Robertson had performed for Scotland at schoolboy and youth degree earlier than becoming a member of Forest as a youngster in 1970. He had didn’t make an affect till Clough’s appointment, however the nice supervisor noticed one thing he may nurture.
In his autobiography Clough wrote: “Hardly ever may there have been a extra unlikely wanting skilled athlete… scruffy, unfit, uninterested waste of time… however one thing instructed me he was price persevering with and he turned one of many best deliverers of a soccer I’ve ever seen.”
He additionally wrote: “If in the future, I felt a bit off color, I might sit subsequent to him. I used to be bloody Errol Flynn as compared. However give him a ball and a yard of grass, and he was an artist, the Picasso of our recreation.”
Clough was idolised by Robertson, who stated: “I knew he preferred me however I liked him. I would not have had a profession with out him.”
Robertson performed in 243 consecutive video games between December 1976 and December 1980, and regardless of the big-name buys corresponding to England goalkeeper Peter Shilton and Francis, Britain’s first £1m footballer, he was the participant who made Forest tick.
For all of the expertise elsewhere, Robertson was Forest’s fulcrum.
In Forest’s first season again within the high flight underneath Clough in 1977-78, Robertson not solely performed an important function in successful the title, but in addition scored the winner from the penalty spot in opposition to Liverpool of their League Cup ultimate replay at Outdated Trafford.
It was not simply Clough who recognised Robertson’s significance, with former team-mate Martin O’Neill saying: “He was essentially the most influential participant in Europe for perhaps three-and-a-half to 4 years.”
And Forest’s captain underneath Clough, John McGovern, said: “He was like Ryan Giggs however with two good toes.”
All this regardless of Robertson’s personal admission that he had no tempo and couldn’t sort out.
Clough, nonetheless, was not bothered about what Robertson couldn’t do, preferring to present him licence to focus on what he may do. It was the proper footballing marriage of supervisor and participant. Two maverick characters working in concord.
In a well-known interview earlier than the 1980 European Cup ultimate in opposition to Hamburg, who had England captain Kevin Keegan of their aspect, Clough was requested concerning the prospect of their nice Germany right-back Manfred Kaltz holding Robertson quiet.
“We have a bit of fats man who will flip him inside out,” stated Clough. “A really gifted, extremely expert, unbelievable outside-left.”
