Classic Moments: John Motson Gets His Backside Handed To Him By Brian Clough In Prickly BBC Interview, 1979 (Video)

Chris Wright

6th, September 2017

2 Comments

After 50 years plugging away on the gantry, John Motson has announced he’s retiring from his BBC commentary gig at the end of the season.

Now aged 72, Motson has cemented his place as one of the foremost voices in English football lore, with 20 major international tournaments and 29 FA Cup Finals listed on his CV.

However, any retrospective look at Motty’s long and storied career wouldn’t be complete without revisiting the time he cross paths with Brian Clough in an interview for the BBC conducted in 1979.

We’ve probably all seen it before, but it stands up to repeat viewing with Cloughie at his prickly, cantankerous best while demonstrating nothing but utter contempt for Motson and his chosen profession…

The change of Cloughie’s tone after about three minutes of idle chat is still enthralling, with Motson suddenly reduced to a nervous, pink-faced little schoolboy as he gets pilloried by his weary headmaster.

Timeless.

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2 Comments

  1. Archer says:

    The world and certainly the football world misses Cloughie. The word legend is oft-overused, probably an understatement for him.

  2. John says:

    I think he’s quite overrated, to be honest. He has won two “Champions Leagues” and two “Premier Leagues”. That is a great achievement, don’t get me wrong, but not enough to make you one of the BEST EVER.

    Howard Kendall (who?) has won two “Premier Leagues” and Zidane has two Champions Leagues as a manager…

    Brian Clough is famous because of his personality.

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