Nottingham Forest F.C.


Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the, the top tier of English football.
Founded in 1865, Nottingham Forest have played their home games at the City Ground since 1898. The club has won two European Cups, making them one of six English clubs to have claimed the competition. Forest is the only team in Europe to have won the European Cup or Champions League more often than the domestic championship. Additionally, they have secured one UEFA Super Cup, one League title, two FA Cups, four League Cups, and one FA Charity Shield.
The club has competed in the top two tiers of English football in all but five seasons since their admission to the Football League. Its most successful period came under the management of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor in the late 1970s and early 1980s, during which they achieved back-to-back European Cup triumphs in 1979 and 1980.
In Clough's final decade at the club, Forest won the 1989 and 1990 League Cups. They were also losing finalists in the 1991 FA Cup final and 1992 League Cup final, before relegation from the Premier League in 1993. Upon their immediate return, Forest finished third in the Premier League in 1995, before suffering relegation again in 1997 and 1999. The team returned to the Premier League by winning the play-offs in 2022.
Forest's main rivalry is with Derby County, with whom they contest the East Midlands derby. In 2007 the Brian Clough Trophy was founded, which has since then been given to the winner.

History

19th century

In 1865 a group of shinty players met at the Clinton Arms at the junction of Nottingham's Shakespeare Street and North Sherwood Street. J. S. Scrimshaw's proposal to play association football instead was agreed and Nottingham Forest Football Club was formed. It was agreed at the same meeting that the club would purchase twelve tasselled caps coloured 'Garibaldi Red'. Thus the club's official colours were established. Matches were originally played at Forest Racecourse, historically part of Sherwood Forest and the presumed source of the word 'Forest' in the team's name.
From 2019 to 2023, Nottingham Forest claimed to be the oldest remaining club in the English Football League. In 2019, when Notts County were relegated from the league, Stoke City claimed to be the oldest remaining club, but football historian Mark Metcalf stated that Stoke was formed in 1868, rather than the 1863 date on the club's badge, and therefore Forest was the oldest club. The EFL also stated that Nottingham Forest was the oldest.
Forest's first ever official game was played against Notts County taking place on 22 March 1866. On 23 April 1870, when the team played their first game in league play, the steward of the club was John Lymberry and William Henry Revis scored the first goal. On that day, Revis also won the prize for kicking a football furthest with a kick of 161 feet 8 inches.
In their early years Nottingham Forest were a multi-sports club. As well as their roots in bandy and shinty, Forest's baseball club were British champions in 1899. Forest's charitable approach helped clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion to form. In 1886, Forest donated a set of football kits to help Arsenal establish themselves – the North London team still wear red. Forest also donated shirts to Everton and helped secure a site to play on for Brighton.
In 1878–79 season, Nottingham Forest entered into the FA Cup for the first time. Forest beat Notts County 3–1 in the first round at Beeston Cricket Ground before eventually losing 2–1 to Old Etonians in the semi-final.
Nottingham Forest's application was rejected to join the Football League at its formation in 1888. Forest instead joined the Football Alliance in 1889.
They won the competition in 1892 before then entering the Football League. That season they reached and lost in an FA Cup semi-final for the fourth time to date. This time it was to West Bromwich Albion after a replay.
Nottingham Forest's first FA Cup semi-final win was at the fifth attempt, the 1897–98 FA Cup 2–0 replay win against Southampton. The first game was drawn 1–1. Derby County beat Nottingham Forest 5–0 five days before the final. Six of the cup final side were rested in that league game. In that 1898 FA Cup final at Crystal Palace before 62,000 fans, Willie Wragg passed a 19th minute free kick to Arthur Capes. Capes shot through the defensive wall to score. Derby equalised with a free kick headed home by Steve Bloomer off the underside of the cross bar after 31 minutes. In the 42nd minute Jack Fryer was unable to hold a Charlie Richards shot giving Capes a tap in for his second goal. Wragg's injury meant Forest had to change their line up with Capes dropping back to midfield. In the 86th minute John Boag headed away a corner by Nottingham Forest. John McPherson moved in to collect shooting low into the goal to win 3–1.

First half of 20th century

Forest lost FA Cup semi-finals in 1900 and 1902. They finished fourth in the 1900–01 Football League followed with fifth place the season after. The club then started to slide down the table. Forest were relegated for the first time in 1905–06. Grenville Morris had his first of five seasons as the club's highest scorer en route to becoming the all-time club highest goalscorer with 213 goals.
Promotion as champions was immediate in 1906–07. The club was relegated a second time to the Second Division in 1911, and had to seek re-election in 1914 after finishing bottom of that tier; as the First World War approached it was in serious financial trouble. The outbreak of the War, along with the benevolence of the committee members, prevented the club going under.
In 1919, the Football League First Division was to be expanded from twenty clubs to twenty-two in time for the 1919–20 Football League: Forest was one of eight clubs to campaign for entry, but received only three votes. Arsenal and Chelsea gained the two additional top tier slots.
In a turnaround from the first six seasons struggling back in the Second Division, Forest were promoted as champions in 1921–22. They survived each of the first two seasons back in the top flight by one position. In the third season after promotion they were relegated as the division's bottom club in 1924–25. They remained in the second tier until relegation in 1949 to the Football League Third Division.

Re-emergence then decline (1950–1974)

They were quickly promoted back two years later as champions, having scored a record 110 goals in the 1950–51 season. They regained First Division status in 1957.
Johnny Quigley's solitary 1958–59 FA Cup semi-final goal beat Aston Villa. Billy Walker's Forest beat Luton Town 2–1 in the 1959 FA Cup final. Like in 1898, Forest had lost heavily to their opponents only weeks earlier in the league. Stewart Imlach crossed for a 10th-minute opener by Roy Dwight. Tommy Wilson had Forest 2–0 up after 14 minutes. The game had an unusually large number of stoppages due to injury, particularly to Forest players. This was put down to the lush nature of the Wembley turf. The most notable of these stoppages was Dwight breaking his leg in a 33rd minute tackle with Brendan McNally. Forest had been on top until that point. Luton though gradually took control of the match, with Dave Pacey scoring midway through the second half. Forest were reduced to nine fit men with ten minutes remaining when Bill Whare crippled with cramp, became little more than a spectator. Despite late Allan Brown and Billy Bingham chances Chick Thomson conceded no further goals for Forest to beat the Wembley 1950s 'hoodoo'. Club record appearance holder Bobby McKinlay played in the final winning team captained by Jack Burkitt.
By this time, Forest had replaced Notts County as the biggest club in Nottingham. Johnny Carey assembled a team including Joe Baker and Ian Storey-Moore that for a long spell went largely unchanged in challenging for the 1966–67 Football League title. They beat title rivals Manchester United 4–1 at the City Ground on 1 October. The 3–0 win against Aston Villa on 15 April had Forest second in the table, a point behind United. Injuries eventually took effect, meaning Forest had to settle for being League runners-up and losing in the FA Cup semi-final to Dave Mackay's Tottenham Hotspur.
The 1966–67 season's success seemed an opportunity to build upon, with crowds of 40,000 virtually guaranteed at the time. Instead, a mixture at the club of poor football management, the unique committee structure and proud amateurism meant decline after the 1966-67 peak. Forest were relegated from the top flight in 1972. Matt Gillies' October 1972 managerial departure was followed by short managerial reigns by Dave Mackay and Allan Brown. A 2–0 Boxing Day home defeat by Notts County prompted the committee to sack Brown.

Brian Clough and Peter Taylor (1975–1982)

became manager of Forest on 6 January 1975, twelve weeks after the end of his 44-day tenure as manager of Leeds United. Clough brought Jimmy Gordon to be his club trainer, as Gordon had been for him at Derby County and Leeds. Scottish centre-forward Neil Martin scored the only goal in Clough's first game in charge, beating Tottenham Hotspur in an FA Cup third round replay.
Ian Bowyer was already at Forest and had won domestic and European trophies with Manchester City. Clough signed Scots duo John McGovern and John O'Hare in February, who both were part of Clough's Derby County 1971–72 Football League title win. He signed Colin Barrett in March, initially on loan. Clough brought John Robertson and Martin O'Neill back into the fold after they had requested transfers under Brown. Viv Anderson had previously debuted for the first team and became a regular under Clough. The young Tony Woodcock was at Forest but was then unrated by Clough and was to be loaned to Lincoln City. Forest were 13th in English football's second tier when Clough joined. They finished that season 16th. Forest signed Frank Clark in July of that close season on a free transfer. The season after, Forest finished eighth in Clough's 1975–76 Football League first full season in charge. It was in this season, McGovern became long-standing club captain, taking over from a game in which Bob "Sammy" Chapman and Liam O'Kane were both injured.
Peter Taylor on 16 July 1976 rejoined Clough, becoming his assistant manager, as he had been when winning the league at Derby. Taylor, included being the club's talent spotter in his role. After assessing the players, Taylor told Clough, "that was a feat by you to finish eighth in the Second Division because some of them are only Third Division players". Taylor berated John Robertson for allowing himself to become overweight and disillusioned. He got Robertson on a diet and training regime that would help him become a European Cup winner. Taylor turned Woodcock from a reserve midfielder into a 42 cap England striker. In September 1976, he bought striker Peter Withe to Forest for £43,000, selling him to Newcastle United for £250,000 two years later. Withe was replaced in the starting team by Garry Birtles who Taylor had scouted playing for non-league Long Eaton United. Birtles also went on to represent England. In October 1976 Brian Clough acting on Peter Taylor's advice signed Larry Lloyd for £60,000 after an initial loan period.
Together, Clough and Taylor took Forest to new heights. The first trophy of the Clough and Taylor reign was the 1976–77 Anglo-Scottish Cup. Forest beat Orient 5–1 on aggregate in the two-legged final played in December 1976. Clough valued winning a derided trophy as the club's first silverware since 1959. He said, "Those who said it was a nothing trophy were absolutely crackers. We'd won something, and it made all the difference."
On 7 May 1977, Jon Moore's own goal meant Forest in their last league game of the season beat Millwall 1–0 at the City Ground. This kept Forest in the third promotion spot in the league table and dependent on Bolton Wanderers dropping points in three games in hand in the fight for third place. On 14 May Kenny Hibbitt's goal from his rehearsed free kick routine with Willie Carr gave Wolves a 1–0 win at Bolton. Bolton's defeat reached the Forest team mid-air en route to an end of season break in Mallorca. Forest's third place promotion from the 1976–77 Football League Second Division was the fifth-lowest points tally of any promoted team in history, 52.
Taylor secretly followed Kenny Burns, concluding that Burns's reputation as a hard drinker and gambler was exaggerated. Taylor sanctioned his £150,000 July signing. Burns became FWA Footballer of the Year in 1977–78 after being moved from centre-forward to centre-back. Forest started their return to the top league campaign with a 3–1 win at Everton. Three further wins in league and cup followed without conceding a goal. Then came five early September goals conceded in losing 3–0 at Arsenal and beating Wolves 3–2 at home. Peter Shilton then signed for a record fee for a goalkeeper of £325,000. Taylor reasoned: "Shilton wins you matches." 20-year-old John Middleton was first team goalkeeper pre-Shilton. Middleton later in the month went in part exchange with £25,000 to Derby County for Archie Gemmill transferring to Forest. Gemmill was another Scottish former 1972 Derby title winner.
Forest lost only three of their first 16 league games, the last of which was at Leeds United on 19 November 1977. They lost only one further game all season, the 11 March FA Cup sixth round defeat at West Bromwich Albion. Forest won the 1977–78 Football League seven-points ahead of runners-up Liverpool. Forest became one of the few teams to win the First Division title the season after winning promotion from the Second Division. This made Clough the third of four managers to win the English league championship with two different clubs. Forest conceded just 24 goals in 42 league games. They beat Liverpool 1–0 in the 1978 Football League Cup final replay despite cup-tied Shilton, Gemmill and December signing David Needham missing out. Chris Woods chalked up two clean sheets in the final, covering Shilton's League Cup absence. McGovern missed the replay through injury, meaning Burns lifted the trophy as deputising captain. Robertson's penalty was the only goal of the game.
Forest started season 1978–79 by beating Ipswich Town 5–0 for an FA Charity Shield record winning margin. In the 1978–79 European Cup, they were drawn to play the trophy winners of the past two seasons, Liverpool. Home goals by Birtles and Barrett put Forest through 2–0 on aggregate. 26-year-old Barrett suffered a serious leg injury ten days later against Middlesbrough that ultimately ended his professional career two years later. On 9 December 1978, Liverpool ended Forest's 42 match unbeaten league run dating back to November the year before. The unbeaten run was the equivalent of a whole season surpassing the previous record of 35 games held by Burnley in 1920/21. The record stood until surpassed by Arsenal in August 2004, a month before Clough's death. Arsenal played 49 league games without defeat.
In February 1979, Taylor authorised the English game's first £1 million transfer signing Trevor Francis from Birmingham City. In the European Cup semi-final first leg at home against 1. FC Köln, Forest were two goals behind after 20 minutes, then scored three to edge ahead before Köln equalised to start the German second leg ahead on the away goals rule. Ian Bowyer's goal in Germany put Forest through. Günter Netzer asked afterwards, "Who is this McGovern? I have never heard of him, yet he ran the game." Forest beat Malmö 1–0 in Munich's Olympiastadion in the 1979 European Cup final; Francis, on his European debut, scored with a back post header from Robertson's cross. Forest beat Southampton in the final 3–2 to retain the League Cup; Birtles scored twice, as did Woodcock once. Forest finished second in the 1978–79 Football League, eight points behind Liverpool.
File:Nottingham Forest FC - Francis, Clough, Robertson.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Trevor Francis, Brian Clough and John Robertson in 1980
Forest declined to play in the home and away 1979 Intercontinental Cup against Paraguay's Club Olimpia. Forest beat Barcelona 2–1 on aggregate in the 1979 European Super Cup in January and February 1980, Charlie George scoring the only goal in the home first leg, while Burns scored an equaliser in the return in Spain. In the 1979–80 Football League Cup Forest reached a third successive final. A defensive mix up between Needham and Shilton let Wolves' Andy Gray tap in to an empty net. Forest passed up numerous chances, losing 1–0. In the 1979–80 European Cup quarter-final, Forest won 3–1 at Dinamo Berlin to overturn a 1–0 home defeat. In the semi-final, they beat Ajax 2–1 on aggregate. They beat Hamburg 1–0 in the 1980 European Cup final at Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu Stadium to retain the trophy; after 20 minutes, Robertson scored, after exchanging passes with Birtles, and Forest then defended solidly. Forest finished fifth in the 1979–80 Football League.
In the 1980–81 European Cup first round, Forest lost 2–0 on aggregate to 1–0 defeats home and away by CSKA Sofia. McGovern subsequently said the double defeat by CSKA affected the team's self-confidence, in that they had lost out to modestly talented opponents. Forest lost the 1980 European Super Cup on away goals after a 2–2 aggregate draw against Valencia; Bowyer scored both Forest goals in the home first leg. On 11 February 1981, Forest lost 1–0 in the 1980 Intercontinental Cup against Uruguayan side, Nacional. The match was played for the first time at the neutral venue National Stadium in Tokyo before 62,000 fans.
The league and European Cup winning squad was broken up to capitalise on player sale value. Clough and Taylor both later said this was a mistake. The rebuilt side comprising youngsters and signings such as Ian Wallace, Raimondo Ponte and Justin Fashanu did not challenge for trophies. Taylor said in 1982,
John McGovern and Peter Shilton transferred and Jimmy Gordon retired in the same close season.