ITV documentary exposes FA's Clough cover-up

Brian Clough, a football icon and managerial legend, carried until the day he died a suspicion that his dream of becoming manager of England was taken away by a bent decision.

And in a new ITV documentary on Clough's life and career, former FA executive Glenn Kirton confirmed that Clough's assertion had been correct. Interviewed by ITV's Gabriel Clarke, Kirton recalled that there was no vote on the replacement for Don Revie, and Ron Greenwood had been the preferred candidate all along. He wasn't even part of the interviewed shortlist.

Kirton's testimony merely confirms what everybody suspected, but it's just one highlight of a superb documentary which provides a stark realism as the movie adaptation of David Peace's 'The Damned United' approaches.

On Friday afternoon, I went along to ITV for the press screening of 'Clough', which will be shown at 10.35pm on Wednesday 25th March on ITV1. I wasn't disappointed, and the general opinion afterwards seemed to be that it was a beautifully made and sympathetic account of the life and times of Brian Clough.

Clough was a genius. But he was also supremely arrogant and massively controversial.

This was a man who had the ability to take Derby County out of the second division and make them champions of England. He had the ability to lead Nottingham Forest to successive European Cup wins. And he knew it.

The ITV documentary features excellent interviews by Clarke with family members, friends and ex-players, almost all of whom remain painfully fond of Clough. Throughout the show, one thing always bubbles below the surface: these people love and miss Brian Clough.

There are many highlights. ITV have dredged their archives to pull out some classic Clough moments. We see Clough surprised on 'The Big Match' by a tongue-in-cheek telling off from Muhammad Ali. He kept his cool, of course. We see him interviewed pitchside in Munich completely topless. We see him pitch up for a press conference in a tracksuit with a squash racquet.

And then, of course, we get the soundbites. All the golden old Cloughie quotes are there - you know the ones. Clough was honest, forthright and brimming with wit. He was a clever, clever man, and that shines through in the archive footage.

Much old ground is covered, but covered with the people who were there, the people who knew the man best. But things have moved on in the Clough world lately, and there are new issues to discuss. 'Clough' does not shirk these details, and as a result delves deeper into Clough's time at Leeds than any other Clough retrospective.

This, of course, was necessitated by this week's release of 'The Damned United', the film version of Peace's book. It's "faction", a novel based in fact. In this case, it covers Clough's disastrous 44 days at Leeds United, a club he despised with every cell in his body.

The Clough family, in particular wife Barbara and son Nigel, hated the book. So too did Johnny Giles, the former Leeds player cast as a villain in the book - he successfully sued the author, who, for his part, has expressed regret about his portrayal of Clough. They are unlikely to watch the film, and have shunned the premiere.

Clarke's interviews give both sides of the story. As well as Clough's well-documented opinions on the matter, the ITV interviewer caught up with Peter Lorimer and Giles to get their views. It certainly sounds like Clough arrived at Elland Road and went straight for the throat.

The other 'new' story is that of Brian's son Nigel. According to brother Simon, Nigel Clough is beginning to act, walk and manage like his father. The differences are also clear, but Nigel's arrival at Derby early this year is a handy circle-closer for ITV, and the film makers took advantage wonderfully.

Chatting to Clarke after the screening it was clear that he had enjoyed carrying out these interviews and building up the real Clough story. The fondness for Old Big 'ead shines through in the documentary and every football fan should watch it this Wednesday.

Brian Clough was one of a kind: manager, husband, father, entertainer, pundit, superstar, legend. All these words describe him, yet none gets close to giving the full picture. 'Clough' does that brilliantly.

(Photo: DCFC)

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Posted by Chris Nee

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