The Damned Utd

One of Mike Atherton's 'Top Ten Best Sports Books' in The Times In 1974 the brilliant and controversial Brian Clough made perhaps his most eccentric decision: he accepted the Leeds United manager's job. As successor to Don Revie, his bitter adversary, he was to last only 44 days. In one of the most acclaimed novels of this or any other year, David Peace takes us into the mind and thoughts of Ol'Big'Ead himself, and brings vividly to life one of post-war Britain's most complex and fascinating characters. Overachieving and eccentric football manager Brian Clough was on his way to take over at the country's most successful, and most reviled football club: Leeds United, home to a generation of fiercely competitive but ageing players. The battle he'd face there would make or break the club - or him.David Peace's extraordinarily inventive novel tells the story of a world characterised by fear of failure and hunger for success set in the bleak heart of the 1970s. In 1974, the brilliant and controversial Brian Clough made perhaps his most eccentric decision: he accepted the Leeds United manager's job. As successor to Don Revie, his bitter adversary, he was to last only 44 days. This title takes us into the mind and thoughts of Ol'Big'Ead himself, one of post-war Britain's most complex characters.