Lights out, the night before a Wembley final, Nottingham Forest players were summoned downstairs to the private room where they had just finished dinner.
They found Brian Clough, the sultan of the Trent, with a crate of champagne and orange juice to help irrigate his unorthodox late-night game for a laugh. "Nobody leaves this room until every one of you tells a joke that I like," said Old Big 'Ead, mixing a Bucks Fizz which was four parts sparkling and one part citrus.
One by one, the players did their stand-up routine, but the following day the joke was on Forest. Goalkeeper Peter Shilton and defender David Needham collided outside the box, Andy Gray walked the ball into an open net and Wolves surprisingly won the League Cup final 1-0.
