The Brian Clough Trophy is contested whenever East Midlands rivals

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

and

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

play each other (known as the East Midlands derby). The trophy is named after

Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Engl ...

, who managed both clubs to great success. The trophy is currently held by Nottingham Forest.

Background and history

Derby County and Nottingham Forest, football clubs located less than 20 miles apart, have long been arch rivals. Unusually, the same man managed both clubs during their greatest periods of success: Brian Clough. He managed Derby County from 1967 to 1973, a time in which they won their first Football League title, and Nottingham Forest from 1975 to 1993, during which they won their only Football League title and two European Cups. On both occasions, he lifted the club from

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

to the First Division title. In doing so, Clough was only the second manager, after

Herbert Chapman Herbert Chapman (19 January 1878 – 6 January 1934) was an English football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most influential and successful managers in the early 20th ...

, to win the Football League with two different clubs. Clough himself retired from football in 1993 and died in 2004. In early 2007, officials from Derby County, Nottingham Forest and the Brian Clough Memorial Fund, along with Brian Clough's widow Barbara and his son

Nigel Nigel ( ) is an English language, English masculine given name. The English ''Nigel'' is commonly found in records dating from the Middle Ages; however, it was not used much before being revived by 19th-century antiquarians. For instance, Walte ...

, agreed to institute an official tournament between the two clubs that Clough was most successful with as a manager. In a further twist in 2009, Nigel Clough himself became manager of Derby County, having previously played with distinction under his father at Nottingham Forest. The competition does not regularly demand its own fixture, but is competed for whenever the two clubs happen to meet. The first match, however, was a specially-arranged pre-season friendly, with all proceeds going to charity. That initial game was won by Derby County. For the full history behind the trophy matches – including photos of various matches – there is the official Brian Clough tribute website. One year after that initial Derby friendly win, the two clubs found themselves in the Football League Championship, where they both would remain for 14 consecutive seasons. As well as these 28 league meetings the clubs were also drawn together in the 2008/09 FA Cup 4th Round, which after a replay meant that the trophy has been contested in 2 FA Cup Fixtures. The trophy been contested in a League Cup fixture once, in the 2019/20 season. Unless they are drawn against each other in one of the cups, the 2022/23 season will be the first where the trophy hasn't been contested since its inception, as Nottingham Forest will compete in the Premier League, while Derby find themselves in League 1. The trophy itself is a silver

loving cup A loving cup is a shared drinking container traditionally used at weddings and banquets. It usually has two handles and is often made of silver. Loving cups are often given as trophies to winners of games or competitions. Background Loving cups ...

with a lid. The cup is over 100 years old, though it had never been used before becoming the Brian Clough Trophy.

Winners

As of 13 June 2022, Derby County have held the trophy for the longest combined time at 3,199 days. Current holders Nottingham Forest have held the trophy for a combined 2,222 days.

Overview

As of 31 .

Results

2007–08 season

Friendly ----

2008–09 season

2008–09 Football League Championship The 2008–09 Football League Championship (known as the Coca-Cola Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth season of the league under its current title and seventeenth season under its current league division format. Wolverhampton ...

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2008–09 FA Cup The 2008–09 FA Cup (known as The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON for sponsorship reasons) was the 128th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition; the FA Cup. A record 762 clubs were accepted for the competition; one club, South Nor ...

, Fourth Round ----

, Fourth Round Replay ----

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2009–10 season

2009–10 Football League Championship The 2009–10 Football League Championship (known as the Coca-Cola Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth season of the league under its current title and eighteenth season under its current league division format. It started on 7 A ...

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2010–11 season

2010–11 Football League Championship The 2010–11 Football League Championship (known as the npower Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season of the league under its current name and nineteenth season under its current league division format. It started on 6 Aug ...

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2011–12 season

2011–12 Football League Championship The 2011–12 Football League Championship (known as the npower Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of the league under its current title and nineteenth season under its current league division format. Reading secured the ...

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2012–13 season

2012–13 Football League Championship The 2012–13 Football League Championship (known as the npower Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth season of the league under its current title and twentieth season under its current league division format. The season began on 1 ...

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2013–14 season

2013–14 Football League Championship ---- 2013–14 Football League Championship ----

2014–15 season

2014–15 Football League Championship The 2014–15 Football League Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons), was the eleventh season of the Football League Championship under its current title and the twenty-third season under its current league s ...

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2015–16 season

2015–16 Football League Championship The 2015–16 Football League Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the twelfth season of the Football League Championship under its current title and it was the twenty-fourth season under its curren ...

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2016–17 season

2016–17 EFL Championship ---- 2016–17 EFL Championship ----

2017–18 season

2017–18 EFL Championship The 2017–18 EFL Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the second season of the EFL Championship under its current name, and the twenty-sixth season under its current league structure. Team changes T ...

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2018–19 season

2018–19 EFL Championship The 2018–19 EFL Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the third season of the EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the ...

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References

{{Nottingham Forest F.C. English football trophies and awards Football competitions in England Derby County F.C. Nottingham Forest F.C. Awards established in 2007 Brian Clough

Background and history

Winners

Overview

Results

2007–08 season

2008–09 season

2009–10 season

2010–11 season

2011–12 season

2012–13 season

2013–14 season

2014–15 season

2015–16 season

2016–17 season

2017–18 season

2018–19 season

2019–20 season

2020–21 season

2021-22 Season

References