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Brian Clough: Nobody Ever Says Thank You
This first full, critical biography of one of England's greatest football managers draws an intimate and powerful portrait Brian Howard Clough was a complex man; the sum of a contradictory bunch of impulses, desires, and drives. This biography draws an intimate, powerful portrait of one of England's greatest football managers, and his right-hand man, Peter Taylor, and reveals how their identities were forged in the unforgiving world of post-war football, a world where, as Clough and Taylor's mentor Harry Storer once said, "Nobody ever says thank you." Clough's playing career was famously and brutally cut short at Roker Park on Boxing Day, 1962. It was then, Peter Taylor said, that the iron first entered into his pal's soul. But as the likes of Inter Milan became a familiar sight in the mud of the Baseball Ground, and the residents of Nottingham were soon accustomed to floodlit nights of European glory, Clough brought the gleam of silverware to the depressed East Midlands of the 1970s. Initial triumph at Derby was followed swiftly by sudden departure and a traumatic 44 days at Leeds. By the end of a frazzled 1974, Clough, always mindful of his austere roots, was financially set for life, but hardened to the realities of football. By the time he was at Forest, Clough's mask was almost permanently donned—a persona based around an exaggerated brashness and seemingly unquenchable thirst for conflict. The mask, though, doubled as a shield behind which lurked a more insecure man, one who craved company yet was frequently alone. Drink fueled the controversies, heightened the razor-sharp wit, and was a salve for the highs of football that never lasted quite long enough and the lows that inevitably followed. Wilson's account is the definitive portrait of this complex and enduring man.
568 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2011
About the author
Jonathan Wilson
90 books548 followersJonathan Wilson is a British sports journalist and author who writes for a number of publications including the Guardian, the Independent and Sports Illustrated. He also appears on the Guardian football podcast, Football Weekly.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
August 31, 2020
أن تصبح مدربا جيدا شئ سهل ، أما أن تصبح أسطورة فهذا يحتاج الكثير سواء من العمل أو الحظ ولكن أن تحقق المستحيلات وأنت غير مهتم فهذا مستوي آخر من الأسطورية لم يصل له الا براين كلوف
من منا يحب كرة القدم ولا يعرف المدرب الأسطورى صانع المعجزات براين كلوف .. المدرب الذي جعل من المستحيل ممكن وترك بصمة لا تنسي في تاريخ الكرة الإنجليزية
يستعرض الكتاب حياة كلوف ونشأته كلاعب في البداية ومسيرته المشرفة كمدرب .. اصراره وطموحه علي الوصول لما يريد .. الكتاب يستحق الخمس نجوم لكن أنقصته نجمة لأنه لما يركز علي حياة كلوف خارج اطار كره القدم
تجربة أخري موفقة لي مع الكاتب جوناثان ويلسون بعد كتابه المبهر الهرم المقلوب .. يعجبني أسلوبه في العرض ومعلوماته الكروية وشغفة بالكرة الذي أجده في كتابته جعله واحد من كتابي المفضلين في العالم الرياضي وأتطلع لقراءة المزيد من كتبه
من منا يحب كرة القدم ولا يعرف المدرب الأسطورى صانع المعجزات براين كلوف .. المدرب الذي جعل من المستحيل ممكن وترك بصمة لا تنسي في تاريخ الكرة الإنجليزية
يستعرض الكتاب حياة كلوف ونشأته كلاعب في البداية ومسيرته المشرفة كمدرب .. اصراره وطموحه علي الوصول لما يريد .. الكتاب يستحق الخمس نجوم لكن أنقصته نجمة لأنه لما يركز علي حياة كلوف خارج اطار كره القدم
تجربة أخري موفقة لي مع الكاتب جوناثان ويلسون بعد كتابه المبهر الهرم المقلوب .. يعجبني أسلوبه في العرض ومعلوماته الكروية وشغفة بالكرة الذي أجده في كتابته جعله واحد من كتابي المفضلين في العالم الرياضي وأتطلع لقراءة المزيد من كتبه
August 27, 2012
It's a fair criticism of this book to say it focuses on Clough the manager rather than Clough the man. There are so many enjoyable anecdotes from his professional life though, that the book doesn't go short of content.
While it is probably not necessary to record every single result of his career, as the book does, there are so many stories about Clough from his former players bordering on the unbelievable, that this biography does not get boring.
As Clough grew older and his wits became less sharp due to A drinking problem, he became as the author puts it "a parody of himself", for this reason, and despite all the memorable stories from his late Forest days - punching Roy Keane, bust ups with supporters, arranging a pre game drinking session before the European Cup final - the best part of this book is when Clough is building Derby County into a title winning side in the early 70s. There you find Clough at his unpredictable and brilliant best, galvanising a group of players like nobody else could.
It is easy to look at the weird, wonderful and often comical side of Clough and ignore his incredible achievements as a manager, which are there in black and wine. Twice he took a team from the bottom of the 2nd division to champions of the country within 5 years, it is doubtful whether this will ever be done again.
While it is probably not necessary to record every single result of his career, as the book does, there are so many stories about Clough from his former players bordering on the unbelievable, that this biography does not get boring.
As Clough grew older and his wits became less sharp due to A drinking problem, he became as the author puts it "a parody of himself", for this reason, and despite all the memorable stories from his late Forest days - punching Roy Keane, bust ups with supporters, arranging a pre game drinking session before the European Cup final - the best part of this book is when Clough is building Derby County into a title winning side in the early 70s. There you find Clough at his unpredictable and brilliant best, galvanising a group of players like nobody else could.
It is easy to look at the weird, wonderful and often comical side of Clough and ignore his incredible achievements as a manager, which are there in black and wine. Twice he took a team from the bottom of the 2nd division to champions of the country within 5 years, it is doubtful whether this will ever be done again.
February 5, 2026
An incredible biography of football’s Winston Churchill, whose ultimate battle was not with Germans but himself. I’m a sucker for these kinds of stories—of enigmatic, troubled geniuses who struggle against the passing of one era to the next—and Wilson told it wonderfully.
“Whatever release he was, Clough’s principles, his belief in how football could be played, touched people… It was not just Clough the man that was mourned, but what he stood for, an era of football that, for all its faults, was at least not wholly dominated by capital. Cough was the revolutionary hero who, without huge resources, stood up to the grandees, and did so in style. By the time he retired, though, the grandees were too great to be challenged; what he had done with Derby and Forest was almost impossible; to have done it after the sharing of gate receipts was impossible, and became ever more so with the advent of the Premiership and the Champions League.”
“Whatever release he was, Clough’s principles, his belief in how football could be played, touched people… It was not just Clough the man that was mourned, but what he stood for, an era of football that, for all its faults, was at least not wholly dominated by capital. Cough was the revolutionary hero who, without huge resources, stood up to the grandees, and did so in style. By the time he retired, though, the grandees were too great to be challenged; what he had done with Derby and Forest was almost impossible; to have done it after the sharing of gate receipts was impossible, and became ever more so with the advent of the Premiership and the Champions League.”
April 12, 2025
Brian Clough was as a brilliant manager. Widely known as “The best manager England never had”. He was also complicated, hypocritical, sometimes generous and a contrarian.
February 13, 2018
Brian Clough was the greatest British Manager ever to grace this world. This book offers an intimate portrait of the man and his times. Jonathan Wilson shines in his biography of the great Cloughie.
July 28, 2026
3.5⭐️
I often feel slightly embarrassed reading football books. I’m fever pitch, Nick hornby recounts a conversation about Virginia Woolfe’s novels which leaves his colleague reeling at the possibility someone could be both an Arsenal season ticket holder and read post-modernist fiction. The 30 years since fever pitch’s publication has seen football transcend to the ubiquity it has today, and maybe that stigma has softened somewhat. Maybe it’s my own internalised prejudice from years of watching boys my age pretend to read a ghost-written footballer’s autobiography during school time, imbibing empty banalities about hard work, or cringe inducing anecdotes about ‘the gaffer’.
For the pretentious, middle class football fan, such as myself, writers like Jonathan Wilson offer a hand. Wilson is an Oxford graduate who brings an historical rigour to his writing, and is famous/ infamous for obtaining a record number of appearances in private eye’s ‘pseuds corner’, devoted to journalists who use inappropriately florid and pretentious prose in their writing.
I have always been a Brian clough acolyte, a bit of a contradiction with my identity as Leeds fan, where he spent a tumultuous 44 days in charge, immortalised in ‘the damned United’ in print and film. As someone who has grown up in an era of football dominated by capital, his achievements in the 1970s, taking not one by two parochial midlands teams from the second divisions to English champions, and then back to back European cups with Nottingham Forest, conjures a footballing landscape I both yearn for and cannot conceive of. To do it all in such a unique way as well, full of charisma, fantastic anecdotes and unorthodoxy have only further drawn me into his orbit. ‘Provided you don’t kiss me’ is one of the greatest sporting books, which charts his decline from double European champion into alcoholism, despair and (less importantly) relegation. Whilst the documentary ‘I believe in miracles’- charts the Hollywood-esque rise of this modest club into unprecedented heroes, through discipline and self belief.
All of this is to say I found that in this book, the form failed to match the function. Wilson’s historical rigour is admirable and unique, but stands at odds with a man who cannot be defined by his achievements, but instead by his enigmatic character. It is a harsher, more sceptical telling of cloughs story, and I have no doubt that, as a clough apologist, this rankled with me, although I would struggle to rationally defend much of his poor, and at times, abusive behaviour.
But who comes to football for rationalism? The book spends an unbelievable amount of time charting cloughs early life, playing career and stints at Hartlepool and derby. This often goes unmentioned and can be interesting, but is interminably long, and Wilson often reverts to that most tedious cliche of football writing, ‘x scored putting Forest 1-0 up then y equalised’.
To me clough has always appealed so much because he is the last of the British managers whose football is an extension of their personality and place. The 50s and 60s were dominated by the ‘three kings’, of busby, shankly and stein, all born within earshot of the Lanarkshire mining siren. Shankly famously (to paraphrase), spoke of how his socialist politics and approach to football were one and the same, a vision of helping each other out as they had done in mining communities when times were tough, or in the mines when times became suddenly catastrophic. The book does well to draw threads of clough’s past into his later life; his upbringing in the mining north west, with a strict Anglican mother who demanded standards of hard work and cleanliness. The sort of upbringing steeped in the dignity of hard work and trade union disputes, and perhaps a chip on his shoulder against the outside world. Wilson’s journalism shines here as he identifies clough failing the 11+ and the death of his mother as two events which would become manifestations of his insecurity for the rest of his life, but perhaps fails to extend that courtesy to his poor behaviour in later life. As his managerial partner Peter Taylor notes, ‘plenty are insecure and have tough upbringings, not all behave like Brian’. Perhaps your level of forgiveness for clough will depend on your personal views on a persons responsibility to overcome their demons.
Clough comes across as a man stuck in his time as the world changes, and I suppose that can be viewed as a fault and the reason for his cult like following. His best teams specialised in taking trouble makers and giving them the kind of platform he had. A great quotation is about clough’s desire to set standards for people who didn’t have any growing up. His view of the working class was rooted in a sense of dignity, and he never lost that view, both giving players huge amounts of autonomy and leeway, but also constantly reminding them the privilege that playing football was. In another pure Clough-ism, he said to a player making his debut ‘a lot of unemployment in Corby (the players home town) isn’t there? Since the steelworks shut? Make sure you’re not another one of them’.
As his tenure wore on he found himself at the head of a club that was increasingly struggling to compete with financial giants. The stress of this, the insatiable press egging on his worst insecurities for more and more outrageous comments, and the increasing shift of the sorts of players walking through the door pushed him further and further adrift. Gone were the hard men from hard industries who could handle clough’s abrasion, as footballers more and more became highly paid, funnelled through academies, the looming spectre of the mines or the factories dissipating from society and from their future as pay packets swelled. It is perhaps no coincidence that the most dictatorial manager after clough, Alex Ferguson, built his team on a group of youth players, emotionally blackmailed through their love for the club and young enough to be ‘broken in’, whilst clough himself always had more success with those outside the academy system (Pearce, Keane), than the well-paid, self serious players.
By the end clough was like an addict, ridiculous publically, undermining his compassionate internal life, and distanced at work. Desperate for one last success, one last hit. Wilson paints this as a man failing, to me I see a man struggling a world very different to what he was raised with.
I would struggle, rationally, to defend many of the charges levelled against clough, but to me he is a figure who sums up so much of what I love about football and I mourn about the modern game. The books is so set on an even chronology that it seems to skim past so many of his greatest hits. There are several paragraphs dedicated to explaining what you’ve just read which make me want to tear my hair out. We shouldn’t need to be told how amazing this is, it should leap off the page! I love the sense of privilege he instilled in his players, making his goalkeeper play Sunday league the morning after his premier league debut, tripping up Peter shilton’s agent with a squash racquet, the sense of keeping footballers aware of how lucky they are. One of my favourite clough-isms is absent altogether. The moment when, after losing 1-0 at home in the European quarter finals he is asked his chances of getting through. It is a totally fair question, a small team from the midlands, never in Europe before, in the 2nd division 18 months previously, and he laconically gazes down the camera and mutters ‘I hope nobody’s stupid enough to write us off’. The self-belief, the psychology, the sheer balls to say that, and he was right! Or when asked about another teams defence and he replied ‘we’ve got a little fat lat who will turn them inside out’. John Robertson, a chain smoking winger languishing in a second divisions second team, transformed into the best player in the world. I believe in miracles ends in an interview where clough says ‘it’s our game, yours and mine don’t forget that’. Clough had many failings, but perhaps too he was let down by a world which was changing, and which extinguished a lot of the magic he made possible. The clough I will remember is the one who marched with miners, who always had a quip ready, who believed football should be as simple but never simpler. Maybe that is my failing for overlooking his worst characteristics, but I believe in that magic, I miss that magic. And I believe that this biography isn’t able to capture it, and that makes it all the poorer.
Ps, I once wrote a review about a gorgeous little book called ashes to ashes. I sprayed out my usual sarcasm and was mortified that the author read and REPLIED to my review. I would like to end by saying I like and respect Jonathan Wilson and his writing please and thank you.
Pps buy provided you don’t kiss me and I believe in miracles instead
I often feel slightly embarrassed reading football books. I’m fever pitch, Nick hornby recounts a conversation about Virginia Woolfe’s novels which leaves his colleague reeling at the possibility someone could be both an Arsenal season ticket holder and read post-modernist fiction. The 30 years since fever pitch’s publication has seen football transcend to the ubiquity it has today, and maybe that stigma has softened somewhat. Maybe it’s my own internalised prejudice from years of watching boys my age pretend to read a ghost-written footballer’s autobiography during school time, imbibing empty banalities about hard work, or cringe inducing anecdotes about ‘the gaffer’.
For the pretentious, middle class football fan, such as myself, writers like Jonathan Wilson offer a hand. Wilson is an Oxford graduate who brings an historical rigour to his writing, and is famous/ infamous for obtaining a record number of appearances in private eye’s ‘pseuds corner’, devoted to journalists who use inappropriately florid and pretentious prose in their writing.
I have always been a Brian clough acolyte, a bit of a contradiction with my identity as Leeds fan, where he spent a tumultuous 44 days in charge, immortalised in ‘the damned United’ in print and film. As someone who has grown up in an era of football dominated by capital, his achievements in the 1970s, taking not one by two parochial midlands teams from the second divisions to English champions, and then back to back European cups with Nottingham Forest, conjures a footballing landscape I both yearn for and cannot conceive of. To do it all in such a unique way as well, full of charisma, fantastic anecdotes and unorthodoxy have only further drawn me into his orbit. ‘Provided you don’t kiss me’ is one of the greatest sporting books, which charts his decline from double European champion into alcoholism, despair and (less importantly) relegation. Whilst the documentary ‘I believe in miracles’- charts the Hollywood-esque rise of this modest club into unprecedented heroes, through discipline and self belief.
All of this is to say I found that in this book, the form failed to match the function. Wilson’s historical rigour is admirable and unique, but stands at odds with a man who cannot be defined by his achievements, but instead by his enigmatic character. It is a harsher, more sceptical telling of cloughs story, and I have no doubt that, as a clough apologist, this rankled with me, although I would struggle to rationally defend much of his poor, and at times, abusive behaviour.
But who comes to football for rationalism? The book spends an unbelievable amount of time charting cloughs early life, playing career and stints at Hartlepool and derby. This often goes unmentioned and can be interesting, but is interminably long, and Wilson often reverts to that most tedious cliche of football writing, ‘x scored putting Forest 1-0 up then y equalised’.
To me clough has always appealed so much because he is the last of the British managers whose football is an extension of their personality and place. The 50s and 60s were dominated by the ‘three kings’, of busby, shankly and stein, all born within earshot of the Lanarkshire mining siren. Shankly famously (to paraphrase), spoke of how his socialist politics and approach to football were one and the same, a vision of helping each other out as they had done in mining communities when times were tough, or in the mines when times became suddenly catastrophic. The book does well to draw threads of clough’s past into his later life; his upbringing in the mining north west, with a strict Anglican mother who demanded standards of hard work and cleanliness. The sort of upbringing steeped in the dignity of hard work and trade union disputes, and perhaps a chip on his shoulder against the outside world. Wilson’s journalism shines here as he identifies clough failing the 11+ and the death of his mother as two events which would become manifestations of his insecurity for the rest of his life, but perhaps fails to extend that courtesy to his poor behaviour in later life. As his managerial partner Peter Taylor notes, ‘plenty are insecure and have tough upbringings, not all behave like Brian’. Perhaps your level of forgiveness for clough will depend on your personal views on a persons responsibility to overcome their demons.
Clough comes across as a man stuck in his time as the world changes, and I suppose that can be viewed as a fault and the reason for his cult like following. His best teams specialised in taking trouble makers and giving them the kind of platform he had. A great quotation is about clough’s desire to set standards for people who didn’t have any growing up. His view of the working class was rooted in a sense of dignity, and he never lost that view, both giving players huge amounts of autonomy and leeway, but also constantly reminding them the privilege that playing football was. In another pure Clough-ism, he said to a player making his debut ‘a lot of unemployment in Corby (the players home town) isn’t there? Since the steelworks shut? Make sure you’re not another one of them’.
As his tenure wore on he found himself at the head of a club that was increasingly struggling to compete with financial giants. The stress of this, the insatiable press egging on his worst insecurities for more and more outrageous comments, and the increasing shift of the sorts of players walking through the door pushed him further and further adrift. Gone were the hard men from hard industries who could handle clough’s abrasion, as footballers more and more became highly paid, funnelled through academies, the looming spectre of the mines or the factories dissipating from society and from their future as pay packets swelled. It is perhaps no coincidence that the most dictatorial manager after clough, Alex Ferguson, built his team on a group of youth players, emotionally blackmailed through their love for the club and young enough to be ‘broken in’, whilst clough himself always had more success with those outside the academy system (Pearce, Keane), than the well-paid, self serious players.
By the end clough was like an addict, ridiculous publically, undermining his compassionate internal life, and distanced at work. Desperate for one last success, one last hit. Wilson paints this as a man failing, to me I see a man struggling a world very different to what he was raised with.
I would struggle, rationally, to defend many of the charges levelled against clough, but to me he is a figure who sums up so much of what I love about football and I mourn about the modern game. The books is so set on an even chronology that it seems to skim past so many of his greatest hits. There are several paragraphs dedicated to explaining what you’ve just read which make me want to tear my hair out. We shouldn’t need to be told how amazing this is, it should leap off the page! I love the sense of privilege he instilled in his players, making his goalkeeper play Sunday league the morning after his premier league debut, tripping up Peter shilton’s agent with a squash racquet, the sense of keeping footballers aware of how lucky they are. One of my favourite clough-isms is absent altogether. The moment when, after losing 1-0 at home in the European quarter finals he is asked his chances of getting through. It is a totally fair question, a small team from the midlands, never in Europe before, in the 2nd division 18 months previously, and he laconically gazes down the camera and mutters ‘I hope nobody’s stupid enough to write us off’. The self-belief, the psychology, the sheer balls to say that, and he was right! Or when asked about another teams defence and he replied ‘we’ve got a little fat lat who will turn them inside out’. John Robertson, a chain smoking winger languishing in a second divisions second team, transformed into the best player in the world. I believe in miracles ends in an interview where clough says ‘it’s our game, yours and mine don’t forget that’. Clough had many failings, but perhaps too he was let down by a world which was changing, and which extinguished a lot of the magic he made possible. The clough I will remember is the one who marched with miners, who always had a quip ready, who believed football should be as simple but never simpler. Maybe that is my failing for overlooking his worst characteristics, but I believe in that magic, I miss that magic. And I believe that this biography isn’t able to capture it, and that makes it all the poorer.
Ps, I once wrote a review about a gorgeous little book called ashes to ashes. I sprayed out my usual sarcasm and was mortified that the author read and REPLIED to my review. I would like to end by saying I like and respect Jonathan Wilson and his writing please and thank you.
Pps buy provided you don’t kiss me and I believe in miracles instead
April 26, 2020
As a long term Derby County fan of a certain vintage I did hold the view that there was little more I could learn about the life and times of Brian Clough but this book by one of my favourite football writers did have me learning new and interesting things about him.
The structure of the book is fascinating, it flows freely and I found myself lost in the flow of it as time flew by. Clough's unpredictable and capricious behaviour is drawn out with any number of examples of kind, bullying, hectoring, charming, generous and mean spirited behaviour on his part.
Many books previously written from first hand witnesses have tried to unpick this complicated man and Wilson is presented with a challenge of sorts as it is clear that his access to primary sources was limited either by the passing of time or limited co-operation from those close to Clough.
I did not find this potential drawback problematic when reading this book as Wilson does a very good job of drawing from available material to stitch together the story.
This is a very straight line A to B biography from birth to death , enjoyable for its insight but also the factual reporting of stories forgotten or indeed never known. I think anyone who is a football fan of a certain age who is either a Derby fan, a Forest fan, a Leeds fan , a Middlesboro fan, a Sunderland fan or just a fan of football of that era will find this an enjoyable book
The structure of the book is fascinating, it flows freely and I found myself lost in the flow of it as time flew by. Clough's unpredictable and capricious behaviour is drawn out with any number of examples of kind, bullying, hectoring, charming, generous and mean spirited behaviour on his part.
Many books previously written from first hand witnesses have tried to unpick this complicated man and Wilson is presented with a challenge of sorts as it is clear that his access to primary sources was limited either by the passing of time or limited co-operation from those close to Clough.
I did not find this potential drawback problematic when reading this book as Wilson does a very good job of drawing from available material to stitch together the story.
This is a very straight line A to B biography from birth to death , enjoyable for its insight but also the factual reporting of stories forgotten or indeed never known. I think anyone who is a football fan of a certain age who is either a Derby fan, a Forest fan, a Leeds fan , a Middlesboro fan, a Sunderland fan or just a fan of football of that era will find this an enjoyable book
February 4, 2020
Given the enigmatic personality of Brian Cough, a man of enormous contradictions, any biography would be a challenge to write. The book starts very strongly in building a narrative of the formative years but tails off with negligible narrative on retirement and reflective comment on a tumultuous career. Packed with football detail that would be off putting to anyone who did not live and breathe football when Brian Clough was striding the stage of the English game. But a must read for those that remember his epic exploits.
February 22, 2019
A remarkable insight into a remarkable man. From his days as a player in the 50s right through to his managerial retirement in the 90s, Cloughie was always compelling, always unorthodox and always the best in the business. The icon of British football's greatest era.
May 10, 2019
An incredibly interesting delve into the life of one of the most notorious managers in footballing history. As much as he drew attention for his sublime performances as a player on the pitch, or later on as a manager on the sidelines, he was also the centre of attention for his eccentricities that eventually surpassed his footballing achievements and rendered him a 'cardboard cut-out' (as Peter Taylor put it) of his true self, warped by the media for his bizarre antics.
They say that there's a thin line between genius and madness, and in Clough's case, this is certainly true. Were his seemingly-irrational decisions and antics actually calculated strokes from a master psychologist? Or was much of his success a result of luck and good fortune, which allowed people to overlook just how strange he was becoming - particularly towards the end of his career?
There is no doubting the brilliance of Brian Clough, though; what he achieved at Derby was considered impossible when he first took it on, but still critics dismissed his achievements as luck. When he not only surpassed what he accomplished with the Rams and also won two European cups in the process with Nottingham Forest, no longer could anyone deny not only his brilliance, but also that of Peter Taylor, his assistant manager, who played a vital role in recruiting players.
Brian Clough was one of the last few characters in the game. Since his passing, football has been inundated with bland managers who talk in cliches and who rarely anything fresh in terms of tactics. It was Clough's experimental football of the 70s and 80s that inspired so many after him; it's just a shame that it's been lost in recent years. He was certainly one of a kind.
A great book by Jonathan Wilson. Fastidiously researched and well put together. Five stars.
They say that there's a thin line between genius and madness, and in Clough's case, this is certainly true. Were his seemingly-irrational decisions and antics actually calculated strokes from a master psychologist? Or was much of his success a result of luck and good fortune, which allowed people to overlook just how strange he was becoming - particularly towards the end of his career?
There is no doubting the brilliance of Brian Clough, though; what he achieved at Derby was considered impossible when he first took it on, but still critics dismissed his achievements as luck. When he not only surpassed what he accomplished with the Rams and also won two European cups in the process with Nottingham Forest, no longer could anyone deny not only his brilliance, but also that of Peter Taylor, his assistant manager, who played a vital role in recruiting players.
Brian Clough was one of the last few characters in the game. Since his passing, football has been inundated with bland managers who talk in cliches and who rarely anything fresh in terms of tactics. It was Clough's experimental football of the 70s and 80s that inspired so many after him; it's just a shame that it's been lost in recent years. He was certainly one of a kind.
A great book by Jonathan Wilson. Fastidiously researched and well put together. Five stars.
July 6, 2024
This is a great big doorstop of a book chronicling the life of Brian Clough, one of the greatest football managers to ever grace the game. It takes us right from Clough's humble upbringing in Middlesbrough, through his playing days (devastatingly cut short through injury) and on to his hugely successful management career (successful if you ignore his time at Brighton and Leeds). As well as being a comprehensive overview of each season - rendered far more interesting that it sounds by Wilson peppering the chronology with incidents that give us insights into the great man's character - Nobody Ever Says Thank You paints a vivid picture of the complex personality of Clough, even if the paradoxes and contradictions leave you still no further into unravelling the conundrum of his persona.
There is plenty of detail to pore over. At times Wilson writes with affection, yet he never glosses over the more unsavoury aspects of Clough's life - his drinking, rumours of financial irregularities in certain transfer deals, the way he could sometimes appear both hypocritical and at times manipulative. Brian Clough was a forceful personality who transcended the sport in which he worked, so much so that he was a true celebrity in a time when football managers were largely just seen as middle-aged men in tracksuits. This is a superb book. It manages to capture the charisma and charm of a man whose impact on the game (at least operating with provincial footballing minnows such as Nottingham Forest and Derby County) has never been matched. Outstanding.
There is plenty of detail to pore over. At times Wilson writes with affection, yet he never glosses over the more unsavoury aspects of Clough's life - his drinking, rumours of financial irregularities in certain transfer deals, the way he could sometimes appear both hypocritical and at times manipulative. Brian Clough was a forceful personality who transcended the sport in which he worked, so much so that he was a true celebrity in a time when football managers were largely just seen as middle-aged men in tracksuits. This is a superb book. It manages to capture the charisma and charm of a man whose impact on the game (at least operating with provincial footballing minnows such as Nottingham Forest and Derby County) has never been matched. Outstanding.
December 19, 2025
Can be unfair on Clough, esp about his politics. Goes a bit too far to denigrate him, and does not dwell enough on his charm. He has done his homework though, and it is good to put a few myths at rest. It would be interesting to know where Clough got his politics from toiygh. Was it his father in law? His mom seems to have been a tory.
In places he is scrupulously fair, and even explains some things in Clough's favour, particularly around Leeds. What is quite surprising is the picutre of Clough as the machiaveliam politician, which is set out quite comvincingly. He makes a good point about paranoia in the 70s.
What always comes through is that Clough and Taylor let their players play and allowed them the initiative to perform. So even though he could be ryranical, or even a bully, he let them have freedom in spades where it mattered.
There is something moralistic sometimes about Wilson, though. And that is the main fault of the book. He can be too quick to pass judgement and adopt a holier than thou attitude, and that does which does not sit well with the times
In places he is scrupulously fair, and even explains some things in Clough's favour, particularly around Leeds. What is quite surprising is the picutre of Clough as the machiaveliam politician, which is set out quite comvincingly. He makes a good point about paranoia in the 70s.
What always comes through is that Clough and Taylor let their players play and allowed them the initiative to perform. So even though he could be ryranical, or even a bully, he let them have freedom in spades where it mattered.
There is something moralistic sometimes about Wilson, though. And that is the main fault of the book. He can be too quick to pass judgement and adopt a holier than thou attitude, and that does which does not sit well with the times
May 4, 2026
My enduring admiration for Brian Clough has never really faded; he remains one of the most charismatic, contradictory, and brilliant figures the English game has ever known. Few managers combined such confidence, wit, and sheer footballing intelligence. Brian Clough: Nobody Ever Says Thank You (2011) by Jonathan Wilson is a deeply researched and richly detailed account of that life. Wilson meticulously charts Clough’s journey - from his high scoring playing days to his transformative managerial career at Derby County and Nottingham Forest (either side of a disastrous spell in charge of Leeds) - while never shying away from the controversies, ego, and complexities that defined him. The level of detail is remarkable, offering insight not just into Clough the manager, but Clough the man: stubborn, visionary, flawed, and utterly compelling. His impact on English football feels immense here, as it should. More than anything, it serves as a fitting tribute to a true original. For anyone with even a passing interest in football history, this is an easy and emphatic recommendation.
January 13, 2022
A fantastic account of a mesmerising character. I’d only caught those strange rumours of Clough before and having loved Inverting the Pyramid by Jonathon Wilson, felt this might be interesting.
The depth of research is incredible with Wilson regularly cross referencing Cloughs two autobiographies along with the many other books, documentaries and interviews conducted around him. The access to all of his life and therefore a peak behind the curtain at this eccentric genius that was yet emotionally manipulative and strange.
I really enjoyed this. Long but worth it.
The depth of research is incredible with Wilson regularly cross referencing Cloughs two autobiographies along with the many other books, documentaries and interviews conducted around him. The access to all of his life and therefore a peak behind the curtain at this eccentric genius that was yet emotionally manipulative and strange.
I really enjoyed this. Long but worth it.
April 2, 2022
A fantastic biography of one of the most complex and interesting characters in any walk of life. Wilson more than helps himself by not over writing. The prose is efficient and neat. The opinions he offers are balanced and astute. He does not err from painting Clough as, at times, a poignant and complicated man with his own, very real faults. But he also writes from a place of clear admiration for a man whom, many people could not help but warm to.
November 4, 2021
A very impressive account on one of the most enigmatic British football managers of all time. Jonathon Wilson does a terrific job in separating Clough the man, Clough the manager and Clough the myth.
May 12, 2025
Just realised I read this nine years ago but, having read other books about the idiosyncratic legend, I didn't make the connection. Well worth reading again if tinged with the sadness of his later years.
September 19, 2017
Great read, warts n all and the first birth to the death blog of the greatest manager of them all.
January 17, 2021
Phenomenal!
December 27, 2022
Very comprehensive indeed. A fascinating read about a complex man.
January 10, 2023
Boring
A boring Brian Clough biography,who'd have thunk it ?Far to many match reports,started skimming then just gave up I'm afraid
A boring Brian Clough biography,who'd have thunk it ?Far to many match reports,started skimming then just gave up I'm afraid
February 17, 2023
Very well written and detailed personal account of one of the iconic football managers of all time
October 6, 2023
Excellent read.
April 1, 2026
Detailed focus on Clough’s soccer/football career.
I wish I could’ve learned much more about his post-football life or outrageous personal stories.
According to the book, he retired, and next thing you know, he’s passed away.
I wish I could’ve learned much more about his post-football life or outrageous personal stories.
According to the book, he retired, and next thing you know, he’s passed away.
February 5, 2016
Brian Clough was undoubtedly one of the most fascinating of the football managers on whom the desscription of legend sits easily.
His time at Derby and Nottingham Forest have produced a plethora of books that focus on his achievements with a more limited (but more detailed) focus. His rivalry with Revie and his short stay at Leeds United fill a few more books.
This book looks at the whole life of the man and provide strong cases for the incidents in his upbringing that drove the man. The man's many contradictions are laid bare and it's not always easy reading when you realise that one of your idols really has feet of clay.
But looking at his career as a whole helps to provide some useful points beyond the peaks he reached with Derby and Forest.
Firstly, his time at Brighton was not as barren as it seemed at the time. Indeed, they followed the same pattern as had Clough in his early times at Hartlepools and Derby. Had he stayed and been obliged to focus more fully on the job, perhaps it might have been Brighton who went all the way to glory.
Secondly, there's a more nuanced review of his time at Leeds. It would be fair to say that Clough made wrong decision after wrong decision while at Leeds. The squad itself was less united (sic) than some stories would have you believe and it was not impossible for Clough to work his magic but, ultimately, he was the one who messed up.
Thirdly, Clough's record in the 1980's with Forest right up to that last fateful season more than stand up to scrutiny especially bearing in mind the financial limitations at the club.
And, yes, Clough and Taylor were a magnificent double act but there's enough to show that Clough was still formidable on his own account.
There's no hiding from Clough's considerable darker side and the impact of alcohol on his life. But the achievements of the man are not to be denied, and we are unlikely to see his like ever again.
His time at Derby and Nottingham Forest have produced a plethora of books that focus on his achievements with a more limited (but more detailed) focus. His rivalry with Revie and his short stay at Leeds United fill a few more books.
This book looks at the whole life of the man and provide strong cases for the incidents in his upbringing that drove the man. The man's many contradictions are laid bare and it's not always easy reading when you realise that one of your idols really has feet of clay.
But looking at his career as a whole helps to provide some useful points beyond the peaks he reached with Derby and Forest.
Firstly, his time at Brighton was not as barren as it seemed at the time. Indeed, they followed the same pattern as had Clough in his early times at Hartlepools and Derby. Had he stayed and been obliged to focus more fully on the job, perhaps it might have been Brighton who went all the way to glory.
Secondly, there's a more nuanced review of his time at Leeds. It would be fair to say that Clough made wrong decision after wrong decision while at Leeds. The squad itself was less united (sic) than some stories would have you believe and it was not impossible for Clough to work his magic but, ultimately, he was the one who messed up.
Thirdly, Clough's record in the 1980's with Forest right up to that last fateful season more than stand up to scrutiny especially bearing in mind the financial limitations at the club.
And, yes, Clough and Taylor were a magnificent double act but there's enough to show that Clough was still formidable on his own account.
There's no hiding from Clough's considerable darker side and the impact of alcohol on his life. But the achievements of the man are not to be denied, and we are unlikely to see his like ever again.
November 13, 2012
As much as I enjoyed the book, I expected it to have more of a focus on Clough's life away from football. Quite why I did - given the fact that Wilson is one of the best football journalists about - I don't know. But while I came away far more knowledgable about a manager whose best achievements predated my own interest in the game (I was born in 1983), so interesting is his character, I craved to know more about his private life.
As it is, the little hints Wilson gives us into his life as a father, husband and, general non-football man are fascinating. That he's a good cook, an overprotective father, a night-club speaker and a pub-frequenter are all things I wish the book had told us more about. Otherwise, the book's as astute and well-informed as Wilson's encyclopaedic other tomes
As it is, the little hints Wilson gives us into his life as a father, husband and, general non-football man are fascinating. That he's a good cook, an overprotective father, a night-club speaker and a pub-frequenter are all things I wish the book had told us more about. Otherwise, the book's as astute and well-informed as Wilson's encyclopaedic other tomes
December 17, 2011
Super studious, super informative from an outstanding football writer. Now, I know that the whole point was to finally write a detailed biography of Clough. However, the start rather gets drowned in the detail. I mean, do we really need to know almost every result of his playing career? The detail still works once he is a manager, but I think bit of editing in the first 150 pages would have helped.
What's really amazing is that there is no clumsy final chapter or conclusion, or lessons learned. It's just so well drawn out that it manages to stay a factual biography. What you make of Clough it's down to you...
What's really amazing is that there is no clumsy final chapter or conclusion, or lessons learned. It's just so well drawn out that it manages to stay a factual biography. What you make of Clough it's down to you...
July 3, 2012
A truly comprehensive account of this fascinating man's life. Despite it being a pretty weighty tome, it didn't feel overlong and I could have kept reading more - probably because of the unpredictable nature of the character. Full of great little stories and not afraid to dismiss others and criticise him, the only negative for me was the fact it felt like it gave you the results of every match in his career, which got a bit repetitive.
September 15, 2013
An anti-hero f mine, brash at times vulgar and on the brink of corruption but an absolutely compelling man. The book speaks of a time before the profligacy of the modern football era, of mud, bungs, hard men but also the awareness and astuteness required to bring the best out of people. Some life lessons and a marvellous evocation of a time long since gone.
October 23, 2016
A definitive look back at the life of Brian Clough although his years after retiring are scantly covered. Having said that this was a fascinating read about the idiosyncrasies of a top manager who slipped into the sad world of alcohol dependency. There never was and never will be anyone quite like Brian Clough in the world both inside and outside football.
Ray Smillie
Ray Smillie
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