The Damned United: A must watch!

By Zain Alvi | 9th March 2010

The Damned United: A must watch! | read this item

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One of the most entertaining movies to watch for any football fan is The Damned United, which recently released on DVD in most parts of the world. The movie has been accused of depicting many real life incidents revolving around the life of manager Brian Clough in a rather fictional manner. However, despite those accusations, it is fair to say that the movie succeeds in effectively documenting the struggles experienced by previously successful outfits such as Derby County and Leeds United.

For fans of the current generation, it is a truly unique experience to get the opportunity to glance back at the football world that existed over three decades ago. Not only does The Damned United offer an exciting journey back into the past, but it also enlightens modern day fans of the sport about how far the sport has truly come. For instance, during Clough’s era, it was commonplace for retiring players to be honored with the manager’s position at their clubs. Today, the likes of Gareth Southgate and Alan Shearer stand out as recently retired players who had to convince the authorities of their ability to manage at the highest level.

Another more astonishing difference is that back in the day, smoking was also considered a normal activity for the players. Many of them smoked on their team buses, at press conferences, and shockingly, also during training sessions as well as the final few moments in the locker room before the kick-off. Rather than being stopped by their managers from doing so, the managers would also occasionally join the players during these sessions. In the current era, the fast pace of the game requires so much stamina that it is impossible for footballers to even think about indulging in the activity. Remember how William Gallas was scrutinized for putting an unlit cigarette in his mouth during last season?

Last, but not least, football of that era gave players too much freedom to interfere with the spirit of the sport. They violently argued with officials, openly disagreed with their managers, and caused an endless amount of stoppages by getting involved in altercations with each other throughout the duration of the game. A lot of the times, the players were punished so mildly that it makes it tough to imagine most of them surviving the disciplinary policies that are implemented in football today.

On the whole, I feel that regardless of the fictional presentation of certain events during Brian Clough’s time as manager, The Damned United is a must watch for the aforementioned way in which it allows the viewer to travel back in time. Another reason contributing to the entertainment value of the experience is the film’s crisp length of only 90 minutes. So, all you need is an hour and a half of your time to catch this informative and enjoyable movie as soon as possible!

IanLeeds says:

March 9, 2010 at 9:20 am

How old are you Zain? I bet you’re not much older than 29 – if that!

Let me tell you that the game hasn’t progressed from those day’s in any way shape or form. In fact they are far worse. The greed, the cheating, the lack of true talented players, the lack of respect for the fans or the club the players play for. The lack of technical ability. They lack of the guts for the fight, the need to dive, the play acting and damned right cheating that the players do is a modern phenomenon.

The film is rubbish not because it puts Leeds United into a bad light but some of the greats of the game. Bremner, Giles, Hunter and Clough had everything. Where the players are concerned, if all the garbage was true that was said about them in the film, how come Bremner and Hunter were voted Players player of the year? They could give you a battle yes, they were hard yes, but they could play as good if not better than any player in that era or this. And Clough could manage any team now and make them successful had his time been now.

Regarding players walking into jobs because they were ex players? The bad ones were found out quickly but the good ones were very successful and individual. Not like the Robotic Rubbish the FA Coaching badge produces. Why is there so many Foreign managers in the UK?

You article is flawed, the film was flawed and it missed an opportunity, like you, to pay homage to that era.

Reply to this Comment
- Zain Alvi says:
  
  March 9, 2010 at 12:15 pm
  
  I am surprised you didn’t notice how I acknowledged that a lot of the events in the movie were fictional so many times during the article. When did I ever say that it was 100% real? I just think it provided good entertainment value and gave young fans an insight (yes, merely an insight) into those days regardless of how accurate the portrayal was.
  
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