216: Brian Clough, Nottingham Forest, Panini’s Football 90, The Official Sticker Collection

Unlike the rest of us at ‘A Sticker’s Worth 500 Words’ Mat Jolin-Beech supports a team which has won all of the major trophies. Whether Mat’s feeling the strain of the Covid-19 lockdown or if he’s just jealous of Palace’s capture of the Zenith Data Systems Cup in 1991 (last won by today’s subject) is hard to tell but what’s for sure is that he did not particularly enjoy Jose Mourinho’s stint at Old Trafford. For an outsider looking in it seemed quite funny. Anyway, over to Mat.

For many, Old Big Head is the greatest manager England never had. For others, he’s the guy who, along with Peter Taylor, took unfancied teams to greatness. Derby County and Nottingham Forest fans hold Clough in the highest esteem. He is also known for ‘The Damned United’ era. The tumultuous 44 day stint in charge of Leeds United, without his trusted lieutenant Taylor, which left him, until 2014, as the club’s least successful permanent manager. Michael Sheen immortalised Clough in the film adaptation of the book, and the alleged infamous phrase to his new players: "You can all throw your medals into the biggest flipping dustbin you can find because you’ve never won any of them fairly." Clough’s quips are well known.

However, for me, despite knowing the history and the success he had behind him, Brian Clough will always be the red faced, green jumper wearing, broken giant of a man who got his beloved Forest relegated in 1993. His long-standing battle with alcoholism undoubtedly had caught up with him, but he was being usurped by younger managers with newer, more complex strategies and tactics. Clough had become old hat. The successes of yesteryear, as recent as the 1991 League Cup, had gone. The Midas touch of this enigmatic man had deserted him.

This story has been echoed in recent years. A young upstart manager, not shy of working the media and dropping absurd statements, whilst taking an unfancied team to domestic and European glory, before going on to sustained triumphs.  Then the downfall and struggles, with a downbeat, prickly, grumpy demeanour replacing the upbeat, entertaining, chirpy character that arrived on the scene. Enter one Jose Mario dos Santos Mourinho Felix.

Schooled by Sir Bobby Robson at Barcelona before his big breakthrough at Porto. UEFA Cup champions and Champions League winners in subsequent seasons. Plucked from Portugal to kick-start the Abramovich era at Stamford Bridge, he brought top talent to Chelsea: Petr Cech, Tiago Mendes, Paulo Ferreira and Didier Drogba among them. Glory swiftly followed the Special One. Two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups in his three seasons at the club before departing for Inter Milan. A brace of Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia and the pick of the prizes, the Champions League once more saw the Portugeezer snapped up by Real Madrid. Domestic success followed, but La Decima proved elusive and, in 2013, a return to Chelsea beckoned.

This is where the wheels really fell off. A league title in 2014 appeared to take apart the adage of never going back but a dismal title defence in 2015 that saw the Premier League Champions flirt with a mid-season relegation battle saw Jose booted to the curb. A curb where a desperate Ed Woodward found him and shoved him into the hot seat still warm from Louis Van Gaal’s FA Cup win in 2016.

Dismal, dreary, desperate football followed. £370 million of mixed signings, a Europa League and League Cup trophies and a “best achievement” of his career with a second place finish to Manchester City, and then a worst start to a league season for 28 years. “Luke Shaw, you’re terrible. Shut up,” must have been said many times in the Old Trafford dressing room before Ed finally gave him the boot.

The latest stage of the fall came as Jose became Daniel Levy’s latest pin up. But more terrible football, supporter unrest, the loss of form of Harry Kane (he’s one of their own don’t you know) and training in the park during lockdown have once again got people questioning Jose. The downward spiral appears to have set in, much like Clough. We just need a Spurs relegation to complete the story. Now let’s just hope that a certain Mr Jurgen Klopp is the next name on this football history paper.