On This Day – 21st March
Brian Clough was born on this day in 1935. He was a fantastic goalscorer in is playing days and often outspoken but hugely successful manager.
As a player, he scored an incredible 267 career goals in 296 games, before a knee injury ruined his career at the age of 27. Within three years, Clough was manager of Hartlepools United of the Fourth Division. He spent two years at Victoria Park before leaving to join Second Division Derby County.
In his second season at Derby, he lead the club to the Second Division title. He followed this up with the First Division title just three seasons later.
Despite the club playing extremely well on the pitch, there was a rift between Clough, his Taylor Peter Taylor and the Board of Directors. Clough and Taylor quit their jobs in October 1973 in an attempt to oust the club chairman Sam Longson. It didn’t work and they were left without a job.
The pair moved to Third Division Brighton and Hove Albion, but had an unsuccessful nine months on the South Coast. Clough then left the club in the summer of 1974 to take charge of Leeds United, leaving Taylor at Brighton.
Clough’s decision to move to Elland Road proved disastrous and he was sacked after just 44 days into the job. He returned to management just four months later, joining Second Division Nottingham Forest. His old friend Peter Taylor left Brighton to become his number two yet again.
His new Forest side won promotion from the Second Division in Clough’s third full season at the City Ground. They then won the First Division championship in their first season in the top flight, as well as the League Cup.
Clough guided the club to back-to-back European Cups and three further League Cups, but the FA Cup eluded him. The closest he got to lifting the trophy came in 1991, when Forest lost 2-1 to Tottenham in the Final.
Clough’s health was deteriorating due to problems with alcohol. He retired from the game at the end of the 1992/93 season, with his Forest side getting relegated from the Premier League.
Often referred to as “The best manager England never had”, Clough worked wonders with small clubs. Derby County and Nottingham Forest fans can vouch for that. It’s such a shame that he was never given the chance to manage the national team as he could have given England a great chance to win the World Cup for a second time.
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