MovieChat Forums > The Damned United (2009) Discussion > Clough/Taylor

Clough/Taylor

posted 12 years ago by Fozzy_Fozzbourne
6 replies | jump to latest

Now I know Clough was manager, Taylor was assistant manager, but what exactly was Taylor to Clough, Clough was a very intelligent man, quick witted with a sharp tongue, and Taylor always seemed to come across as the exact opposite of Clough, keep in the background, did not court the media like Clough did and just seemed to keep himself to himself, as I was not alive in the 70's and they had split up by the time I took an interest in football, I never got to see there European exploits.

So what was it that Clough saw in Taylor and what did Taylor see in Clough.

I know lots of people said Taylor had a natural gift for spotting talent, that Taylor could pick anybody out as a talent and he would be correct, I know he was a lot older than Clough, so did he possibly see himself as a kind father or big brother figure for Clough, and on Cloughs part, did he think of Taylor being someone as an old head with a good mind with Taylor being someone who brought some stability to Cloughs job.

I read about when they fell out and never spoke to each other again with Clough going downhill after Taylor died, being a big football fan myself, The Clough/Taylor partnership interests me as it is probably the most well known partnership in modern football.

By the way, a historically accurate film about the real life partnership would be good, as people still love Clough to this day

[–] Fozzy_Fozzbourne 12 years ago

BUMP

[–] Prismark10 11 years ago

Apparently when they were at Derby County, the story goes, the Chairman stopped and asked Taylor, 'what exactly do you do?'

Taylor went to Clough and told him what happened and Clough went round to the chairman and said, both of us came to a small club going nowhere and won the league and got to the semi final of the European Cup and you have the nerve to ask one of us ‘what exactly do you do!’

Its that man again!!

[–] chrismartonuk-1 11 years ago

They operated as a motivational double-act. Clough would storm in after a poor performance in the dressing rooms and berate them, then Taylor would follow up and soothe their shattered nerves. Taylor also operated as Clough's conscience, and kept a reign on his drinking and worst excesses. Taylor was an excellent spotter of talent, sometimes being able to suss out talent after just watching the player receive the ball and make a pass. However, he missed Kevin Keegan and Ian Rush when they were recommended. Their friendship dated back to their playing days as Middlesbrough when Taylor went on record as saying that Clough would one day play for England. He was Clough's best mate at Boro when few other of his team mates could stand Clough.

[–] mercianwarrior 10 years ago

Cloughie would basically tell Taylor what the team needed and Taylor would find them. Mostly, they were players that had failed elsewhere - or came from nowhere to be world-beaters.

Kenny Burns, failed alcoholic striker with Birmingham, Taylor bought him as a defender, went on to win PWA player of the year and two European Cups with Forest.

When Taylor and Clough fell out over the John Robertson transfer, things were never the same at Forest, they were always a top-half of the table team (until Cloughie's last season) but they were never contenders again.

On his own, Clough was one of the best managers the game has ever seen, together they did some truly amazing things with teams they shouldn't have been able to do them with.

[–] LtColonelBartlett 10 years ago

Clough's name should never be mentioned without Taylor's but it normally is.
Without Taylor, Clough won a couple of league cups, but no First Division Championships, no FA cups (though that feat had not been achieved with Taylor either) & no European trophies.
He also without Taylor managed a side that got relegated from the top flight, something that never happened to other great managers of the era (Shankly, Busby,Paisley, Nicholson, Stein & the much maligned Revie). The myth makers love this narrative of Clough turning nobodies & has-beens into greats, but he also did it by spending big money on certain players, such as Trevor Francis, the U.K's first million pound transfer. Merciawarrior, its unfair to describe Kenny Burns as a failed striker as he was originally a defender converted to a striking role at Birmingham.

***The only programme I'm likely to get on is the ------- news!***

[–] baldrickadder 9 years ago

I think that Taylor was a lot of what the OP stated. But I think it was a lot about the good guy and the bad guy kind of act that made Clough and Taylor a successful partnership. Perhaps if Taylor had gone to Leeds as well, it might have been different. I remember seeing something many years ago, former players had said that often, he was around if the players needed a word, regarding some thing about Clough. At the same I remember, one player said that Clough got him working so hard to prove Clough right, then at other times working so hard to prove him wrong. Clough had that about him.