MIDDLESBROUGH'S STATUE UNVEILED
It was an emotional day as Middlesbrough's tribute to Brian Clough was unveiled (May 16th, 2007). Cloughie's wife Barbara performed the unveiling of the statue in Albert Park, near his childhood home, with help from youngsters from his old school, Marton Grove.
Youngsters help Mrs Clough The statue is unveiled
The bronze statue, costing £65,000, shows a 24-year-old Cloughie with his boots slung over his shoulder. It was paid for through a combination of donations, fund-raising events and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Looking up to Brian
"Brian would have been proud"
All generations of the Clough family attended the ceremony. His son Nigel said it was an emotional day for all the family. "It's lovely that my Dad's brothers and sisters are here to see the statue," he said. "Dad would have been very proud." Nigel is pictured below (right) with brother Simon, sister Elizabeth and Mrs Clough.
The Clough family Head and shoulders above the crowd...
Cloughie's sister Doreen, who lives in Middlesbrough, said: "I think the statue is lovely. The ears are perfect and his nose is just right. The statue even has that twitch around the mouth which was just like Brian." Members of the Clough family gathered around the statue for a photo, as one person in the crowd shouted: "What a team!"
All the Clough family
The chairman of the fund-raising committee, Cllr John McPartland, said: "The statue is in recognition of one of the greatest people to ever come from Middlesbrough. There is a deep feeling for Cloughie from the people in this town and they don't want him to be forgotten.
'Athletic Cloughie'
An exhibition at the nearby Dorman Museum includes the original green sweatshirt Cloughie wore for his last league home match for Forest against Sheffield United. It was loaned to the exhibition by his sister Doreen.
Original sweatshirt
The lottery grant made not only a significant contribution to the cost of the statue, but also funded a series of educational projects including a Clough Trail leaflet, a teaching resource pack and the museum exhibition.
The Legend View video clip from the event.
Video clip: The Clough family with the statue (10"; 1.63MB) HERE.
Cloughie used to walk through the park on his way to Middlesbrough's old football ground, Ayresome Park. Said Mrs Clough: "Brian and I spent many sunny days in this park, so it is really appropriate that it is here."
"Wherever we went, Brian made sure everybody knew he was from Middlesbrough," said Mrs Clough. "He used to say, 'that's in Yorkshire, you know,' and then he would talk about the Yorkshire cricket team. That's the way he was. He was so proud of Middlesbrough."
Mrs Clough said Brian would have been very proud. "He would have been absolutely amazed at the very idea of a statue and he would have been so touched at the different ways you have raised the money. You have done him proud and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I know the whole family feel the same way."
Addressing the crowd which had gathered for the ceremony, Mrs Clough also said Brian would have loved to have managed the Boro. "I think if his success as a manager had happened here, that would have been his ideal. But life is not that perfect."
"We didn't want our statue to be the one that Nottingham will have, which is an older Brian Clough as the manager. We wanted the young athletic Cloughie who would have walked through this park on his way to the matches at Ayresome." The statue was created by sculptor Vivien Mallock who said it had been one of her toughest assignments.
