw meant they went through and were on their way.

Standard wins over AEK Athens and Grasshopper suddenly saw Clough come face-to-face with another European Cup Semi Final. "This time," he said, "nothing would stop them".

The 1st leg against Cologne (at The City Ground) saw the game end in a 3-3 draw courtesy of a late strike from a Japanese substitute for Cologne, prompting the famously amusing headline 'Forest Sunk by Japanese Sub'. It could have been worse though, Clough's team had been 2-0 behind. In the second leg Clough's team got the vital early goal and again defended like mad to give Forest and Old Big 'Ead their first European Cup Final.

The final against Malmo saw Forest start as favourites, and Clough made a bold decision to drop Martin O'Neill for Trevor Francis, one that must have aggrieved O'Neill, while giving him an excellent early insight into the decisions that are necessary in his eventual role as a successful manager himself.

He was vindicated, too, as Francis headed the winning goal to send Nottingham into euphoria and ranking Brian Clough amongst the managerial greats. A year later and the miracles kept on coming as Forest defended their trophy, beating a Kevin-Keegan-led Hamburg in the Final. Robin Hood is still the most famous name associated with Nottingham, but Clough is now a close second.

Further triumphs for the club were to come in the League Cup, though Brian Clough never got his hands on the FA Cup, the trophy he craved so much. His career ended unfortunately with relegation in 1992/93 when tearful Old Big 'Ead bowed out a legend at The City Ground.

Many believe his outspoken and controversial nature robbed him of a chance to lead England, but the man any other way simply wouldn't have been Brian Clough!