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Nottingham Forest Football Club - History & Notable Players

City Ground

Nottingham Forest Football Club is the oldest league football club in the world, and was founded in 1865, but didn't move to the City Ground, its seventh home, until 33 years later in 1898. Situated only a few hundred yards from the old Town Ground at the opposite end of Trent Bridge, it was named in celebration of Nottingham’s newly-awarded city status.

£3,000 was required to finance the move, £2,000 of which came from supporters, members and businessmen who bought ‘New Ground Scheme’ bearer bonds at £5 each.

The company of JW Bardill, a committee member and nurseryman whose family firm still exists in the city, was handed the difficult task of preparing a pitch which was heavily exposed on three sides. Despite this, The City Ground surface developed a reputation as one of the best in the country.

In 1935, the club decided not to proceed with an opportunity to buy the ground from Nottingham Corporation for £7,000.

In 1957, a £40,000 stand with room for 2,500 seated spectators was built at the East end of the ground. At its official opening on October 12, Manchester United’s ‘Busby Babes’ helped attract a record crowd of 47,804 and ran out 2-1 winners. The match ball, signed by both teams, is on display in the Trophy Room.

On August 24 1968, the Main Stand – which had been largely rebuilt in 1965 – was destroyed by fire which broke out during a First Division match against Leeds United. Despite a crowd of 31,126 there were no casualties. The fire, which is believed to have started near the dressing rooms, rapidly tore through the stand’s wooden construction, destroying it and much of the club’s records, trophies and memorabilia. As a result, Forest played six 'home' matches at nearby Meadow Lane, where they failed to win once.

In 1980, during a period of unforgettable European and domestic successes for the club, funds were in place to build the 10,000 capacity Brian Clough Stand. Incorporating 36 executive boxes and a large dining area, it added a new dimension to the club’s corporate hospitality arrangements.

In April 1992, work began on the redevelopment of the Bridgford Stand to increase its capacity to 7,710. The lower tier, which holds 5,131, was allocated to away supporters. Its unusually-shaped roof was a planning requirement to allow sunlight to reach houses in nearby Colwick Road. The stand can accommodate 70 wheelchair supporters and houses a Management Suite, from which the public address systems, scoreboard controls and matchday police all operate.

The City Ground was chosen as one of the venues to host the European Championships in 1996. In mind of this, the Trent End, a prominent landmark by the River Trent, was rebuilt that year. It holds 7,500 fans and takes the ground’s overall capacity to 30,445.

CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS IN 1998
The Centenary of The City Ground was marked in November 1998 when Forest hosted East Midlands rivals Derby County in a televised Premier League fixture. A typically competitive 2-2 draw was complimented by a variety of celebrations.

One of the highlights came at half-time as some of the biggest names in the club's history were paraded in front of the crowd. The eternally-popular Joe Baker was in attendance, as was Len Beaumont, who, at the age of 83, was believed to be one of club's oldest living ex-players. There was also a parade of Forest strips from down the years and special entertainment was organised before the game and at half-time to mark a memorable occasion.

PREVIOUS NOTTINGHAM FOREST STADIA

1865-1878 - The Forest
1879-1881 - Castle Ground, The Meadows
1873-1882 - Trent Bridge
1882-1885 - Parkside Ground
1885-1890 - Gregory Ground
1890-1898 - Town Ground

The History:

In The Beginning (1865)
In 1865, a group of Nottingham-based shinney - a sport similar to hockey - players met at the Clinton Arms on Shakespeare Street. It was here that JS Scrimshaw's proposition to begin playing football instead was passed, and Nottingham Forest Football Club was born.

The founder members were, A Barks, W Brown, W P Brown, C F Daft, T Gamble, R P Hawkesley, T G Howitt, W I Hussey, W R Lymberry, J Milford, J H Rastall, W H Revis, J G Richardson, J S Scrimshaw, J Tomlinson.

The first official football match took place on 22 March 1866 against Notts County, who were formed in 1862.

The Early Years (1865-1898)
At the same meeting, it was agreed the team would purchase a dozen tasselled caps in the colour of 'Garibaldi Red' - named after the leader of the Italian 'Redshirts' freedom fighters, who were popular in England at the time. The club's official colours were established. The Football League was formed in 1888 but Forest's application was rejected. Instead, they played in the Football Alliance, winning the competition in 1892 to eventually secure a place in the League.

They had experienced a colourful existence playing in the Alliance, perhaps never more so than in the 1878-79 season. The demise of Notts Castle Club brought an influx of additional talent to Forest. With new impetus, they entered the FA Challenge Cup for the first time. Notts County, who had made their first challenge the previous year, were The Reds' first round opponents. Forest came out 3 - 1 winners at Beeston Cricket Ground, before going on to reach the semi-final, which they lost 2-1 to Old Etonians.

The 1897-98 season was perhaps the most significant in Forest's infancy. Having lost in four previous semi-finals, victories over Grimsby Town, Gainsborough Trinity, West Bromwich Albion and Southampton set up an FA Cup final date with Derby County at Crystal Palace. The Reds had lost 5-0 to their rivals just five days before and went into the game as underdogs. However, with a well-rested side - six of the cup final line-up had not played in the league game - they ran out 3-1 winners in front of 62,000 fans.

Forest were quite the pioneers, too. In 1874, they were the first English side to wear shin-guards, albeit outside of their socks, and in 1878 their game against Sheffield Norfolk was credited as the first occasion in England where the referee had used a whistle. It was in the same decade that Sam Widdowson came up with the 'classical' formation which consisted of a goalkeeper, two full-backs, a three-man halfback line and five forwards. The tactic stood the test of time and was widely-used until the 1960s.

Forest played out their earliest years at a number of different grounds. They started out at the Forest Racecourse before relocating in 1879 to the Castle Ground and the Meadows. Between 1873-1885, they had spells at Trent Bridge, the Parkside Ground and the Gregory Ground, before occupying the Town Ground with some continuity between 1890-1895. In 1898, Forest moved to The City Ground after a concerted fundraising effort secured the £3,000 required. With an FA Cup in the cabinet and ambition in abundance, the future promised much for The Reds.

A Barren Life (1899-1944)
The turn of the century was kind to Forest, who finished fourth in the First Division in 1900/01. The years that followed, however, were not so successful. As World War One approached, they were struggling in the Second Division and in dire financial straits.

It was the outbreak of the war, combined with the generosity of their committee members that, in effect, saved the club. For its duration, the Football league was suspended and replaced by a regional league structure. The League resumed in 1919, by which time Forest had established their Colts team, along with a local player recruitment policy.

The Second World War seemed to take the footballing world by surprise. Forest were on their way to Swansea for their fourth game of the 1939-40 season when the announcement was made. Regional leagues were formed once again.

A Return To The Sun (1945-1958)
Post-war attendances were indicative of the optimism and togetherness people were feeling at the time, with almost 33,000 turning up for the first home game of the 1946-47 season against Newcastle. Two years later, however, Forest were relegated to the Third Division, where they would spend two seasons before winning promotion and re-establishing themselves in the second tier. At the end of the 1956-57 season, The Reds made a welcome return to Division One after an 18-year absence.

A First Tilt At Glory (1958-1974)
Now back in the First Division, Forest's focus switched to picking up their first silverware of the 20th century, a feat which they achieved within two seasons. The team could be forgiven for what was an erratic 1958-59 league campaign after lifting the FA Cup for the second time in their history. Similar to the events of 1898, The Reds had lost heavily to their opponents, in this case Luton Town, only weeks earlier, but had no problem in the final, winning 2-1 despite playing most of the game with ten men.

Although Forest will have hoped to have built immediately on this success, the wait for 1966-67 was worth it. It drew the largest crowds the club had ever seen as fans, buoyed by England's World Cup win, clamoured to see a side challenging for a league and cup double. The team that manager Johnny Carey had assembled went largely unchanged until, sadly, injuries began to take their toll just as they had the FA Cup and First Division title in their sights. The Reds had to settle for a semi-final exit and League runners-up medal but, even so, it was still the club's greatest season to date and expectations had been well and truly raised. That season could easily have been built upon - crowds of 40,000 were virtually guaranteed at the time - but it was not to be. Poor football management, its unique committee structure and proud amateurism almost inevitably led to the club's inability to sustain the success of that year.

After Matt Gillies left in October 1972, there were two short managerial reigns by Dave Mackay and Allan Brown. For a time, they were to languish in the Second Division. It seemed to be a typical tale of post-war Nottingham Forest, but just around the corner lurked a force that was to change everything forever.

Clough, Europe, And The Glory Game (1975-1993)
The Clough era began on 6 January 1975. He appointed Jimmy Gordon, who had been with him at Derby and Leeds, as first-team coach. In February he bought John O'Hare and John McGovern from Leeds, before bringing John Robertson and Martin O'Neill back into the fold after they had requested transfers under Allan Brown. Frank Clark arrived at the end of the season on a free transfer from Newcastle. At the end of his first full season in charge, Clough had led Forest to 8th place in Division Two.

Perhaps the biggest catalyst for success came in July 1976 with the arrival of assistant manager Peter Taylor. It was from here that things began to take shape as Forest won promotion back into Division One. They also picked up their first trophy since 1959 in the shape of the Anglo-Scottish Cup - not the most prestigious of awards but, as Clough contended, an appetiser for future success.

One year later, the duo had their original four-year contracts extended, in which time they won the First Division by seven points and had moulded a squad that was to embark on a domestic and European adventure of epic proportions. Forest began the 1978-79 season with four major trophies in their sights - the Championship, European Cup, FA Cup and League Cup.

The much-heralded partnership of Clough and Taylor came to an end in 1980. The 1981-82 season was to witness perhaps a new era, one to further legitimise Brian Clough's legendary place in the history of Nottingham Forest Football Club. By 1993, it seemed inevitable that the era in the sun was coming to an end. Discontent had been mounting during the season, and on 1 March 1993 the club was forced to hold its first extraordinary meeting for 23 years. A group of shareholders had raised questions about the running of the club by Clough. Clough had in fact easily survived this foray, but nevertheless with relegation seeming inevitable, he announced his impending retirement on 26 April.

The end was pure tragedy. With a packed home ground, weeping supporters and near hysteria, it became apparent that a great and joyous adventure was over: the unpredictable Pied Piper of a manager had gone. The final game of that season was away at Ipswich. Clough took dignified bows. Forest lost 2-1, and ironically his son, Nigel, scored the final goal of Clough's era.

Life After Brian (1993-1998)
There were just two real options to replace Brian Clough. Favourite was Martin O'Neill, then with Wycombe. The other was Frank Clark, who had managed Leyton Orient from 1982-1991. In the event, Frank Clark became the new Forest manager.

Frank Clark had soon engineered a big turn-around in players. The exodus included Nigel Clough, Gary Charles and Roy Keane. Newcomers included Stan Collymore, Colin Cooper, Des Lyttle, David Phillips, Gary Bull, Lars Bohinen, and Gary Bull. By the end of the season, after £10 million-plus worth of transfer dealings, The Reds were back in the Premiership at the first time of asking.

For the next season, the squad was strengthened with the purchase of Brian Roy from Foggia. But the new season witnessed the premature departure of Stan Collymore who insisted on moving to Liverpool for Forest's highest ever transfer sale of £8.5 million. Following this, Kevin Campbell came in from Arsenal and Chris Bart-Williams from Sheffield Wednesday, with Andrea Silenzi from Torino.

The 1995-96 season saw Forest involved in their UEFA Cup campaign up to the quarter-final playing against Malmo, Auxerre, Lyon and Bayern Munich. By the summer of 1996, it had become apparent that the club was facing a major crisis. The club was sliding into uncontrollable debt - the total deficit reached £11.3 million. The club soon found itself in the hands of its auditors, Price Waterhouse. This move was to ultimately lead to the club being taken over by a consortium later to be known as the Bridgford Group, following a meeting on 24 February 1997 with the shareholders voting by 189 votes in favour with 7 against.

On the field, the club was having perhaps its least memorable season ever. After the initial 3-0 win against Coventry on the opening match of the season, Forest didn't win again for 16 games. In the end, Forest finished bottom of the league with just six wins, 34 points and 13 league goals. Frank Clark had departed after the Christmas period and Stuart Pearce operated as caretaker manager. At 6pm on 11 May 1997 Dave Bassett, who had arrived at the club during February as the general manager, assumed control.

Stuart Pearce, Brian Roy, Jason Lee and Alf Inge Haaland left during the close season. In the opposite direction, the club welcomed Andy Johnson from Norwich, Alan Rogers from Tranmere, Geoff Thomas from Wolves, Thierry Bonalair from Neuchatel, Marco Pascolo from Cagliari and Dave Beasant from Southampton. Bobby Houghton joined Dave Bassett as his assistant manager.

The 1997-98 season was to be an outstanding one, kicking off with six consecutive competitive wins, which was the first time Forest had ever managed that feat during its 120 years in competitive football. With a rekindled Steve Stone and Pierre van Hooijdonk now playing up front with Kevin Campbell, Forest set the First Division alight. Forest came out winners of Division One, and returned to the Premier League.

Looking back, 135 years is certainly a long time. The 15 young men that met in the Clinton Arms in 1865 would never have dreamt that their offspring would have played for such great prizes in Munich, Madrid or Tokyo. When they played their first semi-final of the FA Cup in 1879 they didn't even own a ground. When they won the European Cup, they had won their own league only once. When they went to Bolton on 25 November 1978, they had not lost a game for a whole year. They won the European Cup undefeated. Nottingham Forest Football Club - surely the greatest football team in the world.

Into the 21st century below the top-flight (1999–2012)
Ron Atkinson was unable to prevent Forest from once again slipping back into Division One, and announced his retirement from football management when Forest's relegation was confirmed on 24 April 1999, with three weeks of the Premier League season still to play.

Former England captain David Platt succeeded Atkinson and spent approximately £12 million on players in the space of two seasons, including the Italian veterans Moreno Mannini, Salvatore Matrecano and Gianluca Petrachi. However, Forest could only finish 14th in Platt's first season and 11th in his second. He departed in July 2001 to manage the England U21 side and was succeeded by youth team manager Paul Hart.

Now faced with huge debts, which reduced Forest's ability to sign new players, they finished 16th in Hart's first season in charge. By December 2001, Forest were reported as losing over £100,000 every week, and their financial outlook was worsened by the collapse of ITV Digital, which left Forest and many other Football League clubs in severe financial difficulties. Despite the off-field difficulties, Forest finished 2002–03 in sixth place and qualified for the play-offs, where they lost to Sheffield United in the semi-finals. A poor league run the following season, following the loss of several key players, led to the sacking of Hart in February 2004 with Forest in danger of relegation. The decision was unpopular with certain quarters of the fanbase and Hart was described as a 'scapegoat'.

Joe Kinnear was subsequently appointed and led the club to a secure 14th place in the final league table. The 2004–05 season saw Forest drop into the relegation zone once more, leading to Kinnear's resignation in December 2004. Mick Harford took temporary charge of Forest over Christmas, before Gary Megson was appointed in the new year. Megson had already won two promotions to the Premier League with his previous club West Bromwich Albion, having arrived at the club when they were in danger of going down to Division Two, but failed to stave off relegation as the club ended the season second from bottom in 23rd place, becoming the first European Cup-winners ever to fall into their domestic third division.

In Forest's first season in the English third tier in 54 years, a 3–0 defeat at Oldham Athletic in February 2006 led to the departure of Megson by "mutual consent" leaving the club mid-table only four points above the relegation zone. Frank Barlow and Ian McParland took temporary charge for the remainder of the 2005–06 season, engineering a six-match winning run and remaining unbeaten in ten games, the most notable result a 7–1 win over Swindon Town. Forest took 28 points from a possible 39 under the two, narrowly missing out on a play-off place, as they finished in 7th place.

Colin Calderwood, previously of Northampton Town, was appointed as Forest's new manager in May 2006. He was their 12th new manager to be appointed since the retirement of Brian Clough 13 years earlier, and went on to become Forest's longest-serving manager since Frank Clark. The Calderwood era was ultimately one of rebuilding, and included the club's first promotion in a decade. In his first season, he led the club to the play-offs, having squandered a 7-point lead at the top of League One which had been amassed by November 2006. Forest eventually succumbed to a shock 5–4 aggregate defeat in the semi-finals against Yeovil Town; they had taken a 2–0 lead in the first leg at Huish Park, but were then beaten 5–2 on their own soil by the Somerset club. Calderwood achieved automatic promotion in his second year at the club, following an impressive run which saw Forest win six out of their last seven games of the season, culminating in a dramatic final 3–2 win against Yeovil at the City Ground. Forest kept a league record of 24 clean sheets out of 46 games, proving to be the foundation for their return to the second tier of English football and leaving them just one more promotion away from a return to the Premier League.

However, Calderwood's side struggled to adapt to life in the Championship in the 2008–09 campaign and having been unable to steer Forest out of the relegation zone, Calderwood was sacked following a Boxing Day 4–2 defeat to the Championship's bottom club Doncaster Rovers.

Under the temporary stewardship of John Pemberton, Forest finally climbed out of the relegation zone, having beaten Norwich City 3–2. Billy Davies, who had taken Forest's local rivals Derby County into the Premier League two seasons earlier, was confirmed as the new manager on 1 January 2009 and watched Pemberton's side beat Manchester City 3–0 away in the FA Cup, prior to taking official charge. Under Davies, Forest stretched their unbeaten record in all competitions following Calderwood's sacking to six matches, including five wins. He also helped them avoid relegation as they finished 19th in the Championship, securing survival with one game to go.

Forest spent most of the 2009–10 campaign in a top-three position, putting together an unbeaten run of 19 league games, winning 12 home league games in a row (a club record for successive home wins in a single season), going unbeaten away from home from the beginning of the season until 30 January 2010 (a run spanning 13 games) whilst also claiming memorable home victories over local rivals Derby County and Leicester City. The club finished third, missing out on automatic promotion, and in the two-legged play-off semi-final were beaten by Blackpool, 2–1 away and 4–3 in the home leg, the club's first defeat at home since losing to the same opposition in September 2009.

The 2010–11 season saw Forest finish in sixth place in the Championship table with 75 points, putting them into a play-off campaign for the fourth time in the space of eight years. Promotion was yet again to elude Forest, as they were beaten over two legs by eventual play-off final winners Swansea City. Having drawn the first leg 0–0 at the City Ground, they were eventually beaten 3–1 in the second leg.

In June 2011, Billy Davies had his contract terminated, and was replaced as manager by Steve McClaren, who signed a three-year contract. Forest started the 2011–12 season with several poor results and after a 5–1 defeat away to Burnley, David Pleat and Bill Beswick left the club's coaching setup. Less than a week later, following a home defeat to Birmingham City, McClaren resigned, and chairman Nigel Doughty announced that he intended to resign at the end of the season. In October 2011, Nottingham Forest underwent several changes. These changes included the appointment of Frank Clark as new chairman of the club and also that of Steve Cotterill, replacing the recently departed Steve McClaren. Nigel Doughty, owner and previous chairman of the club, died on 4 February 2012, having been involved with the club since the late 1990s, with many estimating his total contribution as being in the region of £100 million.

The Al-Hasawi era (2012–2017)
The Al-Hasawi family, from Kuwait, purchased the club and became the new owners in July 2012. The Al-Hasawi family told press that they had a long-term vision for the club based around a 3–5-year plan, and after interviewing several potential new managers, appointed Sean O'Driscoll, formerly the manager at Doncaster Rovers and Crawley Town, as the manager on 19 July 2012 after a second round of talks with the then Crawley man. He was known for playing an attractive brand of passing football (which had taken Doncaster Rovers into the league's second tier for the first time since the 1950s) and what football fans would consider the Forest way. O'Driscoll had spent five months at the City Ground as Coach under Steve Cotterill in the 2011–12 season before taking over at Crawley. After taking over at Crawley, O'Driscoll never took charge of a single competitive game.

By 15 December 2012, after the team's 0–0 draw away to Brighton, Forest sat in ninth position with 33 points, just three points off the play-off positions. The Al-Hasawi's 3–5-year plan had turned into a push for the play-offs in their first season as the owners. On the same weekend, the club announced that Omar Al-Hasawi had stepped down due to personal reasons and Fawaz Al-Hasawi, the majority shareholder with 75% had taken the position, with his brother Abdulaziz Al-Hasawi holding a 20% share and his cousin Omar Al-Hasawi holding a 5% share.

On Boxing Day 2012, manager Sean O'Driscoll was sacked following a 4–2 victory over Leeds United with the club stating their intentions of a change ahead of the January transfer window and hopes of appointing a manager with Premiership experience. The man to replace O'Driscoll was Alex McLeish. The move was criticised by some members of the Forest fan base. Chief executive Mark Arthur as well as scout Keith Burt and club ambassador Frank Clark were dismissed in January 2013. On 5 February 2013, Forest and Alex McLeish had parted company by mutual agreement, just 40 days after McLeish took charge of the club. Forest supporters and pundits alike registered their concern for the state of the club, with journalist Pat Murphy describing the situation as a "shambles".

Two days after McLeish's departure, the club re-appointed Billy Davies as manager, having been sacked as the team's manager twenty months previously. His first match in charge was a draw, followed by a run of 10 undefeated games. In March 2014, the club terminated Davies's employment, following a 5–0 defeat by Derby County. Neil Warnock turned down the job as Forest manager on the day Davies was sacked. After initially rejecting the job in March 2014, fans favourite Stuart Pearce was named the man to replace Billy Davies, taking over from caretaker manager Gary Brazil. He signed a two-year contract commencing on 1 July 2014. Pearce led Forest to an unbeaten start to the season but failed to keep up the form. He was sacked in February 2015 and replaced by another former Forest player, Dougie Freedman.

Another mid-table finish meant that Forest began the 2015–16 season still in the Championship and now in their 17th season away from the Premier League. On 13 March 2016, Freedman was sacked, following a 3–0 defeat at home to Sheffield Wednesday. Paul Williams was then appointed as temporary manager as Nottingham Forest searched for their new manager. Finally, following months of speculation the former US Boulogne, Valenciennes FC, Real Sociedad, and Stade Rennais head coach Philippe Montanier was appointed on a two-year contract on 27 June 2016, but was sacked after fewer than seven months in charge. Mark Warburton was named as the club's new manager on 14 March 2017. Forest narrowly avoided relegation on the final day of the 2016–17 season, where a 3–0 home victory against Ipswich ensured their safety at the expense of Blackburn.

Evangelos Marinakis and Premier League return (2017–present)
On 18 May 2017, it was confirmed that Evangelos Marinakis had completed his takeover of Nottingham Forest, bringing an end to Al-Hasawi's reign as Forest owner. Incumbent manager Mark Warburton was sacked on 31 December 2017 following a 1–0 home defeat to struggling Sunderland, with a record of one win in seven. He was replaced by Spaniard Aitor Karanka, who arrived on 8 January 2018, immediately after caretaker manager Gary Brazil had masterminded a 4–2 home win over FA Cup holders Arsenal in the third round of the FA Cup. Karanka made 10 new signings during the January transfer window. Following a 17th-place finish in the Championship for the 2017–18 season, Karanka made 14 new signings during the summer transfer window and the following season results improved.

However, despite a strong league position, Karanka left his position on 11 January 2019 after requesting to be released from his contract. He was replaced with former Republic of Ireland boss Martin O'Neill four days later. However, O'Neill was sacked in June after reportedly falling out with some of the senior first team players. He was replaced with Sabri Lamouchi on the same day. In Lamouchi's first season in charge, despite spending most of the season in the playoffs, Forest finished in 7th place despite sitting in 5th going into the final game. On 6 October 2020, Lamouchi was sacked by the club following a poor start to the 2020–21 season. He was replaced by former Brighton manager Chris Hughton. After an ultimately unsuccessful 11 months in charge, Hughton was sacked on 16 September 2021 after failing to win any of the club's opening 7 games of the 2021–22 season.

Forest chairman Nicholas Randall had initially promised that Forest planned to return to playing European football within five seasons, and yet poor transfers and a toxic club culture meant that Forest remained in the Championship four years into the Marinakis era. In the summer of 2021, structural changes were made at the club to try and correct the previous mistakes. Forest appointed Dane Murphy as Chief Executive, and George Syrianos was brought in as head of recruitment to bring about a more analytics driven transfer policy. The Forest hierarchy committed to avoid the 'short-termism' of previous windows by no longer signing players for more than £18,000 a week and mostly targeting younger signings that could be sold for a profit.

On 21 September 2021, Forest announced the appointment of Steve Cooper as the club's new head coach. Despite being bottom of the league when Cooper was appointed, Cooper inspired an impressive turnaround in form leaving the club in 7th position at Christmas, and all the way up in 4th by the end of the season, qualifying Forest for the playoffs for the first time since the 2010–11 season. In the 2022 Championship play-off semi-final, Forest defeated Sheffield United on penalties to advance to the final against Huddersfield Town, who they beat 1–0 at Wembley Stadium, and were promoted to the Premier League for the first time since the 1998–99 season.

On 19th December 2023, the club sacked Cooper; he was replaced by previous Al-Ittihad manager Nuno Espírito Santo.

Nuno Espírito Santo

The Facts

Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The football club was founded in 1865. Forest has played home matches at the City Ground since 1898. The club will compete in the Premier League, the first tier of the English football league system, for the 2022–23 season.

Forest has won one League title, two FA Cups, four League Cups, one FA Charity Shield, two European Cups, and one UEFA Super Cup. The club has competed in the top two tiers of English football since its admission to the Football League, with the exception of five seasons in the third tier. Its most successful period was under the management of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which included back-to-back wins in the European Cup in 1979 and 1980.

In Clough's last decade at the club, the Forest team won the 1989 and 1990 League Cups and were losing finalists in the 1991 FA Cup Final, before relegation from the Premier League in 1993. Upon an immediate return Forest finished third in the Premier League in 1995, before the club suffered relegation again in 1997 and, after a brief return, once more in 1999.

The club's fiercest rivalry is with Derby County, with which it contests the East Midlands derby and competes for the Brian Clough Trophy. Forest also contests the Nottingham derby with city rivals Notts County; however, as County has generally played in lower leagues than its neighbours, fixtures between the two clubs have been rare in recent history. There is also a notable rivalry with Leicester City.

On 29 May 2022, Nottingham Forest gained promotion to the Premier League after a 1–0 win over Huddersfield Town in the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium.

For further information check out their Official website

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Nuno Espírito Santo

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