Brian Clough OBE 1935-2004

Brian Clough was a prolific scorer for his hometown club Middlesbrough and after his debut as a centre forward in 1955 at the age of 20 he scored 204 goals in 222 appearances, and was capped twice for England against Wales and Sweden.

In 1959 he moves to Sunderland for £45,000 where he is equally impressive and scores 63 goals in 74 appearances.

He sets a post war scoring record with 251 goals in 274 appearances during his time with the North East clubs. A knee injury sustained against Bury brings his playing career to an end on Boxing Day 1962.

Clough moves into management in 1965. His first management role was in division 4 with Hartlepool United and it is here he teams up with Peter Taylor, a combination which eventually goes to the very top of the game. At the age of 30 he is the youngest manager in the football league.

In 1967 he moves to Derby County and wins the Division 2 title in 1969 before leading the club to their first league championship in 1972. He takes the club to within one game of the European Cup when Derby reach the semi-finals in 1973.

After leaving Derby in 1973 he takes over at Brighton, but he is only in the position for 9 months before moving. His next job lasts an even shorter time when he is charge for Leeds United in 1974 for only 44 days.

It is in his next job when himself and Peter Taylor achieve their most notable success and for Cloughie to gain his iconic status.

Clough joins Nottingham Forest on the 6th of January 1975, replacing Dave Mackay as manager. Taylor joins him in 1976 and together they turn the club around. It is not long before Forest are crowned the Champions of Europe.

In 1977 they gain promotion to the (old) Division 1 and in their first season in the top flight, Forest claim the league championship and also win the League Cup. Between November 26 1977 and December 9 1978, Forest went 42 games unbeaten in the top league. This record lasted for almost 26 years until Arsenal surpassed it in August 2004.

Clough signed Trevor Francis, Britain's first £1 million footballer, in February 1979.

Winning the Division 1 title leads to the European Cup and Clough lifts the ultimate club prize in 1979, Forest beating Malmo 1-0 in the final. In the same year Forest finish runners-up in the league and win the League Cup for the second consecutive year.

The following season Forest repeat their success with a second European Cup, defeating Hamburg 1-0 in the final giving Forest back to back European Cups. Clough goes on to lift two more League Cups but the FA Cup eludes him, although Forest were finalists in 1991.

Brian Clough OBE retires in 1993 after spending 18 years at Forest.

The pictures below show some of the tributes laid at the gates of the City Ground in memory of Brian Clough.