Forest Early History - sponsored by I‘m Red Till Dead

[Timothy Pope]

I left school at 15 in 1964 Nicola. I got a job at Temple Printing close to my home in the Meadows as a trainee compositor where my first wage was £4.7s 6d. (for the record, I stuck that job out for about a year-or-so before moving on).

Even though my old man insisted I pay £1 10s board, unbeknowing to him, my mother only took £1 from me. Being an aspiring young mod at the time, that extra ten-bob in my pocket made a significant difference to my clothes and records budget.

We’re you there when Robbo did his work experience Otis?

 

[Otis Redding]

We’re you there when Robbo did his work experience Otis?

No mate, Robbo's a few years younger than me. I think he joined Forest in 1968.

 

[I'm Red Till Dead]

(Irish Independent, Friday, 06 October, 1995)

Blackburn get cut-price bargain​

MONEY-BAGS Blackburn Rovers yesterday saved almost £2 million when they completed the transfer of Norwegian international Lars Bohinen from Nottingham Forest.

The Premiership champions capitalised on a clause in the midfielder's contract which allowed him to leave Forest for £700,000 just £200,000 more than manager Frank Clark paid when he lured Bohinen to the City Ground from Swiss side Young Boys Berne.

The deal represents Rovers boss Ray Harford's biggest outlay on a player, beating the £600.000 he spent on recruiting Matty Holmes from West Ham in August.

Harford has promised that the spending will not stop there. He said: "We will have at least two new faces by the time we play Southampton on Saturday week."

Forest boss Frank Clark is fuming over Bohinen's depature. Quizzed over why Bohinen had opted to go, Clark dramatically put his hand into his pocket and threw a handful of coins on to the table in front of him, adding: "I'm sure that's why. I don't know of any other reason.

"They must have offered him more money than we did in our new contract. I'd be interested to know whether they've included the 47 clauses - and I'm only slightly exaggerating - he and I have negotiated in the last seven months.

"I have to say I'm disappointed in Lars, very disappointed. I feel let down. Betrayed might be a bit strong but I feel let down."

Clark refused to confirm or deny reports that Bohinen had demanded £500.000 to have the clause removed and was clearly upset that its existence had been widely circulated.

"Somebody has been putting it around for six months," he said. "Two managers told me in the summer that the situation had been brought to their notice. I honestly don't know who it was. I tried to keep them quiet but it got out."

"Don't get me wrong. I'm totally responsible. When he first joined us we were in the first division and not doing that well and he was a relatively unknown Norwegian with no experience of England.

"He asked for the clause as a bit of comfort in case the move didn't work out. If he moved we'd still make a profit but since then it's been a millstone round my neck.

"We've been trying to negotiate a new contract with him for a long time to get rid of the clause but his demands were just totally over the top. The money he wanted to buy it out was totally unacceptable."

(Grimsby Daily Telegraph, Friday, October 06, 1995)

Forest contact FIFA​

NOTTINGHAM Forest manager Frank Clark has urged FIFA and the Football Association to investigate Lars Bohinen’s £700,000 transfer to Blackburn.

The 26-year-old Norwegian international was under contract when he left Forest and Clark wants the FA and FIFA to look into possible “tapping” of the player.

Bohinen signed for the English champions late last night and has admitted that he’s been planning such a big-money move since he joined Forest two years ago.

The midfielder confessed that he spoke with banned Norwegian agent Rune Hauge about Rovers’ interest which he first discovered last month.

 

[I'm Red Till Dead]

Its a shame a copy of this isn't around still to listen too.

 

[I'm Red Till Dead]

(Daily Mirror, Thursday, September 25, 1980)

Quids in !
Forest's bonanza​

By DAVID MOORE

NOTTINGHAM FOREST have astounded the soccer world yet again - by announcing a British record profit of £1,258,000.

This fantastic figure should finally destroy notions that manager Brian Clough's big spending on players, plus the new City Ground stand is a recipe which threatens financial disaster.

It also places Liverpool's recent £32,000 loss on a championship season and much larger League gates into even sharper perspective.

Chairman Geoffrey Macpherson the continual target. of sniping remarks from Clough - generously hands most credit for the feat to Forest's ultra-professional management.

He commented: "We have progressed in less than a decade from being a small insignificant team to becoming champions of Europe during two successive seasons."

Forest turned a £367,000 debit on the previous .year into this amazing profit, and cleared off their £262,000 bank overdraft as well.

They still owe £1,350,000 on their stand. Ian Wallace and Raimondo Ponte have since cost another £1,588,000 in the transfer market. But against all that, Forest can point to a season ticket income of £1,000,000 on top of their profit.

 

[I'm Red Till Dead]

1987 Awards​

Manager's Player of the Year Post Readers' Player of the Year

 

[I'm Red Till Dead]

1987 Awards​

Junior Reds player of the year

Young Player of the year

 

[I'm Red Till Dead]

From 1980 Cloughie on the record with JJ Barrie

 

[Steve B]

Get down

 

[I'm Red Till Dead]

( Long Eaton Advertiser, Thursday, March 16, 1978 )

 

[I'm Red Till Dead]

(Daily Mirror, Friday, February 03, 1978)​

NOTTINGHAM Forest skipper John McGovern received a request the other week from Ireland for a pair of the club's shorts. Inside the envelope was a smaller envelope, addressed and with postage paid. John solved the problem of size by going out and buying a pair of "Action Man" shorts and sending those. Just the size for a leprechaun.

 

[I'm Red Till Dead]

I was looking through the 1977-8 seasons papers and spotted this article by Malcolm Macdonald recalling the FA Cup 3rd round tie at the City Ground between Forest and Luton.

(Sports Argus - Saturday 11 February 1978)

FOREST CUP CRASHER

The day the post fell down​

ONE of Macdonald's most vivid Cup memories was when he was a player at Luton, and they were involved in a third round tie with Nottingham Forest.

Malcolm Macdonald recalls:

"The pitch was very hard and icy, and it was virtually impossible to stand up, never mind play football.

"The score was still 0-0, when our goalkeeper hit a long ball upfield and I chased after it. I managed to catch it and lob the ball over the keeper."

“The Forest full back came charging in attempting to clear the ball, overran it and hurtled into the net, breaking one of the posts. “

"The ball then bounced over the bar which was 8 feet high at one end, but lying on the ground at the other.”

"Normally it would have been a goal, but as the ball had bounced over the bar, the referee ordered a goal kick . . . although the post had to be repaired first."



The way that Macdonald recalls the incident differs from the report that appeared in Nottingham’s Football Post though, as can be seen in the following extract.


(Football Post, Saturday, January 02, 1971)

Luton’s chance of an equaliser came after 33 minutes when a quick throw by Keen put O’Kane in trouble and in trying to head the ball back to Barron, the Reds' centre half gave Macdonald the chance to intercept and push the ball wide of the goalkeeper.

EAGER

His effort went into the side netting but in his eagerness to try and save the situation, Winfield finished up in the back of the net and this caused a post to snap off at ground level.

The referee Immediately halted the match and the two teams went into the dressing rooms while a new post was brought out and put up in place of the broken one.

The game ended in a 1-1 draw. Forest went to Kennilwoth Road and won the replay 4-3.

It just goes to show how our memories can differ from how others observe the same thing.

(The game was on Match of the Day, but although the other two games can be viewed on Youtube, no one seems to have uploaded the City Ground game)

 

[Cloughie1975]

I was looking through the 1977-8 seasons papers and spotted this article by Malcolm Macdonald recalling the FA Cup 3rd round tie at the City Ground between Forest and Luton.

(Sports Argus - Saturday 11 February 1978)

FOREST CUP CRASHER

The day the post fell down​

ONE of Macdonald's most vivid Cup memories was when he was a player at Luton, and they were involved in a third round tie with Nottingham Forest.

Malcolm Macdonald recalls:

"The pitch was very hard and icy, and it was virtually impossible to stand up, never mind play football.

"The score was still 0-0, when our goalkeeper hit a long ball upfield and I chased after it. I managed to catch it and lob the ball over the keeper."

“The Forest full back came charging in attempting to clear the ball, overran it and hurtled into the net, breaking one of the posts. “

"The ball then bounced over the bar which was 8 feet high at one end, but lying on the ground at the other.”

"Normally it would have been a goal, but as the ball had bounced over the bar, the referee ordered a goal kick . . . although the post had to be repaired first."



The way that Macdonald recalls the incident differs from the report that appeared in Nottingham’s Football Post though, as can be seen in the following extract.


(Football Post, Saturday, January 02, 1971)

Luton’s chance of an equaliser came after 33 minutes when a quick throw by Keen put O’Kane in trouble and in trying to head the ball back to Barron, the Reds' centre half gave Macdonald the chance to intercept and push the ball wide of the goalkeeper.

EAGER

His effort went into the side netting but in his eagerness to try and save the situation, Winfield finished up in the back of the net and this caused a post to snap off at ground level.

The referee Immediately halted the match and the two teams went into the dressing rooms while a new post was brought out and put up in place of the broken one.

The game ended in a 1-1 draw. Forest went to Kennilwoth Road and won the replay 4-3.

It just goes to show how our memories can differ from how others observe the same thing.

(The game was on Match of the Day, but although the other two games can be viewed on Youtube, no one seems to have uploaded the City Ground game)

The Evening Post report is the accurate one.
I vividly remember standing on the East Stand terrace-a man behind me stated ‘it might knock some
sense into him(Winfield)!’
Incidentally,the replay at Luton was postponed because of fog and Macdonald scored a hat-trick
when it was eventually played.

 

[I'm Red Till Dead]

(Liverpool Echo, Saturday, February 11, 1978)

Forest's brisk walk to top honours​

Nottingham Forest train no harder than the other clubs in the First Division, says Archie Gemmill, the little Scot whose surging runs through the mud have been a feature of the League leaders' recent successes.

"People keep saying that we are super-fit and that Jimmy Gordon really puts us through it in training but it just is not so," says Gemmill. "In fact, we do very little training now, sometimes no more than a brisk walk and a few exercises.”

"Like most teams we worked really hard at the start of the season, now we have enough matches to keep us fit. We probably seem fitter than most because in a successful team everybody is willing to do more. You want to keep running, so people think you are all superhuman ... super-confident would probably be a better explanation."

Jimmy Gordon. a key member of the Brian Clough-Peter Taylor team at Derby County, is the man responsible for fitness at Forest.

"His routine here is very much the same as then," explains former Derby man Gemmill. "We have one day off a week, train about one and a half hours on the other days and take it particularly easy if we have played on a very heavy pitch before." "At the moment it is probably the struggling teams who are training the hardest and on the muddy pitches you get now that can be very hard on tired legs."

 

[I'm Red Till Dead]

(Daily Mirror, Thursday, October, 30 1975)

County puzzled over ban on programme ‘ad’​

NOTTS COUNTY'S bid to advertise in the programme of neighbours Nottingham Forest has been turned down.

The rejection came from the printing firm who publish Forest's programme and puzzled County officials.

County secretary Dennis Marshall said: "Forest would not have lost a single fan - The two clubs do not play at home on the same day so there would have been no clash of interest."


Note: Dennis Marshall ought to have known better as he had been with Forest for about 30 years before ending up at County, after, if the paper I read is correct, being sacked by Forest in 1970. One of the jobs he used to do was the programme editor when he was the Forest vice-secretary.

 

[Cloughie1975]

(Liverpool Echo, Saturday, February 11, 1978)

Forest's brisk walk to top honours​

Nottingham Forest train no harder than the other clubs in the First Division, says Archie Gemmill, the little Scot whose surging runs through the mud have been a feature of the League leaders' recent successes.

"People keep saying that we are super-fit and that Jimmy Gordon really puts us through it in training but it just is not so," says Gemmill. "In fact, we do very little training now, sometimes no more than a brisk walk and a few exercises.”

"Like most teams we worked really hard at the start of the season, now we have enough matches to keep us fit. We probably seem fitter than most because in a successful team everybody is willing to do more. You want to keep running, so people think you are all superhuman ... super-confident would probably be a better explanation."

Jimmy Gordon. a key member of the Brian Clough-Peter Taylor team at Derby County, is the man responsible for fitness at Forest.

"His routine here is very much the same as then," explains former Derby man Gemmill. "We have one day off a week, train about one and a half hours on the other days and take it particularly easy if we have played on a very heavy pitch before." "At the moment it is probably the struggling teams who are training the hardest and on the muddy pitches you get now that can be very hard on tired legs."

I don’t suppose getting beered up on the eve of the 1979 League Cup final against Southampton would
appear in many fitness regimes in the modern era.

 

[I'm Red Till Dead]

I don’t suppose getting beered up on the eve of the 1979 League Cup final against Southampton would
appear in many fitness regimes in the modern era.

It seems to have been tried again in the end run of the 04-05 season. And they won the game the following day against Burnley 1-0. ( I think I might have posted this before, but anyway... ). We still got relegated.

(The Daily Mirror, Friday, April 22, 2005)

EXCLUSIVE: FOREST BOOZE SHAME

FANS’ shock at drunken rampage of 12 players on eve of the club’s biggest game for 25 years.​

FURIOUS Nottingham Forest chiefs last night promised to punish a DOZEN players who embarked on a drunken, glass-smashing pub crawl days before their most important game in years.

Forest chief executive Mark Arthur has launched an immediate investigation after the club was bombarded with complaints from the public.

The boozy stars smashed and threw glasses around crowded bars, guzzled expensive champagne and abused staff.

They drank the night away in trendy bars Via Fossa and Tantra and were warned to tone down their antics before the police were called.

One witness said: "They were being rowdy and mouthy, were very drunk and were smashing glasses and finding it funny. It got to the stage where we threatened to call the police."

Forest stand on the brink of relegation to the wilderness of League One this weekend, 25 years after their second European Cup win. They are the first club to win the trophy who have sunk so low.

Garry Birtles, a Forest legend for his part in the double European Cup triumphs in 1979 and 1980, blasted: "The Forest fans were recently singing that the players weren’t fit to wear the shirt - now they’ve gone out and proved it."

Forest are second bottom of the Coca-Cola Championship and tomorrow they must beat Burnley to hang on to their slim hopes of avoiding relegation.

Manager Gary Megson has been forced to sell off their star names like Michael Dawson and Andy Reid.

But that did not stop an estimated dozen players, including David Johnson, Alan Rogers, Wes Morgan and John Thompson, rampaging around Nottingham’s city centre.

Chief executive Arthur said: "We have received complaints from members of the public regarding the behaviour of a group of players in Nottingham city centre on Tuesday evening.

"We have launched an internal inquiry and will take appropriate action against the players concerned if we find they have a case to answer."

 

[Cloughie1975]

It seems to have been tried again in the end run of the 04-05 season. And they won the game the following day against Burnley 1-0. ( I think I might have posted this before, but anyway... ). We still got relegated.

(The Daily Mirror, Friday, April 22, 2005)

EXCLUSIVE: FOREST BOOZE SHAME

FANS’ shock at drunken rampage of 12 players on eve of the club’s biggest game for 25 years.​

FURIOUS Nottingham Forest chiefs last night promised to punish a DOZEN players who embarked on a drunken, glass-smashing pub crawl days before their most important game in years.

Forest chief executive Mark Arthur has launched an immediate investigation after the club was bombarded with complaints from the public.

The boozy stars smashed and threw glasses around crowded bars, guzzled expensive champagne and abused staff.

They drank the night away in trendy bars Via Fossa and Tantra and were warned to tone down their antics before the police were called.

One witness said: "They were being rowdy and mouthy, were very drunk and were smashing glasses and finding it funny. It got to the stage where we threatened to call the police."

Forest stand on the brink of relegation to the wilderness of League One this weekend, 25 years after their second European Cup win. They are the first club to win the trophy who have sunk so low.

Garry Birtles, a Forest legend for his part in the double European Cup triumphs in 1979 and 1980, blasted: "The Forest fans were recently singing that the players weren’t fit to wear the shirt - now they’ve gone out and proved it."

Forest are second bottom of the Coca-Cola Championship and tomorrow they must beat Burnley to hang on to their slim hopes of avoiding relegation.

Manager Gary Megson has been forced to sell off their star names like Michael Dawson and Andy Reid.

But that did not stop an estimated dozen players, including David Johnson, Alan Rogers, Wes Morgan and John Thompson, rampaging around Nottingham’s city centre.

Chief executive Arthur said: "We have received complaints from members of the public regarding the behaviour of a group of players in Nottingham city centre on Tuesday evening.

"We have launched an internal inquiry and will take appropriate action against the players concerned if we find they have a case to answer."

A fitting end to a shambolic season-possibly the lowest point in Forest’s history.

 

[Gillies Out!]

The Evening Post report is the accurate one.
I vividly remember standing on the East Stand terrace-a man behind me stated ‘it might knock some
sense into him(Winfield)!’
Incidentally,the replay at Luton was postponed because of fog and Macdonald scored a hat-trick
when it was eventually played.

Spot on Cloughie. I was stood on East Stand that day. IIRC Forest had got rid of metal stanchions earlier that season. Replaced by 2 wooden poles holding up the net at back of the goal. So there wasnt much support when Winny piled into the goal.
The reason for the change was Palace having a "goal" ruled out against Forest at Selhurst (September 70?) Jim Barron turned a shot into the sidenetting which hit the stanchion bouncing back into play. The re f gave a goal and was only persuaded to rule it out when Palace skipper Steve Kember told him what had happened.
The idea was that it couldnt happen again if stanchions were taken out trouble was the goal collapsed. Quite a delay if IIRC. Think Forest switched back quite quickly after that.

 

[Cloughie1975]

Spot on Cloughie. I was stood on East Stand that day. IIRC Forest had got rid of metal stanchions earlier that season. Replaced by 2 wooden poles holding up the net at back of the goal. So there wasnt much support when Winny piled into the goal.
The reason for the change was Palace having a "goal" ruled out against Forest at Selhurst (September 70?) Jim Barron turned a shot into the sidenetting which hit the stanchion bouncing back into play. The re f gave a goal and was only persuaded to rule it out when Palace skipper Steve Kember told him what had happened.
The idea was that it couldnt happen again if stanchions were taken out trouble was the goal collapsed. Quite a delay if IIRC. Think Forest switched back quite quickly after that.

The Palace ‘goal’ was scored at the beginning of our relegation season (1971/72) and the Winfield incident
occurred before that during the previous season (January 1971) so the match at Selhurst Park wasn’t the reason for the change.
I don’t really know why the wooden poles were used-but as you say,they didn’t last long.You are probably on the right track as I went to the FA Cup 5th Round tie at Tottenham in February 1971 and
Ian Storey-Moore’s penalty bounced back off the stanchion into play (although the goal was correctly
given)-I guess there must have been a debate about stanchions going on at the time.

 

[I'm Red Till Dead]

 

[Gillies Out!]

The Palace ‘goal’ was scored at the beginning of our relegation season (1971/72) and the Winfield incident
occurred before that during the previous season (January 1971) so the match at Selhurst Park wasn’t the reason for the change.
I don’t really know why the wooden poles were used-but as you say,they didn’t last long.

Right again Cloughie. I was going from memory which is a bit dim now!
Tell me do you remember the 4th Round home tie v Orient that season (70/71). I am sure I remember the usual big cheer as a team ran out in red shirts which was quickly silenced when crowd realised Orient we re wearing Red shirts that day! Forest later emerged wearing White shirts and shorts. For some reason at that time away teams didnt change their colours for away FA cup ties or have I mixed that up as well?

 

[Cloughie1975]

Right again Cloughie. I was going from memory which is a bit dim now!
Tell me do you remember the 4th Round home tie v Orient that season (70/71). I am sure I remember the usual big cheer as a team ran out in red shirts which was quickly silenced when crowd realised Orient we re wearing Red shirts that day! Forest later emerged wearing White shirts and shorts. For some reason at that time away teams didnt change their colours for away FA cup ties or have I mixed that up as well?

That’s correct,Forest were in white that day-it looked very strange at the City Ground!

 

[I'm Red Till Dead]

Ok, so it's an ex-Forest player's history rather than the clubs, but I thought a few would find this story of poor Roy Dwight, Interesting. He was alledgedly sacked for an error made by his replacement as manager.

(Herts and Essex Observer, Thursday February 23, 1978)​

Roy Dwight's departure from Dartford sees yet another top-flight non-league manager on the side-lines. Dwight's sudden exit followed the amazing FA Trophy second-round mix-up between Leatherhead and the Southern League club earlier this month. Dartford failed to turn up because they were hoaxed into believing the game had been called off.

Dwight said: “It is ridiculous. The club put this down to the Leatherhead fiasco, but then gave the job to my assistant manager John Stevens.”

“I understand it was Stevens who made the telephone call to Leatherhead and was informed of the ‘postponement.’”

Dwight, who played in the 1959 FA Cup final for Nottingham Forest, has proved to be one of the best managers on the non-league circuit, bringing FA Cup success to Tooting and Mitcham in his four and a half years with the Isthmian League club.

He joined Dartford 18 months ago and proved he had not lost his flair, for they carried off the Southern League Cup for the first time in their history.

 

[I'm Red Till Dead]

It seems Leeds feared being thrown out of the League during the 1977-8 season due to crowd trouble and rushed to erect barriers prior to the League Cup semi-final 1st leg against Forest.

(Birmingham Daily Post, Monday, February 06, 1978)

Leeds to Erect Barriers Ahead of Forest League Cup Semi-Final​

LEEDS UNITED, anxious to avoid more crowd trouble at Elland Road, are aiming to have at least part of their ground fenced in for the first leg of the League Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.

Leeds, banned from staging F A Cup fixtures on their ground for the next three seasons, were also ordered by the F A to erect fencing on two sides following an invasion of spectators during the third round match against Manchester City on January 7 described by the club as "one of the blackest days in our history."

Work on the barrier is due to start today and Leeds are hoping that it will be completed at the Kop end, where there was most trouble during the Manchester City game, in time for the Forest visit.

Leeds have warned supporters of the dire consequences which could follow further trouble. "Unless there is a dramatic improvement in the behaviour of some of our so-called supporters the club may be banished to the lower divisions, or, as indicated by the League secretary, Alan Hardaker, even from the League altogether. The situation is as serious as that," says the club statement.