Fantastic Brian Clough interview

[petrusha]

No.
What did he win without Taylor.

He won a couple of league cups in the late eighties and managed a couple of third-placed finishes. Remember that, at this stage, the reform had come into effect whereby home clubs kept all gate receipts. Also remember that broadcast revenues and commercial revenues were pretty negligible at that point. Forest weren't in the top ten in attendances and drew about 50% of the gates of the wealthiest competitors such as United and Liverpool.

He definitely had them punching seriously above their weight throughout the eighties. Sure, in the early nineties his alcoholism really took hold and he basically lost it. But he was a bloody good manager for around a decade after Taylor left him. The changing circumstances of football finances, with the odds stacked against Forest in a way they weren't in the seventies, meant he was never going to win to the same degree as he previously did, whether he'd had Taylor with him or not.

 

[SpiritofBurnden]

He won a couple of league cups in the late eighties and managed a couple of third-placed finishes.

I think they finished third three times with Clough in sole charge.

These days that would mean automatic Champions League qualification, which for a club of Forest's size would have been pretty remarkable.

 

[petrusha]

I think they finished third three times with Clough in sole charge.

These days that would mean automatic Champions League qualification, which for a club of Forest's size would have been pretty remarkable.

He came third in 1983/4, when they also lost narrowly to Anderlecht in a UEFA Cup semi-final that's since been proven to have be fixed, with the Belgians bribing the ref for the second leg. However, I was specifically referring to the third place league finishes in 1988 and 1989, plus the League Cup wins in 1989 and 1990 (in the latter season they finished ninth) because that was the era when the new financial reality for clubs like Forest had taken hold even more and they could no longer rely on others' gate receipts to supplement their own. In any event, at the end of the 1980s, without Taylor for eight years, he was still an exceptionally fine manager.

Also, I've said before on here and it bears repeating, there was a huge missed opportunity for City with regard to Clough and Taylor in the autumn of 1973. The two of them resigned from Derby in mid-October, when our manager Johnny Hart was on sick leave. Hart eventually quit and we appointed Ron Saunders towards the end of November. By which time, Clough and Taylor had already taken jobs at Third Division Brighton.

Peter Swales had become chairman at the beginning of October 1973, and when I've posted the above view in the past, people say that the appointment of Clough could never have been viable as he'd never have worked with Swales. Precisely. So if we'd had a board with any balls and the interests of MCFC at heart, they'd have acted swiftly when our manager was stricken and the best management team in the land was available, and appointed Clough and Taylor to rebuild the ageing Mercer/Allison side. If that then meant ditching the weapons-grade, charlatan **** who'd just inveigled his way into the chair, so be it.

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

He came third in 1983/4, when they also lost narrowly to Anderlecht in a UEFA Cup semi-final that's since been proven to have be fixed, with the Belgians bribing the ref for the second leg. However, I was specifically referring to the third place league finishes in 1988 and 1989, plus the League Cup wins in 1989 and 1990 (in the latter season they finished ninth) because that was the era when the new financial reality for clubs like Forest had taken hold even more and they could no longer rely on others' gate receipts to supplement their own. In any event, at the end of the 1980s, without Taylor for eight years, he was still an exceptionally fine manager.

Also, I've said before on here and it bears repeating, there was a huge missed opportunity for City with regard to Clough and Taylor in the autumn of 1973. The two of them resigned from Derby in mid-October, when our manager Johnny Hart was on sick leave. Hart eventually quit and we appointed Ron Saunders towards the end of November. By which time, Clough and Taylor had already taken jobs at Third Division Brighton.

Peter Swales had become chairman at the beginning of October 1973, and when I've posted the above view in the past, people say that the appointment of Clough could never have been viable as he'd never have worked with Swales. Precisely. So if we'd had a board with any balls and the interests of MCFC at heart, they'd have acted swiftly when our manager was stricken and the best management team in the land was available, and appointed Clough and Taylor to rebuild the ageing Mercer/Allison side. If that then meant ditching the weapons-grade, charlatan **** who'd just inveigled his way into the chair, so be it.

As ever, totally with you on your analysis of Swales, mate.

 

[SpiritofBurnden]

Also, I've said before on here and it bears repeating, there was a huge missed opportunity for City with regard to Clough and Taylor in the autumn of 1973. The two of them resigned from Derby in mid-October, when our manager Johnny Hart was on sick leave. Hart eventually quit and we appointed Ron Saunders towards the end of November. By which time, Clough and Taylor had already taken jobs at Third Division Brighton.

Our manager Jimmy Armfield replaced Brian Clough at Leeds.

Clough went to Second Division Forest, a far smaller club than Bolton at the time.

If only...

 

[dennishasdoneit]

Bang average without Taylor.

Correct.