Nottingham Forest F.C.
|
|
Template:Football club infobox Nottingham Forest F.C. are an English football club, based at the City Ground, which is just outside the official boundary of Nottingham on the south side of the River Trent. The club lies directly across the Trent from its city rival Notts County, the two clubs being the closest in England.
Nottingham Forest takes it name from the Forest Recreation Ground, a public space in the city proper where the club were formed. This is contrary to popular belief that they are named after the Sherwood Forest. They currently (as of 2005) play in the Football League Championship, however, they will play in Football League One in the 2005/06 season following relegation. This makes them the first European Cup winners ever to later play outside their country's top two divisions.
Celebrity supporters of Nottingham Forest include James Dean Bradfield from the Manic Street Preachers, Kenneth Clarke MP, Lee Westwood a professional golfer, Jim Lester MP, Su Pollard a comedian and Luiz Felipe Scolari the Portugese national coach.
| Contents |
History
Nottingham Forest are often referred to as simply 'Forest', the title the club carries on its badge. They were founded in 1865 shortly after their neighbours Notts County, which is oldest club in the football league. Nottingham Forest are often referred to as the 'Garibaldi Reds', named after the italian freedom fighter Giuseppe_Garibaldi who fought in red shirts and were immensively popular in Britain at the time.
Nottingham Forest were considered a small team in English league standards until the mid 1970s. The team then excelled through the English league system under the influence of their manager Brian Clough, winning the old First Division Championship in 1978. Forest then went on to win the European Cup twice in succession; they also won the European Super Cup, which was then held between the winners of the European Champions' Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup. During the same period the club also won four League Cups.
Except for 1949-1951, they were in either the FA Premier League (or old First Division) or the new 1st (old 2nd) Division from their joining the League in 1892 until 2005. They were last relegated from the Premier League in 1999.
Nottingham Forest's charitable approach to the sport enabled teams like Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion to come into existence. Forest donated their football kits to Arsenal to help them establish themselves, hence why the London side now wear red. Forest also helped secure a site to play on for Brighton.
There was a scare in early 2002 that the club would be made bankrupt and non-existent, provoked by mismanagement and the collapse of a major sponsor, ITV Digital.
Nottingham Forest lost their Premiership status at the end of the 1998-99 season and have not been in the top division since. During that season, David Bassett had been sacked as manager in October and for the following seven months Ron Atkinson had been caretaker manager. When the board decided not to renew Atkinson's contract, several high profile names were mentioned for the vacant manager's job, including Glenn Hoddle (ex-Swindon, Chelsea and England), Roy Evans (ex-Liverpool) and Brian Little (ex-Leicester and Aston Villa). But the club's choice was 33-year-old former England captain David Platt, whose brief spell as head coach of Italian Serie A side Sampdoria had just ended in relegation.
Platt remained in charge at the City Ground for two seasons, guiding the club to mid table finishes in Division One, before quitting to charge of the England U-21 side. He was replaced by youth team coach Paul Hart, whose first season (2001-02) brought a disappointing 16th place finish in Division One. 2002-03 saw Nottingham Forest reach fourth place in the league and qualify for the Division One playoffs, but they lost to Sheffield United in the semi finals, after winning the first leg 2-0, Hart was sacked the following February with Forest 22nd in the league and in real danger of relegation to the lower half of the league for the first time in 53 years. Joe Kinnear, the former Wimbledon and Luton manager, was appointed as Hart's successor. He revitalised Forest's playing fortunes, bringing out the best in key players like Michael Dawson and Andrew Reid, and they climbed up to a secure 14th place in the final table. This gave Forest hope for a promotion challenge in 2004-05. However, Kinnear resigned in December 2004,after a 4-2 defeat by Derby County at Pride Park. With Nottingham Forest 22nd in the Championship and two points adrift of safety. He was briefly replaced by assistant manager Mick Harford who remained in charge for one month before Gary Megson,earlier sacked by West Brom, was named as the club's new manager, however Megson was unable to prevent Forest from being relegated on April 30.
The Future
Nottingham Forest's ultimate target for the 2005-06 season will be to win promotion from Coca-Cola League One. They are the only former winners of the European Cup ever to suffer relegation to the third tier of their domestic league. Gary Megson and his players will want to reverse that decline and ensure that the club is playing in the second tier of their domestic league by the 2006-07 season. The long-term target is a return to the Premiership, which will hopefully be achieved by the end of the decade.
Brian Clough: The Glory Days (1975-1993)
Brian Clough is the most successful manager in the history of Nottingham Forest football club. He had won the league title with Forest's deadly rivals Derby County in 1972, and came to Nottingham Forest in September 1975 when they were a struggling Second Division club. They won promotion to the top division at the end of the 1976-77 season after finishing third in the Second Division, but no-one could have predicted how successful Clough's team would be over the next three seasons.
Forest became one of the few teams (and the last team to date) ever to win the football league title a year after winning promotion when they topped the First Division at the end of the 1977-78 campaign. Two successive European Cup victories followed. Key players in this side included goalkeeper Peter Shilton, midfielder Martin O'Neill, winger John Robertson and striker Trevor Francis - the first £1million footballer in English football.
Nottingham Forest's next trophy came in 1989 when they beat Luton Town in the League Cup final. For most of the season they had been hopeful of completing a unique domestic treble, but were beaten into third place by champions Arsenal and runners-up Liverpool and lost to Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough—where more than 90 Liverpool fans were trampled to death on terracing. Clough's side retained the League Cup in 1990 when they beat Oldham Athletic. There was chance for more success in 1991 when Forest reached their first ever F.A Cup final under Brian Clough and went ahead after scoring an early goal against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley, but ending up losing 2-1. Forest reached their third League Cup final in four seasons in 1992, but lost to Manchester United.
Brian Clough's 18-year reign as manager ended in May 1993 when Forest were relegated from the Premier League after 16 illustrious years of top flight football which had seen one league title, two European Cups and two League Cups.
Since Brian Clough's departure, Nottingham Forest have had eight managers and spent just four out of 12 seasons in the Premiership.
Frank Clark: Promising Much But Delivering Little (1993-1996)
Frank Clark, who had been a left-back in Nottingham Forest's 1979 European Cup winning team, returned to the club in May 1993 to succeed Brian Clough as manager. His management career had previously been uneventful, although he had won the Fourth Division promotion playoffs with Leyton Orient in 1989. Having inherited most of the players from the Clough era, Clark was able to achieve an instant return to the Premiership when the club finished Division One runners-up at the end of the 1993-94 season. Clark looked to be well on the way to re-establishing Forest as a top team.
Forest's return to the Premiership was impressive as they finished third in 1994-95 and qualified for the UEFA Cup - their first entry to European competition in the post-Heysel era. The likes of Stan Collymore, Stuart Pearce and the Dutch international Bryan Roy were among the most feared players in the Premiership. But Collymore was sold to Liverpool in June 1995 for a then English record fee of £8.4million, and his £2million Italian successor Andreas Silenzi was one of the most disappointing signings ever made by an English club. With Collymore gone, Forest's goals dried up in the Premiership during 1995-96 and they finished ninth - although they did reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup, making them the only English team to reach the last eight of any European competition that season.
Clark added Welsh striker Dean Saunders and Croatian defender Nikola Jerkan to Forest's squad for the 1996-97 season, but they started badly and what should have been a challenge for a UEFA Cup place quickly became a battle to avoid relegation. With no signs of that battle being won, Clark was sacked in December and 34-year-old captain Stuart Pearce was installed as player-manager on a temporary basis.
Dave Bassett: Fall, Rise and Fall Again (1997-98)
Pearce inspired a brief revival in Forest's fortunes, and he was voted Premiership manager for the month for January 1997 after a turn around in form lifted the club off the bottom of the division. He was tipped to become manager on a permanent basis, but the Forest directors wanted someone more experienced so in March 1997 they turned to Crystal Palace manager Dave Bassett. Despite the addition of Celtic's Dutch striker Pierre van Hooijdonk, Forest were unable to avoid relegation and finished the season in bottom place. They won promotion back to the Premiership at the first attempt, being crowned Division One champions in 1997-98. But the prolific strike-partnership of Kevin Campbell and Pierre van Hooijdonk was soon broken up: Campbell was sold to Turkish side Transzbonspor and van Hooijdonk went AWOL. Van Hooijdonk later returned to the club but it was too late to save Bassett, who was sacked in October 1998 after a terrible start to the Premiership campaign.
Ron Atkinson: Filling the Gap (1998-99)
Ron Atkinson made his last appearance in football as Nottingham Forest's interim manager, taking charge in October 1998. But he was unable to succeed in keeping Forest clear of relegation, and for the third time in seven seasons they were relegated as the Premiership's bottom club.
David Platt: Life in the Nationwide (1999-2001)
Former England captain David Platt was named as Nottingham Forest's player-manager in July 1999. He made several expensive signings during his two-year reign at the helm, but these acquisitions were unproductive and Forest never really looked like gaining promotion back to the Premiership. Their fortunes were not helped by financial problems and a constant need to sell top players in order to pay off debts. Platt left to become England U-21 coach in July 2001 and he handed over the reins to youth team manager Paul Hart. By now, Forest's days as a top club were now very much a distant memory and no players remained from their successful days in the top flight.
Paul Hart: Making a Living on Limited Resources (2001-2004)
Paul Hart had a difficult time as manager of Nottingham Forest. The club's financial problems escelated at the end of the 2001-02 season when the ITV Digital collapse almost bankrupted them. Hart's first season at the helm had been unremarkable as a squad made up mostly of young players achieved a 16th place finish in Division One. There were fears that Nottingham Forest could go into liquidation during the summer of 2002, but the financial situation was quickly put under control and Forest did better in 2002-03. They finished sixth in Division One and qualified for the playoffs, their best chance yet of returning to the Premiership. By now, the likes of Michael Dawson and Marlon Harewood were some of the most talented young players in the English league. But Forest's failure to gain promotion led to many of their finest assets being sold, and the departures took their toll on the club's fortunes in 2003-04. Paul Hart was sacked in February as Forest hovered near the foot of Division One.
Joe Kinnear: Short and Uneventful (2004)
Joe Kinnear was the next manager to take charge of Nottingham Forest. The club's directors looked to have made a good decision when Kinnear revitalised Forest and they climbed to a secure 14th place in the final table. Kinnear was hoping to push for promotion from the newly-named Coca-Cola Championship in 2004-05. But he was sacked the following December with Forest struggling at the foot of the Championship. His assistant Mick Harford was put in charge of first-team duties on a temporary basis, until a permanent successor could be found.
Gary Megson: Overcoming Adversity (2005-)
In January 2005, Gary Megson was named as Nottingham Forest's new manager. He had previously won promotion to the Premiership twice with West Bromwich Albion, having taken over at a time when they were on the verge of relegation to Division Two. It was hoped that he could achieve the same success with Forest. But that target was made all the more difficult to achieve at the end of 2004-05, when Forest finished second from bottom in the Coca-Cola Championship and were relegated to League One. This humiliation made them the first former winners of the European Cup to suffer relegation to the third tier of their domestic league.
Megson's side begin 2005-06 as favourites to win promotion to the Coca-Cola Championship, a target which the current squad - which will surely be bolstered with new signings this close season - looks perfectly capable of achieving. The next step after that will be to target a return to the Premiership.
Honours
- European Cup winners 1979, 1980
- FA Cup winners 1898, 1959
- Football League champions 1978
- Football League Cup winners 1978, 1979, 1989, 1990
- European Super Cup winners 1980
- FA Charity Shield winners 1978
- Football League First Division champions 1998 (new First Division)
- Football League Second Division champions 1907, 1922 (old Second Division)
- Football League Third Division South champions 1951
- Football Alliance champions 1892
- Anglo-Scottish Cup winners
- Full Members Cup winners 1989, 1992
List of Forest managers
- Jan 2005- Gary Megson
- Dec 2004-Jan 2005 Mick Harford (Caretaker)
- Feb-Dec 2004 Joe Kinnear
- 2001-2004 Paul Hart
- 1999-2001 David Platt
- Jan-June 1999 Ron Atkinson
- Jan 1999 Micky Adams (Caretaker)
- 1997-99 Dave Bassett (Previously General Manager from Feb 98, took over full control May 98)
- 1997-98 Stuart Pearce
- 1993-97 Frank Clark
- 1975-93 Brian Clough
- 1973-75 Allan Brown
- 1972 Dave Mackay
- 1969-72 Matt Gillies
- 1963-68 Johnny Carey
- 1960-63 Andy Beattie
- 1939-60 Billy Walker
- 1936-39 Harold Wightman
- 1931-36 Noel Watson
- 1930-31 Stan Hardy
- 1925-29 John Baynes
- 1912-25 Bob Masters
- 1909-12 Fred Earp
- 1897-1909 Harry Haslam (Secretary-Manager)
- 1889-97 Harry Radford (Secretary-Manager)
League positions and Cup Results
| Season | League/Division | League Finishing Position | FA Cup | League Cup | European Cup / Champions League | Fairs Cup / UEFA Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946-1947 | Football League Second Division | 11th | 5th Round | |||
| 1947-1948 | Football League Second Division | 19th | 3rd Round | |||
| 1948-1949 | Football League Second Division | 21st (relegated) | 3rd Round | |||
| 1949-1950 | Football League Third Division South | 4th | 2nd Round | |||
| 1950-1951 | Football League Third Division South | 1st | 2nd Round | |||
| 1951-1952 | Football League Second Division | 4th | 3rd Round | |||
| 1952-1953 | Football League Second Division | 7th | 4th Round | |||
| 1953-1954 | Football League Second Division | 4th | 3rd Round | |||
| 1954-1955 | Football League Second Division | 15th | 5th Round | |||
| 1955-1956 | Football League Second Division | 7th | 3rd Round | |||
| 1956-1957 | Football League Second Division | 2nd (promoted) | 6th Round | |||
| 1957-1958 | Football League First Division | 10th | 4th Round | |||
| 1958-1959 | Football League First Division | 13th | Winners | |||
| 1959-1960 | Football League First Division | 20th | 3rd Round | |||
| 1960-1961 | Football League First Division | 13th | 3rd Round | 3rd Round | ||
| 1961-1962 | Football League First Division | 19th | 4th Round | 3rd Round | ||
| 1962-1963 | Football League First Division | 9th | 6th Round | |||
| 1963-1964 | Football League First Division | 13th | 3rd Round | |||
| 1964-1965 | Football League First Division | 5th | 5th Round | |||
| 1965-1966 | Football League First Division | 18th | 4th Round | |||
| 1966-1967 | Football League First Division | 2nd | Semi Final | 2nd Round | ||
| 1967-1968 | Football League First Division | 11th | 4th Round | 3rd Round | 2nd Round | |
| 1968-1969 | Football League First Division | 18th | 3rd Round | 2nd Round | ||
| 1969-1970 | Football League First Division | 15th | 3rd Round | 4th Round | ||
| 1970-1971 | Football League First Division | 16th | 5th Round | 3rd Round | ||
| 1971-1972 | Football League First Division | 21st (relegated) | 3rd Round | 3rd Round | ||
| 1972-1973 | Football League Second Division | 14th | 3rd Round | 2nd Round | ||
| 1973-1974 | Football League Second Division | 6th | 6th Round | 2nd Round | ||
| 1974-1975 | Football League Second Division | 16th | 4th Round | 2nd Round | ||
| 1975-1976 | Football League Second Division | 4th | Semi-Finals | 3rd Round | ||
| 1976-1977 | Football League Second Division | 3rd (promoted) | 4th Round | 3rd Round | ||
| 1977-1978 | Football League First Division | 1st(champions) | 6th Round | Winners | ||
| 1978-1979 | Football League First Division | 2nd | 5th Round | Winners | Winners | |
| 1979-1980 | Football League First Division | 5th | 4th Round | Runners Up | Winners | |
| 1980-1981 | Football League First Division | 7th | 6th Round | 4th Round | 1st Round | |
| 1981-1982 | Football League First Division | 12th | 3rd Round | 5th Round | ||
| 1982-1983 | Football League First Division | 5th | 3rd Round | 5th Round | ||
| 1983-1984 | Football League First Division | 3rd | 3rd Round | 2nd Round | Semi Final | |
| 1984-1985 | Football League First Division | 9th | 4th Round | 3rd Round | 1st round | |
| 1985-1986 | Football League First Division | 8th | 3rd Round | 4th Round | ||
| 1986-1987 | Football League First Division | 8th | 3rd Round | 5th Round | ||
| 1987-1988 | Football League First Division | 3rd | Semi-Final | 3rd Round | ||
| 1988-1989 | Football League First Division | 3rd | Semi-Final | Winners | ||
| 1989-1990 | Football League First Division | 9th | 3rd Round | Winners | ||
| 1990-1991 | Football League First Division | 8th | Runners Up | 4th Round | ||
| 1991-1992 | Football League First Division | 8th | 6th Round | Runners Up | ||
| 1992-1993 | FA Premier League | 22nd (relegated) | 5th Round | 5th Round | ||
| 1993-1994 | Football League First Division | 2nd (promoted) | 3rd Round | 5th Round | ||
| 1994-1995 | FA Premier League | 3rd | 4th Round | 4th Round | ||
| 1995-1996 | FA Premier League | 9th | 6th Round | 2nd Round | Quarter Finals | |
| 1996-1997 | FA Premier League | 20th (relegated) | 5th Round | 3rd Round | ||
| 1997-1998 | Football League First Division | 1st (promoted) | 3rd Round | 2nd Round | ||
| 1998-1999 | FA Premier League | 20th (relegated) | 3th Round | 4rd Round | ||
| 1999-2000 | Football League First Division | 14th | 4th Round | 4th Round | ||
| 2000-2001 | Football League First Division | 11th | 3rd Round | 1st Round | ||
| 2001-2002 | Football League First Division | 16th | 3rd Round | 3rd Round | ||
| 2002-2003 | Football League First Division | 6th | 3rd Round | 2nd Round | ||
| 2003-2004 | Football League First Division | 14th | 4th Round | 3rd Round | ||
| 2004-2005 | Football League Championship | 23rd (relegated) | 5th Round | 5th Round |
External links
- Official site (http://www.nottinghamforest.co.uk/)
- Forest Forums (http://www.forestforums.co.uk/) - Unofficial Forest forum
- Talk Forest (http://www.talkforest.com/) - Unofficial Forest forum
- Lost that Loving Feeling (http://www.ltlf.co.uk/) - Unofficial Forest site
- Bridport Red Archive (http://www.bridportred.co.uk/) - Forest stats site
- AF Links Database (http://www.alternativeforest.co.uk/links/pages/) - Forest links database
|
League competitions |
Cup competitions | |
| FA Premier League | FA Cup | |
| The Football League (Champ, 1, 2) | England (men) | League Cup |
| Football Conference (Nat, N, S) | FA Community Shield | |
| Northern Premier League (Prem, 1) | (women) | Football League Trophy |
| Southern League (Prem, 1W, 1E) | List of clubs | FA Trophy |
| Isthmian League (Prem, 1, 2) | FA Vase | |
| English football league system | Records | FA NLS Cup |
|
edit (https://academickids.com:443/encyclopedia/index.php?title=Template:Football_in_England_table_cells&action=edit) | ||
fr:Nottingham Forest FC simple:Nottingham Forest F.C. sv:Nottingham Forest FC