Brian Clough - Playing Career

Playing Career

Clough played for Billingham Synthonia before his National Service in the RAF between 1953 and 1955. Following this, he became a prolific striker for his home town club Middlesbrough scoring 204 goals in 222 league matches for Boro, including 40 or more goals in four consecutive seasons. However Clough also regularly submitted transfer requests 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. After a 6–6 draw against Charlton Athletic, Clough sarcastically asked his team mates how many goals they would have to score in order to win a match. He also publicly accused some of his team mates of betting against the team and deliberately letting in goals. While at Middlesbrough Clough became acquainted with goalkeeper Peter Taylor, who would later form a successful managerial partnership with Clough at various clubs. He played twice for the England national football team, against Wales on 17 October 1959 and Sweden on 28 October 1959, without scoring.

In July 1961 one of Clough's transfer requests was finally accepted and he moved to Boro's local rivals Sunderland for £55,000. With Sunderland Clough scored a total of 63 goals in 74 matches. In the 1962–63 season, Clough had scored 24 league goals by December as Sunderland pushed for promotion. In a match against 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. Unable to stand up, Clough had torn the medial and cruciate ligaments 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 so was forced to retire from playing at the age of 29.

Clough's manager at Sunderland was 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 gave Clough a dressing down for talking to a friend during a training session. Such traits would later be adopted by Clough himself when he became a manager.

For players having scored over 200 league goals in the English leagues, he has the highest goals per game ratio of 0.916, and has second highest ratio in the list that includes the Scottish leagues.