When Nigel was appointed as Manager of Derby County I wrote an article that contained quotes from the book about his dad, ‘As long as you don’t kiss me’.

The quotes in question cam from research online and really got me interested in reading the book written by Forest-fan journalist Duncan Hamilton. The more I researched the book, the more it seemed like a must read for any fan of not just the Rams but the great man himself.

Forty-eight hours after posting the article I was winging my way via a (very) small aircraft from Melbourne to a small regional town in South Australia, to attend my mothers 60th birthday. On the flight I was seated next to a young Englishman who was on his way to settle in my home town with his girlfriend.

First of all, it was nice to have someone to discuss English football with and as an Aston Villa fan he had plenty to say about the great man (Clough) himself and his influence on Martin O'Neill during his time at Forest.

That was when I mentioned the book in question and how I wanted to track it down after writing my article. As it wouldn’t be easy to find in Australia so would have to order from overseas but as quick as I finished that sentence he said he had been reading a book about Clough and was currently reading it for the third time. He reached down and produced from his bag a loved paperback version of ‘As long as you don’t kiss me’.

My jaw dropped, the coincidence was the type expected in a novel not because of one, then as if that wasn’t enough he casually added ‘you can have it if you want’. In that moment an instant friendship was made, based entirely on football, Clough and a dog eared novel. Even Gordon Ramsay would be happy with those ingredients - especially when we added a couple of beers to the mixture which did wonders to further not only the conversation but the noise level on the aircraft.

To some of you this may not seem like a situation worth documenting but when you live in Australia, talking football in itself is a very rare and selective occurence, let alone with someone who you just happen to be seated on a plane next to on an out of the way regional flight.

On top of that, the odds of that person reading a book that you are determined to obtain which is yet to be released in this country and then have them just hand it over, would be similar odds to Derby being promoted next season, winning the Premier League at the first attempt and lifting the FA Cup, probably longer.

After the chance encounter, I devoured the book in a couple of days and it truly is an amazing portrait of the great man. I would recommend it to any Rams fan or in fact any fan of football as it is the very essence and spirit of the game. It confirms the sadness Brian felt at leaving the Rams, the triumph and achievements and Forest and then the sad decline of his career as his health began to fail him.

The next step was to read a novel recommended by the author Duncan Hamilton in his notes at the end of the book, which coincidently was one I had written about before in an article over a year ago. That book was ‘The Damned United’, which at the time was about to be made into a motion picture by the makers of ‘The Queen’ and starring Michael Sheen as Clough.

Having nearly finished the book now and the film opening this week, it will be an ideal time to take a look at what has made it so controversial. The Clough family have roundly attacked Brian’s portrayal in the book and have stated they will not be watching the film. The makers have stated in reply that the film is much lighter and more the Brian known and loved by football fans. Whether this is true is something that will be revealed this weekend as it opens across the U.K.

Whatever the case, the great man is back in the headlines and next week I will take a look at the book, the film, reaction, reviews and the interest it has sparked in the great man. 

In the mean time check out the trailer here and see what you think:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPqsb5zZaSI

Also a promotional clip for the film featuring Derby:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xp_0ITy8nrk 

Was it just me or did seeing the Derby County in a movie trailer make you want to cheer?

C’mon Ewe Rams! :0)

Photo: Action Images

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