The Life of Brian

Having Seen the film The Damned United at the cinema and having read his Autobiography Walking on Water, I like many others am mysterfied as to why Brian Clough wasn't given the opportunity to Manage the England team.

Having guided Derby County to the League Championship in 1972 with his assistant Peter Taylor. Cloughie was the people's choice to take over from Don Revie following the latters departure from the job in 1977.  Out of the People interviewed for the post which included Lawrie McMenemy, Bobby Robson, Allen Wade, & Charlie Hughes-only Clough had won the league. Many years later when he was reflecting about his interview Clough said:

"I was utterly charming too. I walked in, introduced myself to them individually. And I saw Thompson (Sir Harold-then Chairman of the Football Association) look so startled I thought the glasses were going to slide off his nose. At the end I thanked them all very much and said, "Hey, you're not a bad bunch." I went out of the room, back straight, head up, knowing I'd done all I could."

The FA gave the job to Ron Greenwood, who guided England to the European Championships in 1980 and led them to the World Cup in Spain two years later around the same time Clough had guided Nottingham Forest to the league title in 1978 the league cup in 1979 and The European Cup in 1979 and 1980. and the record of being unbeaten for 42 league games-a record not bettered until Arsene Wenger's Arsenal side had beaten it in 2004. Bobby Robson got the job after Greenwood and did very well guiding England to the Quarter Finals of the World Cup in Mexico in 1986 and then to the semi-finals of Italia 90' four years later however when Sir Bobby was given grief by the tabloids and calls were being made for him to be replaced by Clough, he met up with Bert Millichip another former FA Chairman and offered his resignation to make way for Clough but his offer was rejected by Millichip.

We'll sadly never know how far England would have gone under Ol' Big 'Ead One things for sure though: We will not see his like again.