 Nigel Clough April 2024 after guiding Mansfield Town to promotion to League One | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nigel Howard Clough[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1966-03-19)19 March 1966 (age 59)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Sunderland, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward,midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Mansfield Town (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1982–1984 | Nottingham Forest | ||
| 1983–1984 | →Heanor Town (loan) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1984–1993 | Nottingham Forest | 311 | (101) |
| 1993–1996 | Liverpool | 39 | (7) |
| 1996–1998 | Manchester City | 39 | (4) |
| 1996–1997 | →Nottingham Forest (loan) | 13 | (1) |
| 1997 | →Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 1998–2008 | Burton Albion | 227 | (16) |
| Total | 630 | (131) | |
| International career | |||
| 1986–1988 | England U21 | 15 | (3) |
| 1990–1991 | England B | 3 | (1) |
| 1989–1993 | England | 14 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1998–2009 | Burton Albion | ||
| 2009–2013 | Derby County | ||
| 2013–2015 | Sheffield United | ||
| 2015–2020 | Burton Albion | ||
| 2020– | Mansfield Town | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Nigel Howard Clough (born 19 March 1966) is an English professionalfootball manager and formerplayer who is the manager ofMansfield Town. Playing predominantly as aforward, but later in his career used as amidfielder, Clough was capped byEngland 14 times in the early 1990s.
Clough was born inSunderland, the son ofBrian Clough who had been one of the most promising strikers in the English game until injury ended his career. Nigel was subsequently raised inAllestree,Derby, after his father became the manager ofDerby County in 1967.[4][5] Clough's father had moved on to manageNottingham Forest in 1975 and as a young prospect Nigel signed apprentice forms with the club in 1982. He made his professional debut for the club in 1984 and remained a regular first team member for the next decade until he signed forLiverpool in 1993, also going on to make his England debut in 1989 and was part of the squad atUEFA Euro 1992.
Clough's playing career is most notable for his time as a player atNottingham Forest, where he played over 400 times in league, cup and European matches in two separate spells, he scored 131 goals throughout his Forest career making him the second highest scorer in the club's history and won the Football League Cup in both1989 and1990. Nottingham Forest experienced a downturn in their performances culminating in the relegation of the club from the Premier League, and the retirement of his father as manager in 1993. He subsequently signed forLiverpool before moving ontoManchester City. Following loan moves toSheffield Wednesday and a brief return to Forest, Clough moved into non-league football at the age of 32 when he becameplayer manager withSouthern Football League Premier Division sideBurton Albion in 1998.
Over the next decade, during half of which he continued to play a regular role on the field, Clough took Burton up from the seventh tier of theEnglish football league system to the brink of promotion toLeague Two. Halfway through the 2008–09 season he followed in his father's footsteps by joiningDerby County as manager but was dismissed in September 2013. He was appointed as manager ofSheffield United a month later, guiding them out of the relegation zone and taking the club toFA Cup andLeague Cup semi-finals. He was dismissed in May 2015 and returned to Burton in December, leading them to promotion to theChampionship for the first time in the club's history in May 2016 and the League Cup semi-final in January 2019. He stepped down in May 2020, and returned to work in November atMansfield Town.
Clough joinedNottingham Forest as an apprentice on leaving school in 1982. He left after two seasons to sign for non-leagueHeanor Town, but was back at theCity Ground on a professional contract in December 1984. He became a regular player in the1985–86 season, being Forest's top scorer with 15 goals in the First Division to help them finish eighth in the league, a position they repeated the following season when he found the net 14 times in the First Division.[citation needed]
In April 1988, he was the subject of a £1.5 million bid from Italian sidePisa, but the bid was turned down and Clough remained at Forest, who finished third that season and the season after. He remained among Forest's top goalscorers for a further five seasons, helping them win theLeague Cup in 1989 and 1990 and theFull Members' Cup in 1989. They were alsoFA Cup semi-finalists in 1988 and 1989 and runners-up in 1991. Clough also contributed to Forest winning the last Full Members Cup in 1992. They also reached another League Cup final that season, but lost toManchester United. Clough was Forest's top scorer in 1992–93 with ten goals in the newPremier League, but Forest were relegated, following which his father Brian retired after 18 years as manager. Towards the end of the season, he was used as a centre-back on several occasions.[citation needed]
Clough was widely expected to leave Forest in order to continue playing Premier League football, and was sold toLiverpool that summer for £2.25million. At the time, he was one of the most expensive players ever to be signed by Liverpool, who had finished a disappointing sixth in the new Premier League having been the dominant English club side of the last 20 years of the oldFirst Division.[6]
Clough scored twice on his debut forLiverpool againstSheffield Wednesday on 14 August 1993.[7] He had found the net four times for the Reds by the end of August 1993, but by Christmas had found himself struggling for a first team place after the emergence of 18-year-oldRobbie Fowler alongsideIan Rush in the Liverpool attack. Liverpool were also enduring another disappointing season in the league, which led to the resignation ofGraeme Souness as manager at the end of January 1994 and the appointment of coachRoy Evans as his successor.
Clough did manage to find the net three more times that season, his final two goals coming on 4 January 1994 when he scored twice against Manchester United atAnfield, when Liverpool came from three goals down to draw 3–3. However, the continuing effectiveness of Fowler and Rush in attack meant that Clough made only a handful of appearances for the Reds in 1994–95, and was not in their League Cup winning side. He finally left Anfield in January 1996.
He signed for Premier League relegation battlersManchester City for £1.5million.[8] Clough played in all of Manchester City's remaining 15 league appearances after his arrival atMaine Road, scoring twice, but could not stave off relegation and shortly afterwards he lost his place in the team due to injury.
He returned to Nottingham Forest on loan in December 1996, whenStuart Pearce became manager on an interim basis after the departure ofFrank Clark.[9] He scored once against Leicester City[10] in 13 league games before returning to Manchester City. He did not play for the club again.
He made another Premier League comeback in the1997–98 season when he was loaned to strugglingSheffield Wednesday. His only league game for theSouth Yorkshire club was a 5–2 home defeat byDerby County (he also played in a League Cup tie againstGrimsby Town).[11] When City were relegated to Division Two at the end of the 1997–98 season, Clough was given a free transfer and his senior football career was over at the age of 32.[12]
After playing 15 times for the England under-21 side from 1986 to 1988, scoring three goals, Clough finally made his senior international debut on 23 May 1989 againstChile at the age of 23. He made the final full international appearance of his career on 19 June 1993 againstGermany. By this time, he had been capped 14 times by England at senior level, but failed to score.[13]
In October 1998, he moved into management when he accepted the role of player-manager atBurton Albion in theSouthern Football League Premier Division.[14]
Now aged 32, Clough was still registered as a player, which possibly explained his apparent lack of ambition to move into League management (his father bitterly lamented the premature curtailment of his own playing career). However, Clough had not played regularly for Burton since the early stages of the2005–06 season, though he did play in the team's 6–3 win overSutton Coldfield Town in theBirmingham Senior Cup on 27 October 2008.[15] His final senior appearance for Burton came in the league againstDroylsden on 12 February 2008,[16] his only appearance of the season.[17]
In January 2006, Burton, then in theConference, heldManchester United to a 0–0 draw in the third round of the FA Cup. The United team featuredOle Gunnar Solskjær andLouis Saha, withCristiano Ronaldo andWayne Rooney introduced as second-half substitutes.[18] Burton midfielder Chris Hall said: "After the match, the press were buzzing... but we had a local cup game, againstStourbridge, I think, and the gaffer only wanted to focus on that.... With his playing career, he was used to the publicity... It was brilliant and it was quite a breath of fresh air, but at the same time, the gaffer kept us grounded".[19] In the replay atOld Trafford, Burton were beaten 5–0, but earned a reported £600,000 in the process.[20]
Clough won the Conference Premier Manager of the Month for December 2008, after completing 11 straight wins in the division and guiding Burton to 13 points clear at the top of the table.[21]
On 5 January 2009 he was officially approached byDerby County, one of the clubs hisfather had previously managed, to take over as their manager as a replacement forPaul Jewell.[22] He was appointed the next day,[23] prior to his taking charge, on 8 January,[24] Academy Head CoachDavid Lowe guided Derby to a victory overManchester United 1–0 in the first leg of the League Cupsemi-final.[25] Clough's first victory in charge of The Rams came on 31 January 2009, when Derby beatCoventry City 2–1. Results improved after Clough's arrival, with a run of four consecutive wins. However, a series of injuries to key players saw a loss of form for the Rams. Safety in theChampionship was not confirmed until the penultimate game of the season againstCharlton Athletic, with a 1–0 victory.[26]
Clough's first full season in charge of Derby saw significant changes to the playing staff as he brought innine players and moved on fourteen as well as making substantial dealings in the loan market. Despite this, the Rams again struggled with injuries, at one point being without thirteen first team players. When key players returned from injury, Clough was able to start picking a regular team, and results began to improve. Derby finished two points and four places better off than the previous campaign.[27]
Clough was involved in several altercations during the season. He was accused by counterpartBilly Davies of kicking him in the knee in a pitch side altercation during Derby's 1–0 victory overlocal rivalsNottingham Forest. Clough denied the claim and, though Davies put in an official complaint to the Football League, nothing came of the incident.[28]
Clough was also in trouble again when he was sent to the stands during Derby's 3–1 home defeat toIpswich Town on 5 April. He was fined £1,000 and given a one-match ban, which he served during Derby's final match of the campaign at home toCardiff City.[29] Clough also gave himself some game time during the course of the season, coming on as a late substitute for the reserve side in their 2–1 victory overWest Bromwich Albion reserves in theirCentral League Central Section clash.[30]
Derby suffered a major shock in the FA Cup, losing toCrawley Town 2–1. The result saw Clough's job at the club reportedly come under threat,[31] as he issued an apology to the club's supporters,[32] many of whom responded with demands for his dismissal.[33] Derby's Chief Executive Tom Glick answered fan's concerns by reiterating the club's support for Clough, saying: "Nigel is absolutely our guy. We have been clear about that continuously."[34]
During Derby's post-November struggles Clough came under focus for his consistent criticism of individual players,[35] which came to a head when he strongly criticisedTomasz Cywka after his mistake led to a latePortsmouth equaliser in a 1–1 draw atFratton Park. Of Cywka, Clough said: "He's an extremely inexperienced and not very bright footballer... he can go back to Wigan or wherever he came from – I'm not really bothered – until he learns the game." These incidents led PFA Chief Gordon Taylor to criticise Clough, saying: "It cannot be appropriate to criticise your team in such a way in public. We'll sort things out... otherwise it looks an untenable situation."[36] Ultimately, nothing came of the incident but the outbursts, coupled with Derby's poor results on the pitch, led to some unrest among supporters. Clough's players were booed at the end of a 3–1 home defeat againstDoncaster Rovers on 1 March 2011.[37]
Clough's continuing stay at the club was rewarded by overseeing Derby's best start to the season in 106 years as they opened the season with four victories from four and earned a Championship Manager of the Month nomination.[38]
A 1–1 draw withBarnsley on 28 September 2011 took Derby into second place and the automatic promotion spots for the first time in over a year. The results came during discussions over Clough's contract – which was due to expire at the end of the season[39] with Forest allegedly interested in securing their former player's services.[40] Despite these reports however, there was no evidence that Clough and his staff were looking to go elsewhere and Clough entered into new contract discussions with Derby, stating "It has never been a question of if we wanted to stay or not. This is where our heart is."[41]
Clough signed a new three-year deal, to take him through until summer 2015, on 17 October, two days after a 1–1 draw with league leadersSouthampton had kept Derby in the play-off places.[42] After signing the deal, Derby took just four points from their next five fixtures and slipped out of the playoff places. A 3–2 defeat atPeterborough United, after Derby had held a 2–0 lead, saw Clough hit out at the officials and the FA imposed a £2,000 fine on him.[43]
Derby suffered mixed form through the remainder of the season. By mid-April Derby found themselves 11th in the table, five points off the play-offs with four games remaining.[44] However, two defeats toMiddlesbrough andCardiff City in four days ended Derby's play-off chances. Derby finished the season 12th in the league, with Clough satisfied with the performances of the team, stating that a lack of firepower was the reason why they fell short and that it would be an area to improve on in the following season.[45]
The club also finally ended their interest in appointing adirector of football,[46] something the club had been considering since May 2011.[47] This meant Clough retained control of the club's player recruitment policy and he was keen to add to his squad.[48] On the final match of the2012–13 season, a 1–0 victory overMillwall helped Derby to finish the campaign in 10th place.[49]
After a mixed start to the2013–14 season, Clough was sacked on 28 September after three defeats in eight days, the final of which was a 1–0 defeat to local rivals Nottingham Forest, with Derby 14th in the table after nine games.[50][51] He left the club as the longest serving Derby manager in over a decade.
On 23 October 2013, Clough was appointed new manager ofSheffield United on a two-and-a-half-year deal.[52] Clough's tenure got off to a winning start as Sheffield United comfortably beatCrewe Alexandra 3–1 atBramall Lane.[53] Clough was named League One's Manager of the Month for February 2014 after an improved run of form with four wins from five matches, including four clean sheets.[54]
On 9 March 2014, Clough's side beatCharlton Athletic 2–0 to set up an FA Cup semi-final tie againstHull City atWembley, this was United's ninth consecutive win in all competitions with United climbing out of theLeague One relegation zone up to 11th in the table.[55] In May 2014, Clough was namedFA Cup Manager of the Season by theLeague Managers Association in recognition of United's run to the semi-finals of theFA Cup.[56] Clough also led the Blades to the semi-finals of the League Cup in the 2014–15 season after a 1–0 win over Southampton at Bramall Lane.[57] Sheffield United parted company with Clough on 25 May 2015.[58]
Clough returned toBurton Albion for a second spell as manager in December 2015, afterJimmy Floyd Hasselbaink left the post to joinQueens Park Rangers.[59] Clough led the club to a 2nd place finish at the end of the season, gaining the club promotion to the Championship for the first time in their history. Clough kept the side in the league for two seasons before the club was relegated back to League One in May 2018 after a 23rd place finish. Clough later stepped down as manager in May 2020 due to the financial impact of theCOVID-19 pandemic on the club.[60]
On 6 November 2020, Clough was appointed as manager ofMansfield Town on a two-and-a-half-year deal who were then in 22nd position inLeague Two.[61] After a poor start to the2021–22 season which had seen his side in the relegation zone in October, Mansfield would win a club record eleven consecutive home matches to finish the season strongly.[62] They ultimately finished 7th, missing out on automatic promotion on the final game of the season.[62] In theplay-offs, Mansfield would beatNorthampton Town before losing 3–0 in theplay-off final againstPort Vale.[62] In the2022–23 season, Mansfield missed out on a play-off finish on goal difference despite a win againstColchester United in the final game.[63]
On 9 May 2023, Clough signed a new one-year contract with the option to extend it further.[64] At the beginning of the2023–24 season, Mansfield went 19 games unbeaten.[65] Following a run of four wins from five matches, scoring twenty goals in the process, Clough was namedEFL League Two Manager of the Month for February 2024, finishing the month top of the league.[66] At theEFL Awards, Clough was named as the League Two Manager of the Season.[67] His side sealed promotion to League One the following week with a win againstAccrington Stanley.[65]
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Burton Albion | 28 October 1998 | 8 January 2009 | 709 | 310 | 101 | 298 | 043.72 | [68] |
| Derby County | 8 January 2009 | 28 September 2013 | 233 | 78 | 54 | 101 | 033.48 | [68] |
| Sheffield United | 23 October 2013 | 25 May 2015 | 104 | 49 | 30 | 25 | 047.12 | [68] |
| Burton Albion | 7 December 2015 | 18 May 2020 | 228 | 78 | 57 | 93 | 034.21 | [68] |
| Mansfield Town | 6 November 2020 | Present | 246 | 107 | 61 | 78 | 043.50 | [68] |
| Total | 1,520 | 622 | 303 | 595 | 040.92 | |||
Nottingham Forest
Burton Albion
Mansfield Town
Individual
