Brian Clough book fest

Occasionally, when the mood takes me, I read up on a topic to a reasonable depth. This time it was Brian Clough, the eponymous ex-manager of football clubs Derby County & Nottingham Forest.

The two books that stand out are The Damned Utd by David Peace and Provided You Don’t Kiss Me by Duncan Hamilton.

The Damned Utd is to be turned into a film next year starring the talented Michael Sheen as Brian Clough. The book is a semi-fictional account of Brian Clough’s ill fated appointment as manager of Leeds United in the mid 1970s. Interlaced with the account of his 44 days in charge are flashbacks of Brian’s rise prior to joining Leeds.

Provided You Don’t Kiss Me documents the career of Brian Clough through the eyes of Duncan Hamilton, a young sports writer, for the local newspaper in Nottingham. If you only want to buy one book on Brian Clough this one is the one to go for. I read this book in a couple of sittings and thoroughly enjoyed it, even though it was the third book I’d read about Brian Clough.

Update August 2013: I would also recommend Clough’s War by Don Shaw, the book documents Clough’s ousting as manager of Derby County and the subsequent campaign to have him reinstated.