Alchemy reveals the bittersweet reality of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor’s first management job together. The lower-league Hartlepools United are penniless, with a meddling chairman, a ramshackle ground and want-away players. Yet the management pair tackle every challenge head-on, forging a winning blueprint that later transforms unfashionable Derby County and Nottingham Forest into League and European Cup champions.

Exploiting a wealth of archive newspapers, plus interviews with those present at the creation, Alchemy exposes the humble origins of Clough & Taylor’s meteoric rise to the top of the football tree.

‘In my early years as a BBC commentator, I regularly crossed paths with Brian Clough and Peter Taylor in their halcyon days in charge of Derby County and Nottingham Forest. But it was only upon reading Alchemy and its account of their time at Hartlepools United that I realised how their philosophy and initial success were shaped by their two eventful years in the basement of the Football League. What a place to start!’

‘Hull gives a comprehensive account of Clough and Taylor’s time in charge and it makes for riveting reading. It was clear that Clough had maximum belief in what he and his trusted right-hand man could go on to achieve, even in those days down near the bottom of the football ladder … Hull has done their maiden journey justice.’

'A fascinating, very readable and highly recommended account of a chapter of the Brian Clough story that is sometimes ignored because of glories further down the line.'

Despite being born and raised in London, CHRISTOPHER HULL has been following Hartlepool United since 1978. He is the author of Our Man Down in Havana (Pegasus, 2019), which William Boyd described as 'A revelation and a delight.'