Provided you don't kiss me

My brothers bought me the Clough biography, title being the thread title, for my birthday (generous of them to club together for the paperback . . . . but I was grateful). An interesting read. Apparently the impression given in the Leeds film of the 44 days released a while back (that Clough regarded Brighton with contempt) is about right. That notwithstanding, the picture painted of our game in the 60s and 70s is quite shocking. Only a lack of effort translated the lack of fitness into a mass of heart attacks on the pitch. How England won the world cup in 66 is anyone's guess. The blokes who empty my bins every week are fitter and more professional than most football players of that era. And better paid (even in relative terms). With some standout exceptions, obviously. But at our level it was embarrassing. Anyone remember the beer bellied winger that most teams seemed to have?

For Clough the payoff Leeds gave him when he was sacked was the biggest thing that ever happened to him, as it set him free. How many of the current players feel like that I wonder? They are the iPod XBox generation, wanting for nothing before they even left school. Clough escaped the pit (literally) and for his generation, unheralded money gave easy access to booze and totty, and this seems to be the limit of most of their aspirations.

I was about to say how much better everything is these days, but I have Iron Maiden on the TV, battling with a papier mache zombie and playing infantile sh1te. Maybe things haven't changed that much.

Anyway . . . .

Would love to read it. I'm sure he did regard us with a certain amount of contempt - after all, we were a struggling team in the old Third Division, and he'd left a club he'd guided to the League title and the semi-finals of the European Cup! How Mike Bamber quite managed to persuade him to join us is anyone's guess...

That is a great book.