“UNCOVERING A TREASURE TROVE OF CLOUGHIE STORIES”
The remarkable goal-scoring record of former Middlesbrough striker Brian Clough is remembered in a new book which will remind Boro fans of Cloughie’s cheeky humour.
‘Brian Clough The Lost Tapes’ includes newly-uncovered quotes from the Middlesbrough-born legend, who died in 2004 and has a statue in Albert Park.
Author Marcus Alton, who often visited Brian’s brother and sister in Middlesbrough, has uncovered a treasure trove of Cloughie stories and comments after finding a collection of old audio recordings during a ‘sort out’ of his memorabilia at home.
The recordings include personal appearances, radio phone-ins and audio features. In one of them, Clough talks about his incredible goal-scoring exploits for Middlesbrough, with typical humour too:
“In my day, when the centre halves couldn’t play, I finished up with 250 goals in 270 games. Now that, by any standards, is a lot of goals. But the game was a lot slower then and it’s changed. Now I think I’d get 249.”
‘Brian Clough: The Lost Tapes’ includes tales from Cloughie’s first ever studio-based radio phone-in, as well as stories from personal appearances and Brian’s regular guest slots on a local radio show.
During a radio appearance in the East Midlands in March 2004, Clough was full of praise for the chairman of his hometown club, Steve Gibson. “He put his cash in and he didn’t really want it on the front page.
“People have joined football clubs for the wrong reasons in the last 20 years – they wanted their photograph on the front page of the newspapers. They weren’t football people. I used to work for a lot of them. But Gibson is a fanatic.”
The quotes are included in this entertaining new book which is the result of years of research by Marcus Alton, who has previously written four Cloughie books (raising money for the types of good causes Brian supported).
Marcus also hosts the Green Jumper podcast (with listeners in over 70 countries) as well as running the non-profit brianclough.com tribute website.
“The previous books turned out to be best-sellers, but this one is definitely the best yet,” said Marcus, who discovered the rare collection of cassette tapes and mini-discs (along with archive articles and interviews) while having a ‘sort-out’ in his loft at home during the pandemic.
“Listening back to these brilliant recordings was like stepping back into a special piece of history,” added Marcus.
“You can hear his love for his hometown, Middlesbrough, and his pride about setting such a great goal-scoring record at the old Ayresome Park.
“Brian talks with a lot of humour and passion about various subjects – including many issues which are still relevant today. For example, he disliked the concept of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) which was still only an idea in those days.
“He said that having two referees was like having two chairmen of a football club – one was enough! It reminded me yet again how much we miss his entertaining media appearances, his controversial opinions and his wonderful way with words.”
When speaking to fans on the radio, Clough would insist on calling them by their full name, so Nick became Nicholas. Another caller said he liked to be referred to as Chris, but Brian maintained that he’d been christened Christopher so that’s what he called him!
Added Marcus: “One of the recordings included my first meeting with Cloughie in 1994 – which I thought had been lost forever. He even burst into song during that special appearance!
“Fortunately, I still have a small cassette player and a device which plays mini-discs, so I could listen back to this treasure trove of recordings. On another cassette I found a really special recording of a radio phone-in when Brian chatted to my dad.
“During that conversation, Brian delivered one of his many classic comments. It’s special not only for the quote, but because my dad passed away suddenly in 2016 and it meant a lot to me to hear his voice again.”
The foreword of the book has been written by one of Brian Clough’s legendary defenders, Paul Hart.
Stories in the book include a dying man’s final wish to meet Brian and how Cloughie went to see him in hospital. The poignant moment reflects the incredible connection Clough had with his fans.
The book is published by DB Publishing and part of the proceeds will go to two charities: the NSPCC and Nottinghamshire Hospice. It is available at the tribute website: brianclough.com/the-lost-tapes. RRP: £14.99