BookZone: What else can be written about Brian Clough?
Tuesday, 17th Aug 2010 13:08 by Tim Sansom

Their exploits and achievements have been the subject of many a book but now we have one written by one of Clough & Taylor's closest confidants.

Brian and Peter A Right Pair:

21 Years with Clough and Taylor

by Maurice Edwards (2010)

Derby Books Publishing Company

Book Review by Tim Sansom.

It may just have been my impression but it seems that everything in East Midlands football seems to go back to The Damned United and two particular men.

After the first matches of the new 2010-2011 season, we heard that the Derby FC coach stopped short of Elland Road before the showdown against Leeds United, in a move that was first tried out around thirty five years ago. What comes around really does come around when it comes to football.

The Clough and Taylor partnership has been the source of a whole library of books as well as a blockbuster film. There is something about the relationship, which has a headline appeal in a way that has never been matched before.

With both men having died, and it is nearly six years ago since Brian Clough passed away, we can not get anymore comment from the horse’s mouths as it were. Therefore, it is left to the support staff, the journalist or the film directors who were close confidants of Clough and Taylor, to spill the beans if there are any more cans to be spilt.

And what else can be said about Clough and Taylor? It is difficult for any new book to add anything to the tale that started in the North East, gravitated to and flourished in the East Midlands, went through a messy split with one half heading to Leeds, a reconciliation in Brighton, and another period of success in Nottingham.

For many fans who did not hear or meet the men, the performances of Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall will provide an impression of Clough and Taylor for a new generation of fans.

In to this den of debate and nostalgia has come Maurice Edwards who was a referee, scout and trusted friend for Clough and Taylor throughout their managerial years together and apart on separate ventures.

It is a very interesting book that is written in a very respectable way. It would not be that hard to produce another book of scandal and gossip about the two charismatic managers who were products of their time in the game.

Although the book does not avoid the subject of the rows and the splits that dominated many years of their relationship, Edwards prefers to celebrate the football geniuses of Clough and Taylor and the account is all the better for having taken that approach.

You will struggle to find many football books that span a period from Second World War service to a scouting mission at Preston North End watching David Beckham in the early years of his illustrious footballing career. However, the chapters on Edwards’ life in Burton as well as the Derby County years during the late sixties and early seventies are the most interesting.

The intimate comments about life in the Derby County dressing room as the team climbed the divisions to the ultimate climax of winning the Division One championship in 1972 makes you feel as if you were part of this achievement. Could the feats of Clough and Taylor’s Derby County ever be repeated in today’s football environment?

You will also be reading about the European Cup exploits during the following season including the semi final legs against Juventus when Derby were knocked out in controversial circumstances. A Juventus sub was caught talking to the referee at half time. Taylor tried to listen into the conversation, angry words were exchanged and Taylor was subsequently arrested and kept in custody within the stadium whilst the second half took place.

Edwards reflects that it could not be proved that the referee was in cahoots with the Juventus players. I was left with the thought that another film could be produced about this episode. In fact, so much about this period of football could be made into an exciting movie.

Another interesting tale from the Derby County years is Edwards’ encounter with Don Revie in March 1973 on the night before another FA Cup showdown against Leeds. In the lounge of the hotel where United were staying,

Edwards meets Revie and his first team coach, and is presented with what appears to be a job offer as a personal scouting rep for Revie at Elland Road. After refusing the offer, Revie shows a series of reports about the Derby County players.

Edwards mentions that Archie Gemmill would be the biggest threat in the forthcoming game, which Derby County subsequently lost. The author wonders whether such a meeting was Revie’s attempt to split the Clough and Taylor’s back room team. It is a very bizarre episode, but the rivalry between Revie and Clough should not be a surprise to observers or anyone who has watched The Damned United.

We all know what happened next. The Derby County years came to an abrupt end in a critical breakdown of the relationship between playing staff and the boardroom. Britain went into a third day week of candle-lit dinners and television that ended at 10:30pm during the following winter of 1973/74 and a particular period at Derby County had come to an end, although Taylor would come back the Baseball Ground for another period of solo management.

The book continues as Edwards following Clough and Taylor around the UK as they attempted to recreate some of the magic that had been at the Baseball Ground during the late sixties and early seventies.

When you read this book, it is probable that you do know how this relationship ended in the early eighties with a stubborn silence as well as a curious behind-the-mouth fascination about what the former partner was doing. The British footballing public wants to look up to its managers.

Although Clough and Taylor’s status has been assured in British football history, it always seems a fascination that these two figures could collapse into squabbling and penetrating silences at many points during this relationship.

It seems such a shame that the friendship could not be restored by the time of Peter Taylor’s death, but this book does not end on such a morbid note. Edwards pays tribute to Clough and Taylor in a thoughtful epilogue to this book and “what a great honour it was to have been a member of Peter and Brian’s very successful team.” This relationship forms a key part of this very interesting book.

Thanks to Tim for his great review about this new publication.

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