The Damned United

The footballing past is a foreign country; they do things vey differently there. Such as: ashtrays being provided for players in the changing room; a manager signing players without his chairman's knowledge; a team being forced to train on a playing field if the pitch is to be anything other than a mudbath (the penalty spot *still* needs repainting mid-match); players pretty much getting away with GBH on a weekly basis. There might be nods to the future of the game, with the new emphasis on money and Cloughie's rant about prawn sandwiches, but football in the 1960-70s feels aeons away. The superimposed league tables themselves are ample proof of that. Derby County league champions? The film also captures what a deeply unloveable side Leeds Utd was. Cloughie might be arrogant, deluded and incredibly tactless (the first meeting with his new team is a textbook example of how NOT to win hearts and minds) but you certainly sympathize with his opinion about Leeds. Thuggish and cynical, the team was as far from Cloughie's idea of the beautiful game as you could get. The irresistible force (that'd be Cloughie) meets the immoveable object (the Leeds players) - and loses. Spectacularly.