On October 23rd 2008
Nigel Clough will reach the landmark of ten years as manager of
Burton Albion Football Club. Whilst the supporters will look back at
a decade of continual progress and success, the manager will no
doubt be focused only on the matter of an FA Cup tie at Kettering
Town in two days time.
The success brought to
the club by Nigel Clough is never more evident when you compare his
first match in charge with this afternoon's game. The first time
that Clough, along with his assistant Gary Crosby, took charge from
the touchline was an FA Trophy 1st round replay at Grantham Town on
27th October 1998. The club were underachieving in the Southern
League, sitting in a lowly 13th place, and languishing well behind
local rivals Gresley Rovers and Nuneaton Borough.
Last season the club
reached the Conference play-offs for the first time, suffering a
cruel defeat to Cambridge United over the two legged contest.
In between there have
been so many highlights, and a few lows, and CTMD looks back at the
10 years of the Clough era to date;
| Oct 23 1998 |
Nigel Clough
unveiled as the new manager of Burton Albion along with his
assistant Gary Crosby. |
| Oct 24 1998 |
Clough watches from the main
stand as Andy Garner and Steve Spooner take charge for the last
time for a 0-0 home draw with Grantham Town. The attendance was
a mere 561. |
| Oct 27 1998 |
First match in
charge. A 3-0 FA Trophy replay win at Grantham Town |
| Dec 19 1998 |
First league win. A 1-0 victory
at Tamworth. |
| Feb 6 1999 |
Clough scores
his first goal for the club, but the team still lose 1-2 at home
to Salisbury. |
| Apr 17 1999 |
Brewers win 7-0 at home to
Dorchester in the league. It is the biggest league victory in
the Clough era. |
| May 1 1999 |
Clough's first
season in charge ends in 13th place in the league. |
| Oct 1999 |
The Brewers reach the first
round of the FA Cup and hold Rochdale to a 0-0 draw at Eton
Park, before losing the replay 0-3. |
| Jan 2000 |
The FA Trophy
campaign ends with an early disappointment with a penalty
shoot-out defeat at home to Workington. |
| Apr 18 2000 |
The first silverware of the
Clough era as the Southern League Cup is won with a 6-1
aggregate win over Hastings Town. |
| May 6 2000 |
The Brewers
end the season as runners-up in the Southern League. It was the
highest ever league finish in the club's history. |
| Oct 23 2000 |
A 3-1 victory over Tamworth at
Eton Park lifts the Brewers to the top of the Southern League
table. |
| Oct 31 2000 |
Nigel Clough's
'pub team' defeat Boston United in the fourth qualifying round
of the FA Cup to reach the First Round Proper for the third
successive season. |
| Feb 24 2001 |
Victory over Conference side
Yeovil Town takes the Brewers into the quarter-final of the FA
Trophy for the first time since 1987. A 1-0 defeat to Hereford
United ends hopes of further success. |
| Apr 7 2001 |
Defeat at
Salisbury City hands the initiative to Margate in the race to be
crowned league champions. The Kent side make the most of their
advantage to snatch the title despite losing to Burton on the
last day of the season. |
| May 5 2001 |
Runners-up in the Southern
League for the second successive season. |
| Aug 18 2001 |
The Brewers
kick off their season in the Unibond League after switching
leagues during the summer due to geographic re-alignment in the
non-league system. They start with a 4-1 win at Bradford Park
Avenue. |
| Oct 27 2001 |
Defeat to
Gravesend & Northfleet in the FA Cup sees the Brewers miss out
on a place in the First Round Proper for the first time under
Nigel Clough. |
| Nov 13 2001 |
The Brewers
win 7-0 away at Droylsden in the league. |
| Apr 2002 |
The Brewers reach the semi-final
of the FA Trophy but are beaten by Yeovil Town. The cup run had
included the defeat of Conference sides Farnborough Town, Woking
and Chester City. |
| Apr 17 2002 |
Champions of
the Unibond League as the only title contenders, Vauxhall
Motors, are routed 4-1. |
| May 3 2002 |
Burton Albion finish the season
with only two league defeats, 106 goals scored and 104 points. |
| Aug 17 2002 |
Burton Albion
kick off their first ever season in the Nationwide Conference
with the visit of Scarborough to Eton Park. |
| Aug 20 2002 |
The first Conference win, 3-1
away at Northwich Victoria. The Brewers do not win at home in
the league until 11 October. |
| Nov 16 2002 |
The Brewers make the
First Round Proper of the FA Cup again and hold Oldham Athletic
to a 2-2 draw at Boundary Park.
The replay at Eton
Park ends in heartbreak as the league side go through on
penalties. |
| Jan 11 2003 |
A disappointing early exit from
the FA Trophy, losing 1-0 at lowly Wakefield & Emley. |
| Feb 8 2003 |
In a bizarre
game at Eton Park, Burton Albion lose 4-7 to Telford United. The
11 goal bonanza equals the record for the most goals scored in a
Conference match. |
| Apr 21 2003 |
Jon Howard scores the winner
against Kettering Town to secure Burton Albion's place in the
Conference for a second season. |
| Apr 26 2003 |
Nigel Clough
leads the club to a 16th place finish in the first Conference
season. |
| Jul 2003 |
Burton Albion FC announce their
plans to leave Eton Park and move to a new stadium just across
the road. |
| Aug 9 2003 |
The second
Conference season starts with a win away at Gravesend &
Northfleet. |
| Nov 8 2003 |
FA Cup First Round Proper again
and the Brewers defeat League Two side Torquay United.
Hartlepool United are the visitors in Round Two, and the BBC
cameras come to town. The game ends in defeat by a single goal. |
| Nov 18 2003 |
The biggest
win under Nigel Clough, as Alvechurch are thrashed 8-0 in the
Birmingham Senior Cup. Robbie Talbot scores a double hat-trick. |
| Dec 17 2003 |
The biggest
defeat under Nigel Clough, 1-7 to Birmingham City in the
Birmingham Senior Cup. |
| Feb 14 2004 |
Burton Albion
look as though they could make the FA Trophy final as most of
the Conference clubs make early exits from the competition. The
Brewers make the Fifth Round were they suffer a shock defeat at
Hornchurch. |
| Apr 24 2004 |
Defeat on the final day of the
season, but an improvement on last season with a 14th place
finish in the league. |
| Sep 20 2004 |
Brian Clough,
the legendary father of Nigel, dies from stomach cancer at the
age of 69. In a massive display of character, the
Brewers travel to Barnet on the very next day and come away with
a 3-2 victory. |
| Nov 2 2004 |
Defeat to Hinckley United in the
FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round. |
| Apr 2005 |
The Brewers
reach the semi-final of the FA Trophy but suffer an embarrassing
7-0 aggregate defeat to Grays Athletic. |
| Apr 23 2005 |
Conference survival again with a
16th place finish. |
| Aug 13 2005 |
A new era at
Burton Albion begins as the season kicks off at the new Pirelli
Stadium. |
| Nov 14 2005 |
Manchester United are the
visitors as the Pirelli Stadium is officially opened by Alex
Ferguson and Barbara Clough. |
| Dec 6 2005 |
After
defeating Peterborough United in the First Round Proper of the
FA Cup, Burscough are defeated in the Second Round. The Third
Round draw brings Manchester United back to the Pirelli Stadium! |
| Dec 17 2005 |
Another early exit from the FA
Trophy. A 1-0 defeat at home to Worksop Town. |
| Jan 8 2006 |
The greatest
result in the history of Burton Albion FC as Manchester United
are held to a 0-0 draw, setting up a money spinning replay at
Old Trafford. |
| Jan 18 2006 |
11,000 Burton Albion fans travel
to Old Trafford for the FA Cup Third Round replay. The game ends
5-0 to the home side but the £1 million payday is compensation. |
| Apr 29 2006 |
A 9th place
finish in the Conference. The highest ever league finish in the
club's history. |
| Aug 12 2006 |
The new season starts with a win
at Morecambe. It looks as though it could be a promising season. |
| Nov 11 2006 |
Defeat to
Tamworth, at home, in the FA Cup First Round Proper. |
| Feb 3 2007 |
An early exit from the FA Trophy
with defeat to Worcester City. |
| Apr 28 2007 |
The Brewers go
into the final day of the season with a chance of finishing in
the play-off positions. Defeat at home to Rushden & Diamonds,
along with results elsewhere, means improvement again with a 6th place finish. |
| Sep 22 2007 |
Nigel Clough takes charge for
the 500th time and leads the team to a 2-0 win at home to
Woking. |
| 2007/2008 |
The most successful
season in the club's history ends with defeat in the Blue Square
Premier play-off semi-final to Cambridge United.
The club reaches the
second round of the FA Cup, are runners up in the Birmingham
Senior Cup and reaches the quarter final of the FA Trophy. |
| Oct 23 2008 |
Nigel Clough celebrates 10 years
in the Burton Albion hot seat. |
Although
he chooses rarely to talk openly about his own achievements, Clough
will be able to reflect with pride at the way he has taken the club
from non-league obscurity to within a whisker of the Football
League.