Overview

'COMPREHENSIVE' The Sunday Times 'BEAUTIFULLY DETAILED' The Guardian 'UTTERLY COMPELLING' Nottingham Forest News 'WONDERFUL' Forbes 'INTIMATE' FourFourTwo 20th Anniversary Edition - Fully revised and updated. In this authoritative, critical biography, Jonathan Wilson draws an intimate and powerful portrait of one of England's greatest football managers, Brian Clough. It was in the unforgiving world of post-war football where his identity and reputation was made - a world where, as Clough's mentor Harry Storer once said, 'Nobody ever says thank you.' Nonetheless, Clough brought the gleam of silverware to the depressed East Midlands of the 1970s. Initial triumph at Derby was followed by a sudden departure and a traumatic 44 days at Leeds. By the end of a frazzled 1974, Clough was set up for life financially, but also hardened to the realities of football. By the time he was at Forest, Clough's mask was almost permanently donned: a persona based on brashness and conflict. Drink fuelled the controversies and the colourful character; it heightened the razor-sharp wit and was a salve for the highs of football that never lasted long enough, and for the lows that inevitably followed. Wilson's account is the definitive portrait of this complex and enduring man, whose legacy in football remains untouched to the present day.

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9781399625623

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Reviews

The most comprehensive account we have had so far of this remarkable man * SUNDAY TIMES * The most comprehensive account we have had so far of this remarkable man. -- Rod Liddle * THE SUNDAY TIMES * It is the definitive factual account, yet after 550 pages the real Clough remains curiously elusive, still an enigma. But what an enigma. -- Simon Redfearn * Independent * In separating the man from the myth, Jonathan Wilson's biography of Brian Clough is the first to do him justice... What Wilson does give us is a methodical, non-hysterical, beautifully detailed Clough; a perfectly crafted mixer to go with the heady, emotive, intoxicated Clough‑ernalia of recent years. -- Barney Ronay * The Guardian * Reading of Clough and Taylor's achievements with Derby and Nottingham Forest isn't the same as living through that time, but overall, Wilson does a dam fine job of it. -- Bobby McMahon * Forbes * There's no question, Wilson's done a hell of a job. Look no further for this year's must-have Christmas book. * Nottingham Forest News * A comprehensive new biography. * Sport Magazine * The definitive tome, a massive undertaking that charts his entire life rather than snippets of his career. -- Ben East * Metro * Painstakingly researched, it's a hugely intimate portrait, with the mental impact of his ruined carer providing most intrigue. * FourFourTwo * Wilson's book covers 30 years of Cloughie's grandest deeds, and yet perhaps the most interesting thing about Clough is how his legend endures to this day. -- Tristan Freeman * Sunday Express * Wilson has made his reputation as a highly original football writer with a series of books displaying a healthy, and rare, obsession with tactics. His Clough book benefits from this unusual approach. -- Mark Perryman * Morning Star * Wilson superbly gets to the heart of what made the former Nottingham Forest boss tick and gives a real insight into how he proved to be so successful...this book chronicles the life of a truly extraordinary character with a style that keeps you engrossed for every single page. -- Gareth Maher * Irish Daily Mail * (This) meaty one-volume biography of Clough will be probably as close to definitive as anyone ever gets... in this compelling book. -- Liam Mackey * Irish Examiner * Jonathan Wilson's book on 'old big 'ead' is the most complete and in depth to date...Wilson's book is beyond compare. * Choice Magazine * Jonathan Wilson's mighty new biography... is a 565-page opus. -- Harry Pearson * When Saturday Comes *

The most comprehensive account we have had so far of this remarkable man. -- Rod Liddle * THE SUNDAY TIMES * It is the definitive factual account, yet after 550 pages the real Clough remains curiously elusive, still an enigma. But what an enigma. -- Simon Redfearn * Independent * In separating the man from the myth, Jonathan Wilson's biography of Brian Clough is the first to do him justice... What Wilson does give us is a methodical, non-hysterical, beautifully detailed Clough; a perfectly crafted mixer to go with the heady, emotive, intoxicated Clough‑ernalia of recent years. -- Barney Ronay * The Guardian * Reading of Clough and Taylor's achievements with Derby and Nottingham Forest isn't the same as living through that time, but overall, Wilson does a dam fine job of it. -- Bobby McMahon * Forbes * There's no question, Wilson's done a hell of a job. Look no further for this year's must-have Christmas book. * Nottingham Forest News * A comprehensive new biography. * Sport Magazine * The definitive tome, a massive undertaking that charts his entire life rather than snippets of his career. -- Ben East * Metro * Painstakingly researched, it's a hugely intimate portrait, with the mental impact of his ruined carer providing most intrigue. * FourFourTwo * Wilson's book covers 30 years of Cloughie's grandest deeds, and yet perhaps the most interesting thing about Clough is how his legend endures to this day. -- Tristan Freeman * Sunday Express * Wilson has made his reputation as a highly original football writer with a series of books displaying a healthy, and rare, obsession with tactics. His Clough book benefits from this unusual approach. -- Mark Perryman * Morning Star * Wilson superbly gets to the heart of what made the former Nottingham Forest boss tick and gives a real insight into how he proved to be so successful...this book chronicles the life of a truly extraordinary character with a style that keeps you engrossed for every single page. -- Gareth Maher * Irish Daily Mail * (This) meaty one-volume biography of Clough will be probably as close to definitive as anyone ever gets... in this compelling book. -- Liam Mackey * Irish Examiner * Jonathan Wilson's book on 'old big 'ead' is the most complete and in depth to date...Wilson's book is beyond compare. * Choice Magazine * Jonathan Wilson's mighty new biography... is a 565-page opus. -- Harry Pearson * When Saturday Comes *

The most comprehensive account we have had so far of this remarkable man. -- Rod Liddle * THE SUNDAY TIMES *

Author Information

Jonathan Wilson is a columnist for the Guardian and the founder and editor of The Blizzard. Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics was Football Book of the Year in 2009 and was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award. Seven of his other books have been shortlisted for football book of the year and he has also won the Premio Antonio Ghirelli in Italy. Angels with Dirty Faces did the double of football book and history book of the year at the Polish Sports Book Awards in 2018. He is a three-time recipient of the FSA Football Writer of the Year award and in 2023 was granted an honorary doctorate by the University of Sunderland. He writes for the Guardian and in 2011 founded The Blizzard, which he still edits. He is also the co-presenter of the football history podcast It Was What It Was. Twitter/X: @jonawils

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