Alchemy: Brian Clough & Peter Taylor at Hartlepools United

by Christopher Hull

Boxing Day 1962: Sunderland star striker Brian Clough suffers a career-threatening knee injury. After a futile battle for fitness, he retires early and sinks into deep despair. He’s then thrown a lifeline, and persuades ex-teammate Peter Taylor to join him in managing the Cinderella club of north-east football. Penniless Hartlepools United are next to bottom of the Fourth Division, with a meddling chairman, a ramshackle ground, and want-away players. Yet the pair’s intuitive chemistry steadily transforms the threadbare team and improves results. Shrewd assistant manager Taylor talent-spots bargain players, while his brash but charismatic partner man-manages them. Clough also spearheads a ‘Save the Club’ fundraising campaign, in a town where coal trade is dwindling and the last shipyard has closed. Together, the pair develop a blueprint that later wins them league championships and European Cup glory at unfashionable Derby County and Nottingham Forest. Exploiting a wealth of archive newspapers and interviews with surviving players, Alchemy reveals the humble origins of Clough & Taylor’s meteoric rise to the top of the football tree.

Genres: Football

256 pages, Hardcover

Published September 15, 2022

About the author

Christopher Hull was born in London. He has supported Hartlepool United since first watching them in 1978. He studied his undergraduate and masters degrees at Newcastle University from 1995 to 2000, and a PhD at the University of Nottingham from 2004. He currently lives and works in Chester.

Reviews

[Gary K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book about early days of their management career

[Paul McCormack · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 out of 10 for me. Good topic and I was keen to read it but tediously heavy on facts, matches and scorers and disappointingly light on real insight

[Ezra Rollinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will never tire of reading about this man. Thank you Christopher Hull for putting this together.