Forest began the week sat in 5^th place in the league table in the desperate search for points as they chased a hopeful promotion place but were on a worrying poor run of form that had seen a F.A.Cup defeat to Southampton followed by two more defeats against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Luton Town so far in the month of February. Southampton were the opponents again this time for a midweek league visit to the City Ground.

Forest were boosted for the game by the return of right winger Terry Curran after recovering from a severe knee injury sustained in October. His return did not bring the desired effect as a lacklustre first half saw Forest trail 1-0 with Peter Osgood prominent for Southampton giving Larry Lloyd a troubled game and the liklihood that the bad run would continue as Southampton looked more likely to score more rather than Forest to equalise.

Just when Forest’s promotion campaign was about to have a severe setback they received a major stroke of luck as fog descended on the ground. Firstly the referee was unable to see a bad challenge by Lloyd on Osgood for which Lloyd was threatened with a club ban and then after 47 minutes the referee had little choice but to abandon the match.

This call off could not have worked out better for Forest as when the game was replayed a month later form had changed for the better and they were able to record a 2-1 victory and with Forest only ending up gaining the desired promotion by a solitarty point the two points gained from the Southampton victory when none looked likely when the game was originally played proved to be a massive break for the club.

Whilst the fog had drifted over Nottingham clouds were hanging down the A52 at Derby County where manager Dave Mackay had resigned the previous December, initially he had been replaced by former Forest coach Colin Murphy in a caretaker capacity but a change at boardroom level had created the desire for a more prominent name. Feeling that he had got unfinished business at the club new Derby chairman George Hardy approached Forest hoping to bring Clough and Taylor back to the Baseball Ground.

With Clough feeling he had got unfinished business at Derby it seemed inevitable that he would return to Derby and when a press conference was called it expected that it was only to rubber stamp the return. However to Forest’s delight Clough and Taylor had decided to remain in Nottingham.

Had the fog not caused the referee to abandon the Southampton game, had Clough and Taylor returned to Derby it was these two big strokes of luck one week in February 1977 that had they gone the other way the clubs future would have had a completely different look.

Wednesday 16 February 1977

LEAGUE DIVISION TWO

NOTTINGHAM FOREST 0 v SOUTHAMPTON 1

Abandoned after 47 minutes due to Fog

NFFC

John Middleton, Viv Anderson, Frank Clark, John McGovern, Larry Lloyd, Ian Bowyer, Terry Curran, John O’Hare, Peter Withe, Tony Woodcock, John Robertson

Referee :           Roy Capey (Crewe)

Tuesday 22 March 1977

LEAGUE DIVISION TWO

NOTTINGHAM FOREST (1) 2 v SOUTHAMPTON (0) 1

Tony Woodcock, Martin O’Neill / Peter Rodrigues

NFFC

John Middleton, Viv Anderson, Frank Clark, Sammy Chapman, Larry Lloyd, Ian Bowyer, John McGovern, Martin O’Neill, Peter Withe, Tony Woodcock, John Robertson

SOUTHAMPTON

Peter Wells, Peter Rodrigues, David Peach, Nick Holmes, Mel Blyth, Jim Steele, Alan Ball, Mick Channon, Peter Osgood (Trevor Hebberd), Steve Williams, Ted MacDougall

Attendance :      12,393

Referee :           Roy Capey (Crewe)

Bowyer immediately was given a place in the starting line up but his introduction did not bring the desired effect as Forest were losing 2-1 at half time although Forest had been severely handicapped as they had lost goalkeeper Jim Barron through injury after only  26 minutes. With only one substitute named in those days it meant that forward John Galley had to play the remainder of the match in goal.

Throughout his Forest career Bowyer would gain a reputation for scoring vital goals for the club at important occasions none more so as the winner in Cologne in the 1979 European Cup Semi-Final. An early sign of this occurred during the second half when against the odds Bowyer scored an equaliser to gain Forest a battling point to build hopes of a potential promotion campaign. Bowyer would become the perfect professional for Forest playing in a variety of different positions including one game in 1987 where he played the last half hour of a game at Leicester in goal after Steve Sutton had gone off injured. He was rewarded with a well deserved testimonial at the end of 1986/87 season for his invaluable service to the club.

However down the A52 at Derby the Football world was in shock following the resignation of manager Brian Clough and his assistant Peter Taylor. In the week that followed the Blackpool draw Derby had decided to appoint Dave Mackay as their new manager. Even though there was calls for Forest to appoint Clough as his replacement, even though talks took place the Forest committee stalled and Clough and Taylor had decided to join Brighton. After an attempt to bring Lawrie McMenemy from Southampton they eventually decided to appoint Bury manager Allan Brown. This decision would prove a poor appointment as Brown would only last 13 months before resigning following numerous protests from a dwindling crowd which at the time was struggling to break 10,000.

Fortunately for the Forest committee Brian Clough was available again after his 44 day stint at Leeds and this time they didn’t delay and the quest for glory began.

Saturday 20 October 1973

LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

BLACKPOOL (2) 2 v NOTTINGHAM FOREST (1) 2

Glyn James, Wyn Davies / Duncan McKenzie, Ian Bowyer

NFFC

Jim Barron (John Galley), Liam O’Kane, John Winfield, Sammy Chapman, John Cottam, George Lyall, Duncan McKenzie, Martin O’Neill, Neil Martin, Tommy Jackson, Ian Bowyer

BLACKPOOL

George Wood, John Curtis, Bill Bentley, Terry Alcock, Glyn James, Peter Suddaby, Mick Burns, Alan Suddick, Wyn Davies, Billy Rafferty, Billy McEwan (Keith Dyson)

Referee :               J.D.Williams (Wrexham)

Attendance :       8,101

With funds now more limited a number of younger players were introduced into the team with the likes of Des Walker, Nigel Clough and Steve Hodge all making debuts. Kenny Swain and Paul Hart were both approaching the end of their careers manager Brian Clough was looking round for younger options to replace them in the Forest defensive line up.

Clough believed he had identified a couple of potential targets that he thought were perfect for next season’s team and both were included in the Coventry line up that afternoon. The players were centre half Ian Butterworth and left back Stuart Pearce. Coventry were in the middle of what was becoming their traditional battle against relegation entering the game in the drop zone in 20^th place.

The game would not be the most memorable as two first half goals sealed a comfortable 2-0 victory but one incident during the game would stand out as during the second half two Coventry players were down injured Forest physio Graham Lyas ran on to assist his Coventry counterpart and approached Pearce and whilst treating the injured left back asked him his age.

Pearce thinking nothing of it carried on as normal until a few weeks later when he stopped by a stranger when arriving for a crucial Coventry game against Liverpool. The stranger asked him for his phone number as Brian Clough wished to talk to him. Pearce probably stunned by the request handed over the number to the man who later turned out to be Alan Hill who was part of Clough’s back room staff as chief scout.

That summer Pearce and Butterworth left Coventry to join Forest and even though Butterworth at that time was considered the major signing out of the deal it would be Pearce that would go on to become one of the most if not the most popular players ever to wear a Forest shirt.

Saturday 20 April 1985

CANON LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

NOTTINGHAM FOREST (2) 2 v COVENTRY CITY (0) 0

1-0          Kenny Hibbitt own goal (NFFC)

2-0          Gary Mills (NFFC)

NFFC

Hans Segers, Gary Fleming, Kenny Swain (Garry Birtles), Chris Fairclough, Paul Hart, Ian Bowyer, Steve Wigley, Johnny Metgod, Nigel Clough, Peter Davenport, Gary Mills

COVENTRY

Steve Ogrizovic, Kirk Stephens, Stuart Pearce, Kenny Hibbitt, Ian Butterworth, Trevor Peake, David Bennett (Micky Gynn), Lloyd McGrath, Cyrille Regis, Bob Latchford, Peter Barnes

Referee :                J.Lovatt

Attendance :        12,990

With Forest having won the previous week on their travels at QPR they were expected to record another away victory as they travelled the short distance to Sheffield. They found a Sheffield United team managed by future Forest manager Dave Bassett who at the time was a bit of a nemesis for Forest manager Brian Clough having first beaten the then Brighton manager Clough whilst Bassett was at its first managerial post at Walton & Hersham and then future successes followed when Bassett had moved to Wimbledon.

Forest retained the same team that had triumphed at QPR with duel wingers Franz Carr and Gary Crosby both retaining their places in an attacking looking line up that also included the find of the season Roy Keane who had only signed in the summer from Irish League side Cobh Ramblers. It had been a mixed start to the season with exciting performances such as a win at Old Trafford and then some disappointing games such as a defeat at Derby which saw Forest enter the game in a mid-table 11^th place.

Sheffield United also retained the same starting line up from the previous game where they had been defeated 2-0 by reigning champions Liverpool meaning current Forest reserve team coach John Pemberton missed out with Chris Wilder retaining the the right backs shirt.

After a fairly uneventful first half which ended goalless the second half would be completely the opposite and the Blades would be the first to strike as Ian Bryson gave the home side a lead. This breakthrough brought Forest to life and they soon fought back and from being 1 behind they soon were ahead as quick goals from Roy Keane and captain Stuart Pearce gave Forest the lead.

Even though Sheffield United were short of success they continued to push forward and once Brian Deane scored an equaliser to bring the match back to 2-2 it seemed inevitable that Sheffield United’s win drought was close to ending and that was the case as Bryson scored his second of the game to seal the home teams first three points of the season.

Upon the referee’s final whistle the Sheffield United fans celebrated like they had won the league with car horns blurting out as the ecstatic fans returned home joyful of the early Christmas present they had received.

Whilst the win would be the catalyst that launched Sheffield United’s season which thanks to a run of 7 consequtive wins in the new year they would survive easily. Forest would continue to have an inconsistent league season although they did manage to have a good F.A.Cup run which saw them eventually lose to Tottenham at Wembley.

Saturday 22 December 1990

BARCLAYS LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

SHEFFIELD UNITED (0) 3 v NOTTINGHAM FOREST (0) 2

1-0          Ian Bryson (Sheffield United)

1-1          Roy Keane (NFFC)

1-2          Stuart Pearce (NFFC)

2-2          Brian Deane (Sheffield United)

3-2          Ian Bryson (Sheffield United)

NFFC

Mark Crossley, Brian Laws, Stuart Pearce, Des Walker, Steve Chettle, Roy Keane, Franz Carr, Garry Parker, Nigel Clough, Nigel Jemson (Phil Starbuck), Gary Crosby

sub not used : Darren Wassall

SHEFFIELD UNITED

Simon Tracey, Chris Wilder, Wilf Rostron, Vinny Jones (Jamie Hoyland), Paul Beesley, Colin Hill, Ian Bryson, John Gannon, Carl Bradshaw, Brian Deane, Richard Lucas

sub not used : Peter Duffield

Referee :                Ray Lewis (Great Bookham, Surrey)

Attendance :        20,394

The earlier versions of testimonials were called benefit games and also instead of arranging a special game they used an actual league game as their benefit game. One of the earlier benefit games awarded to a Forest player was for goalkeeper Harry Linacre in 1909. Linacre had initially joined Derby County from local team Draycott Mills but on the recommendation of Forest star of the time Frank Forman, Linacre who was also the nephew of the Formann brothers (Frank and Fred) was signed by Forest as a replacement for 1898 Cup Final keeper veteran Dennis Alsopp.

He quickly became a firm favourite with Forest fans with many performances proving the difference between victory and defeat for the club. These performances saw Linacre awarded two England caps in 1905 and in a 10 year career at Forest he played in 308 league games. With his career coming to a close he was awarded a benefit game at the end of the 1908/09 season when Bristol City visited.

10,000 fans turned up to show their appreciation and although the game ended in a 1-1 draw everyone was aware with how much he had contributed to the club and if it needed proving the fact that within two years Forest were relegated showed how much Linacre would be missed.

Saturday 10 April 1909

FIRST DIVISION

NOTTINGHAM FOREST 1 BRISTOL CITY 1

Sammy Gilligan (own goal)

NFFC

Harry Linacre, Walter Dudley, George Maltby, Edwin Hughes, George Wolfe, John Armstrong, William Hooper, Thomas Marrison, Enoch West, Grenville Morris,Alfred Spuncer

Referee :           C.Fallowfield

Attendance :      10,000

As luck would have it the final day fixture saw Forest scheduled to visit Oakwell to visit relegation rivals Barnsley for what would effectively be a winner takes all game with Barnsley hoping that home advantage would prove crucial for the critical game as Forest were desperate not to drop outside the top two divisions for the first time in their history.

Forest started the game better and had already had chances for Dave ‘Boy’ Martin and Oswald Burgin before Barnsley had their first chance when Logan’s shot was saved by Forest keeper Percy Ashton. Then after 26 minutes Forest took the lead when Martin rocketed a shot home after good work from Betts and Burgin.

This goal forced Barnsley to adopt a more attacking approach and ten minutes before the end of the first half a speculative shot from 30 yards by Asquith bounced up on the bumpy pitch out of the reach of Forest keeper Ashton.

The start of the second half saw both teams have chances but it was Barnsley who would capitalise first when on the hour an horrendous mistake by Forest keeper Ashton let a shot from Barlow slip through his hands to put the Yorkshire side in front for the first time in the match, a scoreline if it stayed the same would see Forest relegated instead of Barnsley.

There were further problems for Forest when they were reduced to ten men when Bill Baxter suffered an injury that forced him to play no further part in the game.

Then with time rapidly running out a Forest shot by Reg Trim was saved by Barnsley keeper Binns, who was then charged into by Martin. Binns startled by the actions of the Forest forward lost his balance and carried the ball over the line. Uproar followed and led by a tearful Binns the Barnsley players protested heavily to the referee. The referee Mr Snape from Swansea eventually consulted his linesmen who confirmed the ball had crossed the line and the goal was allowed to stand.

There was still time in the game for more drama when in the dying seconds Barnsley almost snatched it when a shot from Logan evaded Forest keeper Ashton only to bounce back off the upright and to safety. When the final whistle sounded moments later Forest were able to celebrate as they had survived ahead of Barnsley in the most dramatic of circumstance and also by the slimmest possible margin, 0.002 of a goal as Forest finished with a Goal Average of 0.783 compared to 0.781 of Barnsley after finishing level on 36 points.

Saturday 07 May 1938

LEAGUE DIVISION TWO

BARNSLEY (1) 2 v NOTTINGHAM FOREST (1) 2

0-1          26 mins         Dave ‘Boy’ Martin (NFFC)

1-1          35 mins         Beaumont Asquith (Barnsley)

2-1          60 mins         Herbert Barlow (Barnsley)

2-2          85 mins         Dave ‘Boy’ Martin (NFFC)

NFFC

Percy Ashton, Reg Trim, John Munro, Robert Davies, Tommy Graham, Bill Baxter, Arthur Betts, Meynell Burgin, Dave ‘Boy’ Martin, Jack Surtees, Roy Brown

BARNSLEY

Cliff Binns, George Hinsley, Emlyn Williams, Frank Bokas, Bernard Harper, John Logan, George Bullock, Herbert Barlow, Ernie Hine, Beaumont Asquith, Eric Bray

Referee : P.Snape (Swansea)

Attendance :                  16,539

There are certain dates that stick in a person’s mind whether it is for family reasons or where they were when major world events happened such as the Shooting of JFK, Man walking on the Moon, Princess Diana’s Car Crash and 9/11 but for me one of the date of Saturday 15 March 1980 is one that is permanently engraved on my brain.

This was the day of the 1980 League Cup Final where holders Nottingham Forest were hoping to make history by winning the trophy for a third successive year. To achieve this feat they needed to beat fellow Division One team Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Black Country side who were managed by former Forest forward John Barnwell had made history earlier in the season when firstly selling midfielder Steve Daley to Manchester City for £1.4 million which became the record transfer replacing the Trevor Francis move to Forest, then a few days later used these funds to sign Scottish striker Andy Gray from local rivals Aston Villa for a new record £1.5 million to provide a new partner up front for their legendary striker John Richards.

Forest went in the game as hot favourites as reigning European Champions and in the middle of the successful defence of the trophy, having also beaten Liverpool in the semi-final of the League Cup and never having lost at Wembley in the clubs history all of the experts were expecting the trophy to return Trentside after the game.

To my Grandad’s disappointment I had decided to become a Nottingham Forest supporter as a youngster instead of his desire for me to follow his beloved Wolves, at the time of the final he was working as a caretaker at a local Police Station at the time he managed to obtain some tickets (albeit in the Wolves end) for me and my Mom and Dad as I could witness Wembley for the first time.

Even though Forest had to make a couple of changes to their usual team at the time as Stan Bowles was cup tied and Larry Lloyd was suspended the replacements Ian Bowyer and David Needham had proved more that able deputies in the past so nothing could curb my excitement as I headed down to Wembley for the first time to hopefully see Forest record a victory.

Upon arrival at Wembley we managed to exchange the tickets with someone who had Forest tickets and wanted to move to the Wolves end so I was hopefully going to enjoy all the glory from the Wembley terraces at the Forest end.

Trainer Jimmy Gordon lead the team out as a thankyou by Clough and Taylor for his valued loyalty after Brian Clough who had led the team out in 1978 and Peter Taylor in 1979.

Forest started the game very well but could not find any way past Wolves keeper Paul Bradshaw who seemed to be having one of them days where nothing would pass him and seemed to be using as many parts of the body to stop the ball as he could find. At one stage he managed to stop a goal bound shot by sitting on the ball. After a goal-less first half where Forest had been the better team the second half saw Wolves show more attacking intent with them having a goal disallowed after a scramble following a corner.

Then on 67 minutes the incident that has given me recurring nightmares and will probably haunt me forever happened. A long ball up field from Peter Daniel seemed to be heading straight to Forest keeper Peter Shilton but Shilton’s call had not been heard and stand in defender Dave Needham went for the ball as well. Both Forest players collided with each other giving Wolves striker Andy Gray the easiest of opportunities to put the ball in the empty net. In spite of Forest desperately trying to get a goal back they could find no way through the Wolves defence. So when the referee blew for full time the trophy instead of heading back to Nottingham was heading to Wolverhampton.

As an 8 year old I found this very hard to take and there were a few tears at the end of the game. At least when I got home I thought it couldn’t get any worse but how wrong I was. The amount of stick I got in the school playground on Monday morning still grinds me up inside today and is almost certainly where my dislike for Wolverhampton Wanderers started.

Even though the following Wednesday Forest achieved one of their greatest ever victories when they won 3-1 in Dynamo Berlin the damage had been done. Every time I hear Andy Gray or any mention of Wolverhampton Wanderers my bad memories keep flooding back of 15 March 1980.

Saturday 15 March 1980

LEAGUE CUP FINAL (at Wembley Stadium)

NOTTINGHAM FOREST (0) 0 v WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS (0) 1

0-1       67 mins       Andy Gray (Wolves)

NFFC

Peter Shilton, Viv Anderson, Frank Gray, John McGovern, David Needham, Kenny Burns, Martin O’Neill, Ian Bowyer, Garry Birtles, Trevor Francis, John Robertson

Sub not used : John O’Hare

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS

Paul Bradshaw, Geoff Palmer, Derek Parkin, Peter Daniel, Emlyn Hughes, George Berry, Kenny Hibbitt, Willie Carr, Andy Gray, John Richards, Mel Eves

Sub not used : Colin Brazier

Referee :           D.Richardson

Attendance :      96,527

Despite hearing many rumours of potential signings the arrival lounge at Forest remained empty for most of the summer with targets Shaun Goater, Danny Webber and Darren Huckerby all moving to other clubs.

With the season fast approaching manager Paul Hart eventually managed to bring some new faces to the club albeit not from his “A List” as Danny Sonner, Brynjar Gunnarsson and Michael Stewart (on loan) arrived. When the season started it became obvious that Forest’s squad was still in the need for strengthening so Stephen McPhail joined on loan from Leeds and also Gareth Taylor signed from Burnley to add more options up front.

In spite of this lack of signings Forest had made an encouraging start to the season and following a 3-1 revenge win over Sheffield United in September they stood in 5^th place with a midweek visit to Burnley the next fixture.

However one incident in the Sheffield United game would be the defining moment of the season as star striker David Johnson had to be carried off early on with a broken leg. New signing Gareth Taylor replaced Johnson and kept his place in the team for the trip to his former club Burnley.

Taylor was involved early on when latching onto a through ball from Danny Sonner he passed to Marlon Harewood to give Forest a 1-0 lead after only 6 minutes. Although both sides had chances Harewood’s goal remained the only score in the first half.

Burnley who included two former Forest strikers (Ian Moore and Robbie Blake) in their side came out with all guns firing in the second half in the search of an equalizer but Forest managed to withhold all the pressure and after 75 minutes goalscorer Marlon Harewood turned provider as his long pass found Andy Reid who put Forest 2-0 up.

The game was sealed for Forest 7 minutes later when Gareth Taylor capped an impressive full debut with his first Forest goal and the impressive 3-0 victory saw Forest move into 3^rd place only 1 point behind leaders Wigan. However this was the high point of the season as Forest’s form took a disasterous turn as the hoped promotion campaign turned into a relegation battle which would cost manager Paul Hart his job. It was hoped that the lack of activity in the transfer market would be a lesson to the powers that ran Forest. It could never happen again could it ?

Tuesday 16 September 2003

NATIONWIDE LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

BURNLEY (0) 0 v NOTTINGHAM FOREST (1) 3

0-1       7 mins         Marlon Harewood (NFFC)

0-2       76 mins       Andy Reid (NFFC)

0-3       82 mins       Gareth Taylor (NFFC)

NFFC

Darren Ward; Mathieu Louis-Jean, Michael Dawson, John Thompson, Wes Morgan; Danny Sonner, Stephen McPhail, Gareth Williams, Andy Reid; Gareth Taylor, Marlon Harewood

subs not used : Barry Roche, Des Walker, Michael Stewart, Brynjar Gunnarsson, Eoin Jess

Booked : Dawson 43 mins, Taylor 62, Sonner 74

BURNLEY

Brian Jensen; Lee Roche (Paul Weller), David May, Andy Todd, Mohammad Camara; Luke Chadwick, Tony Grant, Gareth Farrelly (Richard Chaplow); Robbie Blake (Graham Branch), Delroy Facey, Ian Moore

subs not used : Alan Moore, Matt O’Neill

Referee :                 A.Kaye (West Yorkshire)

Attendance :            12,530

Watford were a team on the up and the rise was going to be rapid with chairman Elton John and manager Graham Taylor in charge people were beginning to notice something happening north of London. Their cup run had seen them records victories over Brentford, Newcastle United, Exeter City, Stoke City and a win at Manchester United had seen them reach the League Cup Semi-Final for the very first time.

It was Forest that had taken early advantage with two goals from Garry Birtles and one from John Robertson with a reply from Luther Blissett seeing Forest have a 3-1 advantage from the 1^st Leg at the City Ground to take to Vicarage Road.

Even though both clubs were only 90 minutes away from Wembley Forest and Watford had more important priorities (which would both prove successful) at the time with Forest in the middle of a European campaign and Watford were in a battle for promotion to Division Two.

The second leg would prove very uneventful as Forest’s growing superior knowledge and know-how of how to handle big games was brought to the fore as they found little trouble in reaching the twin towers again with the game finishing 0-0. Not the most memorable game or even semi-final in the clubs history but it was job done and the club would be heading down Wembley Way for what would be a successful return when they triumphed 3-2 over Southampton.

Tuesday 30 January 1978

LEAGUE CUP SEMI FINAL SECOND LEG

WATFORD (0) 0 v NOTTINGHAM FOREST (0) 0

Nottingham Forest won 3-1 on aggregate

NFFC

Peter Shilton, Viv Anderson, Ian Bowyer, John McGovern, Larry Lloyd, Kenny Burns, Martin O’Neill, Archie Gemmill, Garry Birtles, Tony Woodcock, John Robertson

WATFORD

Steve Sherwood, John Strik, Steve Harrison, Dennis Booth, Ian Bolton, Alan Garner, Brian Pollard (Keith Mercer), Luther Blissett, Ross Jenkins, Roger Joslyn, Bobby Downes

Attendance :       27,656

Referee :               Keith Hackett (Sheffield)

When the two sides were drawn together in the F.A.Cup a few years later in 1891/92 Forest were still not a league club as Notts County as the older club were selected over their near neighbours when the initial league entrants were selected. Forest were playing in a league called the “Football Alliance” alongside clubs who also would later become famous such as Newton Heath (who would become Manchester United), Small Heath (Birmingham City) and Ardwick (Manchester City). Preston were one of the best teams in the county having finished 1^st, 1^st and 2^nd in the first three seasons of the league and went into the game top of the table.

Forest had already enjoyed a little success in the F.A.Cup with three unsuccessful semi-final appearances in the competitions short history as well as a record 14-0 victory over Clapton the previous season.

Forest had progressed with victories over Newcastle East End (who would later merge with neighbours Newcastle West End to form current club United) and Sunderland Albion (rivals to current Sunderland club and would fold due to success of main club). This meant that Forest hosted Preston in the Quarter Final tie.

It would be non-league Forest that would triumph against the odds as goals from Higgins and Smith saw Forest progress into the semi-finals where after a second replay they would lose to eventual winners West Bromwich Albion.

Forest would be able to compete with Preston in the league the following season as they were accepted to join the extended First Division after winning the final Football Alliance league.

Saturday 13 February 1892

F.A.CUP ROUND 3

NOTTINGHAM FOREST 2 PRESTON NORTH END 0

1-0       Alexander Higgins (NFFC)

2-0       William Smith (NFFC)

NFFC

William Brown, Archibald Ritchie, Adam Scott, John MacPherson, David Russell, Albert Smith, Tinsley Lindley, William Smith, Alexander Higgins, HoracePike, Arthur Shaw

Attendance :      14,500

Referee :           C.J.Hughes

Forest went into the game full of confidence sitting four points clear at the top of the table as they hoped for an immediate return to the Premiership. This confidence showed as Forest’s top scorer Pierre Van Hooijdonk gave Forest an early lead after 3 minutes. When the Dutch striker (would have a double meaning the following season) doubled the lead early in the second half from the penalty spot it looked like Forest were destined to continue their good run.

However on the 57^th minute one incident changed the game when referee John Brandwood decided that Forest keeper had fouled Reading striker Martin Williams in the penalty area, not only was the penalty awarded the referee then decided it was a goalscoring opportunity so sent Beasant off for the first time of his career.

With only three substitutes named in those days clubs rarely named a keeper on the bench and Forest were no different so they were forced to play the remainder of the game with defender Steve Chettle in goal. Reading immediately scored the penalty as Martin Williams picked himself up and scored past Chettle.

An insensed Forest carried on attacking even though they were a man down and Van Hooijdonk’s strike partner Kevin Campbell restored the two goal advantage on 65 minutes. Following this strike Reading pushed forward throwing everything at Forest and the extra man eventually paid off as two quick goals brought the game level at 3-3. Forest managed to hold on with some heroic defending to gain a point when three looked probable before the referee’s involvement.

To rub salt into the wounds the referee almost immediately after the end of the game admitted he had made a mistake over the Dave Beasant decision and erased his sending off. Although it meant that he would not be suspended it still meant two points had been lost thankfully at the end of the season it proved not as crucial as it could have been as Forest clinched the Division One title and returned to the promised land of the Premiership.

Friday 24 October 1997

NATIONWIDE LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

READING (0) 3 v NOTTINGHAM FOREST (1) 3

0-1          3 mins            Pierre Van Hooijdonk (NFFC)

0-2          48 mins         Pierre Van Hooijdonk penalty (NFFC)

1-2          57 mins         Martin Williams (Reading)

1-3          65 mins         Kevin Campbell (NFFC)

2-3          73 mins         Jamie Lambert (Reading)

3-3          78 mins         Linvoy Primus (Reading)

NFFC

Dave Beasant, Des Lyttle, Alan Rogers, Colin Cooper, Steve Chettle, Craig Armstrong, Steve Stone, Scot Gemmill, Pierre Van Hooijdonk, Kevin Campbell, Chris Bart-Williams

subs not used :           Ian Woan, Andy Johnson, Steve Guinan

READING

Steve Mautone, Andy Bernal, Steve Swales, Martin Williams, Keith McPherson, Linvoy Primus, Phil Parkinson, Jamie Lambert, Darren Caskey, Ray Houghton, Michael Meaker

subs not used :           Martyn Booty, Neville Roach, Dariusz Wdowczyk

Attendance :               12,610

Referee :                       John Brandwood (Lichfield)

Whilst the season would end with the glory with the European Cup success against Madrid the domestic season was a bit frustrating. Starting off the season well they led the league in October but a poor run of form in November and December where they lost 5 out of 6 games saw them slip nearer to mid table than the top.

Meanwhile Derby arrived at the City Ground in desperate trouble after being in trouble all season with games rapidly running out defeat would almost confirm relegation.

Standing on the old Bridgford End I stood there enjoying my first taste of football in Nottingham. Being young (yes even I was young) I cannot remember a great deal about the game as I was still in awe of seeing my heroes of the time such as Peter Shilton, Trevor Francis and John Robertson except in the first half Forest would have a free kick just outside the penalty area and up stepped up the left back whose shot put Forest 1-0 up. The left back that day was Scottish international Frank Gray. The idea of a left back taking free kicks might catch on a few years later.

It did not confirm relegation but even though they won their next game it was in avail as other results went against them and meant they were relegated (shame). So all in all my first visit to the City Ground could not have gone better a win over Derby with as good as confirmed relegation and a few weeks later the European Cup was retained. I thought it would be like that every season.

Saturday 19 April 1980

LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

NOTTINGHAM FOREST (1) 1 v DERBY COUNTY (0) 0

1-0          Frank Gray (NFFC)

NFFC

Peter Shilton, Viv Anderson, Frank Gray, John McGovern, Larry Lloyd, Dave Needham, Martin O’Neill, Stan Bowles, Garry Birtles, Trevor Francis, John Robertson

sub not used : Ian Bowyer

DERBY

David McKellar, David Langan, Steve Buckley, Aidan McCaffery, Roy McFarland, Keith Osgood, Steve Powell, Jonathan Clark, Alan Biley, David Swindlehurst, Kevin Wilson (Paul Emson)

Attendance :       32,366

Referee :               Pat Partridge (Cockfield, Co.Durham)

Throughout the season there were a number of memorable matches none more so that a visit to Portman Road. It was a massively important game as Ipswich were one position outside the play offs only one point out of the top six and Forest who had been in the top 6 most of the season were only four points ahead of their hosts.

Things did not start well for Forest as they suffered an early setback when Tommy Miller gave the home side an early lead after 14 minutes. This was then followed with losing key player Riccy Scimeca through injury who was replaced by another youth product John Thompson. Then on 26 minutes all hell broke out as Andy Reid was harshly adjudged to have fouled Pablo Counago and the referee awarded a penalty. Justice seemed to be done when Darren Ward saved Miller’s shot however to Forest’s dismay the linesman said that Ward had moved too early and Miller made no mistake from the second chance to double Ipswich’s lead.

Usually 2-0 down away from home would not be the greatest position to be in but all the controversy over the penalty incident seemed to galvanize Forest as only 8 minutes later they had turned a two goal deficit into a 3-2 lead.

Firstly substitute John Thompson shot home from just outside the penalty area followed by a couple of slices of luck. Firstly a mishit Marlon Harewood shot fooled the Ipswich defence to make it 2-2, then after good work from Harewood a shot from Thompson from deflected into his own goal by Richard Naylor. That was the end of the scoring for the first half but not the drama as deep into six minutes injury time Pablo Counago and Jon-Olav Hjelde squared up to each other and as both had already been booked were lucky to stay on the pitch.

Ipswich scored first in the second half when Marcus Bent converted after being sent clean through by current Ipswich manager Jim Magilton to make the scoreline 3-3. After this both teams pressed forward in search of an all important winner and fortunately for Forest it went their way when Marlon Harewood headed home from an Andy Reid free kick after former Ipswich hero David Johnson had been fouled. Ipswich pressed forward after another equaliser but Forest managed to hold out with Michael Dawson having another immense game in defence.

Saturday 05 April 2003

NATIONWIDE LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

IPSWICH TOWN (2) 3 v NOTTINGHAM FOREST (3) 4

1-0          14 mins         Tommy Miller (Ipswich)

2-0          26 mins         Tommy Miller – penalty (Ipswich)

2-1          27 mins         John Thompson (NFFC)

2-2          29 mins         Marlon Harewood (NFFC)

2-3          34 mins         Richard Naylor own goal (NFFC)

3-3          59 mins         Marcus Bent (Ipswich)

3-4          75 mins         Marlon Harewood (NFFC)

NFFC

Darren Ward; Mathieu Louis-Jean, Michael Dawson, Jon-Olav Hjelde, Jim Brennan; Ricardo Scimeca (John Thompson), Gareth Williams, Andy Reid; Darren Huckerby, David Johnson (Jack Lester), Marlon Harewood

subs not used : Des Walker, Eoin Jess, Barry Roche

Booked : Hjelde 11 mins, Harewood 25, Huckerby 27, Dawson 66

IPSWICH

Andy Marshall; Fabian Wilnis (Alun Armstrong), Chris Makin, Richard Naylor, Matt Richards (Martijn Reuser); Jermaine Wright, Matt Holland, Jim Magilton; Tommy Miller, Marcus Bent, Pablo Counago

subs not used : Nabil Abidallah, Ian Westlake, James Pullen

Booked : Counago 24 mins

Referee :                       H.M.Webb (South Yorkshire)

Attendance :               29,503

By the start of the 1981/82 season the side contained a number of different names as the likes of Frank Clark (retired), Frank Gray (Leeds), Larry Lloyd (Wigan player manager), Martin O’Neill (Norwich),  Ian Bowyer (Sunderland), Garry Birtles (Manchester United) and Tony Woodcock (Cologne) had all moved on. One of the early games of the 1981/82 season saw Forest visit St.Andrews for a visit to Birmingham City. Just before the game another star player moved on as Trevor Francis who Forest had made the first £1million footballer when he signed from Birmingham had moved to Manchester City.

The meant changes were needed to the side that had made a promising start in the opening two games that had seen Forest beat Southampton and the follow it up with a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford. Francis was replaced by youngster Gary Mills whilst Ian Wallace was selected to partner new striker Justin Fashanu instead of Peter Ward.

With both teams from the Midlands it was no surprise that it was the main game on the then local highlights programme Star Soccer with commentary provided by the legendary Hugh Johns. It was a good choice as the teams provided one of the most memorable games between the clubs.

Forest would make a great start as the returning Wallace shot home to put Forest 1-0 up after good work by Fashanu and a good break from a mishit shot from Mills. The lead did not last long as Kevan Broadhurst headed home to equalise and then an excellent finish from Tony Evans gave Birmingham a 2-1 lead. There was still time for another goal in the first half when Wallace got his and Forest’s second when he shot home from close range after good work from Gary Mills.

Former Forest player Archie Gemmill had a great chance to restore Birmingham’s lead early in the second half when they were awarded a penalty after a foul by Kenny Burns. But Peter Shilton was the hero as he made one of his rare penalty saves as he saved the twice taken kick.

However Birmingham did take the lead when Neil Whatmore scored his first goal for the club when he headed home. Wallace then completed his hat-trick for Forest when he shot home after good work by Fashanu and Viv Anderson. Unfortunately the hat trick would be in avail as Whatmore scored his second to give Birmingham a 4-3 victory.

Wallace would be one of those players that never would win over the Forest fans even though his goal record was not too bad, he was Forest top scorer for 3 out of his 4 seasons at the club but perhaps as he played in a side in transistion he never received the credit he deserved.

Saturday 05 September 1981

LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

BIRMINGHAM CITY (2)4 v NOTTINGHAM FOREST (2)3

0-1          Ian Wallace (NFFC)

1-1          Kevan Broadhurst (Birmingham)

2-1          Tony Evans (Birmingham)

2-2          Ian Wallace (NFFC)

3-2          Neil Whatmore (Birmingham)

3-3          Ian Wallace (NFFC)

4-3          Neil Whatmore (Birmingham)

NFFC

Peter Shilton, Viv Anderson, Stuart Gray, John McGovern, Kenny Burns (Bryn Gunn), Einar Aas, Gary Mills, Ian Wallace, Justin Fashanu, Mark Proctor, John Robertson

BIRMINGHAM

Jeff Wealands, David Langan, Mark Dennis, Kevin Dillon, Kevan Broadhurst, Colin Todd, Bud Brocken (Ian Handysides), Neil Whatmore, Tony Evans, Archie Gemmill, Toine Van Mierlo

Attendance :       19,035

Referee :               E.A.Read (Bristol)

See Highlights of the game on You Tube

1^st Half

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=IgARIvMcvB4

2^nd Half

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fF975CTwsA4

After making his debut Boxing Day 1984 he gradually became a regular member of the team and eventually the pivotal point of the team. Whilst he was greatly appreciated by Forest fans he never got the national praise that his play deserved even though he scored 102 goals for Forest, all in the top division.

Within those 102 goals there were many highlights, one of which came during the 1987/88 season against QPR. At the time Forest and QPR were two of the best teams in the country. QPR had been early season leaders of the table but had slipped down to 3^rd by the time they visited the City Ground where they faced a Forest team only 1 point behind in 4^th place.

For the game Clough would have a new partner as Tommy Gaynor was given his first start after making his debut in the previous game as substitute in place of an injured Paul Wilkinson and it was Gaynor who had a dream full debut as he gave Forest a first half lead.

The scoreline remained 1-0 for most of the remainder of the game until with 10 minutes remaining until Nigel Clough got into the act as within four minutes exactly Forest quickly moved from a 1-0 lead to 4-0 with Clough scoring one of the fastest hat tricks in history to ensure that Forest overtook their London rivals and move into 3^rd place which would be the finishing position at the end of the season behind Liverpool and Manchester United alas due to the European ban in existence on English clubs at the time denying the club the chance to play against the best of Europe.

Sunday 13 December 1987

BARCLAYS LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

NOTTINGHAM FOREST (1) 4 v QPR (0) 0

1-0          Tommy Gaynor (NFFC)

2-0          Nigel Clough (NFFC)

3-0          Nigel Clough (NFFC)

4-0          Nigel Clough (NFFC)

NFFC

Steve Sutton, Gary Fleming, Stuart Pearce,Des Walker, Colin Foster, Terry Wilson (Phil Starbuck), Calvin Plummer, Neil Webb, Nigel Clough, Tommy Gaynor, Brian Rice

QPR

David Seaman, Wayne Fereday, Mark Dennis, Paul Parker, Alan McDonald, Terry Fenwick, Martin Allen, Dean Coney (Mark Falco), Gary Bannister, John Byrne, Kevin Brock (Gavin Maguire)

Attendance :       18,130

Referee :               L.R.Dilkes

Only five days before the final the two sides played each other in the league with Derby running out emphatic 5-0 victors although Forest fielded a much weakened side with only five who started the league game remaining in the team for the final. Even with the side selected this victory made Derby huge favourites for the Final held at the then Cup Final venue Crystal Palace.

Forest started the game better and were rewarded by taking a deserved lead when Arthur Capes shot home after a free kick from Billy Wragg. This goal brought Derby to life and Derby’s legendary striker Steve Bloomer equalised the scoreline when his header went in off the bar. Bloomer would score 238 goals in 375 games for Derby and a bust of Bloomer was unveiled by the dugouts at Pride Park this year shortly before Forest’s visit for the 1-1 draw in the cup a couple of weeks ago.

With this goal the game remained fairly even until just before half time when Capes restored Forest’s advantage when tapping home after a Richards shot had been blocked.

Early into the second half Forest were effectively down to 10 men as Billy Wragg got an injury and in these days long before substitutions Wragg’s role was pretty much a spectator for the remainder of the game. Derby then threw everything they could at Forest but could not find a way past inspired Forest keeper Dennis Allsop. Then with time running out and Derby beginning to tire Forest captain John McPherson shot home to ensure Forest had their first piece of silverware in their history.

It was hoped that this would herald a period of continued success for Forest especially as the start of the following season would see the club move to their new “City Ground” home on the banks of the River Trent where they still (for the moment) play today. However things did not work out as planned as Forest would have to wait another 60 years before the F.A.Cup returned to the trophy cabinet.

Saturday 16 April 1898

F.A.CUP FINAL (Played at Crystal Palace)

NOTTINGHAM FOREST (2) 3 v DERBY COUNTY (1) 1

1-0          19 mins             Arthur Capes (NFFC)

1-1          31 mins             Steve Bloomer (Derby)

2-1          42 mins             Arthur Capes (NFFC)

3-1          86 mins             John McPherson (NFFC)

NFFC

Dennis Allsop, Archibald Ritchie, Adam Scott, Frank Forman, John McPherson, Billy Wragg, Thomas McInnes, Charles Richards, Leonard Benbow, Arthur Capes, Alf Spouncer

DERBY

Jack Fryer, Jimmy Methven, Joe Leiper, John Cox, Archie Goodall, James Turner, John Goodall, Steve Bloomer, John Boag, Jimmy Stevenson, Hugh McQueen

Attendance :                   62,017

Referee :                           J.Lewis (Blackburn)

With Forest having won 1-0 on New Years Day they were heading to the Welsh capital full of optimism for the crucial game with Forest sitting in 23^rd place only three points away from safety and the days opponents Cardiff City.

The only surprise with the first half was that Forest managed to end the first 45 minutes level inspite of only having one shot at goal, as wasteful Cardiff finishing saw the first half finish goalless. Surely the second half could only get better. Alas somehow Forest managed to get worse in the second half as the shot they managed in the first half proved to be a distant memory as they could not even manage another effort on target during the remainder of the match.

It was then inevitable that Cardiff would eventually score and after almost an hour Cameron Jerome had his heels clipped by John Thompson and Peter Thorne converted the penalty. Forest’s defence still led a charmed life with Paul Gerrard and Chris Doig making crucial blocks to prevent the score getting worse. Cardiff had to wait until 5 minutes from time to secure victory and it was Peter Thorne again who scored, this time from 1 yard out after a flick on from a corner.

There was still time for things to get even worse for Forest firstly Jon-Olav Hjelde got sent off for a high challenge on Cameron Jerome and then deep into injury time Graham Kavanagh crashed home a solo effort to give the scoreline a more realistic look.

This heavy defeat emphasized the need for a permanent solution to the manager’s position and in spite of a 3-0 F.A.Cup win at QPR the following weekend Gary Megson was chosen to fill the hot seat as Forest headed for an embarrassing relegation.

Monday 03 January 2005

COCA-COLA CHAMPIONSHIP

CARDIFF CITY (0)3 v NOTTINGHAM FOREST (0)0

1-0      54 mins          Peter Thorne penalty (Cardiff)

2-0      84 mins          Peter Thorne (Cardiff)

3-0      90 mins          Graham Kavanagh (Cardiff)

NFFC

Paul Gerrard; John Thompson (Mathieu Louis-Jean), Wes Morgan, Jon-Olav Hjelde, Chris Doig; Eugen Bopp, Shaun Derry, Andy Reid, Alan Rogers (Marlon King); Gareth Taylor, Neil Harris (David Johnson)

subs not used : Gregor Robertson, Colin Doyle

Booked : Morgan, Taylor, Thompson, Derry, Louis-Jean

Sent Off : Hjelde

CARDIFF

Tony Warner; Rhys Weston, Daniel Gabbidon, James Collins, Chris Barker; Graham Kavanagh, Richard Langley, Jobi McAnuff, Junichi Inamoto (Paul Parry) (Tony Vidmar); Peter Thorne, Cameron Jerome (Alan Lee)

subs not used : Lee Bullock, Neil Alexander

Booked : Langley

Referee :                   P.Crossley

Attendance :            13,545

But by the time Sheffield Wednesday arrived at the City Ground for Forest’s final home game of the season the momentum had long evaporated. Enoch West had been the top scorer in the division in 1907/08 had played his last game for the club before his transfer the following week to Manchester United with whom he would win a league championship medal the following season before his career ended in disgrace in 1915 when he was found guilty of match fixing along with six other players after a Manchester United v Liverpool game. West was most vocal about pleading his innocence, at one stage sueing the FA for libel and due to this was the last one of the accused to have his “life” ban lifted 30 years later.

Besides the imminent loss of West the other major goal threat Grenville Morris who is still Forest’s record goal scorer with 199 league goals had missed a lot of the second half of the season and this absence contributed to Forest only winning 2 out of the last 13 matches. Before the arrival of Sheffield Wednesday Forest had suffered a heavy 7-3 defeat at Liverpool where forward Jack Parkinson scored his second hat trick of the season against Forest and the visit of Sheffield Wednesday would be no better as the Yorkshire side would run out emphatic 6-0 winners. The season’s end could not come soon enough as in the final league game they suffered another heavy defeat with a 4-0 loss at Barnsley.

Saturday 23 April 1910

LEAGUE DIVISION 1

NOTTINGHAM FOREST 0 SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY 6  

(George Robertson 2, Andrew Wilson 2, Harry Chapman, James Murray)

NFFC

Albert Hassell, Walter Dudley, George Maltby, Edwin Hughes, George Needham, John Armstrong, William Hooper, Thomas Marrison, John Derrick, Grenville Morris, John Horrocks

Referee :               A.Briggs

Attendance :        6,000

Peter Taylor had retired as Assistant Manager at Forest in May 1982 though there had been signs that the relationship had deteriated as far back as Autumn 1980 when Peter Taylor brought out a book “With Clough by Taylor” which Clough had knew nothing about and was unhappy about its release. Taylor claims he had “shot it” by the end of the 1981/82 season prompting his decision to retire however it was then a major surprise when he was tempted out of retirement after only a few months when he the lure of a chance to manage Derby County proved too tempting to refuse.

As luck would have it the F.A.Cup 3^rd Round meant Clough and Taylor would be in opposite dugouts as Forest were drew at the Baseball Ground. Even though Forest were the away side they were considered strong favourites for the game being a division above Derby who were sitting a peralous state bottom of Division Two and in deep financial trouble with a serious threat of going out of business.

When the sides met in January however it was Clough’s jinx in the F.A.Cup that struck again as Derby shocked their East Midlands neighbours with a 2-0 victory. Ironically key to this victory were two former Forest players as Archie Gemmill in his second spell at the club gave Derby a second half lead and his performance was only overshadowed by a man of the match performance by Gary Mills who had appeared in the second European Cup triumph in Madrid and would a year later rejoin Forest after a spell in America with Seattle Sounders.

While this game did not help the relationship between Clough and Taylor the relationship was ended forever at the end of the season when Derby signed an out of contract John Robertson from Forest bringing a sad end to what had been one of the most effective double acts in football as they would never speak to each again, which Clough would later speak of his regret with Taylor passing away in 1990 preventing any chance of reconciliation.

Saturday 06 January 1983

F.A.CUP ROUND 3

DERBY COUNTY (0) 2 v NOTTINGHAM FOREST (0) 0

1-0          Archie Gemmill (Derby)

2-0          Andy Hill (Derby)

NFFC

Steve Sutton, Kenny Swain, Ian Bowyer, Bryn Gunn, Willie Young, Colin Walsh, Mark Procter, Ian Wallace, Garry Birtles, Steve Hodge, John Robertson (Peter Davenport)

DERBY

Steve Cherry, John Barton, Brian Attley, Archie Gemmill (Ian Dalziel), George Foster, John McAlle, Mike Brolly, Kevin Wilson, Andy Hill, David Swindlehurst, Gary Mills

Referee :               George Courtney (Spennymoor, County Durham)

Attendance :        28,494