''The Damned Utd'' is a

biographical novel The biographical novel is a genre of novel which provides a fictional account of a contemporary or historical person's life. Like other forms of biographical fiction, details are often trimmed or reimagined to meet the artistic needs of the fict ...

by British author

David Peace David Peace (born 1967) is an English writer. Best known for his UK-set novels Red Riding Quartet (1999–2002), ''GB84'' (2004), ''The Damned Utd'' (2006), and ''Red or Dead'' (2013), Peace was named one of the Best of Young British Novelis ...

, published in 2006. Depicting events in the life of English football personality

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 ...

, it is set during Clough's brief and unsuccessful 44-day spell as

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

during 1974, with frequent flashbacks to his earlier period as manager of

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 ...

. Despite critical acclaim, the novel was also the subject of controversy for its perceived negative portrayal of Clough and some historical inaccuracies. It was adapted into a film called ''

The Damned United ''The Damned United'' is a 2009 British sports drama film directed by Tom Hooper and adapted by Peter Morgan from David Peace's bestselling 2006 novel ''The Damned Utd'' – a largely fictional book based on the author's interpretation of Bria ...

'', released in 2009.

Plot

Told from Clough's point of view, the novel is written as his

stream of consciousness In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts "to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind" of a narrator. The term was coined by Daniel Oliver in 1840 in ''First L ...

as he tries and fails to impose his will on a team he inherited from his bitter rival,

Don Revie Donald George Revie OBE (10 July 1927 – 26 May 1989) was an England international footballer and manager, best known for his successful spell with Leeds United from 1961 until 1974, which immediately preceded his appointment as England manage ...

, and whose players are still loyal to their old manager. Interspersed are flashbacks to his more successful days as manager of

. Described by its author as "a fiction based on a fact", the novel mixes fiction, rumour and speculation with documented facts to depict Clough as a deeply flawed hero; foul mouthed, vengeful and beset with inner demons and alcoholism.

Reception

''The Damned Utd'' was published by Faber and Faber in August 2006 to great critical acclaim and sold steadily – by the end of the year it had also become a

word of mouth Word of mouth, or ''viva voce'', is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one pe ...

hit. The critical reaction to the book was generally positive. It was described by Rick Broadbent of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' as "probably the best novel ever written about sport", while Chris Petit of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' praised its imaginative use of Clough's inner voice, and the "warts and all" portrait of its protagonist. However, the portrayal of some of the characters has attracted controversy, and the book has been criticised by members of Clough's family as presenting an overly negative view of the late manager. Leeds player

Johnny Giles Michael John Giles (born 6 November 1940) is an Irish former association football player and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s. After retiring from management in 1985, Giles served as t ...

complained about the way he was portrayed in the book and claimed he had been libelled. Giles wrote, "Many of the things Peace talks about in the book never happened and for that reason, I felt it necessary to go to the Courts to establish that this was fiction based on fact and nothing more." Faber disagreed, and applied to strike out his claim. Giles won the case and, as part of a compromise, Faber made minor changes to the text without any admission of liability.

Film

A screen adaptation of the novel starring

Michael Sheen Michael Christopher Sheen OBE (born 5 February 1969) is a Welsh actor, television producer and political activist. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage rol ...

as Brian Clough was released in 2009 to critical acclaim.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Damned Utd, The 2006 British novels Novels by David Peace Biographical novels Derby County F.C. Novels about association football Leeds United F.C. British sports novels Novels set in Leeds Fiction set in 1974 British novels adapted into films Faber and Faber books Brian Clough