Could he have done the same for Albion?
Clough is still revered on the banks of the Trent after taking Forest to promotion, the First Division title and then back-to-back European Cups.
The first of their European triumphs was remembered this week when they met Malmo, the side they beat in the 1979 final with a Trevor Francis header.
Clough stunned the football world when he was appointed by Albion chairman Mike Bamber on November 1, 1973, after resigning from Derby County, where he had won the First Division title and reached a European Cup semi-final.
The 16,000 who saw his first game in charge, a 0-0 draw with York City at the Goldstone, was about three times the usual attendance.
Clough completed the season with Albion, enjoying 12 wins and nine draws in 35 games as they finished a lowly 19th, uncomfortably close to the relegation zone.
Infamous results saw them lose 4-0 to non-league Walton and Hersham in the FA Cup and 8-2 to Bristol Rovers in successive home games.
Clough had agreed to appear live on ITV’s highlights programme The Big Match the day after the Rovers game and, despite the result, he stuck to his word.
He put a brave face on the mauling with his son Nigel sitting alongside him.
Years later, Albion would come up against Clough junior as a manager, notably when he took tiny Burton all the way to the Championship.
Brian Clough’s heart was never fully in the job he had taken at the Goldstone. He was often absent, spending time in Derby campaigning for Labour or seeing old players.
Players described him as aloof and uninterested in training, leaving much of the work to his assistant Peter Taylor.
It was Taylor who stayed with the Seagulls and put the foundations in place for their rise from third tier to first under Alan Mullery.
Taylor stayed at the Goldstone when Clough was tempted away by champions Leeds for what turned into a disastrous 44-day tenure as successor to Don Revie.
Clough and Taylor then rekindled their partnership at Forest to stunning effect.
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