The Triumph and Tragedy: The Alan Hinton Story

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Oh, and he also used to work as a paperboy delivering the Express & Star, taking pride in delivering 105 papers within 30 minutes.Clearly a winger in the making, even then. Al Miller, bless him, convinced us to go to Dallas,” Hinton says. “We agreed to do that to get out of our lovely village with all the memories of our son.” McFarland captained the title-winning side, a special team with special players and an extra-special management duo in Brian Clough and Peter Taylor. The team could be tight defensively, keeping 23 clean sheets in 42 games, but it also had bags of flair and could play. So much so that they pipped excellent sides such as Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal to top spot. Although Derby had pipped Liverpool to the post their manager, Bill Shankly, was generous in his praise saying: "Brian Clough has built a great side. His players are young and full of ability, and to win a League Championship so soon after entering the First Division is a credit to his methods." The average age of the Derby 11 that lined up against Liverpool in that pivotal win was just under 25. Clough was 37.

And there has also been tragedy, most sadly and cruelly, the heart-wrenching loss of son Matthew to cancer at the age of nine. I never saw the first 20 minutes because I was so damn nervous,” he says, adding that Wolves manager Stan Cullis wouldn’t shake his hand when he was called in. Matthew would have been in his early fifties now, and even though it has been a long time, he will never be forgotten. I looked like an old granny if you look at the old pictures,” he says. “But I was proud of that, because one of my favorites at the old Wolves was Dennis Wilshaw. When they called me Gladys I was very proud of that.”There are so many Cullis stories, including when Hinton discovered whilst on the groundstaff that Londoner Peter Faulkner was being paid twice as much as him. Derby County players leaving the Baseball Ground at lunch time after holding a meeting with the board of directors following the departure of manager Brian Clough and assistant Peter Taylor. 18th October 1973.

Hinton prospered at the City Ground, helping Forest to finish second in the league during one of his three-and-a-half seasons, but it was his next move, within the East Midlands, where things took off even further. People say even now it might have been the worst trade in the history of the club, certainly from Cullis. So maybe it is best to start right at his roots, with Hinton still so incredibly proud of his Wednesbury birthplace and a modest but very happy upbringing thanks to parents Tom and Harriet.Cullis could have given me the opportunity to say sorry to the fans – they were my fans over there on that side – but he didn’t.