Stimulating cinema: The second best soccer movie of all time

Movie: The Damned United
Director: Tom Hooper
Year released: 2009

This is one of the best sports movies I've ever seen. It so happens that the beautiful game is my one true sports passion, so naturally I would be predisposed to liking this one. But I'm confident that both of these films would appeal to non-soccer--or maybe even non-sports--fans. Character development is the reason why--in "Offside," the characters elicit sympathy and empathy. In "United," the characters may not all be terribly likable or admirable but they are undeniably fascinating. And the soccer technicalities--things like moving up and down a division for example--are illustrated and explained in such a way that a non-fan is able to understand and focus on the characters, their motivations and their actions. "United" is an endlessly fascinating film with a slew of excellent performances and a compelling story.

At the movie's center is manager Brian Clough (rhymes with "enough," I was never quite sure how to pronounce this until watching the movie). Played with near-perfection by Michael Sheen, Clough is a cocky bantam rooster of a man. A success as a player (he's quick to point out to his charges that he scored 251 goals in 274 matches during his career), Clough has become equally successful as a manager. The movie begins in 1974 following England's failure to qualify for that year's World Cup. Legendary manager Alf Ramsey steps aside paving the way for Don Revie to assume the hot seat. Revie (Colm Meaney, in another tremendous performance) has had a hugely successful career at Leeds United, building the team into a "di-nasty" and generating unstinting loyalty from his players. He is absolutely revered at Leeds and anyone following in his footsteps would be up against it. Of course, that man is the headstrong, arrogant, flamboyant Clough.

Clough wastes little time is blowing up everything Revie has created at Leeds. He gives a controversial interview on local Yorkshire television, claiming Leeds' glories have been tainted because Revie instructed his team to play dirty (the old school Revie might have argued tough but fair).

Clough tells them they can throw away all their medals and trophies because they haven't won them fairly. Clough tells his resentful players that they will now learn to play attractive, free-flowing football and leave the rough stuff behind. They are also forbidden to even mention Revie's name, which of course doesn't go over well. It's easy to see that it's personal for Clough when it comes to Revie and we flashback to the roots of the problem.

January 27, 1968. Clough and his loyal assistant Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall, another home-run performance) are in charge of struggling Derby County, a second-division team struggling near last place. They are drawn against Leeds in an FA Cup match. Clough is overjoyed; Leeds are leading the first division at the time and even though beating the visiting giants will take some doing, it will be a prestigious game (and a profitable one) for his unfashionable little club. Clough rolls out the red carpet for the visitors, making sure the field is as good as it can be and even breaking out a bottle of fine wine for after the match. Clough assumes that Revie and he are similar blokes; they both grew up in the same region and both played for the same team. But when Leeds arrives for the match, Revie ignores Clough (it's not clear whether he ignored him or simply didn't see him in the crowd). And after the match--a hard-fought affair Derby loses 2-0--Revie shakes hands with Taylor and the team's trainer but not with Clough (again, it's not clear if this was an intentional snub or just an oversight). Nevertheless, the roots are planted and Clough becomes obsessed with beating Leeds and one-upping Revie.

The infusion of new talent--thanks to Taylor's keen eye for spotting good players--helps lowly Derby win the second division title and gain promotion to the top flight. Now they will be on the same level as Leeds. Clough and Taylor are overjoyed; everything they have worked together to achieve is coming true. But despite their success, the Derby chairman Sam Longson is miffed. Played with almost Dickensian spirit by Jim Broadbent, Longson is angry that Clough has spent money on the players and perhaps even more miffed because he wasn't consulted about the new signings before him. Clough, arrogant as ever, basically tells the chairman to lump it and he and Taylor set about building Derby into a champion. Improbably, Derby wins the top division title in 1972 making Clough and Taylor the toast of the football world. That victory also gives them entry into next season's European Cup, a prestigious competition featuring the top teams from throughout the continent.

Clough continues to spar with Longson over finances and their rows become increasingly hostile. It all comes to head as Derby prepares to take on Italian team Juventus in the European Cup semifinals. Simply making it that far as a fantastic achievement for a small team like Derby but as luck would have it they have to face Leeds in a league match a couple of days before. Longson strongly urges Clough that maybe he should rest a few of the regulars and save them for the potentially more lucrative European match. Bollocks to that, says Clough, who is still burning to beat Revie at every turn. A heated argument ensues between the two, with Taylor looking on in horror. Win or lose, you get the sense that Clough's fate was sealed right then and Taylor knows it--he tells his friend that he shouldn't have talked to the chairman that way and that he doesn't want to lose his job at Derby. Clough thinks they are untouchable because of the way they've transformed the team into the winners and claims the fans would revolt if anything happened to them. Of course, Derby loses to Leeds and several key players get banged up in the process (Clough was right by the way, Leeds was a dirty team although whether they were dirtier than others at the time is debatable.) Derby then loses to Juventus too, ending the European dream and turning off the money taps.

Defiant as ever, Clough blasts Longson in the press after that game; telling the media that the chairman is more interested in renovating the directors' box than spending money on players. Taylor suffers a heart attack and his health problems only strengthen his wish that Clough would just turn it down a notch so that they can keep things status quo. Clough has other ideas though and writes a letter to the board offering up his and Taylor's resignation in a half-baked plan to force the chairman's hand. The board calls his bluff though, and despite their massive success, Clough and Taylor are out. Naturally, the fans are furious--there are petitions and protests--and Clough is confident he and Taylor will get their jobs back. But when Derby names former player Dave Mackay as manager (a player Clough brought to Derby years earlier when Mackay was virtually at the end of his playing days) the battle is over.

Reeling and in need of a job, the pair get a call from Brighton and Hove Albion, a nondescript third-division team. The Albion chairman has big dreams and deep pockets--he wants Brighton in the top flight and is willing to pay Clough and Taylor first-division wages if they'll work their magic once again. Taylor is keen to join but not Clough; Brighton is a southern town and he's from the North. He can't relate to the sleepy ways of the seasiders. Eventually though he accepts the offer but says he, Taylor and their families need a holiday in Mallorca first. There, Clough is approached by someone from Leeds who wants to gauge his interest in the job. Clough and Taylor get into a furious argument--Taylor thinks its wrong to break their word while Clough arguing that it's merely a better job and anyone would do the same thing if offered. Words escalate, and soon Clough is insulting his friend, insinuating that he brought nothing to their success and that he, Clough, did everything on his own. Taylor is deeply wounded--he was the brains behind the operation, always loyal and faithful and didn't deserve Clough's scorn. It is a strong, strong scene and the two end up going their separate ways.

And now we're back at the start. Without Taylor's steadying influence and the cooperation of his players, Clough's reign at Leeds lasted only 44 days as the team made its worst-ever start to a season. Later, he appears on a talk show, thinking he'll speak about his time at Leeds and what went wrong. Instead he's blindsided; his nemesis Revie will be on the show too and the two spar back and forth in what would have made for fascinating live viewing.

Clough accuses Revie of being cold-hearted and dishonest and brings up the handshake snub of six years earlier. Revie claims not to have known who the young manager was, a dubious statement considering that Revie was well-known for meticulously researching each and every opponent (he supplied his Leeds players with detailed dossiers on their opposition before every match). The interview ends with Clough saying "we'll see where we are in one years' time, in five years time." There is the small matter left of healing the rift between him an Taylor and as the film ends, Clough is driving down to Brighton with the hopes of patching things up. A postscript to the movie tells what became of the principals and--depending on who you believe in the Clough-Revie dispute--you can say it's a happy ending.

At center stage is the relationship between Clough and Taylor. I've seen frequent articles that compared them to a married couple and that's an entirely appropriate analogy. They bring out the best in each other and when times are good, they are splendid. But they also bring out the worst in one another at times (their climactic blowup on the beach in Mallorca) and the relationship is not always the healthiest. Ultimately though, it worked grandly because it was based on respect, trust and love, foundations for any good relationship. Clough and Taylor had spouses and families of their own but they were inextricably tied to one another, heart and soul.