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"Clough"

Thornhill

By Thornhill
in Derby County Forum

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PearTree Ram

PearTree Ram

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Yep i saw that yesterday too and this morning...

The Clough family are involved and most of his ex players, basically setting the story straight, just like Don Shaw is trying to do with Clough's War.

Barbara Clough also says the following....at the end of the clip.

Just the greatest England manager that England never had.

She said the same at the memorial service in PP in 2004.

It is taken from the following poem? by David Prouse (No, not the Greencross Code/Darth Vader actor - David Prowse)

What made him so endearing is elusive to explain,

This tyrant in a sweatshirt, barking orders in the rain.

Today he’d offer vitriol, tomorrow marzipan,

A paradox, a puzzle but a diamond of a man.

When the gods apportioned modesty, one youngster wasn’t there,

He was in the queue marked ‘confidence’ receiving twice his share,

With two good feet beneath him, he considered it enough

And so was born the bantam-cock we knew as Brian Clough.

Young Cloughie did things his way for no one showed him how,

Emerging from the back-streets like a blossom on a bough,

Becoming proud and peerless as a hero of his time

And then, one tackle later, down and out at twenty-nine.

Where others might have wilted or nestled in their grief,

Cloughie found salvation in his cocky self belief,

Come setback or adversity, a man is still a man,

So it was as one dream ended that another one began.

Reality was Hartlepool, the lowest of them all,

In the fourth division basement with their backs against the wall,

All patchwork roofs and puddles and frostbite in the shade,

It was hard and it was humbling but the boy would learn his trade.

Along came Peter Taylor and the dug-out was complete,

Two canny minds would meet and merge to share the judgement seat,

Two mop-and-bucket soldiers to pound a broken drum

But the cavalry would gather and the glory days would come.

For Cloughie had a quality no training can provide,

The gift of lending common men a jauntiness of stride,

Players tapped abilities they didn’t know were there

And good ones climbed to greatness on a goading and a glare.

Cloughie’s team played football in the manner meant to be,

A joy for those who wore his shirt and those who came to see,

No arguments, no ego-trips, no stars to shine alone

As Cloughie scolded, Cloughie scowled… and loved them as his own.

For behind the bullish phrases, all the arrogance and pride,

There beat a kindly human heart as deep as it was wide,

Deserving of an epitaph significant but sad,

Just the greatest England manager that England never had.

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PearTree Ram

PearTree Ram

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It's been confirmed that the eagerly-awaited ITV documentary about Cloughie will be shown on Wednesday March 25th, 2009, at 10.35pm. The programme features exclusive interviews with his widow, Barbara, and son Nigel, along with friends and former colleagues including Geoffrey Boycott, Martin O’Neill, Roy McFarland, John McGovern, Peter Lorimer, Johnny Giles and Gordon McQueen.

The documentary, narrated by the actor Pete Postlethwaite, will look at Cloughie's life and legacy - told by those who knew him best. It aims to paint an accurate picture of the Great Man - unlike the forthcoming cinematic depiction (see below). The programme includes the Calendar special where Clough faced his Leeds predecessor, Don Revie, on the night the axe fell at Elland Road. The programme's host, Austin Mitchell (now a Labour MP), will relive that incredible television moment. More to come.

[url=http://www.brianclough.com/new_page_1.htm]http://www.brianclough.com/new_page_1.htm

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PearTree Ram

PearTree Ram

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Stitched Up !

From BrianClough.com

<div align='LEFT'><span style="font-family:Georgia">[sIZE=2]It\'s been confirmed - at last - that Cloughie was the victim of a sham when he was interviewed for the post of England manager. A former Football Association executive has broken more than 30 years of silence to admit Brian never stood a chance, despite being the public\'s choice to succeed Don Revie in 1977. Ron Greenwood got the job instead.

The FA\'s press officer at the time, Glen Kirton, reveals in an ITV documentary that Cloughie\'s interview was a sop to public opinion. "The decision had already been made that Ron Greenwood was the preferred candidate," says Kirton. "There wasn\'t a vote. Sir Harold Thompson would have said, \'I want to appoint Ron Greenwood,\' and they would have agreed. The decision was made beforehand. Ron Greenwood was not on the candidate list."

It\'s the first time anybody from the FA has broken ranks and admitted that one man, Thompson, was responsible for shaping the destiny of English football. Of course, Brian went on to secure European glory with Nottingham Forest and is always known as the best manager England never had. "It would have been his absolute dream job," Clough\'s widow, Barbara, tells Gabriel Clarke, the ITV reporter for the documentary to be screened on Wednesday March 25th (10.35pm).

Mrs Clough also addresses the controversy about David Peace\'s novel, The Damned Utd, and the film version of the awful book. "I dismissed it at first as just another book, but I got it and read it and was quite horrified," she said. "They had him chain-smoking and he\'d given-up smoking and they had him constantly with a drink in his hand, but he barely drank in those days. He\'s taken it on himself to write this awful book. But you can’t libel the dead.

"The director assures us that it is a warm and affectionate take and nothing like the book and yet I am sure when the film comes out it’s going to say, \'based on the book by David Peace.\'"

Elsewhere in the programme, Nigel Clough speaks about the success of his father at an early age: "How old was he when they won the League Championship? He wasn\'t even 40 was he? There\'s very few younger managers doing that now."

Speaking about the pressure on Brian in the late 1970s, Nigel commented: "In his late 30\'s I think he felt he could take on the world. As time goes by that diminishes. Nobody got a hint of that vulnerability at all...certainly not the players at work.

"I think he felt the responsibility of everybody else really. Looking after everybody else more than himself." The documentary, narrated by the actor Pete Postlethwaite, looks at Cloughie\'s life and legacy - told by those who knew him best. It aims to paint an accurate picture of the Great Man - unlike the inaccurate cinematic depiction (see below) of his time at Leeds United.

ITV uses its wealth of priceless archive footage. The programme includes the Yorkshire TV Calendar special where Clough faced his Leeds predecessor, Don Revie, on the night the axe fell at Elland Road. The programme\'s host, Austin Mitchell (now a Labour MP), will relive that incredible television moment. There are interviews with friends and former colleagues including Geoffrey Boycott, Martin O’Neill, Roy McFarland, John McGovern, Peter Lorimer, Johnny Giles and Gordon McQueen.[/sIZE]

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