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Thu 16 December 2021 | 20:29

Top Facts about Brian Clough, the Big Head

Numerous times we have seen players that had a marvelous player career but failed embarrassingly in their managerial one, but in today’s case, with an amazing managerial career and phenomenal football skills, Brian lead a successful career; welcome to top Facts about Brian Clough, the big head.

Brian Howard Clough OBE was an English footballer and manager who was one of only four managers to win the English league with two separate teams. He started as a striker and is still one of the Football League's top goal scorers, but a devastating injury cut short his career.

Clough's name is linked to that of Peter Taylor, who worked as his assistant manager at a number of teams in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

With Derby County and Nottingham Forest, they had remarkable success. He's also known for giving numerous radio and television appearances in which he made inflammatory comments regarding players, other managers, and the status of the game in general.

Clough scored 251 league goals from 274 starts throughout his playing career with

Middlesbrough

and Sunderland, making him the league's third most prolific scorer. He also earned two England appearances, both in 1959, before retiring at the age of 29 due to anterior cruciate ligament injury.

He had taken over as coach of Nottingham Forest in the Second Division.

Forest was promoted to the first division in 1977 and won the league championship the following season, making Clough one of

just four managers in English history

to win the league with two teams.

Taylor resigned in 1982 after winning two European Cups and two League Cups in a row at Forest. Clough went on as Forest manager for another decade, winning two more League Cups and reaching the FA Cup final in 1991, although he was unable to repeat his previous achievements.

Clough withdrew from football after Forest was relegated from the Premier League in 1993.

A one-of-a-kind article about top facts about Brian Clough, the big head

Clough is regarded as one of the finest managers in English football.

He is charismatic, opinionated, and often contentious. His accomplishments with Derby and Forest, two struggling regional teams with little previous success, are considered among the best in football history. His teams were also known for their exceptional sportsmanship and for playing beautiful football.

In this post, we'll look at some of the more intriguing aspects of Clough's life. In the

top facts about Brian Clough

article, we'll also discuss his career briefly and meet some of his family members.

Brian Clough information

For those who are unfamiliar with Brian Clough or who want to prepare themselves for reading the top facts about Brian Clough, let's start with the most important information about him.

Personal information

  • Full name:

    Brian Howard Clough

  • Date of birth:

    21 March 1935

  • Date of death:

    20 September 2004

  • Aged:

    69

  • Star Sign:

    Aries

  • Star sign features:

    Ambitious, organized, and optimistic

  • Nationality:

    English

  • Place of birth:

    Derby, England

  • Marital status:

    Married

  • Religion:

    Christianity

Football information

  • Position:

    Striker

  • Total appearances:

    299

  • Club appearances:

    296

Last team played for:

Sunderland

National appearances:

3

Physical stats and appearance

  • Height:

    1.78 m

  • Hair color:

    Dark Brown

  • Skin color:

    White

  • Facial hair:

    Clean

Now that you've learned all there is to know about him, we can go on to the next portion of the

top facts about Brian Clough

article, which will include more explanations and specifics on the subjects covered thus far.

Brian Clough childhood

Let us start from his childhood and work our way up to his personal life and top facts about Brian Clough that may have been hidden in his life story.

Brian Clough was the sixth of nine children born at 11 Valley Road, an inter-war council home in Grove Hill, Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire, to a local sweet store worker, afterward sugar boiler, and eventually manager.

Elizabeth, the oldest, died of septicemia at the age of four in 1927.

I was the youngster from a little corner of heaven." Clough said of his childhood in Middlesbrough, "It wasn't the most well-appointed location in the world, but it was paradise to me." "Apart from the alcohol, everything I've done, everything I've accomplished, everything I can think of that has driven and influenced my life stems from my youth.

Maybe it was seeing Mam, who had eight children to care for, working from sunrise to night, harder than you or I had ever done."

Clough dropped out of Eleven Plus in 1946 and enrolled at Marton Grove Secondary Modern School.

He later admitted in his autobiography, 'Walking on Water,' that he had neglected his studies in favor of sports, despite becoming Head Boy at school, that cricket, not football, was his first love as a child, and that he would have preferred to score a test century at Lord's over a hat-trick at Wembley.

He dropped out of school in 1950 with no credentials to work at ICI and served in the RAF Regiment from 1953 to 1955.

The next section of

top facts about Brian Clough

will be as brief as possible to leave space for actual facts and secrets.

Brian Clough player career

Before his national service in the RAF between 1953 and 1955, Clough played for Billingham Synthonia and scored three goals in four games. When he wasn't in the services, he played football for the Boro third team, yet he was never picked for the RAF national team.

Following that, he became a prolific scorer for Middlesbrough, scoring 204 goals in 222 league appearances for the club, including 40 or more goals in four successive seasons. Clough, on the other hand, made transfer requests on a frequent basis and had a hostile relationship with several of his teammates.

Boro's porous defense, which surrendered goals as often as he scored them, irritated him the most. Clough made two appearances for England's national football team, against Wales on October 17, 1959, and

Sweden

on October 28, 1959, however, neither appearance resulted in a goal.

Clough's transfer request was ultimately granted in July 1961, and he went to Sunderland, Boro's local rivals, for £55,000. Clough has a total of 63 goals in 74 games with Sunderland. Clough scored 24 league goals by December of the 1962–63 season as Sunderland pressed for promotion.

This ex-strike was played through on goal against

Bury

at Roker Park on December 26, 1962, in slippery conditions and severe rain, and clashed with goalkeeper Chris Harker. Clough tore the medial and cruciate ligaments in his knee, an injury that would have terminated a player's career at the time.

He reappeared two years later but was only able to participate in three games before retiring at the age of 29.

Brian Clough missed opportunities

Clough had several job opportunities which would have changed the direction of his career greatly but either by his own choice or the circumstances, he missed the chance. What opportunities you may ask? Let us talk about it in this portion of top facts about Brian Clough.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Clough was a popular contender for England's manager. However, it was generally assumed that the FA would be hesitant to nominate him due to his repeated public criticisms of the English football authority.

Prior to Graham Taylor's appointment as England manager in 1990, Clough was still a popular pick. He has been dubbed "England's best manager ever."

The big head was said to be interested in managing Everton in 1977, but Gordon Lee was chosen instead.

Following Mike England's resignation as

Wales

manager in February 1988, Clough was offered the role on a part-time basis, similar to what John Toshack was promised.

The Englishman was interested in pursuing a career as an international manager, but Nottingham Forest's board of directors refused to allow him to do so.

Clough exploited the Wales position to get a better deal with Nottingham Forest, according to Hamish Woodward of Atletifo Sports. Clough said in April 1986 that he will spend the remainder of his managerial career at Nottingham Forest.

Clough was associated with the role of Scotland manager in June 1986, but the position was ultimately taken by Andy Roxburgh (a long-serving member of the Scotland coaching staff). Clough had previously been associated with the

Republic of Ireland

post, which was eventually taken by fellow Englishman Jack Charlton the previous year.

Brian Clough controversies

Clough was involved in the English football "bungs" controversy in the 1990s. A "bung" was a slang term for illegal payments made between parties to guarantee that player transfers went through. George Graham, the then-Arsenal manager, was fired in 1995 for payments made during the 1992 sale of two Scandinavian players.

Clough got entangled in the affair in June 1993, when Alan Sugar, the then-chairman of Tottenham Hotspur, implicated him in court. Sugar, the club's majority stakeholder, was threatening to sue the club's top executive, Terry Venables.

Sugar said in court that Venables informed him that Clough "loved a bung" during the 1992 purchase of Teddy Sheringham from Nottingham Forest to Tottenham. Sugar stated he approved a cash payment of £58,750, which he expected to go to an agency but was instead sent to Ronnie Fenton, Clough's Forest assistant.

Clough was charged with wrongdoing after an FA investigation, but the matter was dismissed owing to his ailing health. Rick Parry, the former Premier League chief executive who oversaw Clough's probe, said: "We believed he was guilty of accepting bungs based on the facts. The proof was quite solid."

Clough broke FA regulations by making unlawful payments to players and backroom personnel, according to a former Forest head scout, Alan Hill. Clough has consistently refuted the charges, claiming that "Asking me how it feels to gain money via transfers is like to asking, "How does it feel to have VD?" I'm not sure since I've never tasted it."

Brian Clough family

As promised, we will meet his family in this part of top facts about Brian Clough.

Clough married Barbara Glasgow in Middlesbrough on April 4, 1959. Barbara's marriage was "the finest thing I ever done," he later claimed. Simon, born on June 15, 1964, Nigel, born on March 19, 1966, and Elizabeth, born on May 31, 1967, were their three children.

Nigel also played professional football in the 1980s and 1990s for Nottingham Forest, where he was coached by his father. He subsequently went into management, and in January 2009, he was named manager of Derby County, following in his father's footsteps.

Barbara Clough, Brian Clough's wife, died on July 20, 2013, at the age of 75, nine years after Brian Clough died. Her death was discovered to be the consequence of a head injury caused when she fell over in a hospital parking lot while receiving cancer treatment.

Brian Clough in other fields

Clough was a lifelong socialist who was often seen on miners' picket lines, donated considerable amounts to trade union causes, canvassed for his local MP, and served as the head of the Anti-Nazi League. He was solicited by the Labour Party on two occasions to run for parliament, but he refused to do so in order to continue his management career in football.

Clough said, "I'm not a champagne socialist." "Naturally, I'm a socialist who drinks champagne. I differ from a decent Tory in that he retains his money while I share mine."

Clough's tumultuous 44-day reign as Leeds United manager was the subject of David Peace's 2006 book The Damned Utd, which focused on Clough and Don Revie's feud. Despite its critical praise, the book sparked debate because of its depiction of Clough as an obsessive and historical error.

Irish midfielder and former

Leeds player Johnny Giles

was victorious in his lawsuit against the novel's publishers.

"Many of the things Peace speaks about in the book never occurred, therefore I thought it was important to go to the courts to show that this was fiction based on facts and nothing more," he wrote.

The book's publishing caused the Clough family to be disappointed. It has a scenario in which Clough burns Revie's old desk on the Elland Road car park, which has no basis in actuality.

The Damned United, starring Michael Sheen, was made into a film in 2009 based on the novel. Despite attempts by the filmmakers to lessen the novel's gloomy tone, the Clough family refused to cooperate with the film.

Brian Clough life after football

What happened to Brian after his successful career in football? Let talk about his life after football in this section of top facts about Brian Clough.

Clough spent most of his retirement focusing on his battles with drinking, bad health, and corruption charges. Duncan Hamilton's award-winning book Provided You Don't Kiss Me: 20 Years With Brian Clough recounted his struggle with alcoholism, which began in the 1970s.

When Graham Taylor was fired as manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers on November 13, 1995, he pondered applying for the post. Clough's managing career was finished when nothing came of it.

Clough sparked outrage in November 1994 when he made remarks regarding the Hillsborough incident. In his memoirs, he wrote: "I shall always believe that the Liverpool fans who died were assassinated by

Liverpool

residents.

They brought the disaster upon themselves by being inebriated, rambunctious, and disorderly." He said in 2001: "I now acknowledge that the investigations have shown that I was mistaken. I wasn't trying to be vengeful or unkind, but my viewpoint has evolved over time. It was never my desire to do anybody any harm ".

Nottingham Forest paid tribute to him by renaming the Executive Stand, the City Ground's biggest stand, the Brian Clough Stand.

Clough was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame for the first time in 2002, in honor of his enormous success and impact as a manager. He was given the city of Nottingham's freedom in 1993. Derby, England, followed suit in 2003. Until his death, he authored a column for FourFourTwo magazine.

Brian clough death and legacy

The sad section of top facts about Brian Clough is here and we will talk about his cause of death and his legacy.

Clough died of stomach cancer on September 20, 2004, at the age of 69, in Ward 30 of Derby City Hospital, where he had been hospitalized a few days before.

Due to his popularity, supporters of Derby County and Nottingham Forest, who are typically bitter rivals, grieved his death jointly.

On October 21, 2004, a memorial ceremony was conducted at Derby's Pride Park Stadium, which was attended by almost 14,000 people. It was initially scheduled to take place at Derby Cathedral, but due to high ticket demand, it had to be rescheduled.

The section of the A52 that connects Nottingham and Derby was renamed Brian Clough Way in August 2005. Barbara, Brian's widow, thanked Nottingham City Council, adding, "Brian would have been astonished but truly grateful." Brian Clough has been the name of tram No. 215 since the start of the Nottingham Express Transit system.

His hometown of Middlesbrough commissioned a statue of Clough, which was unveiled on May 16, 2007, after a lengthy fundraising campaign.

Although there was a campaign to create a monument near his birthplace of Grove Hill, the location selected was the town's Albert Park, which he used to walk through on his route from home to Middlesbrough's previous stadium, Ayresome Park.

Clough's family supported the creation of a commemorative webpage in his honor in August 2000. This contributed to the funding of a Clough statue, which was unveiled in Nottingham's Old Market Square on November 6, 2008.

The Brian Clough Monument Fund in

Nottingham

revealed in December 2006 that it had gathered £69,000 in only 18 months for a Clough statue in the city. In January 2008, the winning statue was chosen from a pool of three ideas. The monument was placed at the intersection of King and Queen Streets in Nottingham's city center.

Clough's wife Barbara presented the monument in front of a gathering of around 5,000 people on November 6, 2008. On its tenth anniversary in 2010, Barbara Clough commended the tribute website brianclough.com, which continues to draw visitors from all around the globe. Mrs. Clough expressed her hope that it will be a success for many years to come

On July 31, 2007, Derby County and Nottingham Forest battled for the first Brian Clough Trophy at Pride Park Stadium. Any league, cup, or friendly match between Derby and Forest in the future will be automatically designated as a Brian Clough Trophy match. The games' proceeds will benefit East Midlands charity.

Derby County announced in April 2009 that a monument of Clough and Peter Taylor will be erected at Pride Park, with sculptor Andy Edwards, who had previously created the Steve Bloomer figure in the stadium, being commissioned to create the statue.

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