When Brian Clough was interviewed for the England job at the end of 1977, he genuinely believed he was about to get it. Don Revie had left the role. Clough’s Nottingham Forest were top of the First Division and in the middle of the run that would eventually take them to the league title. And among supporters, he considered himself the “people’s choice.” He wanted the job badly. Clough had already been sounded out by Peter Swales, who was climbing through the Football Association and had left him with the impression that he would support him when the decision was made. So when Clough went to Lancaster Gate for the interview, he went there expecting the result to come down to what happened in that room. Clough told them exactly what he thought England needed. He believed there were enough good players in the country to win things. He wanted rid of the red, white and blue kit England had been wearing and wanted them back in traditional white shirts. By the time he walked out of Lancaster Gate and crossed the road to the hotel where Peter Taylor was waiting, Clough felt like he had nailed it. He was “walking on air.” Taylor wanted to know immediately. “How’s it gone? Do you think we’ve cracked it?” Clough had no doubts. “If that job depends on the interview, if interviews mean anything at all, I’ve p****d it.” “Can’t miss.” “Assuming it’s not bent, of course.” Ron Greenwood got the job. And that was when Clough’s view of what had happened changed completely. Greenwood had already been acting as caretaker and Clough became convinced the decision had effectively been made before any of the other candidates walked into Lancaster Gate. Greenwood had not even gone through the same interview process. “The entire bloody interview process had been a sham and a sop to the public.” For Clough, the reason became obvious. It was not because the FA thought he could not pick an England team. It was because they knew exactly what came with appointing Brian Clough. “They rejected me because they were scared stiff.” Clough believed the FA wanted someone diplomatic, somebody who would not upset officials or create problems when England went abroad. He had already managed to tell the Japanese that if they could make televisions small enough to fit on a watch, they ought to be able to learn how to grow grass. And he knew the FA were unlikely to be enthusiastic about having an England manager prepared to describe the Italians as: “cheating b*******.” Clough thought they had concentrated on his mouth instead of his record. Forest won the league that season. The next year they won the European Cup. A year later they won it again. Clough had been rejected for the England job and responded by becoming a double European Cup-winning manager. He never stopped believing the FA had made a mistake. But eventually, his way of dealing with the whole thing became fairly simple. “Sod ’em.” #football