Nottingham Forest FC

Our series, Getting to know, will cover clubs that don’t play in the top leagues around the world. For this first blog post, we will Get to know Nottingham Forest FC.

Club History

Owned by NF Investment Limited, Nottingham Forest Football Club is now a shadow of their European killing team in the seventies.

Formed in 1865, the club like so many British clubs started life as a multi-sports club. Originally offering Bandy, Football (Soccer), and baseball, football was their favored and most successful team.

Interestingly enough, it was a group of Shinney players meeting at the Clinton Arms pub who agreed to form Nottingham Forest Football Club.

The English Football League hadn’t been inaugurated until 1890, making Forest one of the oldest English teams. Only neighbors Notts County and ex-premier League club Stoke City claim to be older, 1862 and 1863 respectively.

Founding members:

• A. Barks
• W. Brown
• WP Brown
• CF Daft
• T Gamble
• RP Hawkesley
• TG Howitt
• WI Hussey
• WR Lymberry
• J Milford
• JH Rastall
• WH Revis
• JG Richardson
• JS Scrimshaw (Shinney member who proposed to begin playing football instead, leading to the newly formed Forest football club)
• J Tomlinson

Also known as Forest, they joined the Football Alliance League. Their application to play in the newly formed Football league was denied. Forest won the Football Alliance League in 1892 before being admitted into the Football League.

A short time later, in 1897, they beat bitter rivals Derby County in the FA Cup Final 3-1. A result in front of 62,000 fans! Derby had beaten Nottingham Forest 5-0 just five days earlier in the league.

Nottingham Forest FC has many first to the game. They were the first club recorded to wear shin pads in 1874. The players wore them on the outside of the socks and were fashioned off of cricket pads. In 1878, another first, a referee using a whistle for the first time in a game. Who would have thought that nowadays?

During the inaugural meeting on Shakespeare Street, the founding group agreed to buy ‘Garibaldi Red‘ tasseled caps. A decision based on the era popular Italian ‘Redshirts‘ freedom fighters.

Red would be their color from that point on.

Forest’s charitable approach helped establish clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal, and Brighton & Hove Albion. They donated jerseys to Arsenal, to help them start their club. Arsenal still wears red as its primary color, because of Forests charity. Nottingham Forest also help Brighton locate a playing ground and donated further jerseys to Everton’s cause (who split to create Liverpool in 1892 after directors fell out). This single act created some of England’s powerhouses of the modern era.

Playing grounds and stadium

Located on the banks of beautiful River Trent. The City Ground stands today as Forest’s home stadium. In 1898, the Forest directors through a concerted fundraising effort secured ownership of the city ground for £3,000. Today’s money equates to £275,000 ($382,000).

Nottingham’s City Grounds’ highest attendance was (pre-all-seating times) 49,946. Those fans came to watch Forest play Manchester United in 1967 playing in the top tier of English football, Division one. Modern attendances are between 28,000and 30,000. In comparison, Notts County average 9,000-11,000 a lifetime away from their 35,000-37,000 attendances in the late 1800’s!

City Ground is a stone throw across the river Trent from Notts County FC. In fact, in the same area is Notts County (1862 and oldest club in the world) located at Meadow Lane. Trent Bridge cricket ground and previous homes of both Forest and Notts. The county is just a seven or 11-minute walk from each club’s stadiums.

There are many sports-related clubs and organizations within this very popular area, Nottinghamshire sports club, home of Nottingham RFC.

Based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England- Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional club competing in English Championship. The second tier of the English professional football league. A hop skips and jumps away is Nottingham Racecourse and rowing course (British Rowing Training Center).

The club’s academy center, named after the previous owner Nigel Doughty is just south of the River Trent on Gresham Close.

League and competitions

Forest has competed in the top tier of English football the same number of years as they have in the second tier, 52. In modern times Forest was a founding member of the newly created Premier League (the inaugural year was 1992-93 and named Premiership). Forest was relegated that inaugural season.

Gaining immediate promotion through finishing runners up in the old First Division. Their best finish of the Premiership was 3rd in the 1994-95 season, a feat that no other promoted team has ever achieved. Winning the 1997-98 Division one title sandwiched by relegation in 1996-97 and 1998-99. Forest hasn’t competed in the Premier league this 21st century.

Nottingham Forest FC has won a number of trophies in their endured history. Fairy tale stories of winning the European Cup, Twice! (also known as UEFA Champions League), two English FA cups, one UEFA Super Cup, one FA Charity Shield, four League Cups, and one League Title.

Nottingham Forest’s Premier League run was a tale of cycles in promotion and relegation as mentioned above. 

Derby County, The rivals

Derby County is Forest’s fiercest rival. This rivalry has a long history attached to it. Every football team in the world has rivals, mostly spanning over a hundred years old. Many rivalries have been known to divide households!

Brian Clough had a story to write of his own. Derby’s only previous success was the FA Cup in 1946. When hired for Derby county in 1967, they were a team languishing at the wrong end of Division two. England’s second-tier at the time.

After only retaining the services of 4 players from his inherited team, he took Derby to division 2 champions by 1968. In the 1971-72 season, he managed the unthinkable and took Derby above Liverpool, Leeds United, and Manchester City FC to finish champions of England.

Derby counties domestic success couldn’t be repeated by Clough. However, he did take them on a European run that was brought to an end by Juventus in 1973. His time was borrowed as he would antagonize the board of directors and fellow managers and players.

Further reading on these subjects and his comments on TV and Newspapers, see a feud with derby county directors. He resigned as Derby County Manager in 1973.

Clough Joins Forest

Nottingham Forest signed Brian Clough in 1975, replacing then-manager Allan Brown. Derby and Forest were separated by just sixteen miles. If Derby wasn’t concerned about his appointment, then they soon would be!

By 1976 he won Nottingham Forest FC’s first silverware the Anglo-Scottish Cup beating Leyton Orient 5-1.

His view of Forest’s team when he took it over: “We couldn’t have beaten a team from Come Dancing”

Clough on Joining Forest

By 1977-78 season Forest under Brian Clough won the English Football League. They won the league seven points clear of second-place Liverpool.

This made them one of the few teams in the pre-Premier League era to win the league after getting promoted. Clough and Forest went on to beat Liverpool in the League cup of 1978. Funnily enough, it was Liverpool that ended Nottingham’s 42 unbeaten streaks in the 1978-79 season, 1-0. A record that was broken one month prior to Brian’s death in 2004. Arsenals invincible’s went 49 games unbeaten that season and never lost a game on their way to the Premier League Title.

Read more: Eden Hazards Tactical Analysis from Chelsea to Real Madrid

UEFA European Cup Success

Brian Clough became Nottingham Forest’s most successful manager. It was under his management that Forest managed to win European Cup in 1979, and retain it in 1980. The tricky-trees (a nickname given to Forest) games played to win ratio is still the highest in European Cup’s history.

An additional European Super Cup was added to their trophy cabinet by beating Catalonia giants Barcelona 2-1.

Club Structure

His arrival led to a series of overall changes in the club’s structure. Most changes were made to the coaching staff and the overall operations.

Labeled as ‘Clough’s way’. He brought in Scottish duo John O’Hare and John McGovern, who were part of his Football League title at Derby County. John Robertson was later brought into the squad. John eventually turned into a superb player on and off the field through his vision of productivity. On signing Robertson it was felt he was struggling with his weight and social life. Clough and his staff introduced a strict diet and a series of training sessions to help him focus more on himself. This turned him into a quarter-million-pound player!

People might disagree with Cloughie as a person, however, his management deserves applause.

“I walked all the way (around the city) and when I saw the stadium I thought: ‘Are you kidding me – this club won the European Cup? Twice?“.

Portuguese Coach Jose Mourinho’s comments on Brian Clough

Brian Clough is known to the world as a man who does it his way or the highway. He drew lines, but for the betterment of the club, team, players, and fans.

His success was attributed to extensive personal networks and a friendship with Peter Taylor. Taylor partnered Clough in his managerial career from Derby to Forest, always ending up in success. However, later in life they never spoke. Possibly due to Clough’s arrogance, or shifting the bulk of the work to Taylor while taking more time for media, or the time he secretly took a pay rise without telling Taylor.

Their comprehensive chart of success was drawn when Peter Taylor rejoined Clough as an assistant manager at Nottingham Forest Football Club. Together, Clough and Peter Taylor were going to take Nottingham Forest onto a pathway of becoming European champions. The famous 1-0 win against Hamburg was a story right out of David versus Goliath.

Retaining the title was against all odds. The highlights of this match still encapsulate heart-wrenching defensive formations from Forest on the back foot. Criticized by many analysts for playing too defensive. It was felt it would devalue entertainment. Upon winning the very people who criticized were praising his ingenuity.

The European final hyped was centered around the West German International Manny Kaltz who was famous for his bananenflanken (banana cross).

The forest manager unprovoked by his presence said:

‘We’ve got a little fat guy that will turn him inside out – a very talented, highly skilled, unbelievable outside-left’.

Brian Clough on W. German player, Manny Kaltz

Clough was playing mind games with Forest player, John Robertson, he knew Robertson could score in the final.

Robertson did get past Hamburg’s keeper, and after they scored tactics swiftly turned defensive. The reds continued to defend resolutely to the final whistle.

Undoubtedly, this can be considered ‘the golden era’ of Forest’s accomplishments. They quickly became one of Europe’s best clubs. All clubs in England or Europe hoped to avoid facing them. Cloughs and Forests achievements through hard work and physical improvement.

The energy inside Nottingham Forest’s dressing room must have been astonishing.

Eighties

Club operations and management structure in the 1980s was widely accepted by major clubs throughout the world. This resulted in the development of effective strategies and tactics.

In the words of Brian Clough who on the dismal exit of England Football team from the European Championship in 1980 he said:

“Players lost you games, not tactics. There’s so much rubbish talked about tactics by people who barely know how to win at dominoes”.

Nottingham Forest continues to seek the meteoric success of the 1970s.

Getting to know: Nottingham’s Current era

The club’s walls of history are for all to see, are they capable of repeating history?

This could be a question you asking now. Before discussing their future, it is important to understand their managerial systems.

The modern game has changed. Most top clubs no longer have a manager. Clubs now hire Head Coaches and in turn, they hire their coaching staff.

Playing staff is recruited and contracts negotiated by “Directors of Football” or equivalent name.

Getting to know: Forests staff

Nottingham Forest FC is managed by seasoned coach Chris Hughton and assistant manager Paul Trollope. As with all professional clubs in the modern game, forest’s coaching staff comprises Nutritionists, Sports Scientists, notational analysis team, Goalkeeper coach, First team coach, and medical/Physio department.

The Reds performance department evaluates players post-game. Informing coaches of particular strengths and weaknesses during play. This might be where things are going wrong.

Read more: Nutrition for youth soccer players

Time can be ruthless in the professional football game. Nottingham Forest’s past romantic successes are forgotten. A new generation of fans may not even know the name, Clough.

In past decades it seemed easier to navigate the domestic leagues and Europe the way Nottingham Forest FC did.

Getting to know: The Future of Nottingham Forest FC

Nowadays gaps between Premier League and Championship clubs are unimaginable. The gap between Championship clubs and EFL league 1&2 even more.

The annual playoff final held at Wembley is playing for a financial windfall of $215Million, according to Deloitte’s Sports Business group. Even those clubs that lose Premier League status are afforded three years of parachute payments. Roughly $100Million shared.

Each season becomes harder to compete as the money gap gets bigger. Clubs supporters this season through the Coronavirus pandemic are not permitted to games. Income from these game-day experiences hurt the bottom line of lower league clubs. Combine that with possible no community work and clubs could go to the wall quickly.

As football fans, we have witnessed events that seemed impossible. One recent example is of Leicester City winning the Premier League. Forest’s inspirational journey justifies that they can do the same in the coming future.

Nottingham Forest Academy

Investment into Nottingham Forest FCs academy system has been substantial. A fantastic training facility that’s getting better. They are replacing the old facility with a state-of-the-art training center.

The investment is to achieve Category One status for the academy. With owners heavily investing in players, coaching staff, infrastructure, and plans for the football ground itself, their commitment to returning to the Premier League is evident to all.

Forest believes that with category 1 status they can attract the very best young talent. hopefully adding to future solidarity payments or potential first-team impact players.

Read more: 10 Topics to discuss with your youth soccer coach

Recent indifferent performances in the Championship division. One could say they are incapable of repeating their glorious past history. Although just missing out on the playoffs in the 2019/20 season shows promise.

Their future lies in the hands of youngsters like Brennan Johnson. Players to watch from the academy include:

• Dale Taylor (N. Ireland, 17 at time of post)
• Yassine En-Neyah (Irish with Moroccan heritage, 20 at time of post)
• Julian Larsson (Swedish, 20 at time of post)

The first club to be featured in our “Getting to know” series has been fun. Reliving Nottingham Forest FC high and lows brought back memories. Forests’ future is certainly exciting for fans and the community with the club’s intentions. Clubs have a huge impact and support for local communities that they are an important part of success for the area. I will have an eye on Nottingham’s games and results as I’m sure you will too.

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Additional information for youth players.

For Foundation, Youth, Professional development phase information please refer to the player scouts website