| Danny Taylor facts | - Sibthorpe lad Daniel has been hooked on Forest ever since his dad took him to see them play Coventry aged 7.
- He began his career at the South Notts Advertiser and has also worked for the Daily Mirror and Sunday Times
- He currently works for the Guardian and lives in Manchester, although he comes back to see the Reds whenever he can.
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Daniel set out to track down 14 of the greatest players in the club’s history, interviewing each one to get the stories behind the headlines and create a lasting record of some truly great footballers. The result is an insightful, revealing look at the people behind some of football’s most amazing achievements. | "Larry Lloyd, in particular, was just as I remembered, from putting three sugars in my tea to using the F-word 80 times in 40 minutes." | | Daniel Taylor, Forest author |
Despite meeting many of his idols whom he had watched from the old Trent End as child, Daniel says he had to retain his composure to get the job done: “It was fascinating to meet people who I regard as my sporting heroes, but if you allow yourself to get stage-fright it’s never going to be a good interview. “I thought I might be a bit nervous with Stuart Pearce but he was so down-to-earth and co-operative it was fine.” More pleasure 31-year-old Daniel began his career at the South Notts Advertiser before working his way up to the Guardian for whom he travels the world watching top class football. Despite this, he still misses the City Ground: “I see Forest about 15 times a season and, rather pathetically on my part, it gives me a lot more pleasure than watching Champions League matches or going to the Nou Camp.” Researching the book, Daniel was privileged to speak to such Forest heroes as Trevor Francis, Viv Anderson, Nigel Clough, John McGovern and Ian Storey-Moore. He even bagged an interview with the infamously elusive Des Walker.
 | | Daniel Taylor's new book |
“Des made it clear he had little interest in the book or being interviewed but he still agreed to do it and I’m not going to take it personally,” Daniel says. “I think he’s like that with everyone in the press.” On the other hand, some players were very talkative: “Larry Lloyd, in particular, was just as I remembered, from putting three sugars in my tea to using the F-word 80 times in 40 minutes.” Cloughie Of course, one of the common subjects that crops up in all the players’ dialogues is the late Brian Clough and the book provides a fascinating picture of the former Reds manager from those who knew better than most. Daniel tells of how he was in Glasgow interviewing John Robertson when the news came through of Clough’s death. “Robbo was one of Cloughie’s greatest fans and he was devastated,” he says. Wish List
 | | Forest legend John Robertson |
Despite speaking to an array for former stars, Daniel says he unfortunately has a few names missing from his wish list: “I would dearly have loved to include Jack Burkitt and Joe Baker, but sadly they have both passed away.” However, he holds little hope that the current Forest team will produce many players good enough to join the likes of Archie Gemmill and Gary Birtles in the list of greats: “Possibly Andy Reid, but it’s pretty obvious he isn’t going to be around much longer and I don’t see how he could be included when he has never played for the club at the highest level. The same goes for Michael Dawson.” Having now met most of his heroes, Daniel says that on the whole his respect has grown for them and he certainly seems to have few regrets about embarking on the project. | 
