The legacy of Brian Clough lives on in 2 young Sunderland fans

I found myself in a strange situation last week. I have been to Nottingham to carry out some research for a new book and to write a blog or maybe two about football in the city. I always enter into situations like tis with a completely blank piece of paper. While walking through the city with my kids, we came across a statue of Brian Clough. They are 9 and 11, so don't have a great deal of knowledge about the man. They asked me who he was. I started to explain.

As a Sunderland supporter, Cloughie means something different to me as a pose to what he means in the city of Nottingham. He was a great player for my club and would no doubt in my mind, have gone on to have scored the most goals for England. His record was 251 goals from 274 appearances for Sunderland and Middlesbrough before injury brought his career to a close.

There are all manner of stories about the legend that is Brian Clough. He was know to speak his mind and had his own way of dealing with players. But the Brian Clough I wanted my kids to know about was the serial winner.

So, what did Brian Clough actually achieve?

There is a lot of focus in the media about his days (and they were only days) as Leeds United manager. But his success came as manager of two unfashionable teams. He took over Derby County when they were in what we now know as the Championship. He and his Assistant Manager Peter Taylor took the team up, won the league and got to the semi-finals of the European Cup. Taking a team like this as far as he did is an amazing achievement. But it wasn't over. After falling out with the Derby board, Clough  had stints at Brighton and the ill-fated time at Leeds before taking over at Notts Forest - and earning the statue in the middle of the city that me and the kids were looking at in wonder.

This was another unfancied team, another team in the Second Division. Just as he did with Derby, he took them up and then won the league. These are feats that are akin to the famous Leicester City Premier League win a season or two ago. Teams just don't break the monopoly any more. But Brian Clough was not finished. That's why the Leicester story resonates, even through the owners can't seem to get it out of their head and have been through too many managers since.

The European Cup, what we now call the Champions League was in his sights. Not only did they emulate the Derby County record of getting to the semi-finals, they won it - two years in a row! Now my older readers will already know this, but those that are as young as my kids will never have seen anything like this in their life. It is uncharted territory. Leicester couldn't manage what Clough did - and he triumphed with not one, but two unfashionable teams.

My youngest, particularly found it fascinating. The fact that a team in a similar position to ours went on a journey that ended up with 2 Champions League wins has him excited about Sunderland's future. I think he's probably the only one.