Nottingham Forest FC was started in 1865 and it is based in Nottinghamshire. It is seen as the oldest football league club and it has been playing its home games at the City Ground since 1898.
The team currently plays in the EFL Championship and its main rival is Derby County, with the East Midlands derby always being highly anticipated. The club has been successful in the past, having won two European Cups, a league title, two FA Cups and four League Cups over the years.
History of Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest FC was set up in 1865 when a group of shinty players had a meeting and decided to start a football team. Nottingham Forest helped many notable teams start in their early years, including donating jerseys to the likes of Arsenal and Everton, as well as helping Brighton secure a playing ground.
The team joined the Football League in 1892 and it made its way to its first FA Cup final in 1897/1898 but lost to Southampton. Nottingham Forest got relegated in 1905/1906 before winning the league the following year and getting promoted.
The club’s financial situation was dire around the time of World War One but committee members contributed enough funds to keep the club going. The club was in the doldrums for a number of years before getting back to the First Division in 1957.
The team got to the FA Cup final in 1958/1959 and defeated Luton Town to claim the club’s first FA Cup. They also finished runner-up in the league the next season.
A golden era
While the team got relegated in 1972, Brian Clough came into the club in 1975 and set about a golden era for the club. The team made a number of notable transfers and along with Peter Taylor, Cough took Nottingham Forest to new heights. The team got promoted back to the First Division thanks to a third-place finish in the 1976/1977 season.
Nottingham Forest FC managed to win its first and only tier one league title in 1977/178, as well as winning the Football League Cup the same year after a replay. The following season, it was runner-up in the league and they won the European Cup, defending this title again a year later. This was in addition to a League Cup win.
End of an era
In total, Brian Clough was in charge of Nottingham Forest from 1975 until 1993 when the club got relegated after the first season of the Premier League. The team did make it back to the Premier League after getting promoted the following season and finished 5th place in the league after promotion.
It got relegated in 1997, promoted the following year and has not played in the Premier League since 1999. The club got new owners in 2012 and this led to a turbulent few years until a new owner came into place in 2017.
Notable players
Over the years, there have been a lot of legendary players that have pulled on the Nottingham Forest jersey. Some of the notable players during the glory years of the club include:
- Peter Shilton,
- Martin O’Neill,
- Kenny Burns,
- Viv Anderson,
- Trevor Francis and
- John Robertson.
More recent players that saw success at Nottingham Forest before becoming established internationals included Stuart Pearce and Roy Keane.
Supporter base
Nottingham Forest’s closest club is Notts County. However, the two clubs have rarely met over the years. Instead, Derby County is the biggest rival for Nottingham Forest. They take part in the East Midlands Derby and the Brian Clough Trophy has been up for grabs since 2007 with this fixture.
Leicester City is another major rival for Nottingham Forest, with Sheffield United acting as a regional rival. The team has been playing at the City Ground since 1989, with numerous renovations taking place over the years. Most recently, it was in February 2019 that the club announced plans to redevelop the stadium and increase its capacity to 38,000.
Betting on Nottingham Forest FC
Nottingham Forest has gone through many different phases over the years. The club has been a fixture in the Championship for a number of years without threatening promotion too much. However, there are still loads of betting opportunities for Nottingham Forest games.
You can see reviews of the leading football betting sites on Roger.com, with all of these reviews being unbiased. It only takes a couple of minutes to get signed up for an account.
