CLOUGH, LEEDS AND BAD DEEDS
BRIAN HOWARD CLOUGH. A genius. Had the biggest head in football – but for good reason.
Took on the virtually impossible task of replacing Don Revie at Leeds – a man he had branded a cheat, overseeing a team of thugs.
Clough’s time at Elland Road didn’t end well – senior players including Billy Bremner, Johnny Giles and Norman Hunter wanted him out. Player power worked and after a dismal win ratio, the former Middlesbrough striker trousered a shedload of cash before grinning his way out the front door.
Took over at Nottingham Forest and led them to back-to-back European Cups. Michael Sheen played the cocky, brazen Clough down to a tee in the 2009 film The Damned United.
Youtube, Amazon and
Googleplay.
Moneyball
STATS. Analysis. Research. And even more stats.
Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane took nerdism to a whole new level - and completely revolutionised recruitment in baseball and beyond.
His ‘moneyball’ approach – based on the work of statistician Bill
James – was aimed at wringing every last cent of value out of new signings, and it worked in a big, big way.
Beane had the Athletics punching above their weight for years and despite having one of the lowest salary budgets in baseball, the club made the play-offs four seasons in a row. John
Henry, now owner of Liverpool FC, copied the method when he took over at the Boston Red Sox and led them to their first World Series since 1918. Henry is reported to have used the method in recruiting players at Anfield.
The 2010 film ‘Moneyball’ charted the events with Brad Pitt playing the role of Beane.
On Netflix
and Youtube.
Ali
THERE are icons, there are people who transcend sport and then there is Muhammad Ali.
When he reclaimed his world title at 32 by toppling the ‘unbeatable’ George Foreman, Ali sealed his legacy as one of the greatest sportsmen of all time.
The ‘Louisville Lip’ was born Cassius Clay and took the world title from Sonny Liston in 1964 despite being rated as a 7-1 underdog.
In the aftermath of the fight, Clay converted to Islam and changed his name to Ali.
In 1966, he refused to be drafted to Vietnam, famously saying, ‘No Vietnamese ever called me a n ***** ’.
He was stripped of his license but returned in 1970 for famous fights with Foreman and Joe Frazier. Will Smith played the title role in ‘Ali’.
Youtube and Googleplay.