Clough - "We talk about it for 20 minutes and then we decide I was right"

The word ‘legend’ gets bandied around far too often these today. A Lincoln City supporting friend of mine swears that Simon Yeo is a legend, but doesn’t this completely devalue the true meaning of the word ‘legend’? Ok, so I’m not disputing the fact that he may have scored some crackers against the likes of Macclesfield and Morecambe down the years for the Imps, but legend he ain’t.

One man that can lay claim to being a fully fledged legend is Brian Howard Clough. This week, 36 years ago, Cloughie was unceremoniously booted out of Pride Park by a pompous Derby board.

Clough went on to manage Nottingham Forest and the rest is they say is history as he cemented himself in the record books with back to back European Cup wins.

We take a look back at what Brian Howard Clough made of it all…

“I wouldn’t say I was the best manager in the business. But I was in the top one” – Clough on his managerial career.

“If God had wanted us to play football in the clouds, he’d have put grass up there” – Clough on passing the ball.

“I only ever hit Roy the once. He got up so I couldn’t have hit him very hard” – Clough on Roy Keane.

“We talk about it for 20 minutes and then we decide I was right” – Clough on players who disagree with him.

“At last England have appointed a manager who speaks English better than the players” – Clough on the appointment of Sven-Goran Eriksson.

“I’m sure the England selectors thought if they took me on and gave me the job, I’d want to run the show. They were shrewd because that’s exactly what I would have done” – Clough on not getting the England manager’s job.

“Manchester United in Brazil? I hope they all get bloody diarrhoea” - Clough on Manchester United’s decision to opt out of the FA Cup to play in the World Club Championship in 2000.

“I can’t even spell spaghetti never mind talk Italian. How could I tell an Italian to get the ball? He might grab mine” – Clough on the influx of foreign players.

“I like my women to be feminine, not sliding into tackles and covered in mud” – Clough on women and football.

“Anybody who can do anything in Leicester but make a jumper has got to be a genius” – Clough paying tribute to Martin O’Neill, who used to manage Leicester City.

“They say Rome wasn’t built in a day, but I wasn’t on that particular job” – Clough on the job of building a City.

“Don’t send me flowers when I’m dead. If you like me, send them while I’m alive” – Clough speaking after the liver transplant which saved his life.

“I want no epitaphs of profound history and all that type of thing. I contributed. I would hope they would say that, and I would hope somebody liked me.” – Clough on being remembered

And finally….

“When I go, God’s going to have to give up his favourite chair.”

Mr Brian Howard Clough we salute you.