Given my first Fulham game was Fulham v Nottingham Forest, where Brian Clough was a month into his legendary tenure of what he turned into a great Forest side, his passing at the age of 69 today was noteworthy and sad. Hardly unexpected though, given all that’s he’s been through over the past 10 years or so.
Quite apart from having a team that had the longest unbeaten run in the League until Arsenal just surpassed it and winning two European Cups in the trot in ’79 and ’80 – in those great Adidas kits too – his record as a player was phenomenal.
That Fulham game was on February 5 1975 and we drew 1-1 in the first replay. We needed two more before we got through to the 4th round and of course eventually the FA Cup Final, but less said about the result of that the better.