*NOTTINGHAM* - Brian Clough (1935-2004)

After Alex Ferguson, I reckon that Brian Clough can probably be considered the 2nd best football manager ever (in England) and it was his achievements with Nottingham Forest which earn him this lofty status. He won the league with them in 1978 and then back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980, managing them in total for an incredible 18 years (mind you, Fergie did 26 years at Man Utd).

This statue is in Nottingham town centre and was unveiled on 6th November 2008 by Clough's widow (he died in 2004 aged 69) - specific info about the unveiling ceremony can be found here, including a video of the unveiling itself (scroll right down to the bottom). It was chosen from a shortlist of three by a selection panel earlier in the year, the winning design by Les Johnson made into an 8ft tall bronze statue that cost £70,000. On the whole it's fine, but I'm not a great fan of the hands above the head pose which seems a bit too self-congratulatory, bearing in mind Clough seemed very down to earth.

That said, it still does a decent job of recognising a true footballing legend - below is a Google streetview image showing the road down which the statue faces.

Overall:- 6.5/10

*EDWINSTOWE* - Robin Hood & Maid Marian

The third and final Robin Hood statue I saw on my mini-tour of Sherwood Forest was this one which is on the pavement in Edwinstowe town centre, not far from St Mary's Church where, according to some of the tales, Robin Hood married Maid Marian.

The rugged image of Robin has given way to a wimpy looking character, accompanied by a rather insipid, skinny looking Maid Marian. They both look like gawky teenagers to me and the statue doesn't conjure up any great romantic ideals or heroic themes.

Despite the vintage look this is a modern statue by Neale Andrew - the full inscription on the wet-looking plaque (it had been raining on the day of my visit) is:-

Robin Hood & Maid Marian

By Neale Andrew, A.R.B.S.

Unveiled on 23 July 1998

Councillor Chris Winterton

Nottinghamshire County Council

Regenerating Communities

Incidentally Neale Andrew did a commission for another Robin Hood statue a few years earlier for Doncaster airport (unveiling info here) which has more action to it and further highlights the drabness of this effort which didn't fill me with awe.

Overall:- 4.5/10