Nottingham Forest History

Main article: History of Nottingham Forest F.C.
Early years (1865–1975)Forest was founded in 1865 by a group of Bandy players, as Nottingham Forest Football and Bandy Club shortly after their neighbours Notts County, (thought to be the world's oldest surviving professional association football club), in 1862. They joined the Football Alliance in 1889, and won the competition in 1892.They were then allowed entry to The Football League. In 1890, Forest played in the first ever match to use goal nets.


The 1898 FA Cup-winning team Forest claimed their first major honour when they won the 1898 FA Cup, beating Derby County 3–1 at Crystal Palace.[10] 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 champions of 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, cousin of pop icon Elton John, 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.

How To Get There By Car & Where To Park
From The North:
Leave the M1 at Junction 26 and take the A610 towards Nottingham and then signs for Melton Mowbray. Cross the River Trent and you will see the ground on your left. Alternatively as you approach Nottingham on the A610 you will pick up signs for 'football traffic'. Although following these seems to take you all round the outskirts of Nottingham you do eventually end up at the City Ground, along the A6011.
There is a large car park at the ground, otherwise there is some street parking to be had. Steve Barratt informs me; 'regarding the parking at Forest, the council operate a car park on match days on the Victoria Embankment, located near to the cricket ground. They charge �3 but it is only a two minute walk to the stadium'. Gerry Toms adds 'bear in mind that as the one end of the ground backs onto the River Trent, you cannot drive around it, so it is probably best to park at first available opportunity, or you may find yourself crossing the River Trent and having to comeback on yourself again'.

By Train
The ground is walkable from Nottingham railway station (20mins). As you come out of the main station entrance, turn left and then left again. Follow the road down to the dual carriageway and then turn right. The ground is about 3/4's of a mile down the dual carriageway on the left, just over Trent Bridge.


Where To Drink?
There are a few pubs around the ground that let away supporters in and are quite friendly and serve good real ale. Closest to the ground on Meadow Lane is the Trent Navigation Inn, which serves real ales from the nearby Magpie Brewery. Steve from the Pie Fanzine informs me; 'On the main London Road, just across from the hump back bridge over the canal, is the newly refurbished and renamed Globe. A comfortable open-plan pub with good food and 5 ever-changing real ales (however no children are allowed). Just the other side of Trent Bridge (although mercifully facing away from that rusting monstrosity with a red tree painted on the side!) is the Southbank, the Globe's sister pub. It also serves excellent food and has sport on the numerous televisions; three real ales are offered here including one from the tiny local Mallards brewery. Just across from the front of the station down Queensbridge Road is the "Vat and Fiddle" situated next door to the Castle Rock micro-brewery. It offers ten real ales and hot and cold food. Children are welcome'. It is listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.

What's The Ground Like?
The ground from a distance looks quite picturesque sitting on the banks of the River Trent. Both ends have been re-developed during the 1990's, much improving the overall appearance. At one end, the Bridgford Stand houses away fans in the lower tier; it is odd because one third of this stand was built lower then the rest, due to a local Council planning requirement to allow sunlight through to the houses in nearby Colwick Road. Opposite, the Trent End, is the most recent addition to the ground. It is a large two tiered stand that looks quite smart. One unusual feature of the stand, is that running across the middle are a number of rows of seating enclosed within a covered shaded glass area. On one side there is a similarly impressive two tiered stand, with executive boxes in between, which was built in 1980. Once called the Executive Stand, it was recently renamed the Brian Clough Stand in honour of their greatest manager. Facing this is a smaller and much older Main Stand that now looks quite tired in the company of its shiny new neighbours.



What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters?
Up to 4,750 away fans can be accommodated in the lower tier of the Bridgford Stand, where the facilities and view of the action are good. I personally did not have any problems at the City Ground, but I have heard of away fans getting some hassle; for example it has not been unknown for the odd object to be thrown down on away fans from so called Forest fans seated above. Don't be surprised also if the stewards keep asking you to sit down if you stand in the seated areas, which can get annoying. There are also an element of Forest supporters in the 'A' Block of the Main Stand nearest to the away supporters, who feel it is their duty to continually berate away fans during the game, which can be unsavoury. It is also advised to keep colours covered around the ground, especially if you support another Midlands team. The good news though is that away fans can really make some noise from this stand, so make the most of it!.

Brian Clough Era (1975–1993)

Brian Clough managed Nottingham Forest for 18 years.Forest were considered a moderate club by English league standards until the mid 1970s, when Brian Clough and his assistant Peter Taylor took the helm at the club, shortly after Clough's highly colourful, very controversial and ultimately disastrous 44 day tenure as manager of Leeds United. Clough became the most successful manager in the history of Nottingham Forest. He had won the league title with Forest's neighbours Derby County in 1972, and came to Nottingham Forest on 6 January 1975, after a 0–2 home defeat by Notts County, on Boxing Day, prompted the committee (Forest had no board of directors then) to sack the previous manager Allan Brown. Clough's first game in charge was the third round FA Cup replay against Tottenham Hotspur, a 1–0 victory thanks to a goal by Scottish centre-forward Neil Martin.

Nottingham Forest 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 most recent team to date) to win the English First Division Championship a year after winning promotion from the English Second Division (1977–78 season). In 1978–79, Forest went on to win the European Cup by beating Malmö 1–0 in Munich's Olympiastadion and retained the trophy in 1979–80, beating Hamburg 1–0 in Madrid, at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, 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 play for the England national team), midfielder Martin O'Neill, striker Trevor Francis and a trio of Scottish internationals: 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 controversial circumstances. It later emerged that in the second leg, the Belgian club had bribed the referee but the referee in question had since died in a car accident and was hence not able to be held accountable.

Nottingham Forest's next significant trophy came in 1989 when they beat Luton Town 3–1 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 Arsenal and 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. When football resumed they captured the Full Members Cup with a 4–3 victory over Everton. Clough's side retained the League Cup in 1990 when they beat Oldham Athletic 1–0; the winning goal scored by Nigel Jemson. 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 beat Southampton 3–2 in the Full Members Cup final in 1992, but then lost to Manchester United in the League Cup in the same season, both finals being played by a Forest team much weakened by injuries.

Brian Clough's 18-year reign as manager ended in May 1993 when Forest were relegated from the inaugural Premier League after 16 illustrious years of top flight football which had seen a league title, two European Cups and four League Cups.

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 a return to the Premier League when the club finished Division One runners-up at the end of the 1993–94 season. Forest finished third in 1994–95 and qualified for the UEFA Cup – their first entry to European competition in the post-Heysel era. The club reached the quarter-finals, the furthest an English team reached in UEFA competitions that season. The 1996–97 season became a relegation battle and Clark left the club in December.

Dave Bassett (1997–1999)
34-year-old captain Stuart Pearce was installed as player-manager on a temporary basis and he inspired a brief upturn in the club's fortunes. In March 1997 he was replaced on a permanent basis by Dave Bassett.Forest were unable to avoid relegation and finished the season in bottom place. They won promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt, being crowned Division One champions in 1997–98. Bassett was sacked in January 1999, with Ron Atkinson replacing him.

Into the 21st century (1999–present)
Ron Atkinson was unable to prevent Forest from once again slipping back into the Football League with a succession of poor results.

David Platt succeeded Atkinson and spent approximately £12 million on players, including the Italian veterans Moreno Mannini, Salvatore Matrecano and Gianluca Petrachi. Platt managed two mid-table finishes before departing to manage England U-21s.

Paul Hart became the Reds' new boss just two hours after the departure of Platt.They finished 16th in his first season in charge. At this time the collapse of ITV Digital left many Football League clubs in severe financial difficulties, Forest included.[citation needed] Despite the off-field difficulties, Forest finished 2002–03 in sixth place and qualified for the play-offs, where they lost to Sheffield United in the semi-finals. A poor league run the following season, following the release of key players, led to the sacking of Hart in February 2004 in order to prevent relegation. The decision was unpopular with certain quarters of the fanbase and Hart was described as a 'scapegoat'.

Joe Kinnear was subsequently appointed and led the club to 14th place in the final league table. The 2004–05 season saw Forest drop into the relegation zone once more, leading to Kinnear's resignation in December 2004. Following the brief caretaker stewardship of Mick Harford, Gary Megson took charge of Forest in January 2005 but failed to stave off relegation as the club ended the season second from bottom in 23rd place,becoming the first European Cup-winners ever to fall into their domestic third division.[citation needed]

In Forest's first season in the English third tier in 54 years, a 3–0 defeat at Oldham Athletic in February 2006 led to the departure of Megson by "mutual consent" leaving the club only four points above the relegation zone. Frank Barlow and Ian McParland took temporary charge for the remainder of the 2005–06 season, engineering a six-match winning run and remaining unbeaten in ten games, the most notable result a 7–1 win over Swindon Town. Forest took 28 points from a possible 39 under the two, narrowly missing out on a play-off place, as they finished in 7th place.

Colin Calderwood was appointed as the twelfth manager of Forest in thirteen years in May 2006 and became the longest-serving manager since Frank Clark. The Calderwood era was ultimately one of rebuilding. In his first season he led the club to the play-offs, having squandered a 7-point lead at the top of League One which had been amassed by November 2006. Forest eventually succumbed to a 5–4 aggregate defeat in the semi-finals against Yeovil Town. Calderwood achieved automatic promotion in his second year at the club, following an impressive run which saw Forest win six out of their last seven games of the season, culminating in a dramatic final 3–2 win against Yeovil at the City Ground. The Reds kept a league record of 24 clean sheets out of 46 games, proving to be the foundation for their return the second tier of English football. Calderwood's side struggled to adapt to life in the Championship in the 2008–09 campaign, following the signings of Robert Earnshaw, Paul Anderson,Guy Moussi and Joe Garner to replace the likes of Grant Holt, Sammy Clingan, Junior Agogo, Matt Lockwood and Kris Commons, who signed for Derby County having left Forest. Having been unable to steer Forest out of the relegation zone, Calderwood was sacked following a Boxing Day 4–2 defeat to the then-bottom of the table Doncaster Rovers.

Under the temporary stewardship of John Pemberton, Forest finally climbed out of the relegation zone, having beaten Norwich City 3–2. Billy Davies was confirmed as the new manager on 1 January 2009 and watched Pemberton's side beat Manchester City 3–0 away in the FA Cup, prior to taking official charge. Under Davies, Forest stretched their unbeaten record in all competitions following Calderwood's sacking to six matches, including five wins. He also helped them avoid relegation as they finished 19th in the Championship, securing survival with one game to go.

In preparation for the 2009–10 campaign, Forest signed nine players, five of whom were on loan at the club in the previous season and returned on permanent deals. The returnees Lee Camp, Chris Gunter, Joel Lynch, Paul Anderson and Dexter Blackstock have been joined by Paul McKenna, David McGoldrick, Dele Adebola and loanee Radosław Majewski. The season was a successful one for Forest with the club holding a top-three position for the majority of the season, putting together an unbeaten run of 20 league games, winning 12 home league games in a row (a club record for successive home wins in a single season), going unbeaten away from home from the beginning of the season until 30 January 2010 (a run spanning 13 games) whilst also claiming memorable home victories over bitter local rivals Derby County and Leicester City. On 10 April 2010, despite it being confirmed that the club would miss out on automatic promotion to the Premier League after West Bromwich Albion defeated Doncaster Rovers 3–2, Forest secured a Play-off place in the Football League Championship after a 3–0 home victory against Ipswich Town. However, Forest were beaten by Blackpool at Bloomfield Road, 2–1, on 9 May 2010 and 4–3 in the home leg at the City Ground on 12 May 2010 (the club's first defeat at home since losing to the same opposition in September 2009), going out 6–4 on aggregate and missing out on promotion to the Premier League.

The 2010–11 season saw Forest finish in sixth place in the Championship table with 75 points, putting them into a play-off campaign for the fourth time in the space of eight years. Promotion was yet again to elude Forest, as they were beaten over 2 legs by eventual play off final winners Swansea City. Having drawn the first leg 0–0 at the City Ground, they were eventually beaten 3–1 in the second leg in a hard fought contest against the Welsh outfit.

In June 2011 Billy Davies's contract was terminated, ( Now the beginning of the Dark days ) and he was replaced as manager by Steve McClaren, who signed a three year contract. Forest started the 2011–12 season with several poor results and after a 5–1 defeat away to Burnley, David Pleat and Bill Beswick left the club's coaching setup. Less than a week later, following a home defeat to Birmingham City McClaren resigned, and chairman Nigel Doughty announced that he intended to resign at the end of the season. In October 2011, Nottingham Forest underwent several changes. These changes included the appointment of Frank Clark as new chairman of the club and also that of Steve Cotterill, replacing the recently departed Steve McClaren.


Nigel Doughty: Nottingham Forest owner 1999–2012Nigel Doughty, owner and previous chairman of the club died on 4 February 2012, marking the end of a 13 year association with the club, with many estimating his total contribution as £100,000,000.

The Al-Hasawi family, from Kuwait, purchased the club and became the new owners of Nottingham Forest in July 2012.

The Al-Haswai family appointed Sean O'Driscoll, formerly manager at Doncaster Rovers and Crawley Town, as the manager on 19 July 2012. O'Driscoll had spent 5 months at the City Ground as Coach under Steve Cotterill before taking over at Crawley. After taking over at Crawley, O'Driscoll never took charge of a single competitive game whilst manager.