So it was sad turn of events when Argentina’s football association decided to sever ties with its feisty coach earlier this week.

Read more

Discredited Fabio Capello now adds his name to the growing list of Footy Factor’s Most Hated Men in Football.

Read more

Read more…

Read more

Inter’s recent dismantling of the reigning European Champions at the San Siro, confirms Mourinho’s position at the top of the managerial ladder.

Here’s why:

Read more

Read more

We regret to inform you that “McCarthyism” is enveloping the English game. Now let’s be clear: this is in no way related to the communist witch-hunt that struck fear and suspicion into American hearts during the 1950s. Instead, this is a philosophy of cowardice and underachievement being perpetuated by a certain enemy of football named Michael Joseph “Mick” McCarthy.

First up…

Manager of the Decade

Winner: Jose Mourinho. How do we love thee? Let us count the ways. No one delivers as much charisma or controversy. No one has better mastered the media or the mind games. No one commands as much allegiance from his players. No one knows how to turn a game on its head with a single substitution. No one has moved so effortlessly between Europe’s top leagues. No one better embodies the brashness and bravado of today’s game. Any way you slice it Mourinho is truly a modern manager for our modern times. His football might not be the most beautiful, but you can’t argue with its sheer effectiveness, like a mallet crashing down on your head. Five league titles between Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan – including a Champions League trophy with unfancied Porto – prove that the Portuguese manager is this decade’s “Special One.”

Runners-Up: Guus Hiddink An extraordinary manager who has inspired ordinary teams to punch far above their weight – be it South Korea, Australia, or Russia. Although the Dutchman’s greatest achievement of the decade might have been last season’s temporary assignment at Stamford Bridge, where he restored a sense of pride and a return to form to Chelsea’s moody millionaires. Sir Alex Ferguson It’s amazing to think that at the turn of the century, Manchester United fans were beginning to prepare for the old Scotsman’s retirement. Ten years on – and five league titles and a Champions League trophy later – the Old Trafford faithful still cannot bare to imagine life post-Fergie.

1. No One Has the Power to Do It. Since purchasing Liverpool, American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have been either too busy courting investors for the club or one-upping each other in the board room. Neither holds a candle to Benitez’s popularity, even at this low point for the Spaniard, and both are savvy enough to understand the backlash that would come from attempting such a power play.

2. Who Would Replace Rafa? After a string of managerial wet blankets (remember Roy Evans?), Liverpool have finally found a manager who can bring them silverware. If you sack Benitez, then what? Hire Gareth Southgate? John Barnes? Why don’t you just bring Gerard Houllier back?

3. Fernando Torres Would Be Off in a Flash. Would you risk losing the club’s biggest asset by cutting loose his mentor and compatriot? Didn’t think so.

4. It Would Be Expensive. Rafa just put pen to paper on a new contract earlier this year – in the wake of Liverpool’s 4-0 destruction of Real Madrid. (Remember that?). Breaking that deal, which runs until 2014, would cost the club a lot of money – money it clearly can’t afford to waste considering the owners’ reluctance to spend big in the summer transfer market.

5. There’s Still Time to Turn Things Around. In his first season, Rafa won the Champions League with a very mediocre team. Clearly, he has the ability. And let’s not forget that Liverpool’s six losses this season have been against Chelsea, Fiorentina, Lyon, Sunderland, Aston Villa, and Spurs – each beatable, but none to be embarrassed about.

Shout it out! Five reasons why Rafa's staying at Liverpool

Most Hated Men in Football

Listen up, England fans: Jack Warner, FIFA Vice-President and CONCACAF President, might be the one man you’re going to want to have a quiet chat with when hosting for World Cup 2018 is decided in 2011. A member of the FIFA Executive Committee since 1983, Warner’s position allows him tremendous influence over the bid decision.

Never one to avoid controversy (the BBC accused his family of re-selling 2006 World Cup tickets amounting to $1 million profit), at the recent ‘Leaders in Football’ conference at Stamford Bridge, the Trinidad & Tobago native unleashed a scathing attack on England’s attempt to host the tournament – branding their bid ‘lightweight’. While speechwriters for FA Chairman Lord Treisman hastily concoct a clever, diplomatic retort to Warner’s damaging comments, bid organizers for Spain/Portugal and Russia are licking their lips with glee.

But this isn’t the first time Warner has rubbed England fans the wrong way. He originally announced his disapproval of England’s bid back in February 2008. Then he perversely remarked that, “England invented the sport but has never made any impact on world football.” I guess he forgot that England is one of only seven nations to ever win the trophy and that it possesses arguably the best domestic league in the world that churns out teams who regularly compete for European trophies and World Club trophies.

A word to the wise, Jack:  If you’re planning on making another trip over the Channel, make sure you check in under a different name.

—

The other Most Hated Men in Football:

Robbie Savage

Mike Riley

Ashley Cole

Sepp Blatter

Joey Barton

Gordon Brown

Garry Cook

Emmanuel Adebayor

After a year-and-a-half out of the game, Avram yesterday re-surfaced as Director of Football at Premiership basement boys Portsmouth. In doing so, Grant returns to the club that first introduced him to the English game – and whose fortunes since his departure have changed dramatically.

Cast your mind back to June of 2006:  When Grant joined Pompey as technical director, the South Coast club was enjoying something of a renaissance.  Russian businessman Alexandre Gaydamak had purchased the club six months prior and a wave of optimism and big money signings followed. The 2006-07 season finished with Grant and manager Harry Redknapp successfully guiding the club to a top-half-of-the-table finish for the first time, one point adrift of European qualification. Grant then left for Chelsea to manage the work of Jose Mourinho. (Talk about an impossible task!)

Now fast forward two seasons, and Grant – without the guidance of Redknapp on the field and the protection of Gaydamak in the board room – faces an altogether different challenge. Tasked with overseeing all football matters thereby freeing up manager Paul Hart to focus on first team activities, Grant must improve Portsmouth dramatically – and immediately – if they are to avoid relegation to the Championship. There have been a lot of depressed faces in Portsmouth of late.  Bringing in Avram only adds one more.

Portsmouth bring in Avram to lift spirits

The Good, the Bad and the Kenyon

The Lows:

Tapping up Sven: Shortly after Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003, Kenyon began looking for a replacement for manager Claudio Ranieri.  But the problem was that Kenyon made little attempt to hide his search from either the public or Ranieri himself. The ultimate embarrassment came when Kenyon was photographed by The Sun welcoming Sven Goran Eriksson into his London flat – when the Swede was at the time coach of the England national side.

Players’ Wages: Salary negotiations were never Kenyon’s strong suit. Granted, it’s hard to sit down with a player and tell him what the club can and cannot afford when your paymaster has his own fleet of jumbo jets. Nevertheless, by offering gold-plated contracts to Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard, John Terry and many others, Kenyon amassed the biggest wage bill in the Premier League.

2008 Champions League Final: After a crushing defeat on penalties, it was Kenyon who volunteered to lead the team up to collect their consolation medals. With Manchester United, in contrast, picking club legend Sir Bobby Charlton, Kenyon’s presence was an egregious affront to football purists who fear that “the suits” have taken over the game.

The Highs:

Jose Mourinho: Kenyon was instrumental in appointing Jose Mourinho as manager, who led the club to two Premiership titles and was as successful a marketing tool as the club might ever find. And when Mourinho’s ego became too big for Abramovich’s liking, it was Kenyon who desperately did everything he could to hold together their relationship.

Cobham: Chelsea have still not figured out how to expand Stamford Bridge, but under Kenyon, the club did build what is perhaps the plushest football training facility in the world. Besides the physio rooms, cafeterias, training pitches and media rooms, it also boasts biometric finger print recognition technology for entrance to the players’ area.

Doubling Club Revenues: Kenyon’s business acumen was top notch. In five years he doubled the club’s revenues by negotiating long-term, lucrative sponsorship deals with both Adidas and Samsung. He also spearheaded Chelsea’s efforts to increase their fan base in Asia and North America . The club’s sellouts during their recent preseason tour in the United States were proof of that success.

After five and a half seasons at the West London club, he says it’s time to move on, and a lot of people will agree. But amidst all those Uncle Fester jokes is the best CEO in sports. A commercial mastermind, a real football man and having met the chap on numerous occasions, actually a pretty nice guy (notwithstanding that he came close to making our list of the Most Hated Men in Football.)

We don’t think he was pushed. We just think he felt it was time to find another challenge. And we hope he finds one soon. But don’t fall for the Man City trap.

Good luck, Mr. Kenyon.

Peter Kenyon - No more the off-pitch public face of Chelsea

Most Hated Men in Football.

Garry Cook of Man City – an obvious addition to the list of the Most Hated Men in Football.

The name Garry Cook does not role off your tongue as easily as the names Robinho, or Kaka, or even Joleon Lescott. Garry Cook is the chairman of Man City, and he’s the man that Shinawatra annointed 18 months ago to make Man City the main football club in Manchester.

Cook may be an intelligent guy, we do not know. He certainly had reasonable success at Nike for many years. But clearly the guy cannot read. The FA Premier League has a rule which applies to all clubs and states very clearly, “no club shall directly or indirectly induce or attempt to induce any employee of another club to terminate a contract of employment with that other club or directly or indirectly approach any such employee with a view to offering employment without the consent of the other club.”  We all know this as the prohibition against “tapping up”. All of us except Garry Cook that is.

Garry started his exploits by stealing Robinho from under the nose of Peter Kenyon at Chelsea. Fair enough. He then rubbed AC Milan the wrong way by making moves on Kaka during last January’s transfer window, and inferred the people from AC were a bunch of yokels.

He opens the summer season by sending Mark Hughes off to Dubai in late June to romance John Terry. John Terry’s head was turned, no doubt about that. Money talks, even to a ferverent badge kisser. Getting a “no” from Chelsea (remember Cook made moves on Terry during the January window also) was not enough. He went back to the trough again and again until Chelsea had to buy off Terry.

Cook then stepped on the minnows at Everton by tapping up Lescott. Not a very good player, but good enough for Everton’s back line. Cook used everyone and his grandmother to turn Lescott, who finally put in a written transfer request. It was only a matter of time, wasn’t it? Everton got an extraordinary price for Lescott (some £22 million) and they will hopefully put it to good use. Good for them, although you have to criticize Everton Chairman Bill Kenwright who didn’t have the balls to file a tapping up claim against Man City.

Where does Cook go next? What are the odds on Rooney crossing over to the Eastlands after Coleen has a pleasant (but secret) lunch with Cook? We can’t wait for the January transfer window.

—

The other Most Hated Men in Football:

Robbie Savage

.

Mike Riley

.

Ashley Cole

.

Sepp Blatter

.

Joey Barton

.

Gordon Brown

.

I wonder who else we can get off FootyFactor?

—

Related articles:

Damien Duff: Deal of the Year

.

The Birth of a Legend: Winning the 1978 FA Cup with Ipswich Town was to be one of Robson’s most famous achievements as manager. The shock 1-0 victory over a fantasy Arsenal side brought the FA Cup to small-town Ipswich for the only time in its history.

Assault on Europe: Winning the 1981 UEFA Cup with Ipswich provided the stepping stone for Robson’s successful move to some of Europe’s glitziest clubs. Ipswich’s 5-4 win over Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in a two-legged final announced Robson to the global community.

First European triumph back in '81 with Ipswich

World Cup Tears: While Gazza stole the headlines with his tricks and tears at Italia 90, it was Bobby who masterminded England’s assault on Rome, overcoming a plucky Cameroonian side and coming within a wayward Chris Waddle penalty of beating West Germany in the Semi Finals.

Resurrecting Barcelona: Robson arrived in Barcelona from Porto bringing with him a very special weapon from his days at PSV: his Brazilian protégé, Ronaldo. (This was back in the days when Ronaldo wasn’t so fat.) Together with a young Jose Mourinho, they captured the 1997 European Cup Winners Cup, bringing European success back to a club who had been craving a return to the elite.

Enjoyed success at Barca with two of his more famous protégés

RIP Sir Bobby

Related Articles:

• A City’s Welcome to tevez (Machester United)

Most Hated Men in Football

Why can’t he just stick to ruining the NHS,  trampling the rights of people living in the country, making sure our youngsters can’t read or write and other assorted misdeeds.  No, he has to make a mess of football, too.

How you ask?

Well, you might’ve noticed this summer that the big-name players, those we want to see play in this country, are not crossing the English Channel. They are staying in Italy and Spain, and even leaving here for Italy and Spain (a la Ronaldo).  And that’s because the Prime Minister thinks the following are good things to do:

Impose a 50 per cent tax rate next year.  When the rate is half that in Spain, you can understand why the top notch players prefer continental Europe.

Impose a so-called non dom tax.  For foreigners who come here Gordon has decided to require them to pay £30,000 (that’s £60,000 after tax) for the privilege of enjoying our train service, our weather and other assorted ills.

Impose immigration laws that make it more difficult for non-European players to move to England than it is for them to move to continental European countries.  All in the name of anti-terrorism of course.

The only thing we can’t blame Gordon for is a shortage of new Ferrari cars (the footballer’s car of choice). That’s simply a function of the fact that the boys in Modena are limited in the number of right hand drive cars they can make every year.

—

The other Most Hated Men in Football:

Robbie Savage

.

Mike Riley

.

Ashley Cole

.

Sepp Blatter

.

Joey Barton

.

Lord Triesman, Are You Asleep?

A number of England fans have spent substantial sums of money to become Wembley Club members. This “membership” entitles you to pay an extraordinary sum of money in return for which you get 13 or 14 guaranteed events per year (many of which you have no interest in attending). This is not the prawn brigade crowd.  These are dedicated fans who want to make sure they have seats for every England match and pay through the nose for that privilege. There is no hospitality; you still have to wait 15 minutes at halftime to use the loo; but you do get a free programme (whoopee!!). Last night, many of the Wembley Club members could not get to the stadium. Although Wembley is reimbursing ticket holders who could not attend last night, they are not – repeat, not – reimbursing Wembley Club members. Why? Something about that’s not what their contract says. Now, remember, these are the fans who paid something like an aggregate of £60 million up front several years ago, funds which enabled the Wembley financing to get off the ground. So much for a thanks from the FA.

Platini, Are You Asleep?

While Michel Platini is criticising Chelsea and Man U and Liverpool for their extravagant ways and their throwing money all around, he seems to be napping as his good friends at Real Madrid (all football fans, owners and players are Platini’s friends, except of course if you come from England or the good ole US of A) spend – gulp – a Roman fortune on just two players, Kaka and Ronaldo. (Sort of makes Cashly Cole look like a pauper, doesnt it?). I think this is called a “double standard”.

Michel "Barca to win. Use Ovrebo, ok?". Sepp "Fine, kiss and make up?"

Blatter, Are You Asleep?

And of course neither UEFA or FIFA have said anything about the ridiculous refereeing (and referee!) at the Chelsea v Barcelona match at Stamford Bridge. Nothing about improving the quality of the refereeing. Nothing about technology. Just hiding under the covers we guess, waiting for it all to go away.

Scolari has coached in Kuwait and Japan. So why not Uzbekistan?

Although, on second thought, perhaps it’s not much of a surprise. After all, Chelsea Football Club has built up a bit of a reputation for derailing once-promising careers and ending those that are well more established. Think back to Brian Laudrup, Chris Sutton, Asier Del Horno, Mateja Kezman, and lest we not forget…Andrei Shevchenko.

Considering that, maybe Big Phil hasn’t done too badly.

With the arrival of former star defender Ciro Ferrara as manager at Juventus and the recent announcement of talented ex-Milan maestro Leonardo at the helm at AC, the current trend of club owners turning to retired superstar players in a bid for success defies logic.

Ferrara, the players, soaks up the adulation

In recent times many former greats have tarnished their reputations by failing to live up to their billing. The arrival of legendary Toon striker Alan Shearer on Tyneside late last season did little to halt their downward spiral to the Championship. It is too early to predict what will happen with Shearer’s long term managerial career, but in the short-term he’s taken a battering. Man Utd icon Roy Keane enjoyed a superb freshman year at Sunderland before quitting during his second season at the Stadium of Light under a cloud of player discontent. Leading Ipswich back to the Premiership would go a long way to re-establishing himself on the football circuit.

Very few great players have over the years become great managers. In fact, if you look at the current crop of top managers, very few of them enjoyed more than a modest career. A young Jose Mourinho failed to make the grade at youth level before turning to coaching. Arsene Wenger played only eleven professional matches, all with his hometown club Strasbourg. Rafael Benitez won a single Spanish Tercera Division title while at AD Parla. Of course there are exceptions to the rule. Josep Guardiola’s recent Champions League triumph as Barca manager mirrors his European Cup victory as a player with Barca in 1992.

Van Basten struggling to juggle management

Club owners hire these former legendary players to boost supporter and player morale. As with all new managers, the initial impact tends to be positive. But the long term consequences can be catastrophic to team unity a fan attendance. The jury is still out on several big names including Marco Van Basten, Jurgen Klinsmann and Mark Hughes.

Yesterday AC Milan announced the departure of long-serving coach Carlo Ancelotti. As expected, Chelsea today responded to Italian reports by releasing a statement of their own confirming Ancelotti’s arrival at the Stamford Bridge club. While the particulars have yet to be divulged, Footy Factor understands that Ray Wilkins will retain his role as assistant manager with the Blues but that Ancelotti would like to bring in Mauro Tassotti and Filippo Galli, two trusted confidants from his Milan days.

Will Ancelotti finally bring the European Cup to the Bridge?

What is most interesting about the arrival of the Italian is how the story has unraveled in the media. Rumors of Chelsea’s interest in Ancelotti first emerged last summer, prior to the arrival of Luis Felipe Scolari. The Brazilian’s appointment temporarily put an end to the whispers but talk resurfaced after Chelsea confirmed Guus Hiddink’s selection, in place of Scolari, was only temporary.

Today’s Chelsea statement on their official website, including an interview with Carlo Ancelotti, sheds new light on activities behind the scenes at the Bridge. The most striking detail to emerge from the interview on Chelsea TV is Ancelotti’s impressive grasp of the English language. Often a critical stumbling block to success of foreign managers, Ancelotti’s interview will lay to rest any lingering doubts about the Italian’s ability to convey his feelings, thoughts and instructions to players and staff. The question that begs to be answered is, when and how did Ancelotti learn to speak English? You certainly don’t learn a language over night and his confident and articulate communication skills appear to have been fine-tuned over a number of months. The second item of significance is Ancelotti’s three year contract. While details of the deal have not been released, it is important to note that this is a longer contract than that offered to either Avram Grant or Luis Felipe Scolari both of whom spent weeks and months negotiating terms. These two factors coupled with the speed at which Chelsea today released their Italian rebuttal all adds up to an agreement with Ancelotti and Milan being in place long prior to the weekend.

While Ancelotti enjoyed huge success during his 8 seasons at the Milan helm, he will soon discover that the Stamford Bridge hot-seat is a completely different kettle of fish. Thought to be the favored choice of fickle owner Roman Abramovich, Ancelotti’s mission statement is simple – bring the Champions League and Premier League titles to West London.

Ever wanted to run a top football club? Wheel and deal in the cut-throat global transfer market? Sit in the front row of the directors’ box and rub shoulders with football glitterati?

This is your lucky day. With Rick Parry leaving his post as Chief Executive of Liverpool Football Club, the position is there for the taking.

Think you’ve got the footy factor? ‘How to Apply’ details below. Good luck!

Make your dreams come true...

Celtic have announced that manager Gordon Strachan has been sacked…by himself from his position at the club with immediate effect. Following their recent failure to secure the SPL title for a fourth successive season,Strachan has decided to call it a day with the Parkhead club. Strachan’s 4-year tenure in Glasgow can be deemed a huge success following Celtic’s three league titles and three cup medals.

Strachan looking for a flight south of the border

So what lies ahead for Celtic and Strachan? Celtic will be looking for a strong and experienced character to step into the role left vacant by the ginger one. Strachan’s most obvious next step would be to return to management in England with Sunderland the likely suitors. Watch this space.

]]> http://footyfactor.com/2453/breaking-strachan-resigns.html/feed 0 http://footyfactor.com/1488/hoop-la.html http://footyfactor.com/1488/hoop-la.html#comments Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:30:55 +0000 Stan Hughes http://footyfactor.com/?p=1488 All the king’s men

A week ago English Championship side Queens Park Rangers sacked their 6th manager in three years. The latest victim, former Inter and Portugal international Paulo Sousa, departed following his disclosure of sensitive information to the media that QPR sporting director Gianni Paladini had finalized a deal for top scorer Dexter Blackstock to be loaned to Nottingham Forest without his knowledge.

Queens Park Rangers were recently named the ‘World’s Richest Club’ following the £14 million joint takeover in August 2007 by Formula 1 tycoons Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone - a move that saw them leapfrog neighbours Chelsea and Roman Abramovich on the rich list. The addtion of Forbes’ 5th Richest Man in the World,Lakshmi Mittal, as part owner in December 2007 further cemented their position as football’s rich kids.

Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore contemplate a 7th QPR manager

However things haven’t been so rewarding on the pitch. Since the takeover QPR have had 6 different managers: John Gregory, Mick Harford, Luigi De Canio, Iain Dowie, Gareth Ainsworth, Paulo Sousa. With a heck of a lot of money being paid out in compensation and little to cheer about in the stands, lets hope the ‘World’s Richest Club’ tag rings true.

With Chelsea beating Arsenal on Saturday to reach this year’s FA Cup Final, the Hoops still have a lot of spending to do if they’re ever going to compete with their West London rivals on the pitch and sing ‘stick the blue flag up your a**’.

Does the Newcastle United board have a death wish? Are they sadistic? Do they enjoy ripping out the hearts of their loyal supporters? How else to explain their recent decision to hire Alan Shearer as manager for the rest of the season? Can you possibly expect a man with no managerial experience (and judging by his punditry, absolutely no tactical insight) to steer the floundering club away from the drop zone? When it ends, it’s surely going to end badly – with another former legend trudging out of St. James’ Park, carrying his shattered legacy in a plastic bag. I hope Kevin Keegan’s got a seat warmed up for him at the pub.

Is it us, or does Newcastle seems to be a graveyard for aspiring and established managers? Kenny Dalglish may have had his moments at the Tyneside, but hasn’t managed again since he was sent packing.  After a promising start to his managerial career at Chelsea, Ruud Gullit never got it going again after one miserable season at Newcastle. Meanwhile, Graeme Souness had such a torrid time up north that he’s since been out of the business for going on three years.

We wish Alan Shearer the best of luck.

Most Hated Men in Football

With forthcoming World Cup qualifying matches gripping the world of football, its only appropriate to focus in on one of football’s most hated men and current FIFA president, Joseph S. (Sepp) Blatter.

As leader of the world football governing body, its really quite amazing how much controversy one man can generate. Following Brazil’s victory at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, Blatter bizarrely ruled that tournament winners would from that point on be required to qualify for the next World Cup. This offers up the potential for current world champions to not qualify and be unable to defend their title. In 2004 Blatter dishonored the beautiful game by implementing rules that allowed for yellow cards to be handed to celebrating players taking their shirts off or acting over-zealous. The main cynic and ultimate barrier in attempts to employ computer technology of any type within the modern game, Blatter has irked many. Think for a moment about the national teams of Bolivia and Peru. In 2007 football matches at 2500 metres (8200 ft) above sea level were outlawed, those two sit at plus 3000 metres.

—

The other Most Hated Men in Football:

Robbie Savage

.

Mike Riley

.

Ashley Cole

.

Joey Barton

.

Gordon Brown

.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Forget football WAGS and Russian billionaires, carbo-diets and player agents. ‘The Damned United‘ is the tale of a young football manager who rose to prominence during the blood and thunder of the 1970s English league.

With grit and determination, Brian Clough guided perennial strugglers Derby County from the bowels of Division 2 to the top of Division 1 before departing for the hot seat at rivals Leeds United. Clough left Leeds after 44 days having unsuccessfully attempted to change their strong-arm tactics and win over the masses following the departure of legendary coach Don Revie to the England national team.

While the story itself is entertaining and historic, Clough remains the only English manager to win back to back European Cups, it is the powerful and convincing performances by Michael Sheen (Clough) and supporting actors Timothy Spall and Jim Broadbent that help confirm ‘The Damned United‘ as one of the best football films produced to date. Like all great biopics, even though you know whats going to happen you still find yourself sucked into another world.

One noticeable criticism of the film would be the running time. At only 97 minutes, the story passes very quickly with most of the film focusing on the relationship between Clough (Sheen) his assistant Peter Taylor (Spall) and Derby Chairman Sam Longson (Broadbent). The film is crying out for scenes exploring Clough’s training methods and relationship with the media and supporters.

During an era when long hair and side burns ruled and smoking and drinking in the players’ lounge was as common as a rainy match day, Brian Clough’s smooth and confident persona and customary chat-back charmed players and fans but alienated chairmen and fellow professionals. While the game’s mullets have vanished and footy shorts loosened, you need only turn to our very own Jose Mourinho to see how Clough would have faired in the modern game.