The Brian Clough Trophy is contested whenever
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...
rivals
Derby County and
Nottingham Forest play each other (known as the
East Midlands derby
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
). The trophy is named after
Brian Clough, 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
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
title, and Nottingham Forest from 1975 to 1993, during which they won their only Football League title and two
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
s. On both occasions, he lifted the club from
Football League Second Division to the
First Division title. In doing so, Clough was only the second manager, after
Herbert Chapman, 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, 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 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
Friendly may refer to:
Places
* Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England
* Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States
* Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States
* ...
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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
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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 Replay
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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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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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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 Augu ...
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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 Augu ...
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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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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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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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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
The 2013–14 Football League Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the tenth season of the Football League Championship under its current title, the twenty-first season under its current league divisi ...
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2013–14 Football League Championship
The 2013–14 Football League Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the tenth season of the Football League Championship under its current title, the twenty-first season under its current league divisi ...
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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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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 current ...
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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 current ...
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2016–17 season
2016–17 EFL Championship
The 2016–17 EFL Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the first season of the EFL Championship under its current name, and the twenty-fifth season under its current league structure. Newcastle United w ...
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2016–17 EFL Championship
The 2016–17 EFL Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the first season of the EFL Championship under its current name, and the twenty-fifth season under its current league structure. Newcastle United w ...
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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
The ...
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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
The ...
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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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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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2019–20 season
2019–20 EFL Cup
The 2019–20 EFL Cup was the 60th season of the EFL Cup. Also known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, the competition was open to all clubs participating in the Premier League and the English Football League.
Manchester City were the tw ...
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2019–20 EFL Championship
The 2019–20 EFL Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the 16th season of the Football League Championship under its current title and the 28th season under its current league division format. Leeds ...
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2019–20 EFL Championship
The 2019–20 EFL Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the 16th season of the Football League Championship under its current title and the 28th season under its current league division format. Leeds ...
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2020–21 season
2020-21 EFL Championship
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2020-21 EFL Championship
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2021-22 Season
2021-22 EFL Championship
Increment or incremental may refer to:
*Incrementalism, a theory (also used in politics as a synonym for gradualism)
*Increment and decrement operators, the operators ++ and -- in computer programming
*Incremental computing
*Incremental backup, wh ...
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2021-22 EFL Championship
Increment or incremental may refer to:
*Incrementalism, a theory (also used in politics as a synonym for gradualism)
*Increment and decrement operators, the operators ++ and -- in computer programming
*Incremental computing
*Incremental backup, wh ...
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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