Rome Wasn't Built in a Day, Chapter 11; a few soccer hooligans might get their fingers burnt

The summer of 1974 marked the beginning of a sharp decline in behaviour on the terraces, but football's governing bodies didn't seem to have any idea of what to do about it.

11. A few soccer hooligans might get their fingers burnt

On the 22nd July 1974, Leeds United made an announcement that would leave mouths agape. Don Revie left Elland Road for the England job with the satisfaction of having left the club as champions, but the identity of his replacement couldn’t have been more of a shock. Brian Clough. The very manager who’d built his media identity on being the Anti-Revie.

Clough’s 1973/74 season hadn’t improved upon his departure from The Baseball Ground. He was quickly snapped up by Third Division Brighton & Hove Albion, but his time on the Sussex coast was disastrous, winning just twelve of his 32 games in charge of the club. Furthermore, his biggest flops while there came early, while the harsh glare of media attention was still upon him.

Shortly after he arrived, his team were held to a goalless draw by non-league Walton & Hersham in the FA Cup, and then lost the replay 4-0. And in their very next game they lost 8-2 at home to Bristol Rovers, a result which was disastrous enough without taking into account the fact that Clough’s presence at The Goldstone Ground had encouraged the television cameras of ITV’s The Big Match down to cover the dismemberment in full, grisly detail. Brighton finished the season in 19th place in the table, eight points above the relegation positions. When Clough left for Elland Road in July 1974, Taylor stayed on at Brighton, becoming their manager.