1977–78 Nottingham Forest F.C. season

Nottingham Forest F.C.
1977–78 season
Chairman	S.M. Dryden, J.P.
Manager	Brian Clough
First Division	1st; (In 1978–79 European Cup)
FA Cup	6th Round
League Cup	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: ; Robertson; Withe (12); All: ; Withe; Woodcock (19)
Highest home attendance	47,218 vs. Liverpool ; (Division One,; 26 December 1977)
Lowest home attendance	18,224 vs West Ham United; (League Cup, ; 30 August 1977)
Average home league attendance	32,501
Home colours	Away colours
	← 1976–77 1978–79 →

The 1977–78 season was Nottingham Forest's first year back in the First Division since their relegation in 1972. They had finished third in the Second Division the previous season to earn promotion.

Summary

Forest's credentials at the start of the season did not appear to be especially impressive. Promotion from Division Two in 1976–77 had been achieved only by the skin of their teeth and the squad of players was a mixture of underachievers, journeymen and inexperienced youngsters. Many pundits tipped them to struggle. However, Brian Clough and Peter Taylor had already proved at Derby County that they were capable of blending a winning formula from apparently limited resources and they would now do so again. No player epitomised Forest's success more than Kenny Burns, who arrived for £150,000 in pre-season from Birmingham City where he had acquired something of a 'wild man' reputation. Having spent several years playing as a forward, Burns was converted back to the defensive role where he had begun his career and although it took a few matches for him to settle he ended the season by being voted Footballer of the Year.

Forest confounded the critics from the outset, registering three straight league wins to top the first table of the season and thrashing West Ham United 5–0 in the second round of the League Cup. Although their 100% record ended with a 3–0 defeat at Arsenal, Forest won the next three and ended September second in the table behind Manchester City on goal difference. A 4–0 win over Ipswich Town at the beginning of October (Peter Withe scoring all four) restored them to the top of the table and there they stayed for the rest of the season. After a slight hiccup in November saw them lose consecutive away matches at Chelsea and Leeds United they went unbeaten in their remaining 26 league fixtures and were confirmed as champions following a goalless draw at Coventry City in April.

Two further additions had been made to the playing squad in the early weeks of the season. Peter Shilton was signed from Stoke City for £325,000, then a record transfer fee for a goalkeeper, and Archie Gemmill joined from Derby in a deal that also saw Shilton's predecessor John Middleton move in the opposite direction. Middleton had conceded six goals in Forest's opening five league matches - Shilton would concede only 18 in the remaining 37. In December, Forest bought David Needham from Queens Park Rangers for £140,000 to add depth to the defence. Nevertheless, they used just 17 players during the season, one of whom (teenage reserve goalkeeper Chris Woods) only appeared in the League Cup as cover for the cup-tied Shilton.

Forest's League Cup run saw them score 23 goals in just six matches en route to facing Liverpool in the final at Wembley where Woods performed heroics to keep the reigning league and European champions at bay and earn Forest a goalless draw. Liverpool also had the better of the replay at Old Trafford but a controversial penalty converted by John Robertson was enough to give Forest their first piece of major silverware since the FA Cup in 1959. A clean sweep of domestic trophies looked a distinct possibility until defeat at West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup quarter-final.

The squad became one of the few teams (and the most recent team to date) to win the First Division title the season after winning promotion from the Second Division. The others were Liverpool in 1906, Everton in 1932, Tottenham Hotspur in 1951 and Ipswich Town in 1962. Forest remain the only club to achieve this feat having not been promoted as champions.

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	ENG	Peter Shilton
—	GK	ENG	John Middleton
—	GK	ENG	Chris Woods
—	DF	ENG	Viv Anderson
—	DF	SCO	Kenny Burns
—	DF	ENG	Larry Lloyd
—	DF	ENG	Colin Barrett
—	DF	ENG	Bryn Gunn
—	DF	ENG	David Needham
—	DF	ENG	Frank Clark


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	NIR	Martin O'Neill
—	MF	SCO	Archie Gemmill
—	MF	SCO	John McGovern
—	MF	SCO	John Robertson
—	MF	ENG	Steve Burke
—	FW	ENG	Peter Withe
—	FW	ENG	Tony Woodcock
—	MF	ENG	Ian Bowyer
—	FW	SCO	John O'Hare
—	FW	ENG	Garry Birtles
—	FW	ENG	Steve Elliott

Transfers

In
Pos.	Name	from	Type
DF	Kenny Burns	Birmingham City	£150,000 ^[1]
GK	Peter Shilton	Stoke City	£325,000 ^[2]
MF	Archie Gemmill	Derby County	£25,000 & P/E ^[3]

Out
Pos.	Name	To	Type
DF	Sammy Chapman	Notts County	£7,500 ^[4]
FW	Barry Butlin	Peterborough United	£20,000 ^[5]
MF	Sean Haslegrave	Preston North End	£25,000 ^[6]
GK	John Middleton	Derby County ^[7]

Winter

In
Pos.	Name	from	Type
DF	David Needham	Queens Park Rangers	£140,000 ^[8]

Out
Pos.	Name	To	Type
MF	Terry Curran	Derby County	£50,000 ^[9]

Competitions

First Division

League Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Nottingham Forest (C)	42	25	14	3	69	24	+45	64	Qualification for the European Cup first round
2	Liverpool	42	24	9	9	65	34	+31	57	Qualification for the European Cup first round^[a]
3	Everton	42	22	11	9	76	45	+31	55	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4	Manchester City	42	20	12	10	74	51	+23	52
5	Arsenal	42	21	10	11	60	37	+23	52

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions
Notes:

^ Liverpool qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1977–78 European Cup winners.

Position by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42
Ground	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	A
Result	W	W	W	L	W	W	W	D	W	D	W	W	W	L	W	L	D	W	W	W	D	W	W	D	D	W	W	D	W	W	W	D	W	W	D	D	W	D	W	D	D	D
Position	5	1	1	4	3	3	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Source: Competitive matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; = Leader, 1978-79 European Cup; = 1978-79 UEFA Cup; = 1978-79 Second Division

A list of Nottingham Forest's matches in the 1977–78 season.^[10]^[11]^[12]

Matches

20 August 1977 1	Everton	1–3	Nottingham Forest	Walton
	Pearson 44'		Withe 20' Robertson 38' O'Neill 77'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 38,001

23 August 1977 2	Nottingham Forest	1–0	Bristol City	West Bridgford
	Withe 82'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 21,743

27 August 1977 3	Nottingham Forest	3–0	Derby County	West Bridgford
	Withe 31', 67' Robertson 78'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 28,807

3 September 1977 4	Arsenal	3–0	Nottingham Forest	Islington
	Stapleton 3', 60' Brady 69' (pen.)			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 40,810

10 September 1977 5	Wolverhampton Wanderers	2–3	Nottingham Forest	Wolverhampton
	Bell 73' Daley 82' (pen.)		18' Withe 64' Bowyer 72' Woodcock	Stadium: Molineux Attendance: 24,662

17 September 1977 6	Nottingham Forest	2–0	Aston Villa	West Bridgford
	Woodcock 5' Robertson 89'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 31,016

24 September 1977 7	Leicester City	0–3	Nottingham Forest	Leicester
			O'Neill 18' Woodcock 63' Robertson 89' (pen.)	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 21,447

1 October 1977 8	Nottingham Forest	1–1	Norwich City	West Bridgford
	Burns 73'		Peters 78'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 23,741

4 October 1977 9	Nottingham Forest	4–0	Ipswich Town	West Bridgford
	Withe 43', 58', 86', 89'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 26,845

8 October 1977 10	West Ham United	0–0	Nottingham Forest	Upton Park
				Stadium: Boleyn Ground Attendance: 26,128

15 October 1977 11	Nottingham Forest	2–1	Manchester City	West Bridgford
	Woodcock 34' Withe 86'		Kidd 21'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 35,572

22 October 1977 12	Queens Park Rangers	0–2	Nottingham Forest	Shepherd's Bush
			Bowyer 59' Burns 82'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 24,248

29 October 1977 13	Nottingham Forest	4–0	Middlesbrough	West Bridgford
	Anderson 31', 44' Bowyer 40' McGovern 55'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 27,373

5 November 1977 14	Chelsea	1–0	Nottingham Forest	Fulham
	Aylott 55'			Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 36,116

12 November 1977 15	Nottingham Forest	2–1	Manchester United	West Bridgford
	Burns 49' Gemmill 74'		Pearson 5'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 30,183

19 November 1977 16	Leeds United	1–0	Nottingham Forest	Leeds
	Hankin 36'			Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 42,925

26 November 1977 17	Nottingham Forest	0–0	West Bromwich Albion	West Bridgford
				Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 31,908

3 December 1977 18	Birmingham City	0–2	Nottingham Forest	Birmingham
			O'Neill 10' Woodcock 52'	Stadium: St. Andrew's Attendance: 29,925

10 December 1977 19	Nottingham Forest	2–1	Coventry City	West Bridgford
	O'Neill 40' McGovern 44'		Wallace 41'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 29,823

17 December 1977 20	Manchester United	0–4	Nottingham Forest	Manchester
			B. Greenhoff 23' (o.g.) Woodcock 28', 89' Robertson 53'	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 54,375

26 December 1977 21	Nottingham Forest	1–1	Liverpool	West Bridgford
	Gemmill 21'		Heighway 39'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 47,218

28 December 1977 22	Newcastle United	0–2	Nottingham Forest	Newcastle upon Tyne
			Needham 16' McGovern 71'	Stadium: St. James' Park Attendance: 54,375

31 December 1977 23	Bristol City	1–3	Nottingham Forest	Bristol
	Mabbutt 82'		Needham 11' Woodcock 21' O'Neill 58'	Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 31,990

2 January 1978 24	Nottingham Forest	1–1	Everton	West Bridgford
	Robertson 25' (pen.)		Ross 85' (pen.)	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 44,030

14 January 1978 25	Derby County	0–0	Nottingham Forest	Derby
				Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 36,500

21 January 1978 26	Nottingham Forest	2–0	Arsenal	West Bridgford
	Needham 32' Gemmill 64'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 35,743

4 February 1978 27	Nottingham Forest	2–0	Wolverhampton Wanderers	West Bridgford
	Woodcock 40' McGovern 53'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 28,803

25 February 1978 28	Norwich City	3–3	Nottingham Forest	Norwich
	Ryan 44' (pen.) Suggett 68' Robson 70'		Withe 16' Barrett 22' O'Neill 24'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 26,004

4 March 1978 29	Nottingham Forest	2–0	West Ham United	West Bridgford
	Needham 79' Robertson 81' (pen.)			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 33,924

14 March 1978 30	Nottingham Forest	1–0	Leicester City	West Bridgford
	Robertson 13' (pen.)			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 32,355

25 March 1978 31	Nottingham Forest	2–0	Newcastle United	West Bridgford
	Robertson 32' (pen.) Anderson 67'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 35,552

29 March 1978 32	Middlesbrough	2–2	Nottingham Forest	Middlesbrough
	Mills 13' Cummins 22'		Woodcock 20' O'Neill 54'	Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 25,445

1 April 1978 33	Nottingham Forest	3–1	Chelsea	West Bridgford
	Burns 68' O'Neill 82' Robertson 87'		Langley 8'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 31,262

5 April 1978 34	Aston Villa	0–1	Nottingham Forest	Birmingham
			Woodcock 86'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 44,315

11 April 1978 35	Manchester City	0–0	Nottingham Forest	Moss Side
				Stadium: Maine Road Attendance: 43,428

15 April 1978 36	Nottingham Forest	1–1	Leeds United	West Bridgford
	Withe 65'		F. Gray 41' (pen.)	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 38,662

18 April 1978 37	Nottingham Forest	1–0	Queens Park Rangers	West Bridgford
	Robertson 29' (pen.)			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 30,339

22 April 1978 38	Coventry City	0–0	Nottingham Forest	Coventry
				Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 36,881

25 April 1978 39	Ipswich Town	0–2	Nottingham Forest	Ipswich
			Mariner 73' (o.g.) Clark 78'	Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 30,062

29 April 1978 40	Nottingham Forest	0–0	Birmingham City	West Bridgford
				Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 37,625

2 May 1978 41	West Bromwich Albion	2–2	Nottingham Forest	West Bromwich
	T. Brown 28' Hughes 35'		Bowyer 16' Robertson 36' (pen.)	Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 23,612

4 May 1978 42	Liverpool	0–0	Nottingham Forest	Liverpool
				Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 50,021

League Cup

Second round

30 August 1977	Nottingham Forest	5–0	West Ham United	Nottingham
	O'Neill 9' Bowyer 25', 85' Woodcock 65' Withe 78'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 18,224

Third round

25 October 1977	Nottingham Forest	4–0	Notts County	Nottingham
	Robertson 16' (pen.) Woodcock 46' Bowyer 65', 84'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 26,931

Fourth round

29 November 1977	Nottingham Forest	4–2	Aston Villa	Nottingham
	Lloyd 7' Anderson 13' Withe 25' Woodcock 52'		Little 79' Carrodus 85'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 29,333

Fifth round

17 January 1978	Bury	0–3	Nottingham Forest	Bury
			Bowyer 8' O'Neill 55' Robertson 78'	Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 21,500

Semifinals

8 February 1978 1	Leeds United	1–3	Nottingham Forest	Leeds
	E. Gray 28'		Withe 19', 21' O'Hare 75'	Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 43,222

22 February 1978 2	Nottingham Forest	4–2 (7–3 agg.)	Leeds United	Nottingham
	Withe 18' Bowyer 49' O'Neill 72' Woodcock 75'		F. Gray 13' Graham 19'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 38,131

Final

18 March 1978	Nottingham Forest	0–0 (a.e.t.)	Liverpool	London
				Stadium: Wembley Attendance: 100,000

22 March 1978 replay	Nottingham Forest	1–0	Liverpool	Manchester
	Robertson 52' (pen.)			Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 54,375

FA Cup

Third round

7 January 1978	Nottingham Forest	4–1	Swindon Town	Nottingham
	Woodcock 37', 77' Withe 55' Robertson 67'		Moss 84'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 28,953

Fourth round

31 January 1978	Nottingham Forest	2–1	Manchester City	Nottingham
	Robertson 3' Withe 59'		Kidd 61'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 38,509

Fifth round

18 February 1978	Queens Park Rangers	1–1	Nottingham Forest	London
	Busby 18'		O'Neill 89'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 26,803

27 February 1978 replay	Nottingham Forest	1–1 (a.e.t.)	Queens Park Rangers	Nottingham
	Robertson 19' (pen.)		Shanks 43'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 40,097

2 March 1978 2nd replay	Nottingham Forest	3–1	Queens Park Rangers	Nottingham
	O'Neill 2' Woodcock 65', 79'		Bowles 64'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 33,960

Sixth round

11 March 1978	West Bromwich Albion	2–0	Nottingham Forest	West Bromwich
	Martin 15' Regis 47'			Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 36,506

Pre-season and Friendlies

1 August 1977 Friendly	St Gallen	2–3	Nottingham Forest	St Gallen, Switzerland
			Bowyer 51' Withe 7' 37'	Stadium: Espenmoos Attendance: 2,300

3 August 1977 Friendly	Wacker Innsbruck	0–2	Nottingham Forest	Innsbruck, Austria
			Woodcock Robertson	Attendance: 7,300

5 August 1977 Friendly	SV Plattling	1–5	Nottingham Forest	Plattling, Germany
			O'Neill Elliott Birtles	Stadium: Rennbahnstadion Attendance: 1,500

6 August 1977 Friendly	VfR Neuburg	1–5	Nottingham Forest	Neuberg, Germany
			Woodcock Barrett O'Neill Bowyer	Attendance: 1,000

9 August 1977 Friendly	SC Bregenz	0–3	Nottingham Forest	Bregenz, Austria
			Elliott Woodcock	Stadium: Casino Stadium Attendance: 2,000

13 August 1977 Centenary Match	Skegness Town	0–4	Nottingham Forest	Skegness
			Burns Bowyer Elliott Robertson (pen.)'	Stadium: Burgh Road Attendance: 2,500

15 August 1977 County Cup Final	Nottingham Forest	1–1 (3–2 p)	Notts County	Nottingham
	Bowyer 49'		Smith	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 11,569 Referee: G. Flint

12 September 1977 Liam O'Kane Testimonial	Nottingham Forest XI	0–0	Leicester City XI	Nottingham
				Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 5,190 Referee: B. Martin

17 October 1977 John Harris Testimonial	Sheffield United XI	1–6	Nottingham Forest	Sheffield
			Burns Withe Woodcock Robertson	Stadium: Bramall Lane Attendance: 6,780 Referee: K. Styles

14 November 1977 Alan Goad Testimonial	Hartlepool United	2–2	Nottingham Forest	Hartlepool
			Burns Woodcock	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 4,000 Referee: P. Partridge

22 November 1977 Friendly	Maccabi Tel Aviv	1–6	Nottingham Forest	Tel Aviv, Israel
			Anderson McGovern Lloyd Woodcock O'Hare	Stadium: Bloomfield Stadium Attendance: 19,000

3 April 1978 Henry Newton Testimonial	Derby County	1–2	Nottingham Forest	Derby
			Lloyd Bowyer	Stadium: The Baseball Ground Attendance: 9,070 Referee: M. Taylor

12 April 1978 Les Bradd Testimonial	Notts County	0–1	Nottingham Forest	Nottingham
			O'Hare	Stadium: Meadow Lane Attendance: 10,129 Referee: B. Martin

1 May 1978 Brian Clough & Peter Taylor Testimonial	Nottingham Forest	2–1	Derby County	Nottingham
	McGovern Withe			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 18,272 Referee: C. White

Statistics

Squad statistics

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Football League Division One		Football League Cup		FA Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	ENG	Peter Shilton	43	0	37	0	0	0	6	0
	DF	ENG	Viv Anderson	50	4	37	3	8	1	5	0
	DF	SCO	Kenny Burns	55	4	41	4	8	0	6	0
	DF	ENG	Larry Lloyd	34	1	26	0	6	1	2	0
	DF	ENG	Colin Barrett	43	1	33+2	1	5	0	3	0
	MF	NIR	Martin O'Neill	54	13	38+2	8	8	3	6	2
	MF	SCO	Archie Gemmill	38	3	32+2	3	0	0	4	0
	MF	SCO	John McGovern	42	5	31	4	7	1	4	0
	MF	SCO	John Robertson	56	18	42	12	8	3	6	3
	FW	ENG	Peter Withe	54	19	40	12	8	5	6	2
	FW	ENG	Tony Woodcock	50	19	36	11	8	4	6	4
	GK	ENG	John Middleton	6	0	5	0	1	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	Ian Bowyer	39	10	25+3	4	8	6	3	0
	DF	ENG	David Needham	22	4	16	4	0	0	6	0
	DF	ENG	Frank Clark	20	1	12+1	1	4	0	3	0
	FW	SCO	John O'Hare	13	1	10	0	1+1	1	0+1	0
	GK	ENG	Chris Woods	7	0	0	0	7	0	0	0
	DF	ENG	Bryn Gunn	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	Steve Burke	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Garry Birtles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Steve Elliott	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

References

^ July 1977
^ September 1977
^ September 1977
^ July 1977
^ September 1977
^ September 1977
^ P/E September 1977
^ December 1977
^ November 1977
^ "1977-1978". Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
^ Smales, Ken (1991). Forest - The First 125 Years. Nottingham: Temple Printing. ISBN 978-1870010092.
^ Attaway, Pete (2010). Nottingham Forest: Brian Clough and His Legacy - A Complete Record 1975 - 2010. Southend-on-Sea: Desert Island Book. ISBN 978-1905328833.

[table_note_res_LIV0.27201628371701-10] Liverpool qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1977–78 European Cup winners.

[1] July 1977

[2] September 1977

[3] September 1977

[4] July 1977

[5] September 1977

[6] September 1977

[7] P/E September 1977

[8] December 1977

[9] November 1977

[11] "1977-1978". Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2019.

[12] Smales, Ken (1991). Forest - The First 125 Years. Nottingham: Temple Printing. ISBN 978-1870010092.

[13] Attaway, Pete (2010). Nottingham Forest: Brian Clough and His Legacy - A Complete Record 1975 - 2010. Southend-on-Sea: Desert Island Book. ISBN 978-1905328833.

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