Editing Brian Clough (section)

== Playing career ==
[[File:England national football team, 28 October 1959.jpg|thumb|280px|Clough (seated, second from right) with the [[England national football team]] at Wembley Stadium, 28 October 1959.]]

{{Quote box|quote="I played with some great players and I think Cloughie was a great finisher. He was a powerful lad and both his timing and positional play were excellent. You placed him in that bracket as [[Roger Hunt]], but in more modern terms he was very similar to [[Mark Hughes]] when it came to volleying. The one thing, right or wrong, that he insisted on was that he played down the middle because, he reasoned, that was where he scored, not out wide so why should I run wide. That was his only failing. When he played for England he wanted people to play like Boro did but when you've got people around like [[Bobby Charlton]] and [[Jimmy Greaves]], you can't tell those guys I will just stop in the middle."|source=— Clough's Middlesbrough teammate [[Alan Peacock]].<ref name="robstewart">{{cite web | url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/derby-county/5060483/Brian-Clough-a-man-not-afraid-to-make-enemies.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/derby-county/5060483/Brian-Clough-a-man-not-afraid-to-make-enemies.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | title= Brian Clough: a man not afraid to make enemies| first=Rob | last=Stewart | work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] | date=27 March 2009 | access-date=15 April 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref>|width=35%|align=right}}
Clough played for Great Broughton Juniors and, while working for ICI, [[Billingham Synthonia F.C.|Billingham Synthonia]] (scoring three goals in four games<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.synners.co.uk/history/ | title=Club history | publisher=BSFC | access-date=29 May 2021 | archive-date=6 October 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201006221511/https://www.synners.co.uk/history/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>) before his [[national service]] in the [[RAF]] between 1953 and 1955. He combined playing football in the forces, though he was never selected for the [[RAF]] National team,<ref name = "forces">{{cite web | title=Brian Howard Clough, MBE | url=https://www.britisharmedforces.org/pages/nat_brian_clough.htm | publisher=British Armed Forces | access-date=29 May 2021}}<br />{{cite web | url=https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/brian-clough-derby-forest-birthday-3972439.amp | title=Whip round' – Derby County fans share their favourite Brian Clough stories | work=[[Derby Telegraph]] | date=22 March 2020 | access-date=29 May 2021}}</ref> and playing for the [[Middlesbrough F.C.|Boro]] third team when on leave.<ref name = "forces"/>

===Middlesbrough===
Following this, he became a prolific striker for his home town club [[Middlesbrough F.C.|Middlesbrough]] since his debut in the [[1955–56 Middlesbrough F.C. season|1955–56 season]] and an impressive [[1956–57 Middlesbrough F.C. season|1956–57 season]] now as starter, scoring 204 goals in 222 league matches for Boro,<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web | url=http://www.brianclough.com/new_page_4.htm | title=Brian Clough's career information from brianclough.com | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080406162657/http://www.brianclough.com/new_page_4.htm | archive-date=6 April 2008 }}</ref> including 40 or more goals in four consecutive seasons, being [[Football League Second Division|Division Two]] topscorer in two of them: [[1958–59 Middlesbrough F.C. season|1958–59]] and [[1959–60 Middlesbrough F.C. season|1959–60]]. However, Clough also regularly submitted transfer requests since the [[1957–58 Middlesbrough F.C. season|1957–58 season]] and had a tense relationship with some of his fellow players. He was especially irked by Boro's leaky defence, which conceded goals as regularly as he scored them. In the [[1960–61 Middlesbrough F.C. season|1960–61 season]] after a 6–6 draw against [[Charlton Athletic F.C.|Charlton Athletic]], Clough sarcastically asked his teammates how many goals they would have to score in order to win a match.<ref name="robstewart"/> He also publicly accused some of his teammates of betting against the team and deliberately letting in goals.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.middlesbrough-mad.co.uk/feat/edx5/brian_clough_21448/index.shtml |title=Brian Clough |publisher=Middlesbrough-mad.co.uk |date=31 October 2001 |access-date=14 June 2012}}</ref> While at Middlesbrough, Clough became acquainted with goalkeeper [[Peter Taylor (footballer, born 1928)|Peter Taylor]], with whom he would later form a successful managerial partnership at several clubs. 

===Sunderland===

In July 1961, one of Clough's transfer requests was finally accepted and he moved to Boro's [[Tees–Wear derby|local rivals]] [[Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland]] for £55,000 scoring 34 goals in the [[1961–62 Sunderland A.F.C. season|1961–62 season]]. With Sunderland, Clough scored a total of 63 goals in 74 matches.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> In the [[1962–63 Sunderland A.F.C. season|1962–63]] season, Clough had scored 24 league goals by December as Sunderland pushed for promotion. In a match against [[Bury F.C.|Bury]] at [[Roker Park]] on 26 December 1962, in icy conditions and torrential rain, Clough was put through on goal and collided with goalkeeper, [[Chris Harker (footballer)|Chris Harker]]. Clough tore the [[medial collateral ligament|medial]] and [[cruciate ligament]]s in his knee, an injury which in that era usually ended a player's career. He returned two years later, but could manage only three games and then retired from playing at the age of 29.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0253-0d81cad2d50b-a149110db9bb-1000--in-profile-brian-clough/|title=In profile: Brian Clough|publisher=UEFA|date=28 August 2016|access-date=20 September 2018}}</ref>

Clough's manager at Sunderland was [[Alan Brown (English footballer)|Alan Brown]], a disciplinarian credited as a big influence on Clough. Brown inspired fear, imposed a strict code of conduct and would fine players for minor transgressions. He once upbraided Clough for talking to a friend during a training session. Such traits would later be adopted by Clough himself when he became a manager.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fourfourtwo.com/blogs/championsleague/archive/2010/01/27/the-men-who-made-brian-clough.aspx |title=The men who made Brian Clough |publisher=Fourfourtwo.com |access-date=14 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120629083949/http://fourfourtwo.com/blogs/championsleague/archive/2010/01/27/the-men-who-made-brian-clough.aspx |archive-date=29 June 2012 }}</ref>

Of the players who have scored over 200 goals in the English leagues, Clough has the highest goals-per-game ratio of 0.916,<ref>using data from https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/engtops-allt.html</ref> and has the second highest ratio in the [[List of footballers in England and Scotland by number of league goals|list that includes the Scottish leagues]].

===England===
Clough played twice for the [[England national football team]], against [[Wales national football team|Wales]] on 17 October 1959 and [[Sweden men's national football team|Sweden]] on 28 October 1959, without scoring, although hitting the crossbar and post against Sweden.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.englandfootballonline.com/Seas1946-60/1959-60/M0336Swe1959.html|title=England Match No. 336 – Sweden – 28 October 1959 – Match Summary and Report|website=www.englandfootballonline.com|accessdate=13 March 2025}}</ref>