This fictionalization of Brian Clough’s legendary 44 days at the helm of the most famous and notorious football club in the land takes us on a journey through the tormented mind of a man wrestling with his demons. It’s an extraordinary tale of Clough’s inner angst.

Switching rapidly from real-life to the meandering emotions in Clough’s head playing back his time at Derby County, taking the manager’s job at Leeds United A.F.C in July 1974 was clearly the worst decision he could have made. Instantly alienating the players, branding them cheats at the very first training session, the relationship between both parties rapidly deteriorated.

His deep disdain for Don Revie, who had left Leeds United to become England manager, was no secret, before and after his appointment. This was at odds with the players, who regarded Revie as a God and who would remain loyal to him throughout Clough’s brief reign; with Revie, Leeds were regarded as one of the finest teams in the world and that side is still regarded to have been one of the best sides ever to play football.

David Peace, who describes his work as “fiction based on a fact”, has been criticized for his portrayal of events – with Johnny Giles successfully suing the publishers, Faber, for libel.  Faber subsequently made changes to the book and paid Giles substantial damages. This didn’t stop the making of the film though, which was released in 2009 much to the dismay of Clough’s family.

Overall, the book leaves you with a sad, painful feeling in the pit of your stomach. Clough, clearly a genius in the world of football management, comes across as a paranoid, drunken fool whose love of drink turned him into a deceitful and confrontational monster; his subsequent brilliance and achievements with Nottingham Forest almost overshadowed by his inept handling of the First Division champions, resulting in his sacking on 12 September, 1974. For many Leeds fans Clough would never be forgiven.