In May, Nottingham Forest Football Club celebrated its 150th anniversary, making it the third oldest League club in the country after Notts County (1862) and Stoke City (1863).
Indeed, the two Nottingham clubs before World War I were more or less on the same level – both moving between First and Second Divisions and winning the FA Cup – but from the 1920s onwards, would wallow in the Second and even Third divisions before revivals in the 50s and again in the 70s. Nottingham Forest did not win a major trophy between their FA Cups in 1898 and 1959 and spent 25 seasons between 1925 and 1957 outside the First Division, even spending two years in the Third. From 1957 to 1999, they would spend 35 out of 42 seasons in the top flight. For comparison, Notts County spent 55 years or 48 seasons outside the top flight between 1926 and 1981. Forest’s dominance of football in the city thus became all the clearer after promotion in 1957.
A team featuring Bob McKinlay, Johnny Quigley and Roy Dwight (Elton John’s cousin) won the FA Cup in 1959, defeating Luton 2-1 in the Final with Dwight among the scorers. It would be under the management of Johnny Carey that Forest reached its high point in the 60s, finishing runners-up to Manchester United in 1967. McKinlay was still around, along with Frank Wignall, Barry Lyons, Ian Storey-Moore, John Barnwell and Alan Hinton. Jim Baxter even turned out for Forest for a couple of seasons in the late 60s. However, a decline in the club’s fortunes led to relegation in 1972 and five years in the Second Division, during which they lost a controversially replayed FA Cup quarter-final to Newcastle United in 1974. The following year, everything changed, and not just for Nottingham Forest Football Club.
The appointment of Brian Clough in January 1975 was to begin a reign of 18-years in which Nottingham Forest captivated football like few clubs could. So much of this was because of the genius and charisma of Clough, who created a magic that has not been seen since. It is one thing to say that the Reds won one League Championship, two European Cups, four League Cups, and reached an FA Cup Final, but another thing to say that Nottingham Forest could do all that and more in style. Because true to Brian Clough’s legendary quote about grass in the sky, the team always played the game the right way – Clough had his men play the ball on the deck, and fairness was also the name of the game. His already legendary achievements at Derby County should not have made any of this surprising.
Forest’s two European Cup wins came at a time when English clubs dominated in European finals – the trophy did not leave English soil between 1976 and 1982 – and in addition, other noteworthy achievements were made by Ipswich Town and Aston Villa in the European arena. Competition was all the more formidable and they were not the only ones.
Clough was able to get the best out of ordinary players, yet many of the names who passed through the ranks at the City Ground in his time were anything but ordinary. The Championship-winning side included Peter Shilton, Viv Anderson, Kenny Burns, Larry Lloyd, Archie Gemmill, Ian Bowyer, John McGovern, Martin O’Neill, John Robertson and Tony Woodcock. To that would be added Trevor Francis, the man who won Forest the first of their two European Cups. Garry Birtles was sold to Manchester United and then rejoined for a lower fee!
In the years that followed, new arrivals included Peter Davenport, Steve Hodge, Colin Walsh, Chris Fairclough, Des Walker and the manager’s own son Nigel Clough, while Dutch imports like Hans van Breukelen and John Metgod were also successes. In addition to those, the club also brought in talent such as Stuart Pearce, Neil Webb, Garry Parker, and later Roy Keane and Ian Woan. While Forest did not reach quite the same heights they did in the years of winning two European Cups, under Clough they were respected and often acclaimed for their football.
When Brian Clough retired at the end of the 1992-93 season, the first of the “new” Premier League, Forest would end a 16-year spell in the top flight. However, under the management of Frank Clark, who played under Clough in the late 70s, the good times would continue, with players like Stan Collymore, Brian Roy, Steve Stone and Lars Bohinen taking Forest to third place in 1995. They even managed another decent European run, but it was after then that a decline set in that the club has not recovered from.
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Since 1999, Forest have been out of the top flight and even spent three seasons in the third tier. While managers like Paul Hart and Billy Davies guided them to the play-offs, recent years have seen managerial discontinuity and a seeming lack of direction at the club. This is a pity, because once Nottingham Forest rediscover their soul and eventually return, the club could only be an asset to top flight football once more.
