The Way We See Sport, The Way We See Life
A podcast hosted by Chris and Nathan that explores historical events through the prism of Sport.
The Way We See Sport, The Way We See Life
'Knives Out' - Clough, Truss and poor leadership decisions
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In our last episode of 'The Way We See Sport, The Way We See Life', 'Clough, Revie and The Perfect Debate', we explored how the infamous televised clash between arch rivals Brian Clough and Don Revie at the end of Clough's tumultuous 44 day reign in charge of Leeds United represented TV gold and an illustration of what constitutes a great debate.
Inspired by the theme and content of our previous episode, Chris wanted to explore why the decision to appoint Clough was such a shock in the first instance and why (in spite of Clough's obvious talents and abilities as a manager), this was an appointment that was perhaps doomed to fail from the outset.
Given his previous vociferous criticism of Leeds and Revie, it was unsurprising that Clough's initial welcome to the club and the city was somewhat frosty. That said, the jocular and gladitorial nature of another Calendar News special 'Clough Comes To Leeds' is illustrative of the frostiness; hostility even that he encountered when arriving at Elland Road.
Analysing why Clough failed at Leeds, Chris assesses why the decision to appoint the former Derby man was so unfathomable. In addition to his previously outspoken lambasting of the players he was now managing, Clough also felt he was a much warmer leader than Revie. Whilst in the interview at the end of his ill-fated tenure, he rejects the notion that his leadership style was so markedly different to that of his predecessor, it is clear that this was also a huge factor in why he failed at Leeds. His style was so markedly different and the weight of his prior rivalry with Leeds meant that he was unable to gain the trust of the players and he was soon sacked. Put simply Clough was not a good fit at Leeds United.
Exploring Clough's dismissal in comparison with that of another disastrous 44 day reign (that of Liz Truss's Premiership) and this season's managerial merry-go-round at the club at which Clough restored his reputation (Nottingham Forest), we assess how the way in which leaders are appointed and how the concepts of 'Leadership Style', 'Fit' and 'The Weight of History' can be seen to influence whether a leader succeeds or fails.