By David Woods

13th Aug, 2020 | 5:40pm

Full-length film about Leeds United to be broadcast on BBC4 tonight

If there are any Leeds United fans who haven’t seen the film The Damned United yet, there’s another chance to catch it when it’s broadcast on BBC4 tonight. 

Starring the brilliant Michael Sheen, it chronicles the disastrous 44-day reign of Brian Clough at Leeds.

Marcelo Bielsa might have turned the neutrals onto Leeds over the past two seasons but it hasn’t always been that way.

And Clough allegedly laid down the law to the Leeds players in his first day in charge in 1974, saying, “The first thing you can do for me is throw your medals in the bin because you’ve never won anything fairly… you’ve done it by cheating.”

That went down well, as you can imagine, and his reign went down in history as one of the worst in English football.

One of the brilliant things about the film is how it recreates that glorious decade in English football – pre-Premier League, pre-corporate prawn cocktail sandwiches – almost pitch perfectly.

Some might still hanker after the terraces of old and this gives the olds a nostalgic look back at one of the most remarkable periods in Leeds United’s history.

For those not old enough to remember it perfectly, this is a brilliant history lesson, with added drama to make it more entertaining.

Clough went on to enjoy huge success at Nottingham Forest before succumbing to his demons. His family weren’t fans of the book or the film, and some think Cloughie should be left to rest in peace.

We think the film is utterly fantastic and would recommend everyone watch it tonight. You can even get an hour of snooker in beforehand.

Given that Leeds United don’t kick off for another month in the Premier League, that’s close to a perfect evening for us.

The Damned United is on BBC4 tonight at 9pm, after coverage of the Snooker World Championship semi-final.

In other Leeds United news, ‘Really exciting’ Leeds-linked CB makes big decision on future amid lack of game-time