Clough   Narrator: Pete Postlethwaite ITV DVD RRP: £17.99 3711531513 Certificate: E Available 13 April 2009

2009 marks the 30th anniversary of Nottingham Forest’s first European Cup triumph, masterminded by Brian Clough. A provincial football club broke and slipping towards Football League Division Three when he took charge, they had conquered England and Europe inside three years. He achieved many great things with the clubs he managed, most notably Derby County and Nottingham Forest which would be considered impossible and unthinkable now. Clough would probably disagree but he was more than just a football manager...

Clough was both a ratings and critical hit when it was broadcast on ITV1 in March 2009. The DVD, however features more than an hours worth of extra content including rare interview material with Brian Clough which saw him go head-to-head with his nemesis Don Revie. With a rush of activity surrounding Brian Clough this year; the film The Damned United starring Michael Sheen, and a book about his time at Derby County, there is much talk again about Clough and this DVD tells it like it really was.

Before I start to critique this release I thought I better come clean about this office's football credentials. Believe it or not none of our staff or freelance writers have even the faintest interest in the sport. I'm about the only one here that has even a passing familiarity with it and, as you'll see, what I do know is nearly 30 years out of date.

At the start of the '80s, for reasons I can neither remember or fathom, I started collecting Figurine Panini's Football '81 stickers. I had hundreds of them and knew just about all of the first two division players names. I got it into my head that I supported Nottingham Forest, but still to this day I don't know why. The whole thing was obviously all down to peer pressure, as everyone collected those cards and you weren't anyone unless you carried a six foot high pile of them into school to swap with your friends.

I'd never been to a football match (and since have only been to one game - which was at Wembley in 1996 to see Rotherham United beat Shrewsbury 2-1 to win the Autowindscreens Trophy) and never watched football on the TV - and still don't apart from the very odd England game with friends who see it as a great way to bond over a few beers.

With that in mind you'd think I'd be bored to tears with this release - nothing could be further from the truth. This DVD is an interesting look back at a man who was one of the most controversial figures in footballing history. It also lifts the lid on how the FA's board worked on the say so of one man - an individual that the rest of the board members let call the shots, and who was instrumental in ensuring that Clough never became England manager.

Over the course of this DVD you'll hear the inside story, from Clough's family, friends and the players who worked under him - most importantly focusing on his time at Leeds and Nottingham Forest. You'll also witness the ceremonies for his two posthumous awards and the statue which was erected in his memory; learn how The Damned Utd book doesn't even come close to the truth - painting Clough in a poor light; and there are even flashes of how Clough was lampooned by Mike Yarwood and Monty Python.

Extras include Clough Comes to Leeds (26 min, 38 sec Calendar Special that sees a panel of journalists interviewing Clough on how he's going to fill the shoes of departing manager Don Revie); Goodbye Brian Clough (26 min, 05 sec Calendar Special which sees Clough and Revie interviewed on where Clough went wrong); Barbara Clough Extended Quotes (17 min, 40 sec); and Nigel Clough Extended Quotes (12 min). Both of the last two extras are the full interviews, which were edited and placed throughout the main documentary.

Whether you're a football fanatic, or not, this DVD is an interesting insight in to the life of a colourful character, the likes of which football has never seen before or since.

9

Darren Rea