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Be Good, Love Brian
- Author
- Craig Bromfield
- Narrator
- Leon Scott
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date
- 18 November 2021
- Run Time
- 9 hours 17 minutes
- Format
- x-book®
- Genre
- Memoirs, Biography: sport, Association football (Soccer), Adoption and fostering: advice, topics and issues, Couple and Family psychology, Adoption and fostering
- Rating
- 5.0 (1 review)
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What to expect
Craig Bromfield was just 13 years old when Brian Clough, on a whim, took him and his older brother Aaron in.
They came from Southwick, a depressed area of Sunderland, where they lived with their abusive stepfather, and from where they longed to escape. After initially meeting Clough while out begging for money, Clough later invited the brothers to stay at his house. From there a relationship formed which would see Craig living with the Cloughs for nine years, where he was a first-hand witness to the many aspects of Clough’s character – his gruffness, his humour, his big-heartedness.
This is a beautiful, inspirational story, which has never before been told, about Clough’s gentleness and capacity for generosity. Discover a very different side to this iconic man, one away from the cameras and the football, which shows him for the person he really was.
Critics Review
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“One of the most incredible, emotional, feel-good stories you will ever read” – Daniel Taylor
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“Craig Bromfield’s love letter, and apology, to the great football manager is an unexpected and moving delight.” – Matt Dickinson, The Times Chief Sports Writer
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"It's rare to hear anything new about someone like Brian Clough, one of football's true giants. Rarer still that it can make you laugh and cry in equal measure. Quite simply, it's an amazing story." – Jeff Brown, BBC Look North
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“Be Good, Love Brian has got everything – love, friendship, laugh-out-loud comedy, football, and a heart-breaking betrayal. Craig Bromfield's feel-good story about Brian Clough's life changing generosity ends up something akin to a modern-day Shakespearian tragedy” – Simon Hattenstone, The Guardian
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“Gorgeously moving, hilariously funny and incredibly insightful. Craig Bromfield’s beautifully written book about his life with Brian Clough is one you’ll never forget as there are laughs, tears and life lessons. It also solved lots of Christmas present dilemmas as I bought ten copies.” – Julie McAffrey, Daily Mirror
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“The story is astonishing, the writing is wonderful. It is a story about Brian Clough, packed with detail never before shared and from a perspective never before explored. But more importantly, it is a story about Craig Bromfield. You are swept along on his journey, revelling in his joy, grieving in his pain. The emotional honesty of the account is disarming. It means you are there with him. You are inside the dressing room. You are willing him to do the right thing. And in those moments when he falters, life’s context brings empathy. Football fans should read it. But this is more than a football book.” – Adam Bate, Sky Sports
User Reviews
Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
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5.0 5.0
Highly original and poignant story because he’s coming at Clough from a completely different angle and experience plus you have Craig’s life trundling on alongside what’s going on with BC.
It flows extremely well and the narrator is first class.
I wonder what Brian Clough would have made of The Scamdemic and everything since.LazloWoodbine 2026-06-01
Details
- Author
- Craig Bromfield
- Narrator
- Leon Scott
- Duration
- 9 hours 17 minutes
- Release Date
- 18 November 2021
- ISBN
- 9780008466886
- Format
- x-book®
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Genre
- Memoirs, Biography: sport, Association football (Soccer), Adoption and fostering: advice, topics and issues, Couple and Family psychology, Adoption and fostering
- Rating
- 5.0(1 review)
- Narration
- 5.0(1 review)
Synopsis
Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2022 Craig Bromfield was just 13 years old when Brian Clough, on a whim, took him and his older brother Aaron in. They came from Southwick, a depressed area of Sunderland, where they lived with their abusive stepfather, and from where they longed to escape. After initially meeting Clough while out begging for money, Clough later invited the brothers to stay at his house. From there a relationship formed which would see Craig living with the Cloughs for nine years, where he was a first-hand witness to the many aspects of Clough’s character – his gruffness, his humour, his big-heartedness. This is a beautiful, inspirational story, which has never before been told, about Clough’s gentleness and capacity for generosity. Discover a very different side to this iconic man, one away from the cameras and the football, which shows him for the person he really was.
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