The common argument – perpetuated by people who didn’t know Brian or his methods – was that he ruled exclusively through fear. ‘If that’s the case,’ he’d say, ‘why are so many players willing to play for me, and why do so many come back to this club [he meant Nottingham Forest] after leaving it?’ There’d usually be a pause. ‘Perhaps they liked my singing,’ he’d add.
In truth, Brian had a talent, which he shared with Peter Taylor, for being able to unravel the psychological DNA of players. Clough’s basic philosophy was, simply put: ‘You have to get players relaxed because in any profession you do better when you’re not afraid ... You can’t do that if you rule by fear.’ Mind you, this was the same manager who defended striking Roy Keane with the words: ‘I only ever hit Roy the once. He got up, so I couldn’t have hit him very hard’; and dismissed the talents of David Beckham (and his wife Victoria) with the put-down: ‘His wife can’t sing and his barber can’t cut hair.’ Woe betide any player who disagreed with him. ‘There are never any disagreements with players,’ he said. ‘We talk about it for twenty minutes and then we decide I was right.’ He wasn’t joking.