Coaching Icons: Brian Clough Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1965

Clough had spent a short period as a coach for the Sunderland youth team, but his first opportunity as a manager came in October 1965 when Hartlepools United (renamed Hartlepool United in 1968) appointed him. Clough, aged 30, was the youngest coach in the Football League upon his appointment.

He stayed with Hartlepools until 1967 when he was appointed as manager of Derby County. While Hartlepools spent most of the 1960s at the bottom of the fourth tier, Clough led the club to an eighth-place finish in 1966-67.

Answer: Assistant manager

Clough was known for his ruthlessness, particularly to those who did not suit his style or to those who did not take him seriously. While Clough and his assistant Peter Taylor eventually had a series of fall-outs and never spoke after 1983, the pair were mostly inseparable while at Derby. According to a 2009 article in "The Guardian", Clough fired two tea ladies whom he had caught laughing after a Derby defeat.

Answer: Leeds United

The 1971-72 season came to a dramatic climax, with Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester City all on Derby's heels. Derby's final match was a 1-0 win over Liverpool. However, Liverpool and Leeds both had a chance to overtake Derby by winning their final games. Derby were confirmed as champions when Leeds lost to Wolves and Liverpool drew with Arsenal.

It was Clough's first major trophy and Derby's first ever league title.

Answer: David Nish

Clough and Taylor signed Leicester City defender Nish for a British-record fee in August 1972 without informing anyone on Derby's board. One of the club's directors, Jack Kirkland, verbally warned Clough afterwards that there would be no more expensive signings from that point.

While Mackay and McGovern were both a part of Clough's team at Derby County, they were cheaper signings that Clough made during his re-build of the squad in his first year. Todd was also a British record signing in February 1971.

Answer: Bobby Moore

Clough organised a meeting with West Ham United manager Ron Greenwood and made an offer to sign Moore and Trevor Brooking. Greenwood did not accept Clough's offer, insisting that neither player was for sale, but out of respect for Clough he informed the club's board about the offer anyway. Clough did not tell anyone at Derby County, including Derby's directors. Chairman Sam Longson only found out about the offer when he had a chance meeting with West Ham secretary Eddie Chapman many months later. By this point, Clough had already left Derby County.

Answer: 12

Clough's time with Brighton was much less successful than his Derby tenure. His worst moments with the club included an 8-2 defeat to Bristol Rovers in December 1973 and a 4-0 loss to Walton & Hersham in the FA Cup. Brighton finished 19th in Division Three. Clough left Brighton in July 1974 to become manager of Leeds United.

Answer: 44

Clough's arrival at Leeds United in July 1974 came as a surprise to many as Clough had publicly criticised the team's players often. As a believer in fair play, he had berated Leeds for their poor disciplinary record. It turned out to be a match made in hell with Clough only picking up four points from his opening four league games.

His outspoken ways alienated many of the club's senior players and it has been hinted by players such as Gordon McQueen and Johnny Giles that the team deliberately played poorly to get Clough sacked.

Answer: Allan Brown

Clough succeeded Brown, who had held the position since 1973. Mackay, who had played under Clough at Derby County, had been manager for a short period in 1972. Gillies was Forest manager between 1969 and 1972.

Clough would remain at Nottingham Forest until 1993. Frank Clark, who had played for Forest during Clough's reign, succeeded him as manager and held the position until 1996.

Answer: 3

Clough's first signings at Forest were midfielder John McGovern and forward John O'Hare, who had both played a role in bringing the title to Derby three years earlier. McGovern was held in such high regard by Clough that he made the Scot captain in his first full season with the club.

Midfielder Archie Gemmill joined with Forest in 1977 after a seven year association with Derby.

Answer: Long Eaton United

Birtles joined Nottingham Forest in late summer 1976 and would remain at the club until 1980, playing a role in both of Forest's European Cup triumphs, including the assist for John Robertson's winner in the 1980 final. Birtles played 87 times for Forest, scoring 32 times. He joined Manchester United in 1980.

Answer: Anglo-Scottish Cup

The 1976-77 season, Clough's second year in charge at Forest, saw the team win that year's Anglo-Scottish Cup. After winning their group, Forest defeated Scottish sides Ayr United and Kilmarnock in two-legged matches before defeating Orient (later and previously known as Leyton Orient) 5-1 on aggregate in the final. Clough would lead Forest to a First Division/League Cup triumph in the following season.

The FA Cup always eluded him.

Answer: Liverpool

Forest finished the season with 64 points, winning 25 and drawing 14 of their 42 league fixtures, meaning they had accrued just three losses. The team went the entire league season undefeated at home. Liverpool finished seven points behind, accumulating 57 points. Everton finished third with 55 points while Manchester United came tenth with 42 points. Forest defeated Liverpool 1-0 in a League Cup final replay following a 0-0 draw in the first match. John Robertson's penalty was the only goal in either game.

Answer: John McGovern

Netzer wasn't alone in his analysis. Clough built the Nottingham Forest team that won the 1979 and 1980 European Cups around cheap signings (such as Garry Birtles), academy graduates (such as Anderson) and experienced players such as Lloyd and Bowyer (Lloyd had won the league with Liverpool while Bowyer had won an FA Cup with Manchester City, both men had also won European trophies before joining Forest).

McGovern was a favourite of Clough's, playing at four different clubs under him. (Hartlepools United, Derby County, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest)

Answer: Santiago Bernabeu

Clough's side defeated East German champions Dynamo Berlin in the quarter-finals 3-2 on aggregate, after losing the first leg 1-0. Then, Forest defeated Ajax, a club that had won three European Cups in the last decade, 2-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals. John Robertson's goal sealed a 1-0 win over Hamburg in the final.

Munich's Olympiastadion was the host of Forest's 1979 triumph over Malmo that gave Clough his first European Cup a year earlier.

Answer: 4

Forest's two-time European Cup winning squad was broken up in the years that followed, with Clough struggling to replace the team that had won the big trophies. Despite this, he still led the team to the 1989 and 1990 League Cup titles, defeating Luton Town 3-1 and Oldham Athletic 1-0 respectively in the final. The club also won the 1989 and 1992 Full Members' Cup titles.

Answer: Brian McClair

McClair's 14th minute strike saw United lift the cup, denying Clough his fifth League Cup with Forest. Kanchelskis and Hughes both started the game, with Sharpe replacing Kanchelskis in the second half. Clough left Forest a year later after suffering relegation in the Premier League's inaugural season in 1992-93.

Answer: Sir Bobby Robson

Clough was a massively popular figure amongst football fans throughout his managerial career, with his emphasis on attacking football and socialist values often resonating with the majority of working-class fans. However, Clough was often outspoken against authority figures in the game and this always led to the English FA refusing to offer him the job. English football fans now often refer to Clough as the "greatest manager England never had".

Answer: Taylor signing John Robertson for Derby County

Robertson discussed the fall-out between Clough and Taylor in an interview with the "Derby Telegraph". According to Robertson, the transfer was "the straw that broke the camel's back" and Robertson's claims are verified by the fact that the two men never spoke after this event.

Clough referred to Taylor as a "snake in the grass" after the transfer, claiming he would "run him over" if he saw Taylor needing a lift. Despite this, Clough attended Taylor's funeral in 1990 and Taylor's daughter has said that Clough was "deeply upset" by his death. Clough dedicated his 1994 autobiography to his long-time assistant.

Answer: Freedom of the city of Derby

When Clough left Nottingham Forest in 1993, the club honoured his services by renaming the City Ground's Executive Stand to the Brian Clough stand. That same year, he was given the freedom of the city of Nottingham due to his services to the city.

Clough was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002, the first year of its existence. It wasn't until 2003 that the city of Derby gave him the freedom of the city.

Answer: Rinus Michels

Michels finished second. He was known as the inventor of "Total Football", a style of football that laid the foundations of the Ajax/Netherlands teams of the 1970s and of the 21st century Barcelona teams. He won the European Cup at Ajax, La Liga at Barcelona and the 1988 European Championship with the Netherlands.

Paisley finished fourth in the list. He guided Liverpool to three European Cups and six English league titles. Herrera, a two-time European Cup winning coach at Inter Milan, rounded off the top 5. Happel, one of the few men to win the European Cup for two different clubs, was 14th.