Nottingham - That's Old Big 'Ead, Young Man!
w/e 09 November 2008
All this week's pictures were taken with a Kodak DX6490

Getting Ready

Supporters of Derby County and Nottingham Forest Football Clubs are usually bitter sporting rivals but when former manager Brian Howard Clough died in 2004 they were joined together in an outpouring of united grief. In Nottingham, the Brian Clough Statue Fund was started and by December 2006 had raised £69,000 in just 18 months. Les Johnson of Hampshire was commissioned to create the statue and it was unveiled on Thursday November 6th 2008. Preparations began in the morning at the junction of King Street and Queen Street close to Nottingham's Market Square.
The Build Up

As the crowds gathered and the photographers and media people started to record the event, Twiggy and Emma (bottom left) from local radio station, Trent FM set the scene.
The Big Screen

Clips from the archives showing some of Nottingham Forest's European Cup triumphs along with domestic successes as well as highlights of Brian's career both as a player and manager were displayed on the giant screen.
Interviews

As the time for the unveiling drew nearer Sky Television's Gary Newbon conducted a number of interviews with VIPs including Councillor Jon Collins, Nottingham City Council Leader, Brian's son Simon, Paul Ellis, Chairman of the Statue Fund (above left), and former former players Kenny Burns, Archie Gemmell and John McGovern (top right). Then at one o'clock he invited Brian's widow, Barbara and granddaughter Natalie to unveil the eight foot (2.4m) high statue. It is fitting that like the man himself, the statue is larger than life.
Family Portrait

Whilst the big screen replayed more clips from Brian's life and his favourite Sinatra song, "You Make Me Feel So Young" sounded out across the city centre, the family, Simon, Barbara, Natalie and Brian's younger son Nigel, posed with the statue for the official photos.
Former Players

Former players, some of them legends in their own right, but all of whom owed a great deal to Brian Clough also gathered around the statue for commemorative photos.
Talking Heads

As the crowds started to disperse, Nottingham Forest's current manager who had attended the ceremony with the first team squad, paused for a radio interview. Central TV's Dennis Coath recorded a piece for the evening news bulletin and Nigel, currently managing Burton Albion FC and former Forest, Liverpool and England player exchanged memories of his dad with some of the fans.
Old Big 'Ead

Brian Clough or Cloughie as he was affectionately know was born in Middlesbrough on March 21st 1935. He died of stomach cancer in Derby City Hospital on September 20th 2004. In between those dates he became a legendary player and manager taking two unfashionable provincial clubs in Derby County and Nottingham Forest to League Championships and winning back-to-back European Cups with Forest among many other honours. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1991 for services to football. Throughout his life he was the master of the one-line quotes and even said that OBE stood for Old Big 'Ead. One of his most famous one-liners was "I certainly wouldn't say I'm the best manager in the business, but I'm in the top one." English football for all its foreign managerial imports and high finance will never see the like of Cloughie again and it is highly unlikely that even the top managers of today would be able to achieve half of what he did given the same circumstances. He also said "I want no epitaphs of profound history or all that kind of thing. I contributed, I hope they would say that and I hope that somebody liked me." The four thousand plus people that turned up on a grey day in November four years after his death proved that somebody DID like him.

Some Brian Clough links:
Wikipedia - Brian Clough A Football Genius - England Players - Obituary
Derby County - Nottingham Forest

"He would have been amazed!"


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