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Nottingham Forest F.C.

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Nottingham Forest
File:Ntmcrest.gif
Full nameNottingham Forest Football Club
Nickname(s)The Reds, Forest
Founded1865
GroundCity Ground
Nottingham
England
Capacity30,602[1]
ChairmanEngland Nigel Doughty
ManagerScotland Colin Calderwood
LeagueLeague One
2006-07League One, 4th

Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Nottingham, England on the south side of the River Trent. The ground is in the town of West Bridgford in the borough of Rushcliffe. The club lies directly across the Trent from its city rivals, Notts County. Nottingham Forest takes its name from the Forest Recreation ground just north of the city centre where the team first played and is the site of the Nottingham Goose Fair. The club are often referred to as simply Forest, the title the club carries on its badge. They are unrelated to the earlier amateur team called Forest F.C. (better known as The Wanderers F.C.).

Their name is often incorrectly abbreviated to Notts Forest. This is because Notts is an abbreviation of city rivals Notts County. Notts is a correct abbreviation of "Nottinghamshire", but not of "Nottingham" itself. The appropriate shortened version is Nott'm Forest.

They currently play in League One of the Coca-Cola Football League, formerly known as the third division, and second division after the creation the Premiership. Their relegation to this league in May 2005 made them the first European Cup winners ever to later play outside their country's top two divisions.

Nottingham Forest are known to have pioneered many of today's footballing rules and features, including floodlighting, shinpads, and even lettering on the stands, see "Forest's firsts" below.

History

Early history

File:Nottingham.gif
The club's crest during the 1960s

Forest were founded in 1865 by a group of shinty players[3] shortly after their famous neighbours Notts County, (the world's oldest surviving professional football club), in 1862. They joined the Football Alliance in 1888, and won the competition in 1892, which allowed them entry to the Football League.

Forest's charitable approach to the sport helped teams like Liverpool, Arsenal F.C. and Brighton & Hove Albion to come into existence. In 1886, Forest donated a set of football kits to help Arsenal establish themselves - the North London team still wears red to this day. Forest also donated shirts to Liverpool and helped secure a site to play on for Brighton.

Forest claimed their first major honour when they won the 1898 FA Cup, beating Derby County 3-1 at Crystal Palace. However, for much of the first half of the 20th century the club spent life in the Second Division (and had to seek re-election in 1914 after finishing bottom). In 1949 the club were relegated to the Third Division, but bounced back two years later as champ the Second. A brief period of glory followed at the end of the 1950s, as they regained First Division status in 1957 and won the FA Cup for a second time in 1959, despite losing Roy Dwight { who was the uncle of pop icon Elton John- real name Reg Dwight } through a broken leg and becoming the first team to defeat the Wembley 'hoodoo'. By this time Forest had become the biggest team in Nottingham, overtaking Notts County. But after reaching the high of runners-up spot and cup semi-finalists in 1967, Forest were relegated from the First Division in 1972. Forest's biggest rivals are Derby County, there is a rather more one-sided rivalry with Leicester City, who have a hatred for Forest that isn't really reciprocated.

Brian Clough: the glory years (1975-1993)

Forest were considered a small club by English league standards until the mid 1970s, when Brian Clough and his assistant Peter Taylor took the helm at the club. Clough was the most successful manager in the history of Nottingham Forest football club. He had won the league title with Forest's deadly rivals Derby County in 1972, and came to Nottingham Forest on January 6th 1975, after a 0-2 home defeat by local rivals Notts County, on Boxing day, prompted the committee (Forest had no board of directors then) to sack the previous manager Allan Brown. They won promotion to the top division at the end of the 1976-77 season after finishing third in the Second Division, but no-one could have predicted how successful Clough's team would be over the next three seasons.

Nottingham Forest became one of the few teams (and the last team to date) to win the English First Division Championship 1977-78 season, a year after winning promotion from the English Second Division. In 1978-79, Forest went on to win the European Cup by beating Malmö FF [1-0] in Munich's Olympic Stadium and retained the trophy in 1979-80, beating Hamburger SV [1-0] in Madrid thanks to an outstanding performance by goalkeeper Peter Shilton. They also won the European Super Cup and two League Cups. Beside Shilton, key players of that era included right-back Viv Anderson (the first black player to wear the England jersey), midfielder Martin O'Neill, striker Trevor Francis and a trio of Scottish International stars: winger John Robertson, midfielder Archie Gemmill and defender Kenny Burns. The club reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1983-84 but were knocked out by Anderlecht in dishonest circumstances in which a Forest goal was controversially disallowed. It later emerged that in the second leg, the Belgian club had bribed the referee.[4]

Nottingham Forest's next significant trophy came in 1989 when they beat Luton Town in the League Cup final. For most of the season they had been hopeful of completing a unique domestic treble, but were beaten into third place in the League by champions Arsenal and runners-up Liverpool and lost to Liverpool in the replay of the FA Cup semi-final, originally held at Hillsborough, where 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death on terracing, the match was abandoned after 6 minutes. Clough's side retained the League Cup in 1990 when they beat Oldham Athletic. There was chance for more success in 1991 when Forest reached their only FA Cup final under Brian Clough and went ahead after scoring an early goal (Stuart Pearce free kick) against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley, but ended up losing 2-1 in extra time after an own goal by Des Walker.

Forest reached their third League Cup final in four seasons in 1992, but lost to Manchester United, and in this successful period also won the Full Members Cup twice (1989 and 1992).

Brian Clough's 18-year reign as manager ended in May 1993 when Forest were relegated from the Premier League after 16 illustrious years of top flight football which had seen one league title, two European Cups and four League Cups. Since Brian Clough's departure, Nottingham Forest have had eight managers and spent just four out of 12 seasons in the Premiership.

Clough died in 2004 after a long battle with stomach cancer.

He won 15 competitions with Forest and his managerial record at the club was:

Played: 908,

Won: 418,

Drawn: 256,

Lost: 234

Frank Clark (1993-1996)

Frank Clark, who had been a left-back in Nottingham Forest's 1979 European Cup winning team, returned to the club in May 1993 to succeed Brian Clough as manager. His management career had previously been uneventful, although he had won the Fourth Division promotion playoffs with Leyton Orient in 1989. Having inherited most of the players from the Clough era, Clark was able to achieve an instant return to the Premiership when the club finished Division One runners-up at the end of the 1993-94 season. Clark looked to be well on the way to re-establishing Forest as a top team.

Forest's return to the Premiership was impressive as they finished third in 1994-95 and qualified for the UEFA Cup - their first entry to European competition in the post-Heysel era. The 1994-95 season was a glorious one as far as Forest were concerned as just about every team promoted into the Premier League are almost certain favourites to be relegated the following season. One of the many highlights of the 1994-95 season was a memorable victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford, with Stan Collymore and Stuart Pearce scoring the goals, a game fondly remembered by Forest fans of that era. The likes of Stan Collymore, Stuart Pearce and the Dutch international Bryan Roy were among the most feared players in the Premiership. But Collymore was sold to Liverpool in June 1995 for a then English record fee of £8.4 million, and his £2 million Italian successor Andrea Silenzi was considered to be a disappointing signing. With Collymore gone, Forest's goals dried up in the Premiership during 1995-96 and they finished ninth - although they did reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup, making them the only English team to reach the last eight of any European competition that season.

Clark added Welsh striker Dean Saunders and Croatian defender Nikola Jerkan to Forest's squad for the 1996-97 season, but they started badly and it became a battle to avoid relegation. With no signs of that battle being won, Clark was sacked in December and 34-year-old captain Stuart Pearce was installed as player-manager on a temporary basis.

Clark's managerial record with Forest was:

Played: 178,

Won: 73,

Drawn: 58,

Lost: 47

Dave Bassett: fall, rise and fall again (1997-98)

Pearce inspired a brief revival in Forest's fortunes, and he was voted Premiership manager for the month for January 1997 after a turn around in form lifted the club off the bottom of the division. He was tipped to become manager on a permanent basis, but the Forest directors wanted someone more experienced so in March 1997 they turned to Crystal Palace manager Dave Bassett. Despite the addition of Celtic's Dutch striker Pierre van Hooijdonk, Forest were unable to avoid relegation and finished the season in bottom place. They won promotion back to the Premiership at the first attempt, being crowned Division One champions in 1997-98. But the prolific strike-partnership of Kevin Campbell and Pierre van Hooijdonk was soon broken up: Campbell was sold to Turkish side Trabzonspor and van Hooijdonk refused to play (he was, basically, on strike), because his strike partner was sold. Van Hooijdonk later returned to the club but it was too late to save Bassett, who was sacked in January 1999 after a terrible start to the Premiership campaign and elimination from the FA Cup at the hands of Division One side Portsmouth.

Bassett's managerial record with Forest was:

Played: 77,

Won: 33,

Drawn: 20,

Lost: 24

Ron Atkinson: filling the gap (1999)

Ron Atkinson made his last managerial appearance in football as Nottingham Forest's interim manager, taking charge in January 1999. Brought in with the alleged promise of a million pound bonus if he kept Forest up, 'Big Ron' did little to endear himself to the Forest faithful by climbing into the wrong dugout at the start of his first game in charge - against Arsenal. In true Big Ron style he was later heard joking that he'd thought Forest had Dennis Bergkamp on their bench.[citation needed] He was unable to succeed in keeping Forest clear of relegation, and for the third time in seven seasons they were relegated as the Premiership's bottom club. Atkinson's reign was short, but not too sweet, as shown by his record in-charge. His managerial record was:

Played: 16,

Won: 4,

Drawn: 2,

Lost: 10

David Platt: expensive signings fail to succeed (1999-2001)

When the board decided not to renew Atkinson's contract, several high profile names were mentioned for the vacant manager's job, including Glenn Hoddle (ex-Swindon, Chelsea and England), Roy Evans (ex-Liverpool) and Brian Little (ex-Leicester and Aston Villa).[citation needed] The club's eventual choice was 33-year-old former England captain David Platt, whose brief spell as head coach of Italian Serie A side Sampdoria had just ended in relegation.

Former England captain Platt was named as Nottingham Forest's player-manager in July 1999. He made several expensive signings during his two-year reign at the helm, but these acquisitions were unproductive[citation needed] and Forest never really looked like gaining promotion back to the Premiership, finishing only in mid-table. Their fortunes were not helped by financial problems and a constant need to sell top players in order to pay off the debts that were caused by certain signings that Platt made,[citation needed] including the Trio Of Italians who only made a handful of appearances between them but cost over £5 million (Gianluca 'Bepe' Petrachi and Salvatore Matrecano from Perugia plus free transfer Moreno Mannini from Sampdoria). Platt left to become England U-21 coach in July 2001 and he handed over the reins to youth team manager Paul Hart. By now, Forest's days as a top club were now very much a distant memory and no players remained from their successful days in the top flight.

David Platt is one of the most disliked figures in Nottingham Forest's history.[citation needed] He was responsible for making some poor signings that cost millions of pounds. This plunged the club further into debt. Under his guidance the team generally underperformed and the quality of the football was often poor.[citation needed] Platt's reign was nothing short of disastrous and arguably Forest still haven't recovered from the damage he did.

His managerial record with The Reds was:

Played: 103,

Won: 34,

Drawn: 25,

Lost: 44

Paul Hart: making a living on limited resources (2001-2004)

Paul Hart had a difficult time as manager of Nottingham Forest; his appointment was initially met with some surprise (he was best known for his involvement with the successful academy at Leeds and as academy director at Forest before his internal appointment). The club's financial problems escalated at the end of the 2001-02 season when the ITV Digital collapse almost bankrupted them.[citation needed] Hart's first season at the helm had been unremarkable as a squad made up mostly of young players achieved a 16th place finish in Division One. There were fears that Nottingham Forest could go into liquidation during the summer of 2002,[citation needed] but with the sale of players like Jermaine Jenas the financial situation was quickly brought under control and Forest did better in 2002-03. They finished sixth in Division One and qualified for the playoffs, their best chance yet of returning to the Premiership. However, they lost to Sheffield United in the semi finals. After a 1-1 draw at the City Ground, they eventually lost out at Bramall Lane 4-3 after extra time, and 5-4 on aggregate, even though they were leading the second leg 2-0.

By now, the likes of Michael Dawson and Marlon Harewood were some of the most talented young players in the English league and players from the club's invested-in youth academy were starting to filter through to the first team but forced departures took their toll on the club's fortunes in 2003-04. Hart was sacked in February as Forest hovered near the foot of Division One.

Hart's managerial record was:

Played: 134,

Won: 45,

Draw: 44,

Lost: 45

Joe Kinnear (2004)

Joe Kinnear was the next manager to take charge of Nottingham Forest. The club's directors looked to have made a good decision when Kinnear revitalised Forest, bringing out the best in key players like Michael Dawson and Andy Reid, and they climbed to a secure 14th place in the final table. Kinnear was hoping to push for promotion from the newly-named Coca-Cola Championship in 2004-05. But the start to the season was poor. Despite a promising draw on opening day (1-1 vs Wigan Athletic) the team's form went downhill, as did the league position. With fans getting restless, and the threat of demonstrations against the team management, Kinnear walked away from the club in December, after a 3-0 defeat by arch-rivals Derby County at Pride Park, with Forest struggling at the foot of the Championship.

Kinnears managerial record was:

Played: 44,

Won: 15,

Drawn: 15,

Lost: 14

Gary Megson: down to League One (2004-2005)

In January 2005, Gary Megson was named as Nottingham Forest's new manager. He had previously won promotion to the Premiership twice with West Bromwich Albion, having taken over at a time when they were on the verge of relegation to Division Two. It was hoped that he could achieve the same success with Forest. But that target was made all the more difficult to achieve at the end of 2003-04, when Forest finished second from bottom in the Coca-Cola Championship and were relegated to League One. This made them the first former winners of the European Cup to suffer relegation to the third tier of their domestic league.

Initially in League under Gary Megson, progress had been steady but many Forest fans[who?] might have hoped for a better run of form. At The City Ground at the start of 2006, home form was the best in the League, however away performances saw them struggling to get a win. The quality of the football on display was generally regarded (by Forest fans and experts alike)[citation needed] as the worst from Forest in living memory and the abject performances and results away from home started to appear at the City Ground, for example a 2-0 loss to Barnsley, a 2-1 defeat to Swansea City and a 1-0 loss against Scunthorpe.

Megson departed 'by mutual consent' on 16 February, 2006 with Forest in 13th place, just four points above the relegation zone, having won just once in the last ten games.

His managerial record with Forest was:

Played: 59,

Won: 17,

Drawn: 18,

Lost: 24

Barlow and McParland: the perfect match (Feb 2006-May 2006)

Frank Barlow (Assistant Manager) and Ian McParland (Forest's Reserve team coach) took over on a caretaker basis after Gary Megson's resignation. Barlow and McParland won their first game in charge with a 2-0 away victory at Port Vale. It was Forest's first away win since August 27 2005 (which was 3-1 at Gillingham), their first double over another team in the season, and their first away clean sheet. Their second game ended with an outstanding 7-1 home win against Swindon Town F.C, the first time Forest scored 7 goals in a League game for over a decade.

The unbeaten run under Frank Barlow and Ian McParland extended to 10, with 6 straight wins, a feat that was last achieved in the 60's and something that even the great Brian Clough could not achieve,[citation needed] when Forest beat relegation battling Yeovil Town 2-1 in front of a near sell-out crowd at the City Ground.[citation needed] It is the first time Forest have won more than 2 games in a row since 2004, when Joe Kinnear was in charge and the first time they have won more than 4 in a row for 11 years. The winning run eventually ended in a thrilling 3-2 defeat at the hands of struggling Hartlepool United.

Barlow and McParland were named joint Managers Of The Month for March 2006 as they were the only team in the football league to go unbeaten in that month.

Forest took 28 points out of a possible 39 under Barlow and McParland in the final 13 games of the season and just missed out on the play-offs when they could only draw at Bradford City on the final day of the season.

Ian McParland and Frank Barlow's record with Forest was:

Played: 13

Won: 8

Drawn: 4

Lost: 1

Calderwood's Forest: (May 2006-present)

In May 2006, Colin Calderwood was made the twelfth manager of Nottingham Forest in thirteen years. The former Scotland international had previously been on Forest's books as a player in 2000, having only recently taken the step into management with Northampton Town, Calderwood's first game in charge was a 5-0 friendly win at local side Ilkeston Town.

Calderwood began with two additions to his inherited Forest squad; goalkeeper Paul Smith and Ghanaian International striker Junior Agogo. David Kerslake was installed as first team coach.

Calderwood's first season as Forest manager started successfully, as Forest won their first four matches, including their opening match against Bradford City. Forest's first defeat of the campaign came in the Carling Cup first round with defeat at Football League newcomers Accrington Stanley. Calderwood was named League One's Manager Of The Month for August after 7 matches unbeaten, including a 4-0 home win against Chesterfield Town. Calderwood's first league defeat came in a home match against Oldham Athletic. After four games without a win, Forest defeated Swansea City F.C. 3-1, but were themselves defeated 4-0 at home to Scunthorpe United.

However, Forest returned to good form as they went nine games unbeaten, including a seven game winning run, before losing to Bournemouth. This led to the collapse of their seven point league lead in late November 2006. The Reds blew up in emphatic style with just one win in five, including a 1-1 draw against Tranmere Rovers knocking Forest off the top of League One for the first time since August. A further 5-0 defeat away at Oldham saw Forest fall out off the automatic promotion places.

But, fortunes again picked up again as Forest produced a shock 2-0 win at home to Premiership side Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup third round. However, disappointment was to follow as Forest were comfortably beaten 3-0 by then holding league champions Chelsea in the following round.

On January 30 2007, Forest signed former player David Prutton on a season-long loan from Southampton and Northampton Town defender Luke Chambers for an undisclosed fee. Those two additions helped Forest back into good form by only losing 3 times in their next 17 League One games. This put Forest only one point behind second-placed Bristol City with one game remaining, but a 0-0 draw at home to Crewe and victory for City meant that Forest finished the 2006/07 season in 4th place, and in the playoffs.

Forest faced Yeovil Town in the play-off semi-finals and won the first-leg encounter at Huish Park 2-0 with penalties from Kris Commons and James Perch. Forest were left odds-on favourites[citation needed] to progress to Wembley, only to lose 5-2 after extra-time at home in the second leg.

Forest signed five players in the summer, most notably former Celtic captain Neil Lennon on a free transfer. Also captured were left-back Matt Lockwood from Leyton Orient, Yeovil Town duo midfielder Chris Cohen and attacking winger Arron Davies all signing for undisclosed fees with Preston North End defender Kelvin Wilson signing for £300,000.

Forest currently lie 20th in Football League One 2007-08 campaign after four games of the season. The Reds have drawn three times and suffered a 2-1 home loss to rivals Leeds United. Forest have yet to win in six competitive games this season in normal time, despite a 4-2 penalty win at Chester City. The tricky trees will replay their second round Carling Cup tie to Leicester City on Tuesday September 18, 2007 after the game was abandonned at half-time due to the collapse of defender Clive Clarke in the dressing room. Forest also suffered a 3-2 home loss in the Football League Trophy to Peterborough United.

Calderwood's Football League record with Forest is:

Played: 52

Won: 24

Drawn: 16

Lost: 12

Players

As of 21 August 2007.[2]

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Paul Smith
2 DF England ENG Kelvin Wilson
3 DF England ENG Matthew Lockwood
4 DF England ENG Luke Chambers
5 DF England ENG Wes Morgan
6 DF England ENG Ian Breckin (captain)
7 MF England ENG James Perch
8 MF England ENG Kris Commons
9 FW England ENG Nathan Tyson
10 FW England ENG Grant Holt
11 FW Scotland SCO Scott Dobie
13 MF Germany GER Felix Bastians
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 MF Wales WAL Arron Davies
15 MF England ENG Chris Cohen
16 MF Northern Ireland NIR Sammy Clingan
17 MF England ENG Lewis McGugan
18 MF Northern Ireland NIR Neil Lennon
23 FW Ghana GHA Junior Agogo
24 FW England ENG Emile Sinclair
25 MF Ireland EIR Alan Power
26 MF England ENG Matt Thornhill
27 DF Ireland EIR Brendan Moloney
29 DF England ENG Julian Bennett
30 GK England ENG Dale Roberts

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
–– GK England ENG Paddy Gamble (on loan at Stalybridge Celtic)

Nottingham Forest Youth Academy

The Nottingham Forest Youth Academy has produced many good players; most notably when former Forest manager Paul Hart was in charge of it. During his 11 year spell as Head Youth Coach, the academy produced many talents, most of which have gone on to break into the first team line-up at Forest. Many of them have gone on to Premiership clubs and are getting regular first team football there. Some of them have even been successful on the international stage.

Some of the players to come through the Forest Academy include:

  • Andy Reid was a fan favourite with Forest but moved on to Tottenham Hotspur, with team-mate Michael Dawson. He was hampered by injuries at Spurs, and was sold to Charlton Athletic for £3m in August 2006. He is a full Republic Of Ireland international.
  • Michael Dawson, who moved to Tottenham Hotspur with Andy Reid, has captained the England U-21 side, and was called up as a stand-by player for the 2006 World Cup.
  • David Prutton played over 150 games for Forest before transferring to Southampton FC, only to return to Forest on loan during the 2006-2007 season. Former England U-21 International. Now at Leeds.
  • Eugen Bopp was released on free transfer in May 2006 and subsequently joined Rotherham United FC. He was widely regarded as the best German player of his age when he joined Forest's academy. Bopp was formerly a German under 21 player.
  • Felix Bastians broke into the first team in late 2005 and is making a big impact on Trent-side. Played for the Germany U-15, U-16, U-17, and is currently an U-21 international.
  • Julian Bennett was released by Forest when he was 15 but battled his way back and after 2 seasons with Walsall FC, returned to Forest in early 2006.
  • Shaun Wright-Phillips - although he never made it into the Nottingham Forest first team, he learnt his trade with Forest as a football academy student. He was released by Forest when he was 16 for being "too small". Went to Manchester City where he impressed and Chelsea FC paid £21m for him. He has won the Premier League title and is an England international.
  • James Perch is a versatile player who has played in defence, midfield and on the wing. His most common role has been as a defensive midfield player.
  • Wes Morgan has played more than 180 games for The Reds. He was selected, along with James Perch, in the U-21 English Football League team that faced the Italian Serie B U-21 team in early 2005 (the result was 2-1 to the English Football League).

Honours

Forest have picked up more than 20 major honours and many more lesser individual player and managerial honours. In chronological order:

(*) Cups won by Brian Clough

List of Forest managers

  • May 2006-Present Colin Calderwood - The man to restore Forest to their former glories?
  • Feb 2006-May 2006 Ian McParland and Frank Barlow (caretakers) - Instigated a revival in Forest's form
  • Jan 2005-Feb 2006 Gary Megson - Left after failing to reverse Forest's decline
  • Dec 2004-Jan 2005 Mick Harford (Caretaker)
  • Feb-Dec 2004 Joe Kinnear - Saved Forest from relegation but left 10 months later as they slid towards the drop once more
  • 2001-2004 Paul Hart - Took Forest to the playoffs despite having limited resources and a relatively young side
  • 1999-2001 David Platt - Had two seasons in charge, both of which yielded mid table finishes. Spent millions of pounds of Forest's money and one of the most disliked figures in Forest's history
  • Jan-June 1999 Ron Atkinson - Was unable to save Forest's Premiership status as they were relegated for the third time in seven seasons
  • Jan 1999 Micky Adams (Caretaker)
  • 1997-99 Dave Bassett - Took Forest back into the Premiership but was sacked as they were heading for relegation
  • 1996-97 Stuart Pearce (Caretaker)
  • 1993-96 Frank Clark - Took Forest back into the Premiership and took them into the UEFA Cup before they started to slide towards relegation and he was finally ousted
  • 1975-93 Brian Clough - Was manager for 18 years, winning one league title, two European Cups and four League Cups, but went out on a low when they were relegated in 1993
  • 1973-75 Allan Brown
  • 1972 Dave Mackay
  • 1969-72 Matt Gillies
  • 1963-68 Johnny Carey
  • 1960-63 Andy Beattie
  • 1939-60 Billy Walker
  • 1936-39 Harold Wightman
  • 1931-36 Noel Watson
  • 1930-31 Stan Hardy
  • 1925-29 John Baynes
  • 1912-25 Bob Masters
  • 1909-12 Fred Earp
  • 1897-1909 Harry Haslam (Secretary-Manager) - Won Forest's first major trophy, the FA Cup in 1898
  • 1889-97 Harry Radford (Secretary-Manager)

Forest legends

Pre-European players

European players

1985 - 1990

1991 - Present

The City Ground

Main article: City Ground

Nottingham Forest play their home games at the City Ground, which has been their home since 1898. Before they settled in at the City Ground, on the south bank of the River Trent, they played at the Forest Recreation Ground, from which the team takes its name. The stadium lies on the banks of the River Trent.

File:PICT0091.JPG
The City Ground, Home of Nottingham Forest

The four stands are:

  • The Main Stand, the oldest stand in the ground. Capacity: 5,708.

There are plans to rebuild this stand with a much larger capacity in order to raise the City Ground's capacity to 40,000 if the club regains a Premier League place.

  • The Trent End, the newest stand, built in 1994. Capacity: 7,500
  • The Bridgford End, the lower tier houses up to 5,151 away fans, while its total capacity is 7,710
  • The Brian Clough Stand, which was originally named the Executive Stand but has been renamed to honour Forest's former manager Brian Clough. It is the largest stand in the ground with a capacity of 10,000.

The Capital One Corner, located in one corner of the ground between the Brian Clough and Bridgford stands. Before it was named Pinnacle Place, after the club's previous sponsors. The main noise comes from the capital one corner and the "A" block

The ground's combined capacity is 30,602.

Average attendances:

  • 2002-2003: 24,436 (Division One)
  • 2003-2004: 24,752 (Division One)
  • 2004-2005: 23,652 (Championship)
  • 2005-2006: 20,257 (League One)
  • 2006-2007: 20,617 (League One)

The largest league attendance of the 2006-2007 season was 27,875, 8000 more than any other League One club. [3]

When Forest faced Yeovil Town FC on 17 April 2006, only 3 teams in England had a higher attendance than Forest (28,197). They were Chelsea F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, and Sunderland F.C.[citation needed]

The City Ground is the 8th largest football stadium outside the Premiership, behind Sunderland, Leicester City, Leeds United, Southampton, Coventry City, and Sheffield Wednesday.[citation needed]

The City Ground has hosted the Women's F.A Cup Final between Arsenal LFC and Charlton LFC on Monday 7th May. The final score was Arsenal LFC 4-1 Charlton LFC, along with a record-breaking crowd for the women's FA Cup Final of approxiamtely 24,000 (the previous was approximately 13,000). This was the first time a FA Women's Cup final was played outside London. Forest's affiliated women's team, Nottingham Forest L.F.C., were knocked out of the competition by Charlton Athletic LFC in the fifth round. The women's team play in a smaller ground at the Forest Academy and are in the second tier of English women's football (the Northern Championship), but they share sponsorship with the men.

On June 20, 2007, Forest announced plans to relocate to a new stadium in the Clifton area of the city.[5]

Records

Most appearances for the club (in all competitions):

  1. R. McKinlay: 692
  2. I. Bowyer: 564
  3. S. Chettle: 526
  4. S. Pearce: 522

Most goals for the club (in all competitions):

  1. A. G. Morris: 217
  2. N. Clough: 131
  3. W. Ardron: 124
  4. J. G. Dent: 122

Current Longest Serving Player: Wes Morgan Debut 12 August 2003

Record Attendance: 49,946 Vs. Manchester United in Division 1, 28 October 1967

Lowest Attendance: 2,013 Vs. Brentford FC in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy , 31 October 2006

Record receipts: £499,099 Vs. Bayern Munich in UEFA Cup quarter final 2nd leg, 19 March 1996

Longest sequence of league wins: 7, wins from 9 May 1922 to 1 September 1922

Longest sequence of league defeats: 14, losses from 21 March 1913 to 27 September 1913

Longest sequence of unbeaten league matches: 42, from 26 November 1977 to 25 November 1978

Longest sequence of league games without a win: 17, from 25 October 2003 to 28 February 2004

First football league game: 3 September 1892 Vs. Everton FC (away), 2-2

Record win (in all competitions): 14-0, Vs. Clapton (away), 1st round FA Cup, 17 January 1891

Record Defeat (in all competitions): 1-9, Vs. Blackburn Rovers, Division 2, 10 April 1937

Most league points in one season: 94, Division 1, 1977-1978

Most league goals in one season: 101, Division 3, 1950-1951

Highest league scorer in one season: Wally Ardron, 36, Division 3, 1950-1951

Most internationally capped player: Peter Shilton, 125 for England

Most internationally capped outfield player: Stuart Pearce, 78 for England

Youngest league player: Gary Mills, 16 years 306 days, Debut Vs. Arsenal 9 September 1978

Record transfer fee paid: £3,500,000 for Pierre van Hooijdonk from Celtic, March 1997.

Record transfer fee received: £8,500,000 for Stan Collymore to Liverpool, June 1995

Shirt sponsors

Before 1988 Forest didn't have a consistent sponsor, it was changed every year or less. Some of the sponsors before Shipstones included: Skol, Home Ales, Wrangler and Panasonic.

1988-91: Shipstones

1992-1998: Labatt

1998-2003: Pinnacle

2004-Present: Capital One

Rivals and local derbies

Record against nearest rivals:

  • Notts County:

Played: 139

Forest Wins: 52

Draws: 42

Notts Wins: 45

  • Derby County:

Played: 79

Forest Wins: 33

Draws: 19

Derby Wins: 27

Despite being the closest League clubs geographically, Forest and Notts County have rarely played in the same division in recent times - their last League meeting was in 1994 (Division One).

Forest supporters usually see their main local rivals as being Derby County first, Leicester City second. Forest fans' hatred of Derby is reciprocated by the Derby supporters, and the East Midlands Derby is one of the biggest fixtures in the league when they are in the same division.

Unfortunately Forest's relegation to League 1 has meant that these fixtures have not been played in the past two seasons. In the last three games against Derby County, Forest have done poorly - drawing one 2-2 and losing two 4-2 and 3-0.

Generally Leicester City fans see the rivalry with Forest as far more significant than Forest fans. Forest fans tend to have a favourable attitude to Notts County, although County fans generally regard this as patronising and dislike Forest with a passion.

They also have a fairly strong rivalry with Sheffield United

Forest fans also hugely dislike Liverpool, almost to the point of hatred. This rivalry began when Forest knocked them out of the European Cup in the first round in 1978, en route to the first of their two consecutive European titles.

One of Forest's chants of those days was Are You Watching, Are You Watching, Are You Watching Liverpool! because Liverpool used Forest's kit and nickname 'The Reds' from Nottingham Forest when Liverpool was formed, and Forest had just knocked them out in the First Round (Liverpool were the current champions when this happened) and become a major force in Europe.Liverpool FC fans still sing a chant starting with We hate Nottingham Forest! as testimony to the long running bad blood between the two clubs. Forest fans in turn are credited in starting the "You'll Never Work Again" take on Liverpool's famous You'll Never Walk Alone anthem.

Lyrics:
Sign on, Sign on
With a pen, in your hand
And you'll never work again
You'll never work again

Media coverage

Colin Fray and former Forest captain John McGovern commentate for BBC Radio Nottingham 103.8 FM on every Nottingham Forest match. There is a football phone-in show on BBC Radio Nottingham that features Fray with Notts County commentator Colin Slater.

Forest are also occasionally covered on Sky Sports. This is mainly for cup matches but sometimes league matches are shown.

Unfortunately for The Reds, they just don't seem to be able to perform under Sky cameras. It seems that every time they appear on National TV they play abysmally, most notably a 4-0 home defeat against Scunthorpe United. Forest have had very few victories under Sky cameras in recent times, notably at non-league Weymouth FC. That victory was also the only time they won in their 2nd Kit (Yellow & Blue), leading to them no longer playing in it, but choosing to use the 3rd Kit (All Navy Blue).

Forest fans call the TV misfortunes the 'curse of the Sky cameras'.[citation needed] Misfortune is a word that is repeated all over Nottingham Forests preseason matches,loosing over 70% of these. Most recent was the 1-0 loss at Field Mill against Mansfield Town. Forest's tie against Salisbury City F.C. was shown on BBC 1 on 3rd December, 2006. They managed a 1-1 draw.

Forest finally put their Sky demons to sleep when they won the replay at the City Ground 2-0. The game was shown live on Sky Sports 1 and marked the first win on TV for over a year.

Forest was one of the main features on Match Of The Day for the first time in about 3 years after their giant-killing display in beating Premiership team Charlton Athletic.

Forest's firsts

  • Nottingham Forest are the only team to have won the European Cup more times than their domestic title.
  • Forest captain Sam Weller Widdowson is credited for inventing shinpads, after cutting down some cricket pads and wearing them on the outside of his stockings in 1874. It was another 100 years before the FA made shinpads a compulsory piece of equipment for professional footballers.
  • Another notable feature of the modern game was introduced in a game between Forest and Sheffield Norfolk (who would later become Sheffield United). Previously the referees had used a flag system to signal, it was in this game that the whistle was first used, and Sam Widdowson's feedback helped ensure that this became the standard.
  • After solid crossbars were introduced, it was again at Forest that nets were first attached to goals to catch the ball after a goal was scored. Amazingly the referee on the day was the previously mentioned Sam Weller Widdowson, who gave his approval to the FA.
  • Sam Widdowson hadn't finished - he also pioneered early floodlighting for night games by using gas lamps. This idea was quashed due to the gas running out, and fears for crowd safety, but when electricity was more readily available in 1909 he - now retired - returned to the City Ground to attempt electric lighting.
  • Frank and Fred Foreman were the first brothers to play for the same club, and indeed, became the first brothers to represent England in 1899. They also became the first brothers to both score in an International game - scoring in a game against Ireland.
  • Most modern stadiums have Forest to thank for the lettering spelling out club names in the seats - the Executive Stand (now the Brian Clough Stand) was the first stand to have this feature, when it was built in the early 1980s.
  • Nottingham Forest hold numerous English football records. These include paying the first £1 million fee for a footballer (Trevor Francis). Brian Clough, then Forest manager, notes in his autobiography that the agreed fee was actually £999,999, but taxes took it above the £1million mark .
  • Forest are also the only team to have won the European Cup and then been relegated to the third tier of domestic football.
  • One of Argentina's top teams, Independiente, sports a red jersey emulating Forest's. They adopted their current colours after a tour by Forest to Argentina in 1907.
  • Notts County's Meadow Lane and Nottingham Forest's City Ground are the two closest football grounds in England - just 330 yards apart.

Nottingham Forest songs

  • The 'Nottingham Forest March' ('We Got the Whole World in Our Hands') was released in 1978 on 7 inch vinyl. This was a joint collaboration between the group Paper Lace and Nottingham Forest Football Club and features the fans singing as well as the team of the time. Changes to the lyrics included "We're the best team, in the land / We're the best damn team, in the land" amongst others.
  • In the glory days under Brian Clough the team used to appear from the tunnel to the theme tune from 'The Adventures of Robin Hood'. Since the 2006/7 season the theme tune for the BBC's new Robin Hood TV series has been used.
  • More recently, Forest fans have adopted the Righteous Brothers' hit 'Lost That Loving Feeling' as their own and the Club now plays this occasionally as the players run out of the tunnel for the second half.

Notes

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ "The Squad". Nottingham Forest FC. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  3. ^ [2] Football League records.
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