When she sneaked into the kitchen, her parents were leaning over the table, staring at the open pages of the funeral brochure, her mother’s finger resting on one of the coffins while her father looked over her shoulder, hand clamped over his mouth. They might have been working on a crossword.

London, 17 October 1973

Relaxed and elegantly coiffed in his warm television studio, Brian Clough shares his genius with the nation. On this gloomy London night, England must beat Poland to reach football’s World Cup finals. The opposition are certainly no pushovers, they offer a little more skill and flair than most teams from the Soviet bloc, but the brilliant mind of Brian has uncovered a weakness in the Polish side: “That clown at the other end of the pitch,” he says of the Polish goalkeeper, drawing uncomfortable frowns from the other pundits sat around the table.