1977–78 Nottingham Forest F.C. season

Nottingham Forest F.C.
1977–78 season
Chairman S.M. Dryden, J.P.
Manager Brian Clough
Football League Division One 1st (Champions)
FA Cup Sixth Round
League Cup Winners
Top goalscorer League: John Robertson, Peter Withe (12)
All: Peter Withe, Tony 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

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.

Players

Squad Stats

The statistics for the following players are for their time during 1977-78 season playing for Nottingham Forest. Any stats from a different club during 1977-78 are not included. Includes all competitive matches.

Position Nation Name Total Division One League Cup FA Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK England John Middleton 6 0 5 0 1 0 0 0
GK England Peter Shilton 43 0 37 0 0 0 6 0
GK England Chris Woods 7 0 0 0 7 0 0 0
DF England Viv Anderson 50 4 37 3 8 1 5 0
DF England Colin Barrett 41(2) 1 33(2) 1 5 0 3 0
DF Scotland Kenny Burns 55 4 41 4 8 0 6 0
DF England Frank Clark 19(1) 1 12(1) 1 4 0 3 0
DF England Bryn Gunn 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DF England Larry Lloyd 34 1 26 0 6 1 2 0
DF England David Needham 22 4 16 4 0 0 6 0
MF England Ian Bowyer 36(3) 6 25(3) 4 8 6 3 0
MF England Steve Burke 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF Scotland Archie Gemmill 36(2) 3 32(2) 3 0 0 4 0
MF Scotland John McGovern 42 5 31 4 7 1 4 0
MF Northern Ireland Martin O'Neill 52(2) 13 38(2) 8 8 3 6 2
MF Scotland John Robertson 56 18 42 12 8 3 6 3
FW England Garry Birtles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW England Steve Elliott 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW Scotland John O'Hare 11(2) 1 10 0 1(1) 1 0(1) 0
FW England Peter Withe 54 19 40 12 8 5 6 2
FW England Tony Woodcock 50 19 36 11 8 4 6 4
Own goals 2 2

Transfers In

Pos Player From Fee Date
DFScotland Kenny BurnsEngland Birmingham City£150,000July 1977
GKEngland Peter ShiltonEngland Stoke City£325,000September 1977
MFScotland Archie GemmillEngland Derby County£25,000 & P/ESeptember 1977
DFEngland David NeedhamEngland Queens Park Rangers£140,000December 1977

Transfers Out

Pos Player To Fee Date
DFEngland Sammy ChapmanEngland Notts County£7,500July 1977
FWEngland Barry ButlinEngland Peterborough United£20,000September 1977
MFEngland Sean HaslegraveEngland Preston North End£25,000September 1977
GKEngland John MiddletonEngland Derby CountyP/ESeptember 1977
MFEngland Terry CurranEngland Derby County£50,000November 1977

Club Kit

Supplier: Adidas

Home
Away

Source: Wikipedia Nottingham Forest Article

Table

Pos Team 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[lower-alpha 1] 42 24 9 9 65 34 +31 57
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
6 West Bromwich Albion[lower-alpha 2] 42 18 14 10 62 53 +9 50
7 Coventry City 42 18 12 12 75 62 +13 48
8 Aston Villa 42 18 10 14 57 42 +15 46
9 Leeds United 42 18 10 14 63 53 +10 46
10 Manchester United 42 16 10 16 67 63 +4 42
11 Birmingham City 42 16 9 17 55 60 −5 41
12 Derby County 42 14 13 15 54 59 −5 41
13 Norwich City 42 11 18 13 52 66 −14 40
14 Middlesbrough 42 12 15 15 42 54 −12 39
15 Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 12 12 18 51 64 −13 36
16 Chelsea 42 11 14 17 46 69 −23 36
17 Bristol City 42 11 13 18 49 53 −4 35
18 Ipswich Town[lower-alpha 3] 42 11 13 18 47 61 −14 35 Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round
19 Queens Park Rangers 42 9 15 18 47 64 −17 33
20 West Ham United (R) 42 12 8 22 52 69 −17 32 Relegation to Football League Second Division
21 Newcastle United (R) 42 6 10 26 42 78 −36 22
22 Leicester City (R) 42 5 12 25 26 70 −44 22
Source: Statto
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. ↑ Qualified as winners of the 1976-77 European Cup.
  2. ↑ Nottingham Forest qualified for the UEFA Cup first round by winning the 1977-78 Football League Cup. However, since they already qualified for European competition based on their league position, the spot awarded to the league cup winners was passed to the next best-placed team (sixth-placed West Bromwich Albion).
  3. ↑ Qualified as winners of the 1977-78 FA Cup.

Matches

A list of Nottingham Forest's matches in the 1977-78 season.[1][2][3]

Competitive

Division One

League Cup

FA Cup

Pre-season and Friendlies

References

  1. ↑ http://www.bridportred.com/1970s/1977-1978%20results%20&%20teams.htm
  2. ↑ Smales, Ken (1991). Forest - The First 125 Years. Nottingham: Temple Printing. ISBN 978-1870010092.
  3. ↑ 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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