Martin O'Neill on why Brian Clough and Don Revie would have prospered in the 'changing game'

While Old Big 'Ead, in his role as an acerbic, fearless TV pundit, used to get his point across in a way which would make Roy Keane seem tame in comparison, O'Neill is a bit more considered in his approach. But no less passionate.

O'Neill and Clough had their run-ins. One of the nicknames that the legendary Nottingham Forest manager used to give the law graduate-turned-footballer was 'Clever B*ll*ocks”. Different individuals maybe, but there was common ground.

No stranger to punditry himself, O'Neill has a speaking engagement at the Raworth's Harrogate Literature Festival on Sunday at 11.30am to offer his take on how football has evolved in his 50 years in the game as a player and manager. His wider views are outlined in his new book, The Changing Game.

Among the topics discussed are VAR, naturally, ‘metrics’ and the scourge of modern-day football; play-acting. As someone who counts himself as 'a big rugby league fan', it's a big turn-off for O'Neill.

While the game has changed, the more some things also stay the same in O’Neill’s view.

Take management. Modern-day managers are super-intelligent in terms of technical and tactical detail and highly media-trained. Understanding what makes footballers, all with different personalities and egos, tick still remains the biggest thing, according to O'Neill. And you don't get a degree in people by attending university.

Clough's skills in that regard were legion. No-one could second-guess him; his players were transfixed.

O'Neill is unequivocal in his belief that other greats of past eras such as Don Revie would have prospered in the modern era; even if they may have had to tweak their skill-sets slightly. But man-management remains king.

Now 73, O'Neill told The Yorkshire Post: "Brian Clough was a complicated character, but preached simplicity, which was amazing.

"Interestingly, years ago I was speaking to Johnny Giles of the great Leeds team and I know the thing that sometimes irritated them about Don Revie was the fact that he kept some dossiers on teams. But essentially, they loved him because he was great and a really great man-manager.

"Giles said: 'Yes, he did dossiers, but sometimes we felt: 'God almighty, are we not the best team in England?' Which they were at the time.

"But outside that, Don Revie loved his players and they in turn loved him.

"If you brought down those managers from yesteryear in now, I think they’d find a way to manage because they were essentially very good at the job. They might have railed against some things to begin with, but overall I think they would have found a way.

"What I feel, obviously having spanned that time when managers could say what they wanted and players had basically almost no right of reply, is that it's all player-power now.

"So, there's a 'happy medium' (needed) along the way. I felt that there was no power for us as players, but having said this, most of the managers at that time thought that if you could take the criticism, it would make you stronger."

Clough certainly dished it out to O'Neill. Another unflattering sobriquet he was given at Forest was 'the idiot on the right'. In their time together, Forest won a First Division title, two European Cups, a European Super Cup and two League Cups.

Their relationship may have been fractious at times, but there was deep respect.

O'Neill continued: "I remember it like yesterday, the first day he ever arrived (in January 1975).

"It was a really cold morning and he threw his coat onto a peg. He only recognised two players, our captain (Sammy) Chapman and another lad who played for him at Derby (Barry Butlin). The rest of us were nondescripts. It changed our lives, in all honesty."

The Changing Game is out now in hardback, ebook and audio.