‘Gentlemen,’ you tell them, ‘I’ve just been appointed manager of Leeds United.’
* * *
John and Bill drive me to the studios of Yorkshire TV. Of Calendar. For their special, Goodbye, Mr Clough, with Austin Mitchell, Brian Clough and tonight’s special guest, back by popular demand and as bold as the brass on the buttons of his blazer, the Don –
‘When you walked in, when you walked in, when you walked in,’ says Revie, ‘did you have a meeting on the first day with them?’
‘No.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I didn’t think it was necessary to have a meeting the very first day.’
‘So you were taking over as manager of a new club …’
‘Yes.’
‘And you didn’t call all your players and all your coaching staff and all your office staff together …’
‘No.’
‘And introduce yourself and meet them and tell them exactly what you feel and what you want to try and do?’
‘Go on!’ I tell him. ‘The first day I walked in I came back from my holiday and I did two hours’ training with them.’
Don Revie shakes his head. Don fiddles with them buttons on his blazer. He says, ‘But there was a lot of nervousness and apprehension among the players and the staff, and there have obviously been meetings and discussions among the players and the directors, and there must have been a very good reason to do that. I don’t condone players doing that in any club; it is totally wrong and the directors are wrong to listen to it … But I think Brian is a fool to himself. He has criticized so many people whose records stand to be seen, and I think it is totally wrong for the game of professional football.’
‘But listen, Don,’ I tell him. ‘When you’ve taken over the job of a man that’s been there for ten or fifteen years …’
‘Thirteen,’ says Don.
‘Thirteen years, thank you, and who’s been regarded as the King Pin, as the Father Figure, as the Man Who Made Everything Tick, then within seven weeks it is impossible — utterly impossible — to replace that type of thing …’
‘But why try to replace it, Brian? You talked to them about winning the Championship better or differently, but our record is there to be seen for eleven years …’
‘Yeah,’ I tell him. ‘Yeah …’
‘Right, the first four or five years, and I’ve always said this, we played for results. But the last four or five years, we’ve been the most entertaining side by crowd entertainment, and topping charts with national newspapers and television …’
‘Also, Don, the disciplinary chart. You topped that.’
‘We topped that once.’
‘Well, you topped it for the last two or three years.’
‘No, no, no. That’s not true. It wasn’t 100 per cent right, I’ll agree. It wasn’t quite right. Discipline on the field. And last year we straightened it out.’
‘It was,’ I tell him. ‘You were the top.’
‘But yeah, yeah, when you, you see, you, Brian, when you talk about coming to the Leeds job and you had all these things, these worries about stepping into my shoes and one thing and another …’
‘Which I had …’
‘Yes, you had. But why, why did you come from Brighton to Leeds to take it over when you had criticized them so much and said we should be in the Second Division for this and we should do this and we shouldn’t do that? Why? Why did you take the job?’
‘Well, because I thought it was the best job in the country.’
‘Of course it was the best job in the country.’
‘I was taking over the League Champions.’
‘Yeah, you were taking over the League Champions. You were taking over the best bunch of players you had ever seen.’
‘Well, I didn’t know about the players, Don.’
‘You didn’t know?’
‘I didn’t know them intimate like you do. But I knew you were the League Champions and I was taking over the League Champions. And I wanted to have a crack at the European Cup this year. I think it was near and dear to your heart also. I wanted to win it. I wanted to do something you hadn’t done. Now when I said, I think I said it to Trevor Cherry actually or most of the other players, he said to me, what can you do that the Boss hasn’t done? You’re the Boss, Don, he’s referring to you. I said I want to win the league, but I want to win it better. Now there is no other reply to that question because you had won the league.’
‘Yeah,’ says Don. ‘But there’s no way you could win it better.’
‘Why not?’
‘No, no, no …’
‘But that’s the only hope I’ve got …’
‘But we’d only lost four matches.’
‘Well, I can only lose three.’
‘No, no, no …’
‘I couldn’t give any other answer and I wanted to win the European Cup. Now I believe it was just a fraction, just a fraction, Don — I don’t know this because I haven’t spoken to you — but I believe it was just a fraction whether you took the England job or had another shot at the European Cup.’
‘That is totally true,’ says Don. ‘Because I was so involved with the players and everyone at Elland Road …’
‘Good lad,’ I tell him. ‘Now I wanted to do that and I wanted to do it better than you. You can understand that, can’t you?’
‘Yes. But —’
‘Thank you,’ I tell him. ‘Thank you, Don.’
The credits roll, the music plays; I can see clearly now.
* * *
Down the motorway, their fingers and fists, their sticks and their stones, getting smaller and smaller; John at the wheel of my new blue Mercedes, Bill opening another bottle of champagne. But the sun is not shining, rain only falling; the blue sky is black, the yellows all purple, and I’m in the back with my two feet up and their cheque for £25,000 in my hands –
I don’t believe in God. I don’t believe in luck. I believe in football –
‘I’ve just come up on the pools,’ I shout. ‘The bloody pools!’
I believe in family and I believe in me; Brian Howard Clough –
It is Thursday 12 September 1974, and I wish you were here.
The Argument II, cont.
In May 1979
Margaret Hilda Thatcher and the Conservative Party won
the General Election,
and Brian Howard Clough and Nottingham Forest won
the European Cup –
No Milton. No Blake. No Orwell –
D.U.F.C.
Sources and Acknowledgements
This novel is another fiction, based on another fact. That fact was found in the following sources:
A Kind of Loving by Stan Barstow (1960).
Biting Talk by Norman Hunter (2004).
Bremner! by Bernard Bale (1998).
Champions Again: Derby County 1967/75 by Gerald Mortimer (1975).