David Peace's
book The Damned United chronicles--and likely dramatizes--the
career of Brian Clough, former football player and general manager for Darby
and Leeds United. The majority of the novel depicts Clough in an
extremely negative light. Peace emphasizes Clough's overly brutish
businessman attitude, throwing countless swear words into the text and
illustrating his harsh behavior with extreme real-life happenings. Clough
may be thought of as unforgivably inconsiderate to the people with whom he
conducts business—from directors to players. However, among all of the
individuals that Clough despises, there are people in his life that he seems to
genuinely value: his family. While Clough's angry and explosive
personality drives him to act very rudely towards numerous people in his life,
he still has affection for his wife, two sons and his late mother.
Although
Clough does not necessarily perform grand gestures of love toward his family,
his admiration of them is evident in the narrative. For example, Clough
makes the most out of his time visiting his family at home. He remembers
when his sons’ midterm holidays are and makes the time in his schedule to visit
home at that time rather than do business. Additionally, he frequently
asks his sons if they want to come with him to his workplace and may even seem
slightly disappointed when they do not tag along. He is kind to his wife,
who has to bear seeing him on his worst days. Although he throws tantrums
around many business people and football players, he never once utters an
unkind word to his wife. She and his children remain frequently on his
mind.
Additionally,
Clough's utter regret of not being with his mother at the time of her death
indicates his love for her. Due to the frantic football business, Clough
is in the middle of an extremely busy period when his mother suddenly
dies. This shocks him and troubles him while he proceeds in his career as
evident by Clough's repetition of his thought: "Everything bad--You've
lost your mam. You've lost your mam. You've lost your mam"
(200). As this thought sinks in, he reflects, "Every time you close
your eyes, that's all you ever see, her face in the kitchen. In the
doorway. In the garden. In her hat. In her nightie. In
the hospital. You wish you'd buried your mam, not cremated her. Now
there is no grave, no place to go" (210). Evidently, Clough is
extremely regretful that he could not have been with his mother during her
final moments of life. Furthermore, he longs to have a place in which he
can visit her on Earth; however, he despises himself for not making this
realization earlier.
While
Brian Clough acts bluntly, harshly and even sometimes brutishly toward
countless people in his life, he consistently holds his family in a high
regard. Thus, although he does not embody the stereotypical family man
persona, Clough certainly loves his wife, two sons and late mother. Even though he may not clearly indicate this love to the members of his family, it definitely exists within him.
It seems strikingly bizarre that a man with so little compassion on the field could have so much off of it. Brian Clough loves two things in life: football, and his family. The book focuses on his career as a football manager for Derby County, and the Leeds. But perhaps because of that narrowed view, we are able to easily forget about Clough’s love for his family. His love for his family seems to be constant and unwavering, as Mallory said above, as seen through his fervency for bringing his sons to work, remembering the holidays etc. His attitude differs towards football because he was unable to satisfy his goals in football in the way he had intended.
ReplyDeleteHe is content with his family and he shows compassion. He wouldn’t prefer to have a different family. He would, although, prefer to have a different career. Clough never had intentions of coaching in his football-playing career. When he was injured, he felt as though he had been gipped of his chance at football success. Instead, he tried to achieve that same desired success through managing. He would, “[r]eturn as the manager of England… because you were born to manage your country” (982). He goes and he, “pass the FA coaching examination. You bloody love it- But it’s no substitute. It’s still second best – Your future. Still second best” (12). Perhaps this anger inside him, from being deprived of the one thing he truly wanted in life, comes out through his managing. It’s his second choice and he will never be able to pursue his first choice. That alone destroys him, and he will likely never be able to get over that. He shows compassion to his family because they are his first choice, but he can never show compassion for coaching when it is a constant reminder of the life he could of lived.
The contrast between Clough's attitudes towards members of the organizations he worked for versus his family is something that baffled me throughout the novel. I found myself constantly hating, loving, hating, and then again loving Clough as I read. Whether Clough was good or bad, one thing is for sure - he is always passionate. For that, I think Clough deserves to be respected.
ReplyDeleteYou made some great points about Clough and the love he has for his family, and also his vicious attitude towards his players, directors, and chairmen. However, I would go as far as to say that Clough's team that he managed at Derby County were like an extended family to him. He may have hated his Leeds team or other teams he previously managed, and some directors at Derby, but he loved his players at Derby County as if they were his family. He constantly refers to them as "my boys," and I think his love for them is comparable to the love he had for his own kids, wife, and mom. I also think the love his players had for him at Derby was just as significant. This is exemplified by Clough's constant regret and suffering after he was sacked by Derby directors. The one thing he wanted more than anything was to be reunited with "my boys" at Derby. Overall, the bond between Clough and his Derby players was more than just a football bond. He cared for them as if they were family, and when he got to Leeds he knew it would be impossible to build the same thing there. You will notice as well that after Clough left Derby County is when he really started to terribly miss his family at home.
At the end of the day, I think Clough had a great heart. His brutality on the field was just a result of his powerful passion for the sport, but his interactions with his family and people he really cared about signify that he was indeed good-hearted.
The way Brian Clough navigates relationships with those close to him throughout The Damned Utd covers a wide spectrum. Like Mallory indicated, Clough seems to be very close and personal with his family while maintaining a harsher and more distant relationship with some of the football players, directors and other managers that he deals with on a daily basis. However, Michael brought up how when it came to the Derby County team, Clough felt as though they were his own boys. So what is interesting to consider next is how Clough treats Peter Taylor, who is not only his partner in all of their football activities, but is also Clough’s only true friend.
ReplyDeleteFrom various parts in the novel, it becomes quite clear that Taylor and Clough have a very close relationship, both on a personal level and professionally. They work extremely well together and the two of them balance each other out. For that very reason, it might be natural to assume that the two men get along quite well. However, the reader quickly realizes that that is not the case based on how dirty the two fight. For example, Taylor complains that Clough is getting too much attention while he himself just sort of hangs out in the back. The next time Clough is forced to make an appearance, he gets himself drunk and decides not to attend. When Taylor tries to convince Clough to attend, they get into a huge argument that turns into a fistfight in front of their entire Derby team (194-5). It is ugly and embarrassing for the both of them. So as demonstrated through his relationship with Taylor, Clough does not see personal relationships as a requirement to be pleasant all the time, like he is with his family.