When Neil Warnock was managing Scarborough, he took his reserves down to the City Ground one Sunday morning to play Nottingham Forest’s third string side.
Warnock had his five-year-old son James with him.
Brian Clough was in the stand.
Warnock always admired Clough because he had won with players other people had given up on, and because Forest had done things clubs like Forest were not supposed to do.
Even in a reserve game, Warnock was aware of him.
At one point, the referee made a mess of something and Clough shouted down from the stand.
“You’d be having a go, wouldn’t you young man, if that were your team with a decision like that.”
At half-time, Warnock went down the tunnel with the players.
He told James to stand outside the dressing room door for a couple of minutes while he gave the team talk.
James was told not to move.
But when Warnock came back out, he was gone.
The stewards did not know where he was.
Warnock started to panic.
James was only five years old, and they were in the middle of the City Ground.
Eventually, the chief steward told him he had gone down the corridor towards the home dressing room.
A few moments later, James came back.
Only now he was carrying half the contents of the place with him.
He had about six Easter eggs in boxes.
A toy fire engine.
And all sorts of other presents tucked under his arms.
Warnock looked at him and asked where he had been.
“I’ve only been with Brian, dad.”
Warnock knew who he meant.
“Brian?”
“You mean Mr Clough.”
“No, dad, he told me to call him Brian.”
Warnock had never called him Brian.
“He never lets me call him Brian?”
“He had a big heart, though, Cloughie.”
“He did a lot of good things people never knew about.”
#football
@Only1Carlton@CarnorJax87@forestmad80 All you have to do is look at his profile. Definitely ignored and bullied as a child. Wouldn’t say nothing to nobody in the street. Horrible little troll feels brave in his games room with a Pikachu hat on
@CarnorJax87@forestmad80 “ idiot “
“ terrorising people “
You mean illegal immigrant trying to decapitate someone…
Are you someone more upset with the reaction rather than the initial horrific attack?