Burton Albion Football Club

NIGEL Clough was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023.

Having left Manchester City after spells with Liverpool and, famously, Nottingham Forest, Nigel Clough contacted the club following the departure of John Barton.

Back then Burton Albion were a Southern Premier League team with unfulfilled ambitions of becoming a Football League club.

Still only 32 at the time, Nigel had been forced to retire from top-flight football through injury, but he could still play and be hugely influential at our level.

As a manager, he was inspirational from the very start. In the club’s 50th anniversary season, Albion finished in second place in the league and gained a piece of silverware in the shape of the Dr Marten’s League Cup.

The following season the Brewers were pipped to promotion by Margate and again had to settle for runners-up spot. A switch to the Unibond League in 2001-2002 saw Burton Albion achieve the club’s dream with a first-ever league title after 52 years in existence.

Albion hit the top spot in September, losing only twice and notching up more than 100 points and 100 goals.

It was then onto the Conference for the first time in the club’s history and eventually in 2005 a new stadium which was officially opened by Barbara Clough, Sir Alex Ferguson and Pirelli Chairman Dominic Sandivasci in the November against Manchester United ….. who two months later would be back!

One of the great games of Nigel’s first ten years in charge was when Burton Albion were drawn at home to Manchester United in the Third Round of the FA Cup in 2006. The Brewers held a team featuring Ronaldo and Rooney to a 0-0 draw and earned a money-spinning Old Trafford replay.

The 2008/2009 season saw Albion achieve the dream of entering the Football League but Nigel couldn’t pass up the chance to go to Derby County with the Brewers 13 points clear at the top of the Conference and promotion in sight.

It was fitting that Nigel returned in December 2015 to continue what he had started here. Burton Albion were promoted to the Championship on the final day of the 2015/2016 season with a draw at Doncaster, beyond the club’s wildest dreams.

Even more remarkable was the achievement of keeping the club in the Championship against all the odds. By far the smallest club in the division Burton Albion enjoyed remarkable victories including beating Derby County at the Pirelli Stadium,

The Brewers were relegated on the last day of the 2017/18 season away at Preston in heart-breaking circumstances with less than five minutes to go … Nigel nearly achieved a miracle twice.

Even after that Nigel produced some more magic, taking Burton Albion to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup - the last EFL team left in the competition. The amazing run that season saw the Brewers beat Premiership opposition for only the second time in the shape of Burnley. Championship clubs Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest were also beaten at home before Albion stunned Middlesbrough with an away win in the quarter finals to line up alongside Spurs, Chelsea and Manchester City in the semi-final draw landing the Premier League Champions over two legs.

Not only is this an incredible football legacy but off the pitch Nigel Clough has had a huge impact on Burton Albion, raising the club’s profile, putting Burton on the football map and making everything you see here, the stadium and all the work the club does in the community possible.

Watch Nigel Clough's Hall of Fame here: https://www.burtonalbionfc.co.uk/news/2023/may/0505-nigel/