Too good to be forgotten - Ben Dobson

Too Good to Be Forgotten is a footballing story viewed through the prism of three remarkable men: Brian Clough, Bobby Robson and Lawrie McMenemy.

The ten years from 1975 to 1985 was the last sustained period in which the hegemony of the major big-city football clubs in England was challenged and, at times, usurped. These were days when young fans could follow their dreams, a time when your local side might - just might - become a contender on the global stage.

The book revisits that golden ten-year span and examines the idiosyncrasies and striking similarities in these three wise men of the North East - three of the greatest-ever English football managers - and how, in the form of three unfashionable, provincial clubs, they made the ordinary become extraordinary. Not only did they deliver success on the pitch but a sense of pride in the communities of the towns and cities they put on the map. In doing so, they offered lessons in management and leadership that still resonate today.