ALMOST exactly fifty years ago, in early January 1975, Nottingham Forest's greatest manager walked into the City Ground for the first time as boss.
And while Nuno Espirito Santo has little in common with Brian Clough other than the same job title, the Portuguese has Forest fans dreaming of a return to Europe's biggest stage after more than four decades.
Monday's win over Wolves, a classic example of how this Forest side are arguably the most adept counter-attacking side in the Premier, moved them level on points with second-placed Arsenal.
There is a bitter irony for Tottenham supporters that the man who was sacked for not living up to their expectations of how the game should be played is now looking down on Ange Postecoglou's side – with the Australian receiving sustained criticism for playing a lot is too open.
Yet that explains the biggest secret of Nuno's Forest's success.
Unlike Postecoglou, who increasingly appears to be a hostage to his own philosophy, Nuno has no regrets about the cautious counter-attack that will never be acceptable in N17 for more than a few weeks.
Remember, at Wolves he took the Molineux side out of the Championship and achieved consecutive seventh-place finishes – their best since 1980.
He did it in exactly the same way he works magic at Forest, not unlike the way Claudio Ranieri's Leicester stunned the Prem in 2016.
Play to your strengths, not your weaknesses. Keep it simple. Make sure everyone is willing to sacrifice themselves for the common good. And you don't care what the media thinks of you.
Ranieri's side has never changed or adjusted. They were exactly the same every week. And no one took them seriously until it was too late to prevent the train from reaching its unlikely destination.
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The truth is that Nuno doesn't care about criticism. Because he knows what works for him, with the right players
Yet that only works if the fans are willing to believe in it.
At Spurs, where supporters felt bored and patronized by Nuno's mentor, Jose Mourinho, the last thing they wanted was more of the same.
Nuno was, of course, on the bench as reserve goalkeeper when Mourinho's Porto won the Champions League in 2004. The 'Special One's' philosophy runs to its core.
While Pep Guardiola will only be satisfied if his team has the ball for the entire match, Mourinho is the exact opposite, explaining: “Many believe that the team with more ball possession is dominant.
“But a team without the ball can be dominant and control the game.
“For some coaches, possession of the ball is more a matter of PR and image. The fundamental thing is that the team that scores the most goals is the one that wins.”
WHERE. But sometimes some teams need more than that.
To be fair to Nuno, he was horribly handicapped by his best player, who started the season complaining to the rest of the world after Harry Kane's planned move to Manchester City fell through.
Yet Nuno failed to get Kane to play for him. And it didn't take long before that was the mood of the entire team.
He wasn't a natural fit for Tottenham. And no matter how successful he is now, he never would have been.
Forest is a different story, although there are few parallels to be drawn with the Clough era.
Certainly, while he had no fear of a pound note, Clough would never have dreamed of a spell as a manager in Saudi Arabia – although Nuno, after winning the title with Al-Ittihad, was expelled after a fall after 18 months in the desert fired – out with star striker Karim Benzema.
If it came to a choice between Clough and even his biggest star, you'd put your money on the manager surviving. Different times.
Clough didn't just play a good game. He played one too, a backbone of experience and quality, with a world-class goalkeeper in Peter Shilton on one side and Britain's first £1 million player, Trevor Francis, on the other.
A team that did well in the terrible parts of the game, but could also express themselves on the ball.
You don't play John Robertson if the game plan is all about running power.
This incarnation of Forest, on the other hand, is very different.
An old-fashioned centre-forward in the form of journeyman Kiwi Chris Wood, young English talents Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson, plus a collection of castoffs and bargains, with the entire squad costing around £330m.
And a team that uses a pragmatic and clear style under Nuno.
You don't need the ball to win. Defend for your life. Make it hard for yourself to hurt. And pause at pace.
Despite the average possession so far being just 39.5 percent, Forest, the LOWEST figure in the entire Prem, have done so superbly all season.
The only team to beat Liverpool, at Anfield too. Wins against Manchester United and – to his pleasure, certainly – against Postecoglou's Spurs. And a draw at Chelsea.
Crucially too, Forest have shown the ability to beat teams who don't attack in numbers but still sit back to suck them in and then take their chances.
The defense of Serbian Nikola Milenkovic – a player hewn from the same massive oak as Nemanja Vidic and Branislav Ivanovic – Brazil's Murillo and London-born Chelsea youth product Ola Aina was physical, imposing and brilliant.
It has allowed the midfield to apply pressure and force turnovers, allowing Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi to run wide to stretch opponents and create space for Gibbs-White and Anderson, while Wood is having the season of his life.
A mirror image of Clough winning the title is unlikely, at least this season.
But with a top-five finish likely to be enough for Champions League football next season, playing for football's biggest prize for the first time in 45 years is more than feasible.
Nuno will never be a modern-day Clough. They are few in number. However, he is making memories that the current generation of City Ground fans will always remember.
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