Brian Clough and Peter Taylor targeted 'weak' Liverpool defender whenever Nottingham Forest played them
03/23/2025 03:00 AM
The rivalry between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool has become more fierce since the Reds returned to the Premier League in 2022.
Forest remain the only team to defeat Liverpool in the Premier League during 2024/25 and with just nine games left, it might be the club’s only blemish all season.
The two teams played out a 1-1 draw at the City Ground and Forest are also the only team to stifle Mohamed Salah when it comes to a goal or an assist all season too.
Back in the seventies and eighties, the rivalry between Forest and Liverpool was even more intense, with the two teams being the strongest in England.
Forest knocked out Liverpool on their way to their first title with the two teams from the same country drawing each other.
The Reds used to have some serious success against their divisional rivals and there was one player who Brian Clough always tried to target when the Scoursers came to town.
The Liverpool player Brian Clough targeted as a weak link
This is quite a remarkable story and it comes from a book titled With Clough By Taylor, with Peter Taylor giving his verdict on the great man himself.
He said that Phil Thompson was one man who Clough could never grasp as an England international with Taylor claiming he wouldn’t have made the team had the Forest man been given the top job instead of Don Revie.
Speaking on the England setup in the book, Taylor said: “His defence would have given me nightmares – Phil Neal, Phil Thompson, Dave Watson and Mick Mills.
“The delivery from the centre-backs is poor (Thompson is the defender singled out for attack when Forest play Liverpool); Watson and Mills are too old and not good enough in 1980 so they had no part to play in Spain.”
What Phil Thompson has said on Forest in 2025
It would seem as though Thompson isn’t aware of how Clough perceived him back in the seventies and eighties.
With the two teams in a title race at one point this season, Thompson discussed the meteoric rise of Forest – and he was positive about the team.
He told The Telegraph: “It’s great to see Forest up there. The City Ground is a proper English stadium.
“It has not changed much over the years. At its loudest, it was never a place you chose to go to for a result and it will be difficult for Liverpool when they go this season, that’s for sure.”
Hopefully, this season is just the start for Forest when it comes to becoming huge rival of Liverpool’s once again.
