Clough is regarded as one of the finest managers in English football. He is charismatic, opinionated, and frequently contentious. His accomplishments with Derby and Forest, two struggling regional clubs with little prior success, are regarded as among the finest in football history. He is known for his aggressive, attacking style of play, which often involved heavy use of creativity and skill from the forward line.
Clough's career began at Derby County, where he took over a team that had finished in the second division the previous season. He immediately turned them into league champions with a style that can be described as "fun to watch if you like that sort of thing". He also achieved this while dealing with personal issues relating to alcoholism and depression. Despite these difficulties, he still managed to lead the club to further championships in his first three seasons. In 1978, he moved to England's oldest professional club, Nottingham Forest. There he continued to transform a relatively unheralded team into one of the best in Europe. After four more championship wins, he left the club in 1982 to take charge of the Canadian national team. He failed to bring any success to Canada and returned home later that year.
After leaving Forest, he took over the managerial position at local side Brighton & Hove Albion. Under his management, they became one of the top teams in the second tier of English football. However, he resigned after only one season to take charge of Derby again.
The legendary Derby and Nottingham Forest boss had an unsuccessful interview for the England job in 1977, altering the course of history forever. The greatest manager England never had That's the epitaph of Brian Clough's career. Long before he died in April 2004, at the age of 58, people were saying how much Britain would miss him if he passed away. But while he was alive, many more people missed him even more.
Clough's managerial career began back in 1970 when he took over at Derby County as a player-manager. He led the team to the League Championship title that year, their first in 50 years, and also won the European Cup with them. After two more seasons at the helm, he moved to Nottingham Forest where he continued to win trophies until his death. During his time at Forest, he also managed England twice - in 1977 and 1978 - without really leaving his mark on English football.
He retired from management in 1982 after being fired by the then-FA chairman Ron Noades. Before taking charge of England, Noades had said that there were too many foreign managers in the game and that he didn't want any more Spaniards or Italians in the country. When asked about this statement by a journalist before a match against Italy, Clough replied: "There are no foreigners in this squad. I picked it myself."
After more than a decade in English football's second tier, Brian Clough took over at Derby and ignited a revolution; the club went on to win the Football League First Division twice in the 1970s and reach the European Cup semi-finals in 1973 before rapidly regressing to the third tier and near extinction. After three years out of the game, Clough returned to Derby in 1978 and won the league again.
Clough left Derby for Nottingham Forest in the summer of 1979 but was replaced by Joe Mercer who could only manage a ninth-place finish. When asked about his future plans after this disappointing season, Clough announced he was leaving Nottingham Forest too. He had already turned down the offer of Liverpool's manager position so he could stay at Derby until they qualified for Europe again. They never did so during his time at the club and he left in May 1980.
During his two spells at Derby, Clough managed to win 95 games while losing just 31 matches. This gives him a winning percentage of 75%. He also has the best defensive record of any manager in the history of the English game with only 42 goals being scored against him in 95 games.
His overall record is 100 wins, 44 draws and 54 losses. This gives him a success rate of 69%. He also won the English title in 1975/76 and 1979/80. He finished second four times between 1972/73 and 1977/78.
He was the Football League's youngest manager at the age of 30. Cloughie's success with Midlands teams Derby County and local rivals Nottingham Forest, though, cemented his reputation. Clough went to Derby in 1967, bringing with him Peter Taylor as an assistant manager. They turned around Derby's ailing football club by developing a free-flowing attacking style of play that made use of American sports science technology.
They also had two successful seasons without a win. In 1969-70, they finished second in the league table, losing out on goal average against Liverpool. The following season saw them retain their UEFA Cup place thanks to a last-minute goal from Gordon Derbyshire. However, they were beaten in the first round by Benfica.
Clough left Derby in 1971 to take over at Nottingham Forest. He took them to the FA Cup final in his first season, but lost out to Chelsea. However, he did manage to lead them to the European Cup Winners' Cup title in 1975. After three more years at Forest, during which time he won two more FA Cups, he moved to Leeds United where he helped them avoid relegation from the top flight in his first season there. In 1979, he returned to Derby to become their manager again. He led them to the playoffs before losing out to Liverpool in the final qualifying round. He left Derby for a third time in 1984, this time going to Boston Beacons.
Mansfield Town Football Club Nigel Howard Clough (born March 19, 1966) is an English football manager and former player who is currently in charge of Mansfield Town. Clough was capped 14 times by England in the early 1990s, primarily as an attacker but sometimes as a midfielder later in his career. He is regarded as one of the best foreign players in the history of Manchester United.
He has had a successful managerial career, including with Manchester United, where he won the Premier League twice and the FA Cup once. After leaving Man United at the end of the 2005–06 season, he took over at Derby County, where he achieved two consecutive playoff appearances before being sacked.
In July 2007, he returned to Manchester United as assistant to José Mourinho. When Mourinho left United to coach Chelsea in December 2010, Clough went with him to serve as his assistant.
They won the UEFA Champions League in 2018 and the Europa League in 2009. They also reached the FA Cup final three times under their leadership.
Prior to joining Man United, Clough had a successful playing career, most notably with Manchester United where he played over 250 matches during eight seasons. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest attacking players in the club's history.
After retiring from playing in 2001, he became manager of Oldham Athletic, where he stayed for two years before being appointed manager of Nottingham Forest in April 2003.
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