The letter read: “During the events of the past week we, the undersigned players, kept our feelings within the dressing room. However, at this time we are unanimous in our support for Mr Clough and Mr Taylor and ask that they be reinstated as manager and assistant manager of this club.” The letter was signed by every member of Derby’s first-team squad, except Henry Newton, who was visiting Liverpool on business. The horticultural lesson over, there was another surprise waiting for the man Clough insisted on calling “Kenneth”. Burns had scored 20 goals in 38 games the previous season as a centre-forward. Yet Clough, going by Taylor’s recommendation, had something different planned. “Perhaps it sounded insane to switch a goal-taker into defence, but there was good reason for our madness,” Taylor would later explain. “I suspected Burns didn’t relish life up front because the running didn’t suit his lazy nature. What’s more, we desperately needed a sweeper alongside Larry Lloyd and I visualised Kenny turning into a Scottish Bobby Moore. He was as skilful as Moore and certainly more ruthless.” In the erratic world of football management, their union was also exceptional in that it lasted for more than ten years. Together, they were able to accomplish so much due of their dedication to one another and to their common goal. Clough’s role in that success is inarguable and the anecdotes of the time have been repeated so often that they remain imprinted on the game’s soul. Taylor’s contribution isn’t hard to spot, though. Four of the 11 players who started the 1979 European Cup final – Larry Lloyd, Kenny Burns, Gary Birtles and Peter Shilton – had been signed on his recommendation. Burns, of course, was an unlikely reclamation project: signed as a brutish centre-forward from Birmingham, he would become a cultured, secure centre-half under Taylor’s direction. Shennan, Paddy (25 March 2009). "Brian Clough DID see the light over Hillsborough – but it took him 12 years". Liverpool Echo.

Clough would eventually soften, too, but only after it was too late. By the time he took the phone call to tell him that Taylor had died in Majorca at just 62, the two hadn’t spoken for seven years. Even then, as he would reflect on one of those long afternoons recorded in Provided You Don’t Kiss Me, it wouldn’t have taken much to cure the rift between them. Gorgazzi, Osvaldo (13 February 2005). "Intercontinental Club Cup 1980". RSSSF . Retrieved 5 December 2017. Gordon went on the dole then took a job at Rolls Royce in Derby after leaving Leeds, but it wouldn’t be long before he received the inevitable call. Clough initially couldn’t talk Taylor into joining him at Nottingham Forest in 1975, but Gordon was more easily persuaded. Brian Clough in pictures: Re-live his 44 days at Leeds United". Daily Mirror. UK . Retrieved 11 July 2009.The foundation of Clough and Taylor’s collaboration was mutual respect, trust, and a common goal. They were able to properly balance one another’s strengths and shortcomings since they were aware of one another. Their teamwork and collaboration, as well as their unique talents, contributed to their achievement. It was out of respect,” says John McGovern, who played under Clough at Hartlepool, Derby, Leeds and Nottingham Forest, when asked why Gordon answered the call to dive headlong into the chaos that was Leeds. “Clough couldn’t walk into Leeds without bringing somebody with him ... he asked Jimmy to be there so he had somebody he could trust.” Promotion as champions was immediate in 1906–07. They were relegated a second time to the Second Division in 1911 and had to seek re-election in 1914 after finishing bottom of that tier. As World War I approached they were in serious financial trouble. The outbreak of the Great War along with the benevolence of the committee members mitigated the club going under. [1]

In April 1987, Martin Tyler conducted an interview with Taylor in which, tentatively, he asked about his falling out with Clough. The clip can still be found on YouTube and it remains oddly fascinating. In the 1979–80 season Forest declined to play in the home and away 1979 Intercontinental Cup against Paraguay's Club Olimpia. Forest defeated F.C. Barcelona 2–1 on aggregate in the 1979 European Super Cup in January and February 1980. Charlie George scored the only goal in the home first leg. Burns scored an equaliser in the return in Spain. [69] In the 1979–80 Football League Cup, Forest reached a third successive final. A defensive mix up between Needham and Shilton let Wolves' Andy Gray tap in to an empty net. Forest missed numerous scoring chances and lost 1–0. [70] In the 1979–80 European Cup quarter final, Forest won 3–1 at Dynamo Berlin to overturn a 1–0 home defeat. In the semi-final they defeated Ajax 2–1 on aggregate. They defeated Hamburg 1–0 in the 1980 European Cup Final at Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu Stadium to retain the trophy. Robertson scored after exchanging passes with Birtles. [71] Forest finished fifth in the 1979–80 Football League. In 1989–90, Forest retained the League Cup with Nigel Jemson scoring the only goal in a 1–0 win over Oldham Athletic, but could only finish ninth in the First Division. Despite winning the League Cup, Forest would miss out on European football the following season. Though the ban on English clubs playing in European competitions had been lifted for the 1990–91 season, the only UEFA Cup place went to league runners-up Aston Villa. Three Forest players (Walker, Pearce and Hodge) were named in the PFA Team of the Year for that season. Derby County | THE BRIAN CLOUGH TROPHY". Dcfc.premiumtv.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018 . Retrieved 11 July 2009. Brian Clough and Peter Taylor glory years (1975–82) [ edit ] Brian Clough managed Nottingham Forest for 18 years.

Clough and Taylor collaborated as equals from the start, each contributing their unique abilities to the team. Clough was the team’s on-field coach and a strategic thinker, creating cutting-edge strategies. Taylor was in charge of spotting talent and locating and luring players who would match Clough’s playing philosophy. Brian Clough and Peter Taylor watch from the sidelines during Nottingham Forest’s European Cup semi-final in Cologne, in 1979. Photograph: POPPERFOTO

Redfern, Simon (9 December 2007). "Provided You Don't Kiss Me, by Duncan Hamilton". The Independent. London . Retrieved 26 November 2012. Seven deadly sins of football: Lust – from Antonio Cassano to a Dutch pool party". The Guardian. 21 May 2009 . Retrieved 3 April 2018. The men who made Brian Clough". Fourfourtwo.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2012 . Retrieved 14 June 2012.Rather than a simple chronology of their lives together, Taylor offered within a set of astute emotional observations about Clough which, realistically, he was never going to take as anything other than a betrayal.

UEFA.com. "UEFA Super Cup – 1980: Valencia profit from Felman's fortune". UEFA.com . Retrieved 3 April 2018. It was an incident characteristic of the wider feud. Their final years seem ultimately to have been poisoned by possession; who was responsible for what, who owned which parts of their success. Robertson’s career was indicative of what they had achieved, his rise was quite extraordinary, so it’s easy to see him as an extension of that wider theme. Barlow and McParland were named joint Managers Of The Month for March 2006 as they were the only team in the football league to go unbeaten in that month. Old Big 'Ead does it his way to the end". The Guardian. 22 October 2004 . Retrieved 21 February 2022. In the League Cup, after beating Chester City 4–2 on penalties, the second round tie against Leicester City was abandoned at half-time due to the collapse of Clive Clarke. In the replay, as The Reds were leading 1–0 when the referee called the game off, Leicester sportingly allowed Forest to take the 1–0 lead after 23 Nottingham Forest 2 v 3 Leicester City | Nottingham Forest | News | Latest News | Latest News seconds through goalkeeper Paul Smith setting many football records. Despite this, Forest lost the game 3–2 after being ahead with three minutes to go.

Richard Williams: Nigel Clough, new manager of Derby County, keeps his message streamlined and simple". The Guardian. London. 10 January 2009 . Retrieved 11 July 2009. On 5 August 1973, Clough put his name to an article in the Sunday Express headlined "I Would Put Leeds in Division Two – Brian Clough lashes Soccer's bosses for letting off Don Revie's 'bad boys,'" [29] which savaged Leeds United's disciplinary record, stating that Revie should be fined for encouraging his players in their unsporting behaviour and Leeds relegated to the Second Division. Clough also said that "The men who run football have missed the most marvellous chance of cleaning up the game in one swoop" and went on to say "The trouble with football's disciplinary system is that those who sat in judgement being officials of other clubs might well have a vested interest." Robinson, Paul. "Leeds United's John McGovern talks about Brian Clough era". Yorkshire Evening Post. Archived from the original on 21 August 2009 . Retrieved 11 July 2009. Revie and Clough: Boro boys who grew to be bitter enemies". The Yorkshire Post. 8 April 2011. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019 . Retrieved 23 May 2019.