page_title: Brian Clough
section_title: Nottingham Forest
hierarchical_section_title: Brian Clough / Management career / Nottingham Forest
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Amsterdam, 22 aprile 1980. Parte della squadra del Nottingham Forest FC — da sinistra: l'attaccante Trevor Francis, l'allenatore Brian Clough e l'ala sinistra John Robertson — alla vigilia della semifinale di ritorno della Coppa dei Campioni 1979-80 contro l'AFC Ajax.
context_page_description: Brian Howard Clough, OBE was an English football player and manager. He played as a striker and remains one of the Football League's highest goalscorers, but his career was shortened by a serious injury. As a manager, Clough's name is closely associated with that of Peter Taylor, who served as his assistant manager at various clubs in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. They achieved great successes with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. Clough is also remembered for doing frequent radio and television interviews in which he made controversial remarks about players, other managers, and the overall state of the game.
  During his playing career with Middlesbrough and Sunderland, Clough scored 251 league goals from 274 starts, making him the third most prolific scorer in the league, with a conversion rate of 91.61%. He also won two England caps, both in 1959. Clough retired from playing at the age of 29, after sustaining anterior cruciate ligament damage. In 1965, Clough took the manager's job at Fourth Division Hartlepools United and appointed Peter Taylor as his assistant, the start of an enduring partnership that would bring them success at several clubs over the next two decades.
context_section_description: Brian Clough replaced Allan Brown as manager of Nottingham Forest on 6 January 1975 twelve weeks after the end of his 44-day tenure as manager of Leeds United. Clough brought Jimmy Gordon to be his club trainer as Gordon had been for him at Derby County and Leeds United. Scottish centre-forward Neil Martin scored the only goal beating Tottenham Hotspur in Clough's FA Cup third round replay first game in charge.
  Ian Bowyer was already at Forest and had won domestic and European trophies with Manchester City. Clough signed Scots duo John McGovern and John O'Hare in February from Leeds United, having been bought by Clough the previous year during his ill-fated 44-day managerial stint there; both players had been part of Clough's Derby County 1971–72 Football League title win. He then brought John Robertson and Martin O'Neill back into the fold after they had requested transfers under Brown. Viv Anderson had previously debuted for the first team and became a regular under Clough. The young Tony Woodcock was at Forest but was then unrated by Clough and was to be loaned to Lincoln City. Forest were 13th in English football's second tier when Clough joined. They finished that season 16th. Forest signed Frank Clark in July of that close season on a free transfer. The season after Forest finished eighth in Clough's first full season in charge. It was in this season Clough made McGovern long standing club captain, taking over from a game in which Bob Chapman and Liam O'Kane were both injured.
  On 16 July 1976 Peter Taylor rejoined Clough, becoming his Assistant Manager, which he had been when winning the league at Derby. Taylor included being the club's talent spotter in his role. After assessing the players Taylor told Clough "that was a feat by you to finish eighth in the Second Division because some of them are only Third Division players". Taylor berated John Robertson for allowing himself to become overweight and disillusioned. He got Robertson on a diet and training regime that would help him become a European Cup winner. Taylor turned Woodcock from a reserve midfielder into a 42 cap England striker. In September 1976 he bought striker Peter Withe to Forest for £43,000, selling him to Newcastle United for £250,000 two years later. Withe was replaced in the starting team by Garry Birtles who Taylor had scouted playing for non-league Long Eaton United. Birtles also went on to represent England. In October 1976 Brian Clough acting on Peter Taylor's advice signed Larry Lloyd for £60,000 after an initial loan period.
  Together Clough and Taylor took Forest to new heights. The first trophy of the Clough and Taylor reign was the 1976–77 Anglo-Scottish Cup. Forest beat Orient 5–1 on aggregate in the two-legged final played in December 1976. Clough valued winning a derided trophy as the club's first silverware since 1959. He said, "Those who said it was a nothing trophy were absolutely crackers. We'd won something, and it made all the difference."
  On 7 May Alan Moore's own goal meant Forest in their last league game of the season beat Millwall 1–0 at the City Ground. This kept Forest in the third promotion spot in the league table and dependent on Bolton Wanderers dropping points in three games in hand in the fight for third place. On 14 May Kenny Hibbitt's goal from his rehearsed free kick routine with Willie Carr gave Wolves a 1–0 win at Bolton. Bolton's defeat reached the Forest team mid-air en route to an end of season break in Mallorca. Forest's third place promotion from the Second Division was the fifth-lowest points tally of any promoted team in history, 52 (two points for a win in England until 1981).
  Taylor secretly followed Kenny Burns and concluded Burns's reputation as a hard drinker and gambler was exaggerated. Taylor sanctioned his £150,000 July signing. Burns become FWA Footballer of the Year in 1977–78 after being moved from centre-forward to centre-back. Forest started their return to the top league campaign with a 3–1 win at Everton. Three further wins in league and cup followed without conceding a goal. Then came fi
caption: Trevor Francis, Brian Clough and John Robertson in 1980
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