Cloughie called out: S***house, get your boots on... and you might need yer gloves too ’cos you’re playing!
EX NOTTINGHAM FOREST KEEPER MARK CROSSLEY YOUNGSTER ON MAKING HIS DEBUT AGAINST LIVERPOOL
BRIAN CLOUGH made Mark Crossley play a Sunday league game as a ringer to keep him grounded after his memorable Nottingham Forest debut against Liverpool.
And when AC Hunters of the Derbyshire Sunday league fifth division, whose unheralded cast included Clough’s eldest son Simon, were fined £50 for fielding an unregistered player, Old Big ‘Ead docked Crossley’s wages to cover the damage.
We all miss the genius of Clough’s man-management but Wembley will be awash with nostalgia when the family ‘firm’ takes over Wembley this weekend.
If Mansfield’s League Two play-off final against Port Vale is the warm-up act, with Nigel Clough going for only his second promotion in 661 games as an EFL manager, Forest’s £180million shootout with Huddersfield tomorrow is history in the making.
It’s 30 years since Forest’s last march on Wembley under the Clough banner.
Now, with Premier League loot within touching distance, ex-players and fans hope they can summon a fitting tribute to the greatest manager England never had.
Crossley (right), who saved a penalty in the 1991 FA Cup final and was the only man to deny Matt Le Tissier from the spot in 48 attempts, believes current Forest keeper Brice Samba could be the key if it goes to a shootout.
These days he tells the story of his Forest debut as a 19-yearold on the after-dinner circuit. It’s a spellbinding anecdote.
“We were playing Liverpool, the champions, at home and as an apprentice my job that night was to turn up the central heating in the away dressing room to full blast – to dehydrate them.
“I’d had fish and chips for my tea on the way to the ground without realising it would be my pre-match meal because I only found out I was playing 45 minutes before kick-off.
“Steve Sutton had gone down with a virus, Hans Segers was out on loan and Paul Crichton was injured, so I was the only keeper we’d got left. I also didn’t know that Cloughie had rung my old man and told him, ‘Get yourself to the game tonight – Mark’s going to play. But whatever you do, don’t tell him or he’ll s*** himself.’
“So at 7pm, I’m in the boot room, none the wiser that my dad is being wined and dined backstage, when I get the shout.
Cloughie gave me all sorts of nicknames – ‘Barnsley’ (my home town), ‘Imbecile’, ‘Jigsaw’ (because he reckoned I went to pieces when the ball came into the box) and ‘S***house’ – which he called other people as well.
“But when he called down the corridor, ‘Hey, S***house’, I just knew it was for me. He said, ‘Get your boots on, son – and it would help if you put your gloves on as well. You’re playing.’
“Sure enough, we won the game 2-1 and afterwards Cloughie takes me to the referee’s room, knocks on the door and says to the ref, ‘I’d like the match ball for the S***house from Barnsley’ – and I got it signed by all my team-mates.”
Even when Sutton recovered, Crossley (left) stayed in the first team – and although his first mistake did not prove costly, Clough decided to keep him on his toes – ‘My house, tomorrow morning, nine o’clock sharp, bring your boots – and it would help if you bring your gloves as well’.
Crossley turned up as requested, thinking he was heading for a Sunday morning tutorial in the manager’s back garden.
Then Clough (above) appeared in the kitchen – ‘Thank you for agreeing to play for our Simon’s team – they haven’t got a goalkeeper, but I thought you’d do’.
Crossley laughed: “So I find myself turning out in the Sunday league on a horrible pitch with dogs’ mess and broken glass.
“The opposition soon clocked me, so we got fined £50 for playing a ringer – and Cloughie docked my wages fifty quid to pay the fine!
“That was his way of bringing me back down to earth – old school psychology to make sure I didn’t get too big for my boots.”
‘We were playing Liverpool and my job was to turn up heating in their dressing room to dehydrate them’
MANCHESTER UNITED fear being priced out of a move for Darwin Nunez.
New boss Erik ten Hag has made the Uruguay and Benfica striker (below) one of his main targets as he looks to rebuild.
But Benfica have told United it will cost around £100million to lure Nunez to Old Trafford. That would make him the joint most expensive signing in British football, alongside Manchester City’s Jack Grealish. United believe the valuation is too high.
United will not walk away from a possible deal, but have told Benfica to come up with a more realistic price tag. Nunez, 22, joined Benfica from Spanish side Almera in 2020 for €24m to become the most expensive signing in Portuguese football.
In his second season, he plundered 26 goals in 28 games to finish as top scorer in the Primeira Liga and become one of Europe’s most sought after young talents, with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Chelsea also keeping close tabs on him.
NORWICH ARE IN MONEY TALKS WITH US TYCOON MARK ATTANASIO, OWNER OF THE MILWAUKEE BREWERS BASEBALL TEAM