Nottingham Forest

The story of Nottingham Forest Football Club covers the entire period of the club's history from its inception around 1865. Forest have received 11 major awards throughout their time: one league title and the two FA Cups, 4 League Cups and one FA Charity Shield, two European Cups and one European Super Cup.

In 1865, a small group of shinty athletes met in the Clinton Arms on Nottingham's Shakespeare Street. J. Scrimshaw was the leader. Scrimshaw's suggestion to play football as an association was accepted and the Nottingham Forest Football Club was created. At the meeting in which the team should purchase twelve tasselled caps in the colour "Garibaldi red" (named in honour of Garibaldi, the commander of the Italian "Redshirts" fighters). So the official colours of the club were adopted.

Forest's first official match took place with Notts County taking place on 22 March 1866. The 23rd April of 1870 was when Forest's team played their first match in league play The steward of the team is John Lymberry and William Henry Revis scored the opening goal. The day after, Revis also won the prize for kicking the ball the furthest, with a strike of 161 feet and 8 inches.

In the early days, Forest were a multi-sports organization. In addition to their origins in shinty and bandy, Forest's baseball team were British Champions in the year 1899. Forest's charity-driven approach assisted clubs such as Liverpool, Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion to come together. The year 1886 was the first time Forest provided a football set kit kits to aid in helping Arsenal to establish themselves. The North London team still wear red. Forest also donated jerseys to Everton and assisted in securing an area to play on for Brighton.

In the 1878-79 season, Forest was in into the FA Cup for the first time. Forest defeated Notts County 3-1 in the first round played at Beeston Cricket Ground before eventually losing 1-1 in the semi-finals to Old Etonians in the semi-final.

Forest's request was denied to be a member of to the Football League at its formation in 1888. 5 Forest rather joined to the Football Alliance in 1889.

They won the tournament in 1892, before joining in the Football League. The following season they reached, and then lost the FA Cup semi-final for the fourth time. The last time was against West Bromwich Albion after a replay.

Forest's debut FA Cup semi-final win was on the fifth try during the 1897-98 FA Cup 2-0 replay win against Southampton. The game started out 1-1. Derby County beat Forest 5-0 five days prior to the final. Six of the cup's final squad were not present during the league match. In the year 1898, in the FA Cup Final at Crystal Palace in front of 62,000 spectators, Willie Wragg passed a free kick in the 19th minute into Arthur Capes. Capes hit the wall of defense to score. Derby scored a second goal with an unintentional free kick that was smashed home through Steve Bloomer off the underside of the crossbar after 31 minutes. The 42nd minute was when Jack Fryer was unable to stop the ball from a Charlie Richards shot giving Capes the opportunity to score the second time in his career. The injury of Wragg meant Forest needed to alter their formation, and Capes moving back to midfield. The 86th minute was the moment when John Boag headed away a corner from Forest. John McPherson moved in to take the ball and then tuck it in the goal, winning 3-1.

Forest The team lost FA Cup semi-finals in 1900 and 1902. They were 4th in 1900-2001 Football League followed with fifth spot the following season. The team then began sliding down the table. Forest were dropped at first in 1905-2006. Grenville Morris played one of the first five seasons in which Forest was their top scorer before becoming the club's top goalscorer with 213 goals.

The club was promoted to champion status immediately during 1906-07. The club was sent twice in the Second Division in 1911, and was forced to run for another election in 1914 following their finish at the bottom of the tier. when it approached the First World War approached it was in financial crisis. The advent of the War as well as the kindness of the committee members, stopped the club from going under.

In 1919 it was announced that the Football League First Division was to be expanded from 20 clubs to twenty-two for 1919-20 Football League: Forest was one of eight clubs that be a candidate for membership but only received three votes. Arsenal and Chelsea received two more top-tier slots.

After a turnaround from their beginning of the season, which saw them struggle to the Second Division, Forest were named champions in 1921 and 22. They lasted through the two seasons they spent in the top league by just one spot. After the third season following promotion , they were dropped to the division's bottom team in 1924-25. They were in the second division until they were relegated in 1949 into in 1949 to the Football League Third Division.

They were then promoted two years later as champions after having scored a record of 110 goals during the 1950-51 season. They were relegated to First Division status in 1957.

Johnny Quigley's single 1958-1959 FA Cup semi-final goal beat Aston Villa. Billy Walker's Forest defeated Luton Town 2-1 in the 1959 FA Cup Final. Much like in 1898, Forest were heavily defeated by their rivals just weeks before within the league.Stewart Imlach scored the opening goal in the 10th minute. Roy Dwight (the cousin of Reg Dwight better known as Elton John). Tommy Wilson had Forest 2-0 ahead after just 14 minutes. The match was characterized by an unusually high amount of injuries that caused stoppages specifically for Forest players. It was attributed to the softness that is the Wembley turf. The most famous of these stops resulted in Dwight injury to his left leg during an incident in the 33rd minute against Brendan McNally. Forest had been leading up to that point. Luton however gradually took over of the game by scoring Dave Pacey scoring midway through the second period. Forest had been reduced to just nine fit players in the final ten minutes, after which Bill Whare crippled with cramp turned into an observer. Despite the last Allan Brown and Billy Bingham chances, Chick Thomson failed to score any further goals to Forest to win the Wembley 1950s "hoodoo" (where only one side was hindered by the loss of a player because of injuries). The record-holder for appearances at Forest was Bobby McKinlay played in the final team that won the title, captained by Jack Burkitt.

At this point, Forest had taken over Notts County as the biggest club in Nottingham. Johnny Carey assembled a team that included Joe Baker and Ian Storey-Moore who for a lengthy period did not change much in the fight to win the 1966-1967 Football League title. They defeated the title-holders Manchester United 4-1 at the City Ground on 1 October. The 3-0 win over Aston Villa on 15 April saw Forest at the top of the table, one point ahead of United. Injury eventually set in and Forest was forced to settle for League runners-up before losing at the FA Cup semi-final to Dave Mackay's Tottenham Hotspur.

The 1966/67 season's success was an opportunity to improve with crowds of 40,000 almost certain in the era of. Instead , a combination in the club with inadequate football leadership, the distinctive committee structure and prideful amateurism resulted in a fall after the peak of 66/67. Forest were knocked out of the top division in 1972. Matt Gillies' October 1972 resignation as manager was followed by short management tenures of Dave Mackay and Allan Brown. A 2 -0 Boxing Day home defeat by Notts County prompted the committee (Forest did not have a board of directors at the time) to dismiss Brown.

Brian Clough became manager of Forest on the 6th of January, 1975. 12 weeks following the close of his 44-day stint as Leeds United's manager. Leeds United. Clough hired Jimmy Gordon to be his coach at the club, like Gordon was his trainer in his previous roles at Derby County and Leeds. Scottish center-forward Neil Martin scored the only goal in Clough's debut match as trainer, when he beat Tottenham Hotspur in an FA Cup third-round replay.

Ian Bowyer was already at Forest and had also won national and European trophy at Manchester City. Clough was signed by Scots pair John McGovern and John O'Hare in February. Both were in the Clough's Derby County 1971-72 Football League title victory. Clough signed Colin Barrett in March initially on loan. Clough introduced John Robertson and Martin O'Neill back into the fold following they made requests for transfer requests under Brown. Viv Anderson was a player who had played with the first team and was a regular player under Clough. A young Tony Woodcock was at Forest but was then rated unfavorably from Clough and was transferred for the club Lincoln City. Forest finished 13th on English football's second tier at the time Clough joined. They finished the season in 16th place. Forest was signed by Frank Clark in July of the season's closing as a free-transfer. The following season, Forest ended up finishing seventh in Clough's Football League first full season as the club's manager. This was the season that McGovern was elected the long-standing club captain, replacing the team that saw Bob "Sammy" Chapman as well as Liam O'Kane were both injured.

Peter Taylor on 16 July 1976, returned to Clough as his assistant manager as Clough had been prior to winning his league in Derby. Taylor was an assistant spotter at the club in the position. After reviewing the players, Taylor said to Clough "that was an achievement for you to be 8th within the Second Division because some of them are Third Division players". Taylor was critical of John Robertson for allowing himself to gain weight and become disillusioned. He put Robertson to eat a healthy program of diet and exercise which would allow him to achieve the status of an European Cup winner. Taylor transformed Woodcock from an reserve midfielder into an official 42-cap England striker. In September of 1976, he sold Peter Withe, a striker, to Forest for the price of PS43,000 before selling the player for Newcastle United for PS250,000 two years after. Withe was taken over in the first squad with Garry Birtles who Taylor had been scouting for the non-league club Long Eaton United. Birtles was also able to play for England. In October of 1976, Brian Clough acting on Peter Taylor's advice , signed Larry Lloyd for PS60,000 after an initial loan period.

Together, Clough and Taylor together, they took Forest to new levels. The first trophy won during the Clough and Taylor period is the 1976-77 Anglo-Scottish Cup. Forest defeated Orient 5-1 in aggregate during the two-legged semifinal that took place in December, 1976. Clough believed that winning the derided trophy as Forest's the first trophy of silver since. He added "Those who claimed it was nothing were certainly crackers. We'd been awarded something, and it was a huge difference."

On the 7th May 1977, the goal scored by Jon Moore's goal helped Forest in their final game in the league defeated Millwall by 1-0 on Millwall 1-0 at the City Ground. The result maintained Forest at the top of place at the top of the league, and dependent upon Bolton Wanderers dropping points in three games remaining in the race for third position. On May 14, Kenny Hibbitt's goal in his practice free kick routine along with Willie Carr gave Wolves a victory of 1-0 against Bolton. Bolton's loss reached the Forest team mid-air , en route to an end-of-season vacation in Mallorca. Forest's third-place advancement from 1976-1977 Football League Second Division was the fifth-lowest number of points scored by any team that was promoted in the history of football with 52 points (two points for a victory in England up to the year 1981).

Taylor has secretly followed Kenny Burns concluding Burns's reputation as gambler and drinker was exaggerated. Taylor approved his July deal of PS150,000. Burns was named FWA Footballer of the year in 1977-78 following his changed from centre-forward centre-back.Forest returned back to top of the league by winning 3-1 at Everton. Another three wins in league and cup came without scoring a goal. In the beginning of September, there were five goals conceded during a 3-0 loss at Arsenal and defeating Wolves 3-1 at home. Peter Shilton then signed for an all-time record price for a goalkeeper at PS325,000. Taylor stated: "Shilton wins you matches." Twenty-year old John Middleton was first team goalkeeper before Shilton. Middleton later during the month was in part exchange with PS25,000 Derby County for Archie Gemmill moving to Forest. Gemmill was a second Scottish ex-72 Derby title winner of the 1972 Derby title.

Forest were unable to win three of their first 16 league games, The last one was played at Leeds United on 19 November 1977. Forest lost only one more game during the entire season, that of 11 March, FA Cup sixth round defeat at West Bromwich Albion. Forest took home their 1977-1978 Football League seven-points ahead of runners-up Liverpool. Forest was one of the very few clubs (and one of the youngest team) to take home the First Division title the season after being promoted out of in the Second Division. This was what made Clough the fourth of four managers to take home the English league title with two clubs. Forest only conceded 24 times in their 42 league matches. They defeated Liverpool 1-1 during 1978's Football League Cup Final replay despite being tied for the cup Shilton, Gemmill and December signing David Needham not making it to the final. Chris Woods chalked up two clean sheets in the final, covering the absence of Shilton in his League Cup absence. McGovern was unable to play the replay due to injuries, so Burns won the trophy substitute captain. Robertson's penalty was Robertson's only goal in the game.

Forest started the season of 1978-79 by defeating Ipswich Town 5-0 for an FA Charity Shield record winning margin. The 1978-1979 European Cup they were drawn to face the trophy winners of the previous 2 seasons: Liverpool. Goals from home from Birtles and Barrett allowed Forest through 2-0 overall. The 26-year-old Barrett was afflicted with a severe injury to his leg a few days later in a match against Middlesbrough which ultimately ended his career two years after. The 9th December of 1978 was the day that Liverpool finished Forest's 42-match streak of league play that was unbeaten beginning in November the previous year. The streak of unbeaten games was equal to an entire season, which was more than that previous record, which was 35 matches played by Burnley in the 1920/21 season. The record stood until it was broken with Arsenal in August of 2004 just a month before the passing of Clough. Arsenal played in 49 league matches without losing.

The month of February was 1979 when Taylor approved the English football's initial PS1 million deal to sign Trevor Francis from Birmingham City. At the European Cup semi-final first leg at home, FC Koln was beaten by 1. FC Koln, Forest were two goals down in the 20th minute, but scored three goals to take the lead before Koln scored a goal back to begin in the German 2nd leg of the rule of away goals. The goal scored by Ian Bowyer in Germany allowed Forest through. Gunter Netzer later asked "Who are these McGovern? I've not heard of him, and yet he played his team." Forest defeated Malmo 1-1 in Munich's Olympiastadion in 1979's European Cup Final; Francis made his European debut scored with an angled header at the back of Robertson's cross. Forest defeated Southampton during the Final 3-1 to win the League Cup; Birtles scored twice, as did Woodcock one time. Forest was 2nd in 1978-1979 Football League, eight points ahead of Liverpool.

Forest did not want to participate in the away and home 1979 Intercontinental Cup against Paraguay's Club Olimpia. Forest beat F.C. Barcelona by 2-1 during The 1979 European Super Cup in January and February of 1980. Charlie George scoring the only goal during the first game, while Burns scored an equalizer in the second leg in Spain. In 1979-80, the Football League Cup Forest reached the third time in a row to win the final. A defensive squabble among Needham and Shilton allowed Wolves' Andy Gray tap into the net of an empty. Forest failed to take advantage of numerous chances but lost the game 1-0. The 1979-1980 European Cup quarter-final, Forest defeated 3-1 in Dinamo Berlin to overturn a loss of 1-0 at home. In the semi-final , they defeated Ajax by 2-1 in the aggregate. They defeated Hamburg by 1-0 at the time of the 1988 European Cup Final at Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium to retain the trophy. After twenty minutes Robertson scored, following exchange of passes with Birtles as well as Forest was able to defend the game. Forest placed 5th in 1979 and 1980 Football League.

The 1980/81 European Cup first round, Forest fell 2-0 to defeats of 1-0 at away and at home at home and away by CSKA Sofia. McGovern later claimed that the loss to CSKA reduced the confidence of the team because they had suffered defeat to less gifted opponents. Forest were eliminated from in the 1981 European Super Cup on away goals following a draw that was 2-2 in aggregate in the match against Valencia; Bowyer scored both Forest goals during the first leg at home. On the 11th of February, 1981 Forest was defeated 1-0 during the 1980 Intercontinental Cup against Uruguayan side, Club Nacional de Football. The game was played for the first time in the neutral stadium National Stadium in Tokyo before 62,000 spectators.

It was the case that the league, as well as European Cup winning squad was split up to maximize the value of selling players. Clough along with Taylor both later admitted that it was an mistake.The newly formed team of young players and signings like Ian Wallace, Raimondo Ponte and Justin Fashanu did not challenge for trophy wins. Taylor declared in 1982,

Since a few weeks, I'm not sure if I've done enough to the partnership, and I definitely haven't done justice for Nottingham Forest the way I thought I would. After a lot of amount of deliberation, I decided there was no other option. I was determined to take my retirement early. This is exactly what I've done.

John McGovern and Peter Shilton moved as did Jimmy Gordon retired in the same season.

Anderlecht defeated Forest during the 1983-1984 UEFA Cup semi-finals in controversial circumstances. There were a number of controversial refereeing decisions that went against Forest. After a decade it was revealed that prior to the game the the referee Guruceta Muro had received a PS27,000 "loan" from Anderlecht's chairman Constant Vanden Stock. Anderlecht was not punished until 1997 and then UEFA barred their club's participation in European tournaments for a year. Muro died in a car crash in 1987.

Forest defeated Sheffield Wednesday on penalties in the Football League Centenary Tournament final in April 1988 , after the match ended at 0-0. Forest placed 3rd in their league for 1988, and reached 1987/88 FA Cup semi-finals. Stuart Pearce won the first of his five consecutive selections to the PFA Team of the Year.

On the 18th of January, 1989 Clough participated in an City Ground pitch invasion by hitting two of his team's supporters while on the field. The authorities in football took action with a strict and touchline ban on Clough. The match, played against QPR during the League Cup, finished 5-2 to Forest.

Forest defeated Everton 4-3 in overtime in the 1989 Full Members Cup final, after which they win Luton Town 3-1 in the 1989 Football League Cup Final. This result set Forest to complete a rare three-peat of domestic cup victories and a tragedy struck just a week following winning the League Cup win. Forest and Liverpool played for the second time consecutively at their FA Cup semi-finals. The Hillsborough tragedy resulted in the deaths of 97 Liverpool supporters. The game was ended after just six minutes. The emotional replay occurred, Forest struggled as Liverpool defeated them 3-1. Despite these trophy victories, and finishing third within the First Division, Forest were not allowed to play at the UEFA Cup, as English clubs were barred from European competitions due to the Heysel Stadium Disaster. Des Walker won the first of his four consecutive selections to The PFA The Team of the Year.

Nigel Jemson scored as Forest defeated Oldham Athletic 1-0 to retain the League Cup in 1990. English clubs were allowed back into Europe in the following season, but in small numbers as the Forest's League Cup win again did not qualify them for. The sole UEFA Cup place that season was awarded to the league second-placed Aston Villa.

Brian Clough reached his only FA Cup final in 1991 following a series of postponements and replays in the 3rd 5th, 4th and 3rd rounds. In the final with Tottenham Hotspur, Forest took the lead following an Pearce free kick however, Spurs scored a second goal to send the game into extra-time which ended in a 2-1 win following an own goal scored by Walker. Roy Keane declared himself fit to participate in the final, and was picked ahead of Steve Hodge; years later, Keane admitted he had not actually been fit enough to play, hence his minuscule part in the final.

At the end of summer 1991, Millwall's top league goal-scorer Teddy Sheringham became Forest's record signing for a price that was PS2.1 million. In that year, Forest beat Southampton 3-2 after extra time in the Full Members Cup Final, however, they losing at the League Cup Final 1-0 to Manchester United thanks to a Brian McClair goal. That meant Forest had been in seven finals of the national cup over the course of five seasons, and won five of the finals. Forest placed 8th in league in that time to be able to join the new FA Premier League.

Walker was transferred to Sampdoria in his summer break in. On the 16th of August 1992 Forest defeated Liverpool by 1-0 in their home stadium. It was the first Premier League game to be broadcast live on television in which Sheringham scored the sole goal of the game. One week later, Sheringham moved to Tottenham. Forest's performance deteriorated and Brian Clough's long managerial tenure was ended in May 1993 when Forest being dropped from the initial Premier League. The final match of that season was at home against Ipswich. Forest was defeated 2-1, with Clough's son Nigel scoring the last goal during the reign of his father. After the club's demotion, Keane signed a PS3.75 million British record transfer for Manchester United.

Frank Clark from Forest's 1979 European Cup winning team returned to the club in May 1993, succeeding Brian Clough as manager. Clark's most notable managerial achievement was a promotion to into the Fourth Division with Leyton Orient in 1989. Clark got Stuart Pearce to remain at the club , and was also able to sign Stan Collymore, Lars Bohinen and Colin Cooper. Clark made an immediate return into the Premier League when the club was Division One runners-up at the close of the 1993-94 season.

Forest ended up third between 1994 and 1995, and was able to qualify to play in the UEFA Cup - their first entry into European competition after the Heysel period. Collymore later transferred during the 1995-96 season's final season in the close season to Liverpool for a record-breaking national cost of PS8.5million. Forest made it to in the 1995-1996 UEFA Cup quarter-finals, the longest distance an English team has reached in UEFA competition in that year. Forest were 9th within the league.

The 1996-97 season quickly turned into an uphill battle to avoid relegation. Clark was dismissed from his club at the end of December.

The captain, who was 34 years old, Stuart Pearce was appointed as the player's manager for a short period just before Christmas in 1996 . was the catalyst for a brief improvement in the fortunes of the club. In March 1997, however, Pearce was removed permanently with Dave Bassett and was dismissed from the club in the midst of 12 seasons. Forest did not manage to stay out of relegation, and ended the season at the bottom of the table. They were promoted back into the Premier League at the first attempt, before being named Division One champions in 1997-98. Bassett was fired in January 1999, and Ron Atkinson replacing his place.

Ron Atkinson was unable to stop Forest from falling back to Division One and announced his resignation from the football coaching position after Forest's relegation was confirmed 24 April 1999. There were just three weeks left of the Premier League season still to play.

A former England captain David Platt succeeded Atkinson and has spent around PS12 millions on his players over the span of two seasons, which included those who are Italian veteran Moreno Mannini, Salvatore Matrecano and Gianluca Petrachi. The problem was that Forest did not finish higher than 14th during his first season and 11th in the second. Forest was let go in July of 2001 to oversee the England U21 squad and was replaced by Youth team coach Paul Hart.

The club is now in the midst of massive debts that hampered Forest's capacity to sign new players. They finished 16th during Hart's first season as manager. In November 2001 Forest had been reported to be losing more than PS100,000 per week. Their finances were impacted due to the fall of ITV Digital, which left Forest as well as a number of others Football League clubs in severe financial trouble. Despite the difficulties off-field, Forest finished 2002-03 in sixth position and made it to the play-offs, but were defeated by Sheffield United in the semi-finals. The poor performance of in the subsequent season, following the departure of several important players, resulted in the demotion by Hart in February of 2004. This left Forest facing relegation. This decision was not a favorite with certain sections of the Forest fan base and Hart was portrayed as a scapegoat.

Joe Kinnear was subsequently appointed and the club was able to achieve the 14th spot in the league's final standings. In the 2004-2005 season, Forest fall to the bottom of the league one further, which led to Kinnear's resignation at the end of December. Mick Harford took temporary charge of Forest at Christmas time, and Gary Megson was appointed in the new year. Megson had already been successful in securing 2 promotions into the Premier League with his previous club West Bromwich Albion, having joined the club at a time as they were at risk of being relegated to Division Two and failed to avoid relegation, as the club finished the season last at 23rd, making them the first European Cup-winning team to be relegated to their home third division.

In Forest's inaugural year playing in the English third division in 55 years of existence, 3-0 loss against Oldham Athletic in February 2006 resulted in the exile of Megson via "mutual consent" which left the club in with a mid-table position just four points higher than the zone of relegation. Frank Barlow and Ian McParland became interim coaches for the remaining season of 2005-06 which saw them create a winning six-match streak and remaining unbeaten for 10 games, with one of the best results was winning 7-1 against Swindon Town. Forest scored 28 points out of 39 points under the duo, just being a step away from an automatic play-off spot since they finished in seventh place.

Colin Calderwood, previously of Northampton Town, was appointed as Forest's new manager in the month of May 2006. It was the 12th new manager to be appointed following the departure of Brian Clough 13 years earlier and was later to become the longest-serving Forest coach ever since Frank Clark. The Calderwood period was a time of reconstruction, which also included Forest's first promotion in the past decade. In his debut season, Forest made it to the play-offsafter after he lost a seven-point lead over the rest in League One which had been attained by November of 2006. Forest ultimately fell to a shocking 5-4 aggregate defeat in the semi-finals to Yeovil Town; they had gained a 2-0 advantage in the first game on Huish Park, but were defeated 5-2 at home against Somerset Town. Somerset club. Calderwood earned automatic promotion during his second season with the club after a remarkable run that resulted in Forest beat six of their final seven games during the season. It culminated with a dramatic 3-1 win over Yeovil Town at the City Ground. Forest maintained a record in the league that included 24 clean sheets from of 46 matches, proving that they have the right foundation to them to return to second-tier of English football, and leaving them just one promotion from returning back to the Premier League.

However, Calderwood's team was unable to adjust to the Championship during the 2008-09 season and, after failing to get Forest away from the relegation zone Calderwood was fired after the Boxing Day 4-2 defeat to the Championship's bottom club Doncaster Rovers.

Under the temporary direction under the temporary stewardship of John Pemberton, Forest finally emerged from the relegation zoneafter having beat Norwich City 3-2. Billy Davies, who had brought Forest's closest opponents Derby County into the Premier League two years earlier was named his new boss on January 1st 2009 and was able to watch Pemberton's side defeated Manchester City 3-0 away in the FA Cup, prior to becoming the official manager. In the time of Davies, Forest stretched their unbeaten record across all competitions following the dismissal of Calderwood to six games, which included five victories. The manager also helped them avoid the drop as they ended 19th overall in the Championship by securing their survival with only one game remaining.

Forest played the majority of 2009-10 in the top three positions with an unbeaten 19 league matches, and winning 12 league home games in succession (a record of the club for consecutive home victories in one season) The team was unbeaten away from home since the start of the season through 30 January 2010. (a streak that lasted 13 games) while also scoring notable home victories over local opponents Derby County and Leicester City. Forest finished in third place and missed out on promotion by automatic means after the play-off semi-final, they were defeated by Blackpool in the play-off semi-final, losing 2-1 away and 4-3 on the home game, which was the first loss at home following a loss to the same opponent the previous month in September.

In the 2010/11 season, Forest finish sixth at the bottom of the Championship table, with 75 points, which put Forest in a play-off race to the 4th time in the span time of 8 seasons. The promotion was once again unable to be denied Forest and they were defeated over two games by play-off winners Swansea City. After drawing the first leg in a draw on The City Ground, they were ultimately defeated 3-1 in the second match.

In June of 2011, Billy Davies had his contract terminated and was appointed coach with Steve McClaren, who signed an agreement for three years. Forest began the 2011-12 season with a series of disappointing results, and, following a 5-1 loss against Burnley, David Pleat and Bill Beswick left the club's coaching team. A little less than a week later after a home loss against Birmingham City, McClaren resigned as did the chairman Nigel Doughty announced that he would resign at close this season. In October 2011, Nottingham Forest underwent several changes. The changes included the selection to Frank Clark as new chairman of the club as well as the appointment of Steve Cotterill, replacing the Steve McClaren who had recently left the club.

Nigel Doughty, owner and former chairperson of the club passed away on the 4th of February, 2012, after being involved in this club from the mid-90s and many estimate his total contribution somewhere around PS100 million.

The Al-Hasawi family from Kuwait bought the team in July of 2012. Thy told the press the club had an overall plan for the club, based on three years of plan and after interviewing a number of prospective managers, they appointed Sean O'Driscoll, formerly the manager of Doncaster Rovers and Crawley Town as manager on the 19th of July, 2012. He was well-known for his playing a beautiful style in passing soccer (which has helped propel Doncaster Rovers into the league's second level at first since 1950s) and also for playing what fans of football would call as the Forest way. O'Driscoll had been a part-time coach for five months on the City Ground as Coach under Steve Cotterill in the 2011-12 season.

On the 15th of December 2012, following the team's draw 0-0 against Brighton, Forest sat in ninth place with 33 points. This was only three points away from the play-off spots. The day of the match, the team made it clear the fact that Omar Al-Hasawi had stepped down because of personal reasons. Fawaz Al-Hasawi who is the major shareholder who holds 75% had been appointed to the post and the brother of Abdulaziz Al-Hasawi holding a 20 percent share and his uncle Omar Al-Hasawi holding a 5 percent share.

The 26th December of 2012 was the date that Driscoll was dismissed following a 4-2 win against Leeds United with the club having announced their plans for changing their manager ahead of an January deadline for transfer applications, and the hope of hiring an experienced manager who has Premier League experience, eventually employing Alex McLeish. Director of operations Mark Arthur as well as Scout Keith Burt and club ambassador Frank Clark were dismissed in January 2013. Five February 2013 was the date that Forest and McLeish ended their relationship through a mutually agreed-upon agreement following 40 days of collaboration. Forest fans and the media alike expressed their concerns about the current state of the clubas did the journalist Pat Murphy describing the situation as an "shambles".

A few days after McLeish's departure, the team appointed Billy Davies as manager, after he was fired as the manager of the team 20 months prior. The first game he managed was a draw, and was followed by a streak of 10 games undefeated. On March 14, 2014, FC Barcelona formally ended Davies's contract following a 5-0 defeat against Derby County. After initially refusing to accept the position at the end of March, fan favourite Stuart Pearce was named the candidate to replace Billy Davies, taking over the position of the caretaker director Gary Brazil. Pearce signed a two-year deal beginning on July 1, 2014. Pearce was the one who led Forest through an undefeated beginning to the season, but was not able to maintain the pace. He was fired in February of 2015 and was substituted by another ex- Forest footballer, Dougie Freedman.

A mid-table finish means that Forest began their 2015-16 campaign with the Championship and are now at the end of their seventeenth season, they are away from Premier League. On March 13, 2016 Freedman was dismissed after a 3-0 loss at home against Sheffield Wednesday, and Paul Williams was appointed interim manager. A former Boulogne, Valenciennes, Real Sociedad as well as Rennes manager Philippe Montanier was appointed on a two-year deal on 27 June 2016, becoming the first manager of the club from outside of the British islands, but was fired after less than seven months as manager. Mark Warburton was named as the new manager on March 14, 2017. Forest managed to avoid relegation the last date of their 2016-17 season which was a 3-0 win at home over Ipswich Town ensured their safety against Blackburn Rovers.

On the 18th of May, 2017 Evangelos Marinakis completed his takeover of Nottingham Forest, bringing an end to the reign of Al-Hasawi in the role of Forest owner. In the meantime, Manager Mark Warburton was sacked on 31 December 2017 after an 1-0 defeat at home to struggling Sunderland and only one win in seven. He was replaced by Spanish player Aitor Karanka, who arrived on January 8, 2018, just after interim boss Gary Brazil had masterminded a victory at home of 4-2 against opponents Arsenal at the end of round three of the FA Cup. Karanka added 10 new players in his January window for transfers and following a 17th place finishing, he made 14 signings in this summer's transfer window, and the results of the next season increased. Despite a solid league position, Karanka left his position on January 11, 2019 after requesting release out of contract. Karanka was replaced by the former Republic of Ireland boss Martin O'Neill just four days later. O'Neill was fired in June following reports of him falling out with a few of the first team's senior players. He was replaced by Sabri Lamouchi the following day. In the first season of Lamouchi's his charge, despite playing the majority of the season in playoffs Forest fell out of seventh place in the final day. On October 6, 2020 Lamouchi had to be dismissed by Forest following a disappointing beginning to the season 2020-21. Lamouchi was replaced by the former Brighton director Chris Hughton. After an unsuccessful 11 months as Brighton manager, Hughton was sacked on 16 September 2021, after failing to secure a victory in any of the first seven games of the 2021-22 season.

Forest Chairman Nicholas Randall had initially promised that Forest was planning to return to European football in five years but bad transfers and a toxic culture at the club meant that Forest continued to play in the Championship for four years after the Marinakis time. At the end of summer 2021 adjustments were made to the structure of Forest to attempt to rectify the previous mistakes. Forest hired Dane Murphy as Chief Executive as the Chief Executive, in addition, George Syrianos was brought in as the head of recruitment in order to create an improved analytics-driven transfer policy. The Forest management has pledged to avoiding the'short-termism of the previous window by not signing players with more than P18,000 per week, and mainly targeting youngsters who can be sold at profits.

The 21st September of 2021 was the day that Forest made public the announcement for Steve Cooper as the club's new head coach. Cooper has led the team to a dramatic improvement in form, bringing the team in the last position, being 7th by Christmas and eventually to 4th at the close of the season. He also qualified Forest for the playoffs their first time since season of 2010-2011. At the 2022 Championship semi-final play-off, Forest defeated Sheffield United by penalty to reach the final , which they played Huddersfield Town, who they defeated with a 1-0 win on the pitch at Wembley Stadium, and were promoted to the Premier League for the first time since 1998-99

Detail as below mentioned

Nottingham Forest have worn red since the club's inception on 1865. The meeting in the Clinton Arms which established Nottingham Forest as an team for football, the club's committee adopted a resolution that the team colors should be Garibaldi red'. The resolution was adopted in honor of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Italian patriot who was the head of the redshirt volunteers. In the early days, clubs were identified more by the attire they wore than their shirts. A hundred red caps wearing tassels purchased. This made Forest the first team to officially wear red the colour, which was later adopted by number of other clubs. Forest's kit is the main reason for Arsenal's decision to wear red. The club donated a complete set the red kit to Arsenal after their founding (as Woolwich Arsenal) in 1886. Forest's travels through South America in 1905 inspired Argentine club Independiente to choose red as their official color, following the club's president Aristides L. Langone described the Independiente players appearing to be diablos Rojos ("red red devils") and this would later be the name of Independiente's club.

The first club crest adopted in Forest is the arms city of Nottingham that was first applied to kits in 1947. The current badge of the club was first introduced in 1974. The logo was reported as the creation from Manager Brian Clough. But, he did not join Forest until the year following. Forest are sporting two stars over the badge of the club to mark the club's European Cup victories in 1979 and 1980. On March 23, 1973, an design contest was launched to design a brand distinctive badge to be used by Forest. The winner was Trent Polytechnic graphic design lecturer David Lewis. Lewis created his design by using his maiden name as a way to remain anonymous, as one of the judge included W. Payne, Associate Director of the Graphics Department at the polytechnic where Lewis taught. David Lewis also designed the Nottinghamshire County Council logo.

The club has earned many nicknames throughout the years. The nickname, historically, of "Foresters" was popular and so did "Garibaldis". "The Forest" or the more straightforward "Forest" as it appears on the club's crest is often used and is also known as "the Reds". Anotherless well-known, but equally effective, name for the club is "Tricky Trees".

The City Ground is a football stadium located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England located along the banks of the River Trent. It has been the home of Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898. It has the capacity of 30.445.

The stadium was the location when England played host to Euro 96, and is just three hundred yards (270 meters) of Meadow Lane, home of Forest's rival team Notts County; the two fields are the closest to professional soccer stadiums within England and are the second closest to the United Kingdom after the grounds of Dundee and Dundee United. They are in opposite parts of the River Trent.

Since 1898, Nottingham Forest have played their home matches in their City Ground in West Bridgford situated on the banks the River Trent. Prior to their move into the City Ground, Forest played their home matches at the Forest Recreation Ground first, and later Trent Bridge, and finally the specially-constructed Town Ground. Since 1994, the City Ground has been all-seater which was put in place just in time to become a venue for Euro 96, and currently has 3044 seats.

City Ground City Ground is 300 yards away from the county's Meadow Lane stadium on the opposite side of the Trent The two venues are the nearest professional football stadiums geographically within England. In 1898, the City Ground was within the boundaries of Nottingham that had been granted city status in the previous year, and also that was the reason for the city's name, however, a boundary change in the 1950s meant it is now City Ground now stands just beyond the city's boundaries within the city of West Bridgford.

On the 28th of February, 2019 Nottingham Forest announced plans to renovate The City Ground and surrounding area with plans for the "creation of a brand new top-of-the-line Peter Taylor Stand". It is anticipated that to increase its capacity by 38,000 which will make it the biggest ever football ground in the East Midlands. The club had hoped that the construction could start towards the end of the season of 2019-20. However, the project was delayed because of "delays in the process of planning".

Principal articles include: Nottingham derby, East Midlands derby as well as Leicester City F.C.-Nottingham Forest F.C. rivalry

While Notts County is the closest professional football club in terms of distance, Forest have remained at more than one division up from 1994-95 and the club's most fierce competition is Derby County, located 14 miles away. The rivalry began with in the year 1898's FA Cup Final when Forest was the main beneficiary by beating the strong favourites Derby County 3-1. The two teams play each other in every year in the East Midlands derby, a fixture that has gained an even greater significance since introduction of the Brian Clough Trophy in 2007. The Brian Clough Trophy will be held by Nottingham Forest until at least August 2023. The teams are currently separated by two divisions.

Leicester City were widely considered as Forest's primary East Midlands rivals prior to Brian Clough's successes in Both Derby as well as Forest. The ferocity is now most fiercely felt by fans who live around the Leicestershire-Nottinghamshire border.

Forest's region-wide rivals are Sheffield United, based in the county that is adjacent to South Yorkshire, a rivalry that is rooted to the UK miners strike in 1984-85, when the miners from South Yorkshire walked out on long strikes , but Nottinghamshire mining workers, who insist on having a ballot for their vote, kept working. The semi-final of the Football League Championship Play-off with Sheffield United where Sheffield United finished as 5-4 overall winners, further fueled the rivalry.

Detail as below mentioned

European Cup

• Winners: 1978–79, 1979–80

European Super Cup

• Winners: 1979
• Runners-up: 1980

Detail as below mentioned

First Division

• Champions : 1977–78
• Runners-up : 1966–67, 1978–79

Second Division/Championship

• Champions : 1906–07, 1921–22, 1997–98
• Runners-up : 1956–57, 1993–94
• Promoted : 1976–77
• Play-off winners : 2022

Third Division/League One

• Champions : 1950–51 (South)
• Runners-up : 2007–08

Football Alliance

• Champions : 1891–92

FA Cup

Winners : 1897–98, 1958–59

Runners-up : 1990–91

Football League Cup

Winners : 1977–78, 1978–79, 1988–89, 1989–90

Runners-up : 1979–80, 1991–92

FA Charity Shield

Winners : 1978

Runners-up : 1959

Full Members Cup

Winners : 1988–89, 1991–92

Intercontinental Cup

• Runners-up : 1980

Anglo-Scottish Cup

• Winners : 1977

Football League Centenary Tournament

• Winners : 1988

The information is correct as of the match played on 29 May 2022. Only matches that are competitive counted.

• Managers who are caretaker are in italics

Number	Manager	From	To	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Won %	Drawn %	Lost %
1	Harry Radford	1 August 1889	31 May 1897	176	69	34	73	39.2%	19.3%	41.5%
2	Harry Hallam	1 August 1897	31 May 1909	462	188	104	170	40.7%	22.5%	36.8%
3	Fred Earp	1 August 1909	31 May 1912	120	35	26	59	29.2%	21.7%	49.2%
4	Bob Masters	1 August 1912	31 May 1925	385	108	97	180	28.1%	25.2%	46.8%
5	John Baynes	1 August 1925	31 May 1929	182	69	47	66	37.9%	25.8%	36.3%
6	​ Stan Hardy	1 August 1930	31 May 1931	43	14	9	20	32.6%	20.9%	46.5%
7	Noel Watson	1 August 1931	31 May 1936	223	79	57	87	35.4%	25.6%	39.0%
8	​ Harold Wightman	1 August 1936	31 May 1939	119	33	27	59	27.7%	22.7%	49.6%
9	​ Billy Walker	1 May 1939	1 June 1960	650	272	147	231	41.8%	22.6%	35.5%
10	Andy Beattie	1 September 1960	1 July 1963	140	52	30	58	37.1%	21.4%	41.4%
11	Johnny Carey	1 July 1963	31 December 1968	267	99	65	93	38.5%	25.3%	36.2%
12	Matt Gillies	1 January 1969	20 October 1972	177	49	48	80	27.7%	27.1%	45.2%
13	Dave Mackay	2 November 1972	23 October 1973	44	13	14	17	29.5%	31.8%	38.6%
14	Allan Brown	19 November 1973	3 January 1975	57	20	17	20	35.1%	29.8%	35.1%
15	​ Brian Clough	3 January 1975	8 May 1993	968	447	258	263	46.2%	26.7%	27.2%
16	​  Frank Clark	13 May 1993	19 December 1996	180	73	59	48	40.5%	32.7%	26.6%
17	​ Stuart Pearce	20 December 1996	8 May 1997	24	7	9	8	29.2%	37.5%	33.3%
18	​ Dave Bassett	8 May 1997	5 January 1999	76	33	20	23	43.4%	26.3%	30.2%
19	​ Micky Adams	5 January 1999	11 January 1999	1	0	0	1	0.0%	0.0%	100.0%
20	​ Ron Atkinson	11 January 1999	16 May 1999	17	5	2	10	29.4%	11.8%	58.8%
21	​ David Platt	1 July 1999	12 July 2001	103	37	25	41	35.9%	24.3%	39.8%
22	​ Paul Hart	12 July 2001	7 February 2004	135	42	44	49	31.1%	32.6%	36.3%
23	Joe Kinnear	10 February 2004	16 December 2004	44	15	15	14	34.1%	34.1%	31.8%
24	​ Mick Harford	16 December 2004	10 January 2005	6	2	1	3	33.3%	16.7%	50.0%
25	​ Gary Megson	10 January 2005	16 February 2006	59	17	18	24	28.8%	30.5%	40.7%
26	​ Frank Barlow  Ian McParland	17 February 2006	30 May 2006	13	8	4	1	61.5%	30.8%	7.7%
27	Colin Calderwood	30 May 2006	26 December 2008	136	57	42	37	41.9%	30.9%	27.2%
28	​ John Pemberton	27 December 2008	4 January 2009	2	2	0	0	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%
29	Billy Davies	4 January 2009	12 June 2011	126	53	36	37	42.1%	28.6%	29.4%
30	​ Steve McClaren	13 June 2011	2 October 2011	13	3	3	7	23.1%	23.1%	53.8%
31	​ Rob Kelly	2 October 2011	15 October 2011	1	0	0	1	0%	0%	100%
32	​ Steve Cotterill	14 October 2011	12 July 2012	37	12	7	18	32.4%	18.9%	48.6%
33	Sean O'Driscoll	20 July 2012	26 December 2012	26	10	9	7	38.5%	34.6%	26.9%
34	Alex McLeish	27 December 2012	5 February 2013	7	1	2	4	14.3%	28.6%	57.1%
35	​ Rob Kelly	5 February 2013	9 February 2013	1	0	0	1	0%	0%	100%
36	Billy Davies	7 February 2013	24 March 2014	59	25	21	13	42.3%	35.6%	22.0%
37	​ Gary Brazil	24 March 2014	3 May 2014	9	2	2	5	22.2%	22.2%	55.6%
38	​ Stuart Pearce	1 July 2014	1 February 2015	32	10	10	12	31.25%	31.25%	37.5%
39	Dougie Freedman	1 February 2015	13 March 2016	57	19	16	22	33.3%	28.1%	38.6%
40	​ Paul Williams	13 March 2016	12 May 2016	10	2	4	4	20.0%	40.0%	40.0%
41	Philippe Montanier	27 June 2016	14 January 2017	30	9	6	15	30.0%	20.0%	50.0%
42	​ Gary Brazil	14 January 2017	14 March 2017	11	4	1	6	36.4%	9.1%	54.5%
43	​ Mark Warburton	14 March 2017	31 December 2017	37	15	3	19	40.5%	8.1%	51.4%
44	​ Gary Brazil	31 December 2017	8 January 2018	2	1	1	0	50.0%	50.0%	0.0%
45	Aitor Karanka	8 January 2018	11 January 2019	51	16	19	16	31.4%	37.2%	31.4%
46	​ Simon Ireland	11 January 2019	15 January 2019	1	0	0	1	0.0%	0.0%	100.0%
47	Martin O'Neill	15 January 2019	28 June 2019	19	8	3	8	42.1%	15.8%	42.1%
48	Sabri Lamouchi	28 June 2019	6 October 2020	55	20	16	19	36.4%	29.1%	34.5%
49	Chris Hughton	6 October 2020	16 September 2021	53	14	17	22	26.4%	32.1%	41.5%
50	Steven Reid	16 September 2021	21 September 2021	1	1	0	0	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%
51	Steve Cooper	21 September 2021		45	27	10	8	60.0%	22.2%	17.8%

• Most appearances for the club (in all competitions): 692 – Bob McKinlay (1951–1970)
• Most goals for the club (in all competitions): 217 – Grenville Morris (1898–1913)
• Highest attendance: 49,946 Vs. Manchester United in Division 1, 28 October 1967
• Lowest attendance: 4,030 Vs. Morecambe F.C. in the Football League Cup, 13 August 2008
• Record receipts: £499,099 Vs. FC Bayern Munich in UEFA Cup quarter final 2nd leg, 19 March 1996
• Longest sequence of league wins: 7, wins from 9 May 1922 to 1 September 1922
• Longest sequence of league defeats: 14, losses from 21 March 1913 to 27 September 1913
• Longest sequence of unbeaten league matches: 42, from 26 November 1977 to 25 November 1978
• Longest sequence of league games without a win: 19, from 8 September 1998 to 16 January 1999
• Longest sequence of league games without a goal: 7, 13 December 2003 to 7 February 2004 and 26 November 2011 to 31 December 2011
• Quickest goal:
  • League: 14 seconds, Jack Lester vs Norwich City, 8 March 2000
  • League Cup: 23 seconds, Paul Smith vs Leicester City, 18 September 2007 in the League Cup
• Record win (in all competitions): 14–0, Vs. Clapton (away), 1st round FA Cup, 17 January 1891
• Record defeat (in all competitions): 1–9, Vs. Blackburn Rovers, Division 2, 10 April 1937
• Most league points in one season
  • 2 points for a win (46 games): 70, Division 3 South, 1950–51
  • 2 points for a win (42 Games): 64, Division 1. 1977-78
  • 3 points for a win: 94, Division 1, 1997–98
• Most league goals in one season: 110, Division 3, 1950–51
• Highest league scorer in one season: Wally Ardron, 36, Division 3 (South), 1950–51
• Most internationally capped player: Stuart Pearce, 76 for England (78 total)
• Youngest league player: Craig Westcarr, 16 years, Vs. Burnley 13 October 2001
• Oldest league player: Dave Beasant, 42 years 47 days, Vs. Tranmere Rovers 6 May 2001
• Largest transfer fee paid: £17,000,000 to Union Berlin for Taiwo Awoniyi
• Largest transfer fee received: £15,000,000 from Middlesbrough for Britt Assombalonga 

By agreement with Leicester City, the game was a replay as the original match three weeks previous was abandoned at half time, due to the collapse of Leicester player Clive Clarke, with Forest leading 1–0.

Forest received £14,000,000 from Aston Villa for Matty Cash, but with add-on's this fee could potentially rise to £16,000,000.

Detail of the players as below mentioned.

As of 20 June 2022

No. Pos. Nation Player 36 FW Dale Taylor 39 GK George Shelvey 40 FW Julian Larsson 41 MF Oliver Hammond 42 MF Ateef Konaté 45 DF Fin Back 46 DF Riley Harbottle 47 GK Nicky Hogarth

No. Pos. Nation Player 50 DF Aaron Donnelly — GK Ryan Hammond — DF James Clarridge — DF Rezart Rema — MF Billy Fewster — MF Alex Gibson-Hammond — MF Jamie McDonnell — FW Lewis Salmon

As of 9 March 2022

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK Alex Akers — GK Aaron Bott — GK Kane Draper — DF Lewis Barker — DF Ben Hammond — DF Justin Hanks — DF Pharrell Johnson — DF Osa Solomon — DF Jack Thompson — MF Sam Collins — MF Jordan Fankwe

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF Joseph Gardner — MF Ethan Hull — MF Aaron Korpal — MF Kyle McAdam — MF Bobby Jack McAleese — MF Jack Nadin — MF Jack Perkins — MF Ben Perry — MF Joshua Powell — MF Alexandros Sarantis — FW Detlef Esapa Osong

Players are listed based on the date they made their first team debut. Goals and appearances are only for first-team competition only. games during wartime are excluded. The appearances of substitutes are included.

The "Intl.' column is for players who have earned an international senior cap while at Forest.

The years 1997-98, in conjunction with the publication of The Official History of Nottingham Forest A vote was conducted to determine Nottingham Forest's officially recognized All Time XI.

Position	Player	Years at club
GK	Peter Shilton	1977–82
RB	Viv Anderson	1974–84
RCB	Des Walker	1984–92; 2002–04
LCB	Kenny Burns	1977–81
LB	Stuart Pearce	1985–97
RCM	Martin O'Neill	1971–81
ACM	Roy Keane	1990–93
LCM	Archie Gemmill	1977–79
RW	Ian Storey-Moore	1962–72
CF	Trevor Francis	1979–81
LW	John Robertson	1970–83; 1985–86

In the year 2016, Nottingham Forest season ticket holders chose the club's most memorable eleven to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the club.

Position	Player	Years at club
GK	Peter Shilton	1977–82
RB	Viv Anderson	1974–83
CB	Kenny Burns	1977–81
CB	Des Walker	1983–04
LB	Stuart Pearce	1985–97
RW	Martin O'Neill	1971–81
CM	Roy Keane	1990–93
CM	John McGovern	1974–81
LW	John Robertson	1970–83
ST	Stan Collymore	1993–95
ST	Ian Storey-Moore	1962–72

Detail of the players as below mentioned.