FOOTBALL. HONEST.
July 18th, 2010 by Adrian ReynoldsSo, that’s what football is about. The appeal of depositing a leather sphere into a goalmouth has never really been made clear to me. Growing up, I got the imprints about alcohol, girls, and drugs more or less sorted, but cars and sport were always a lost cause for me. I enjoy swimming, and have been known to knock a shuttlecock over a net, but that’s as far as it goes.
The idea of watching a film about football might seem baffling then. But I’d heard good things about The Damned United from people whose opinions I respect. Besides, it’s written by Peter Morgan, who among other reality based dramas is responsible for The Queen, which I thought was excellent. So, more reason to view. Besides which — for those who read the last entry — my father remains in hospital in a bad way, and distractions like tv and blogging are welcome.
Anyway, the story concerns male relationships, which is interesting stuff. And when you’ve got a protagonist as rich as Brian Clough, there’s no excuse for making a bad script. And Morgan’s is quite the opposite. Clough is a fascinating man, whose different aspects are perhaps paradoxical at first sight. He’s an egotist who brings the best out of others. A man with a thick skin who bears grudges — most especially against Leeds manager Don Revie. A singular talent reliant on a sidekick, in the form of Peter Taylor.
The double act of Clough and Taylor is what the film is about. It’s set in the 44 day period when Clough managed Leeds, having done a sterling job at bringing Derby up from the arse end of the second division with Taylor to talent spot unlikely but perfect players for him. Taylor understands the big picture and dynamics in a way that Clough doesn’t. For his part, Clough has an extraordinary ability to coax winning performances from his team through playing psychological jitsui with them.
It makes for gripping drama, Clough doing wonders at Derby and then losing it all in a feat of brinksmanship that sees him and Taylor heading to Brighton when Clough foolhardily offers his and Taylor’s resignation and the chairman uses the opportunity to rid himself of trouble. Clough’s ego is monumental, but it needs to be to drive eleven men to perform to their best, and to deal with the backstage politics behind it all.
Anyway, it’s not long before Clough is at Leeds — but without Taylor at his side. The players don’t take to him. His take is that they’ve only won as many games as they have because they play dirty. His job is to maintain the track record, but get the players to clean up their acts so they can feel good about what they’re doing.
It’s an uphill struggle. The Leeds players see no reason to change their hack and slash tactics, and don’t take kindly to Clough bringing in new blood to the team — choices that maybe he wouldn’t have made if Taylor were still his right hand man. It all goes horribly wrong, which is why Clough lasts just over six weeks at the Leeds ground.
Like I say, I don’t get football. But I get people. And this is a film about people in conflict whether they need to be or not. Clough’s willing to bring the fight to anyone, and not always wisely. His ambition needs to be tempered with Taylor’s genius for team chemistry. And ultimately the two get together again to fight another day — the film rightly concentrates on the period of Clough and Taylor’s fallout, before their ascension with Nottingham Forest, who they bring to unparalleled glory thanks to their unbeatable dynamic.
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