The Damned Utd was published by
Faber and Faber in August 2006 to great critical acclaim and sold steadily – by the end of the year it had also become a
word of mouth hit. The critical reaction to the book was generally positive. It was described by Rick Broadbent of
The Times as "probably the best novel ever written about sport", while Chris Petit of
The Guardian praised its imaginative use of Clough's inner voice, and the "warts and all" portrait of its protagonist. However, the portrayal of some of the characters has attracted controversy, and the book has been criticised by members of Clough's family as presenting an overly negative view of the late manager. Leeds player
Johnny Giles complained about the way he was portrayed in the book and claimed he had been libelled. Giles wrote, "Many of the things Peace talks about in the book never happened and for that reason, I felt it necessary to go to the Courts to establish that this was fiction based on fact and nothing more." Faber disagreed, and applied to strike out his claim. In an out-of-court settlement, Giles received a substantial sum to cover damages and costs, and got an apology from both publisher and author. Faber also made changes to the text. ==Adaptations==