37 Quotes by Brian Clough

Brian Clough, born on March 21, 1935, was an English football player and manager who left an indelible mark on the sport. Clough's successful career as a striker for clubs like Middlesbrough and Sunderland laid the foundation for his transition into coaching. As a manager, he achieved great success, most notably during his tenure at Nottingham Forest.

Clough led Forest to unprecedented victories, including two consecutive European Cup triumphs in 1979 and 1980, against all odds. His charismatic personality, unique management style, and ability to nurture talent were instrumental in transforming Nottingham Forest into a dominant force in European football.

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Clough's innovative tactics and unyielding belief in his players earned him both praise and controversy throughout his career. Despite his occasionally confrontational nature, he remained a beloved figure among fans and players alike. Brian Clough's impact on English football cannot be overstated, and his legacy as one of the greatest managers in the game lives on.

Brian Clough Quotes


We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass.

Don't send me flowers when I'm dead. If you like me, send them while I'm alive. (Meaning)

If a chairman sacks the manager he initially appointed, he should go as well.

If I had an argument with a player we would sit down for twenty minutes, talk about it and then decide I was right!

Players lose you games, not tactics. There's so much crap talked about tactics by people who barely know how to win at dominoes.

On occasions I have been big-headed. I think most people are when they get in the limelight. I call myself Big Head just to remind myself not to be.

They say Rome wasn't built in a day, but I wasn't on that particular job.

Saturday comes again, welcome or not, it comes again like it always does, welcome or not, wanted or not, another judgment day - The chance to be saved, the chance to be damned.

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If God had wanted us to play football in the sky, He'd have put grass up there.

I like my women to be feminine, not sliding into tackles and covered in mud.

Anybody who can do anything in Leicester but make a jumper has got to be a genius.

If he'd been English or Swedish, he'd have walked the England job.

Acne is a bigger problem than injuries.

Come and see my coaching certificates - they're called the European Cup and league championships.

They love me for what I'm not They hate me for what I am.

For all his horses, knighthoods and championships, he hasn't got two of what I've got. And I don't mean balls!

When I go, God's going to have to give up his favourite chair.

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Bill eventually became Mr Tottenham Hotspur, and produced such a dazzling team at White Hart Lane that they won the double and played the game in a way that was an object lesson to everybody.

Who the hell wants fourteen pairs of shoes when they go on holiday? I haven't had fourteen pairs in my life.

There are more hooligans in the House of Commons than at a football match.

Walk on water? I know most people out there will be saying that instead of walking on it, I should have taken more of it with my drinks. They are absolutely right.

Beckham? His wife can't sing and his barber can't cut hair.

It only takes a second to score a goal.

When you get to a certain age, there is no coming back.

That Seaman is a handsome young man but he spends too much time looking in his mirror rather than at the ball. You can't keep goal with hair like that.

Telling the entire world and his dog how good a manager I was. I knew I was the best but I should have said nowt and kept the pressure off 'cos they'd have worked it out for themselves.

We used to go to the pictures every Saturday night but we had to leave a little bit early and get home and watch Match of the Day - and my wife still complains she missed the last five minutes of every film we saw.

You don't want roast beef and Yorkshire every night and twice on Sunday.

The river Trent is lovely, I know because I have walked on it for 18 years.

I'm sure the England selectors thought if they took me on and gave me the job, I'd want to run the show. They were shrewd, because that's exactly what I would have done.

Resignations are for Prime Ministers and those caught with their trousers down, not for me.

If a player is not interfering with play then he shouldn't be on the pitch.

Being thick isn't an affliction if you're a footballer, because your brains need to be in your feet. And Beckham works hard, he's brave and he crosses a ball superbly. He treats a football like he does a wife, lovingly, with caresses.

I’ve decided to pick my moment to retire very carefully – in about 200 years’ time.

The ugliest player I ever signed was Kenny Burns.

If any one of my players isn’t interfering with play, they’re not getting paid.

I'm dealing with my drinking problem and I have a reputation for getting things done.

― Brian Clough Quotes

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Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.

 
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