The Damned UTD

Fascinating story about a bygone era. From a distance of 3,000 miles, Brian Clough always struck me as a brilliant but flawed man, and this novel certainly portrayed both his genius and his myriad failings. Gifted but stubborn; charming but angry; sentimental but insensitive; rigid but rogueish - he was all these and more, and the novel - based on his catastrophic 44-day reign at Leeds United - presents it all. Highly recommended.

Many people will say that this is the best book written about sport; they're right, but it's much more than that. Some of the other reviewers have stated that this book will only be of interest to hardcore english football fans but this is fortunately not the case, scenes actually describing football are few and minimal; in fact i'd say that you wouldn't need to even be a huge sport fan to enjoy this book. The vast majority of this book presents a fictionalised (legendary Irish footballer and now television pundit Johnny Giles who played for Leeds under Clough sued the publishers for libel and eventually minor changes were made to the book) account of one of the most charismatic and controversial figures in English sport, a man who was one of the most talented managers ever yet was plagued by his inner demons, a man who revelled in the glory of victory and wallowed in the misery of defeat. He is an anti-hero; foul mouthed, vengeful, alcoholic and yet utterly likeable because of his disarming honesty and sincerity. Despite the fact that the reader knows the inevitable ending of the story before the start this book is an absolute page turner which will keep you hooked until the end. If you liked this you might also like the film version staring Michael Sheen of Frost/Nixon and The Queen fame as Cloughie

you must be a serious Leeds fan a la 1970 and you will love this book. Others will also find it pretty entertaining.

While this IS a novelization about football manager great Brian Clough, this is far more than just another football book. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if you're in the market for another Football Factory, you might be looking in the wrong place. This is a novel, based on an historic event, about a turning point in a man's life where his nightmares have washed together with his dreams. It is about paranoia, aging, the price of success, and betrayal and loyalty, and it is fantastic. And the main character just happens to be Cloughie. So if you're in the market for that, then this is an wonderful, wonderful book. And if you're not, than I would buy it anyway and know that's what you're getting.

This is a must read for any fan of English soccer/football. Here's what you should know going in: Brian Clough was a legendary English manager, known for his cantankerous personality and massive drinking problem. This book is fictional account of Brian Clough's 44 days of failure at Leeds United, written from his perspective, and interwoven with his great success at Derby County before he got the Leeds job, and at Nottingham Forest after he was fired by Leeds. It is very well researched by David Pearce, acting as a mini biography of Clough while providing great insight into his personality. It's very well written too, I could barely put it down.