History of Nottingham Forest F.C.

19th century

In 1865 a group of Shinty players met at the Clinton Arms on Nottingham's Shakespeare Street. JS Scrimshaw's proposal to play football instead was agreed and Nottingham Forest Football Club was formed. It was agreed at the same meeting that the club would purchase twelve tasselled caps coloured 'Garibaldi Red' (named after the leader of the Italian 'Redshirts' freedom fighters). Thus the club's official colours were established. Forest's first ever official game was played against Notts County taking place on 22 March 1866.^[1]

In their early years Forest were a multi-sports club. As well as their roots in bandy and shinty, Forest's baseball club were British champions in 1899.^[2] Forest's charitable approach helped clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion to form. In 1886, Forest donated a set of football kits to help Arsenal establish themselves – the North London team still wear red. Forest also donated shirts to Everton and helped secure a site to play on for Brighton.

The 1898 Cup-winning squad

In 1878–79 season Forest entered the FA Cup for the first time. Forest beat Notts County 3–1 in the first round at Beeston Cricket Ground before eventually losing 2–1 to Old Etonians in the semi final.^[1]

Forest's application was rejected to join the Football League at its formation in 1888. Forest instead joined the Football Alliance in 1889. They won the competition in 1892 before then entering the Football League.^[1] That season they reached and lost in an FA Cup semi final for the fourth time to date. This time it was to West Bromwich Albion after a replay.

Forest's first FA Cup semi-final win was at the fifth attempt, the 1897–98 FA Cup 2–0 replay win against Southampton. The first game was drawn 1–1. Derby County beat Forest 5–0 five days before the final. Six of the cup final side were rested in that league game.^[1] In that 1898 FA Cup Final at Crystal Palace before 62,000 fans, Willie Wragg passed a 19th minute free kick to Arthur Capes. Capes shot through the defensive wall to score. Derby equalised with a free kick headed home by Steve Bloomer off the underside of the cross bar after 31 minutes. In the 42nd minute Jack Fryer was unable to hold a Charlie Richards shot giving Capes a tap in for his second goal. Wragg's injury meant Forest had to change their line up with Capes dropping back to midfield. In the 86th minute John Boag headed away a corner by Forest. John McPherson moved in to collect shooting low into the goal to win 3–1.^[3]

First half 20th century

The team that toured Argentina and Uruguay in 1904

Forest lost FA Cup semi finals in 1900 and 1902. They finished fourth in the 1900–01 Football League followed with fifth place the season after. The club then started to slide down the table. Forest were relegated for the first time in 1905–06. Grenville Morris had his first of five seasons as the club's highest scorer en route to becoming the all-time club highest goalscorer with 213 goals.

In 1905, Nottingham Forest toured on South America to play a series of friendly matches in Argentina and Uruguay.^[4] They would be followed for other English and Scottish clubs that visited the region, contributing to the spread and develop of football in South America during the first years of the 20th century.^[5]

Promotion as champions was immediate in 1906–07. They were relegated a second time to the Second Division in 1911 and had to seek re-election in 1914 after finishing bottom of that tier. As World War I approached they were in serious financial trouble. The outbreak of the Great War along with the benevolence of the committee members mitigated the club going under.^[1]

In 1919, the Football League First Division was to be expanded from twenty clubs to twenty-two in time for the 1919–20 Football League: Forest were one of eight clubs to campaign for entry but received only three votes. Arsenal and Chelsea gained the two additional top tier slots.^[6]

In a turnaround from the first six seasons struggling back in the Second Division, Forest were promoted as champions in 1921–22. They survived each of the first two seasons back in the top flight by one position. In the third season after promotion they were relegated as the division's bottom club in 1924–25. They remained in the second tier until relegation in 1949 to the Football League Third Division.

Re-emergence then decline (1950–74)

They were quickly promoted back two years later as champions having scored a record 110 goals in the 1950–51 season. They regained First Division status in 1957.^[1]

Johnny Quigley's solitary 1958–59 FA Cup semi final goal beat Aston Villa. Billy Walker's Forest beat Luton Town 2–1 in the 1959 FA Cup Final. Like in 1898 Forest had lost heavily to their opponents only weeks earlier in the league.^[1] Stewart Imlach crossed for a 10th-minute opener by Roy Dwight (the cousin of Reg Dwight better known as Elton John). Tommy Wilson had Forest 2–0 up after 14 minutes. The game had an unusually large number of stoppages due to injury, particularly to Forest players. This was put down to the lush nature of the Wembley turf. The most notable of these stoppages was Dwight breaking his leg in a 33rd minute tackle with Brendan McNally. Forest had been on top until that point. Luton though gradually took control of the match with Dave Pacey scoring midway through the second half. Forest were reduced to nine fit men with ten minutes remaining when Bill Whare crippled with cramp became little more than a spectator. Despite late Allan Brown and Billy Bingham chances Chick Thomson conceded no further goals for Forest to beat the Wembley 1950s 'hoodoo' (where one team was hampered by losing a player through injury).^[7] Club record appearance holder Bobby McKinlay played in the final winning team captained by Jack Burkitt.

By this time Forest had replaced Notts County as the biggest club in Nottingham. Johnny Carey assembled a team including Joe Baker and Ian Storey-Moore that for a long spell went largely unchanged in challenging for the 1966–67 Football League title. They beat title rivals Manchester United 4–1 at the City Ground on 1 October.^[8] The 3–0 win against Aston Villa on 15 April had Forest second in the table a point behind United.^[9] Injuries eventually took effect meaning Forest had to settle for being League Runners-up and losing in the FA Cup semi final to Dave Mackay's Tottenham Hotspur.^[1]

The 1966/67 season's success seemed an opportunity to build upon with crowds of 40,000 virtually guaranteed at the time. Instead a mixture at the club of poor football management, the unique committee structure and proud amateurism meant decline after the 66/67 peak. Despite Peter Cormack being in the team Forest were relegated from the top flight in 1972. Matt Gillies' October 1972 managerial departure was followed by short managerial reigns by Dave Mackay and Allan Brown.^[1] A 0–2 Boxing Day home defeat by Notts County prompted the committee (Forest had no board of directors then) to sack Brown.

Brian Clough and Peter Taylor (1975–82)

Brian Clough managed Nottingham Forest for 18 years.

Brian Clough became manager of Nottingham Forest on 6 January 1975 twelve weeks after the end of his 44-day tenure as manager of Leeds United.^[10] Clough brought Jimmy Gordon to be his club trainer as Gordon had been for him at Derby County and Leeds United.^[11] Scottish centre-forward Neil Martin scored the only goal beating Tottenham Hotspur in Clough's FA Cup third round replay first game in charge.^[12]

Ian Bowyer was already at Forest and had won domestic and European trophies with Manchester City. Clough signed Scots duo John McGovern and John O'Hare in February who both were part of Clough's Derby County 1971–72 Football League title win. He then brought John Robertson and Martin O'Neill back into the fold after they had requested transfers under Brown.^[1] Viv Anderson had previously debuted for the first team and became a regular under Clough.^[13] The young Tony Woodcock was at Forest but was then unrated by Clough and was to be loaned to Lincoln City.^[14] Forest were 13th in English football's second tier when Clough joined. They finished that season 16th. Forest signed Frank Clark in July of that close season on a free transfer.^[15] The season after Forest finished eighth in Clough's 1975–76 Football League first full season in charge.^[10] It was in this season McGovern became long standing club captain taking over from a game in which Bob 'Sammy' Chapman and Liam O'Kane were both injured.^[16]

Peter Taylor on 16 July 1976 rejoined Clough becoming his Assistant Manager as he had been when winning the league at Derby.^[10] Taylor included being the club's talent spotter in his role. After assessing the players Taylor told Clough "that was a feat by you to finish eighth in the Second Division because some of them are only Third Division players".^[17] Taylor berated John Robertson for allowing himself to become overweight and disillusioned. He got Robertson on a diet and training regime that would help him become a European Cup winner.^[18] Taylor turned Woodcock from a reserve midfielder into a 42 cap England striker.^[19] In September 1976 he bought striker Peter Withe to Forest for £43,000, selling him to Newcastle United for £250,000 two years later.^[20] Withe was replaced in the starting team by Garry Birtles who Taylor had scouted playing for non-league Long Eaton United. Birtles also went on to represent England.^[21] In October 1976 Brian Clough acting on Peter Taylor's advice signed Larry Lloyd for £60,000 after an initial loan period.

Together Clough and Taylor took Forest to new heights. The first trophy of the Clough and Taylor reign was the 1976–77 Anglo-Scottish Cup. Forest beat Orient 5–1 on aggregate in the two-legged final played in December 1976.^[10] Clough valued winning a derided trophy as the club's first silverware since 1959. He said, "Those who said it was a nothing trophy were absolutely crackers. We'd won something, and it made all the difference."^[22]

On 7 May Alan Moore's own goal meant Forest in their last league game of the season beat Millwall 1–0 at the City Ground.^[23] This kept Forest in the third promotion spot in the league table and dependent on Bolton Wanderers dropping points in three games in hand in the fight for third place.^[24] On 14 May Kenny Hibbitt's goal from his rehearsed free kick routine with Willie Carr gave Wolves a 1–0 win at Bolton.^[16][25] Bolton's defeat reached the Forest team mid-air en route to an end of season break in Mallorca.^[16] Forest's third place promotion from the 1976–77 Football League Second Division was the fifth-lowest points tally of any promoted team in history, 52^[10][1] (two points for a win in England until 1981).

Taylor secretly followed Kenny Burns concluding Burns's reputation as a hard drinker and gambler was exaggerated. Taylor sanctioned his £150,000 July signing. Burns become FWA Footballer of the Year in 1977–78 after being moved from centre-forward to centre-back.^[26][27] Forest started their return to the top league campaign with a 3–1 win at Everton. Three further wins in league and cup followed without conceding a goal. Then came five early September goals conceded in losing 3–0 at Arsenal and beating Wolves 3–2 at home.^[28] Peter Shilton then signed for a record fee for a goalkeeper of £325,000. Taylor reasoned: "Shilton wins you matches."^[29] 20 year old John Middleton was first team goalkeeper pre-Shilton. Middleton later in the month went in part exchange with £25,000 to Derby County for Archie Gemmill transferring to Forest.^[30] Gemmill was another Scottish former 1972 Derby title winner.^[26][31]

Forest lost only three of their first 16 league games the last of which was at Leeds United on 19 November 1977. They lost only one further game all season, the 11 March FA Cup sixth round defeat at West Bromwich Albion.^[28] Forest won the 1977–78 Football League seven-points ahead of runners-up Liverpool. Forest 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.^{[nb 1]} This made Clough the third of four managers to win the English league championship with two different clubs.^{[nb 2]} Forest conceded just 24 goals in 42 league games.^[29] They beat Liverpool 1–0 in the 1978 Football League Cup Final replay despite cup-tied Shilton, Gemmill and December signing David Needham missing out.^[32] Chris Woods chalked up two clean sheets in the final covering Shilton's league cup absence. McGovern missed the replay through injury meaning Burns lifted the trophy as deputising captain. Robertson's penalty was the only goal of the game.^[22][33]

Forest started season 1978–79 by beating Ipswich Town 5–0 for an FA Charity Shield record win.^[10] In the 1978–79 European Cup they were drawn to play the trophy winners of the two previous seasons, Liverpool. Home goals by Birtles and Colin Barrett put Forest through 2–0 on aggregate.^[34] On 9 December 1978 Liverpool ended Forest's 42 match unbeaten league run dating back to the November the year before.^[10] The unbeaten run was the equivalent of a whole season surpassing the previous record of 35 games held by Burnley in 1920/21.^[35] The record stood until surpassed by Arsenal in August 2004 a month before Clough's death. Arsenal played 49 league games without defeat.^[36]

In February 1979 Taylor authorised the English game's first £1 million transfer signing Trevor Francis from Birmingham City.^[37] In the April European Cup semi final home first leg against 1. FC Köln Forest were two goals behind after 20 minutes. Forest scored three to edge ahead before Köln equalised to start the German second leg ahead on the away goals rule. Ian Bowyer's goal in Germany put Forest through. Günter Netzer asked afterwards, “Who is this McGovern? I have never heard of him, yet he ran the game." Forest beat Malmö 1–0 in Munich's Olympiastadion in the 1979 European Cup Final. Francis on his European debut scored with a back post header from Robertson's cross. Forest beat Southampton in the final 3–2 to retain the League Cup. Birtles scored twice as did Woodcock once. Forest finished second in the 1978–79 Football League eight points behind Liverpool.

Trevor Francis, Brian Clough and John Robertson in 1980

Forest declined to play in the home and away 1979 Intercontinental Cup against Paraguay's Club Olimpia. Forest beat F.C. Barcelona 2–1 on aggregate in the 1979 European Super Cup in January & February 1980. Charlie George scored the only goal in the home first leg. Burns scored an equaliser in the return in Spain.^[38] In the 1979–80 Football League Cup Forest reached a third successive final. A defensive mix up between Needham and Shilton let Wolves' Andy Gray tap in to an empty net. Forest passed up numerous chances losing 1–0.^[39] In the 1979–80 European Cup quarter final Forest won 3–1 at Dinamo Berlin to overturn a 1–0 home defeat. In the semi final they beat AFC Ajax 2–1 on aggregate. They beat Hamburg 1–0 in the 1980 European Cup Final at Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu Stadium to retain the trophy. Robertson scored after exchanging passes with Birtles.^[40] Forest finished fifth in the 1979–80 Football League.

In the 1980–81 European Cup first round Forest lost 2–0 on aggregate to 1–0 home and away defeats by CSKA Sofia.^[41] McGovern subsequently said the double defeat by CSKA affected the team's self-confidence in that they had lost out to modestly talented opponents.^[16] Forest lost the 1980 European Super Cup on away goals after a 2–2 aggregate draw against Valencia C.F. Bowyer scored both Forest goals in the home first leg.^[42] On 11 February 1981 Forest lost 1–0 in the 1980 Intercontinental Cup against Uruguayan side, Club Nacional de Football. The match was played for the first time at the neutral venue National Stadium in Tokyo before 62,000 fans.^[43]

The league and European Cup winning squad was broken up to capitalise on player sale value. Clough and Taylor both later said this was a mistake.^[11] The rebuilt side comprising youngsters and signings such as Ian Wallace, Raimondo Ponte and Justin Fashanu did not challenge for trophies. Taylor said in 1982,^[44]

"For many weeks now I don't believe I've been doing justice to the partnership and I certainly haven't been doing justice to Nottingham Forest the way I felt. And consequently after a great deal of thought, there was no option. I wanted to take an early retirement. That's exactly what I've done."

Jimmy Gordon retired in the same close season.^[11]

Clough without Taylor (1982–93)

Anderlecht beat Forest in the 1983–84 UEFA Cup semi finals in controversial circumstances. Several contentious refereeing decisions went against Forest. Over a decade later it emerged that before the match the referee Guruceta Muro received a £27,000 "loan" from Anderlecht's chairman Constant Vanden Stock.^[45] UEFA subsequently in 1997 banned Anderlecht for one year from European competition for this misdemeanour. Muro died in a car crash in 1987.^[46]

Forest beat Sheffield Wednesday on penalties in the Football League Centenary Tournament final in April 1988 after drawing 0–0.^[47] Forest finished third in the league in 1988 and made the 1987–88 FA Cup semi finals. Stuart Pearce won the first of his five successive selections for the PFA Team of the Year.

On 18 January 1989 Clough joined the fray of a City Ground pitch invasion by hitting two of his own team's fans when on the pitch. The football authorities responded with a fine and touchline ban for Clough.^[48] Forest beat QPR 5–2 in that 1988–89 Football League Cup tie.^[49]

Forest beat Everton 4–3 after extra time in the 1989 Full Members Cup final. They came back to beat Luton Town 3–1 in the 1989 Football League Cup Final. Nigel Clough scored two and Neil Webb one. Forest chased a unique cup treble but tragedy struck a week after the League Cup win. Forest and Liverpool met for the second season in a row in the FA Cup semi-finals. The Hillsborough disaster claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans. The match was abandoned after six minutes. When the emotion laden rescheduled game took place Forest struggled as Liverpool won 3–1. Forest finished third in the First Division for a second successive year. However they were unable to compete in the UEFA Cup. The 1985 post Heysel Stadium Disaster UEFA competition ban on English clubs still had one season to run. Des Walker won the first of his four successive selections for the PFA Team of the Year.

Nigel Jemson scored as Forest beat Oldham Athletic 1–0 to retain the League Cup in 1990. Brian Clough reached his only FA Cup final in 1991. Pearce put Forest ahead after 16 minutes direct from a free kick against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley. Spurs won 2–1 after an extra time own goal by Walker. Roy Keane declared himself fit to play in the final and was selected in preference to Steve Hodge. Keane later admitted he was not fit to play and that was why he had such an insignificant role in the final.^[50] English clubs were re-admitted to Europe for the 1990–91 season. English places in the competition were initially limited. 1990 League Cup winners Forest were not included. The only UEFA Cup place that season went to league runners-up Aston Villa.

In the summer of 1991 Millwall's league top scorer Teddy Sheringham set Forest's record signing fee at £2.1 million. In that 1991–92 season Forest beat Southampton 3–2 after extra time in the Full Members Cup Final. Brian McClair's solitary Manchester United goal beat Forest in the 1992 Football League Cup Final. Forest had played in seven domestic cup finals at Wembley in five seasons winning five of the finals. Forest finished eighth in the league that season to earn a place in the new FA Premier League.

Walker transferred in summer 1992 to Sampdoria. On 16 August 1992 Forest beat Liverpool 1–0 at home in the first ever televised live premier league game. Sheringham scored the only goal against Liverpool. Sheringham transferred a week later to Tottenham. Forest's form slumped meaning Brian Clough's 18-year managerial reign ended in May 1993 with Forest relegated from the inaugural Premier League.^[51] The final game of that season was away at Ipswich. Forest lost 2–1 with ironically his son, Nigel, scoring the last goal of Clough's era.^[1] Relegation was followed by Keane's £3.75 million British record fee transfer to Manchester United.

Since Brian Clough's departure, Nottingham Forest made numerous managerial changes and spent just four further seasons in the Premier League, and none since 1999. Nor have Forest won any major trophies since Clough left. Clough died in September 2004 after a long battle with stomach cancer.

Clough's managerial record

Played: 908,

Won: 418,

Drawn: 256,

Lost: 234

Frank Clark: (1993–1996)

Frank Clark, who had been a left-back in Nottingham Forest's 1979 European Cup winning team, returned to the club in May 1993 to succeed Brian Clough as manager. His management career had previously been uneventful, although he had won the Fourth Division promotion playoffs with Leyton Orient in 1989. Having inherited most of the players from the Clough era, Clark was able to achieve an instant return to the Premiership when the club finished Division One runners-up at the end of the 1993–94 season. Clark looked to be well on the way to re-establishing Forest as a top team.

Forest's return to the Premiership was impressive as they finished third in 1994–95 and qualified for the UEFA Cup - their first entry to European competition in the post-Heysel era. The 1994–95 season was a glorious one as far as Forest were concerned as just about every team promoted into the Premier League are almost certain favourites to be relegated the following season. One of the many highlights of the 1994–95 season was a memorable victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford, with Stan Collymore and Stuart Pearce scoring the goals, a game fondly remembered by Forest fans of that era. The likes of Stan Collymore, Stuart Pearce and the Dutch international Bryan Roy were among the most feared players in the Premiership. But Collymore was sold to Liverpool in June 1995 for a then English record fee of £8.4 million, and his £2 million Italian successor Andrea Silenzi was considered to be a disappointing signing. With Collymore gone, Forest's goals dried up in the Premiership during 1995–96 and they finished ninth - although they did reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup, making them the only English team to reach the last eight of any European competition that season.

Clark added Welsh striker Dean Saunders and Croatian defender Nikola Jerkan to Forest's squad for the 1996–97 season, but they started badly and it became a battle to avoid relegation. With no signs of that battle being won, Clark was sacked in December and 34-year-old captain Stuart Pearce was installed as player-manager on a temporary basis.

Clark's managerial record

Played: 178,

Won: 73,

Drawn: 58,

Lost: 47

Dave Bassett: (1997–98)

Pearce inspired a brief revival in Forest's fortunes, and he was voted Premiership manager for the month for January 1997 after a turn around in form lifted the club off the bottom of the division. He was tipped to become manager on a permanent basis, but the Forest directors wanted someone more experienced so in March 1997 they turned to Crystal Palace manager Dave Bassett. Despite the addition of Celtic's Dutch striker Pierre van Hooijdonk, Forest were unable to avoid relegation and finished the season in bottom place. They won promotion back to the Premiership at the first attempt, being crowned Division One champions in 1997–98. But the prolific strike-partnership of Kevin Campbell and Pierre van Hooijdonk was soon broken up: Campbell was sold to Turkish side Trabzonspor and van Hooijdonk refused to play (he was, basically, on strike), because his strike partner was sold. Van Hooijdonk later returned to the club but it was too late to save Bassett, who was sacked in January 1999 after a terrible start to the Premiership campaign and elimination from the FA Cup at the hands of Division One side Portsmouth.

Bassett's managerial record

Played: 77,

Won: 33,

Drawn: 20,

Lost: 24

Ron Atkinson: (1999)

Ron Atkinson made his last managerial appearance in football as Nottingham Forest's interim manager, taking charge in January 1999. Brought in with the alleged promise of a million pound bonus if he kept Forest up, 'Big Ron' did little to endear himself to the Forest faithful by climbing into the wrong dugout at the start of his first game in charge - against Arsenal. It was later claimed that in true Big Ron style he was heard joking after the match that he'd thought Forest had Dennis Bergkamp on their bench. He was unable to succeed in keeping Forest clear of relegation, and for the third time in seven seasons they were relegated as the Premiership's bottom club.

Atkinson's reign was short, but not too sweet, as shown by his record in charge.

Atkinson's managerial record

Played: 16,

Won: 4,

Drawn: 2,

Lost: 10

David Platt: (1999–2001)

When the board decided not to renew Atkinson's contract, several high-profile names were mentioned for the vacant manager's job, including Glenn Hoddle (ex-Swindon, Chelsea and England), Roy Evans (ex-Liverpool) and Brian Little (ex-Leicester and Aston Villa). The club's eventual choice was 33-year-old former England captain David Platt, whose brief spell as head coach of Italian Serie A side Sampdoria had just ended in relegation.

Former England captain Platt was named as Nottingham Forest's player-manager in July 1999. He made several expensive signings during his two-year reign at the helm, but these acquisitions were unproductive and Forest never really looked like gaining promotion back to the Premiership, finishing only in mid-table. Their fortunes were not helped by financial problems and a constant need to sell top players in order to pay off the debts that were caused by certain signings that Platt made, including the Trio Of Italians who only made a handful of appearances between them but cost over £5 million (Gianluca 'Bepe' Petrachi and Salvatore Matrecano from Perugia plus free transfer Moreno Mannini from Sampdoria). Platt left to become England U-21 coach in July 2001 and he handed over the reins to youth team manager Paul Hart. By now, Forest's days as a top club were now very much a distant memory and no players remained from their successful days in the top flight.

Platt's managerial record

Played: 103,

Won: 34,

Drawn: 25,

Lost: 44

Paul Hart: (2001–2004)

Paul Hart had a difficult time as manager of Nottingham Forest; his appointment was initially met with some surprise (he was best known for his involvement with the successful academy at Leeds and as academy director at Forest before his internal appointment). The club's financial problems escalated at the end of the 2001–02 season when the ITV Digital collapse almost bankrupted them. Hart's first season at the helm had been unremarkable as a squad made up mostly of young players achieved a 16th-place finish in Division One. There were fears that Nottingham Forest could go into liquidation during the summer of 2002, but with the sale of players like Jermaine Jenas the financial situation was brought under control and Forest did better in 2002–03. They finished sixth in Division One and qualified for the playoffs, their best chance yet of returning to the Premiership. However, they lost to Sheffield United in the semi finals. After a 1–1 draw at the City Ground, they eventually lost out at Bramall Lane 4–3 after extra time, and 5–4 on aggregate, even though they were leading the second leg 2–0.

By now, the likes of Michael Dawson and Marlon Harewood were some of the most talented young players in the English league and players from the club's invested-in youth academy were starting to filter through to the first team but forced departures took their toll on the club's fortunes in 2003–04. Hart was sacked in February as Forest hovered near the foot of Division One.

Hart's managerial record

Played: 134,

Won: 45,

Draw: 44,

Lost: 45

Joe Kinnear (2004)

Joe Kinnear was the next manager to take charge of Nottingham Forest. The club's directors looked to have made a good decision when Kinnear revitalised Forest, bringing out the best in key players like Michael Dawson and Andy Reid, and they climbed to a secure 14th place in the final table. Kinnear was hoping to push for promotion from the newly named Championship in 2004–05, but the start to the season was poor. Despite a promising draw on opening day (1–1 vs Wigan Athletic) the team's form went downhill, as did the league position. With fans getting restless, and the threat of demonstrations against the team management, Kinnear walked away from the club in December after a 3–0 defeat by arch-rivals Derby County at Pride Park Stadium, with Forest struggling at the foot of the Championship.

Kinnear's managerial record

Played: 44,

Won: 15,

Drawn: 15,

Lost: 14

Gary Megson: (2004–2005)

Following a brief caretaker reign of Mick Harford, in January 2005, Gary Megson was named as Nottingham Forest's new manager. He had previously won promotion to the Premiership twice with West Bromwich Albion, having taken over at a time when they were on the verge of relegation to League One. It was hoped that he could achieve the same success with Forest. But that target was made all the more difficult to achieve at the end of 2004–05, when Forest finished second from bottom in the Championship and were relegated to League One. This made them the first former winners of the European Cup to suffer relegation to the third tier of their domestic league.

Megson departed 'by mutual consent' on 16 February 2006 with Forest in 13th place, just four points above the relegation zone, having won just once in the last ten games.

Megson's managerial record

Played: 59,

Won: 17,

Drawn: 18,

Lost: 24

Frank Barlow and Ian McParland: (Feb 2006–May 2006)

Frank Barlow (Assistant Manager) and Ian McParland (Forest's Reserve team coach) took over on a caretaker basis after Gary Megson's resignation. Barlow and McParland won their first game in charge with a 2–0 away victory at Port Vale. It was Forest's first away win since 27 August 2005 (which was 3–1 at Gillingham), their first double over another team in the season, and their first away clean sheet. Their second game ended with an outstanding 7–1 home win against Swindon Town, the first time Forest scored 7 goals in a League game for over a decade.

The unbeaten run under Frank Barlow and Ian McParland extended to 10, with 6 straight wins, a feat that was last achieved in the '60s and something that even Brian Clough could not achieve, when Forest beat relegation battling Yeovil Town 2–1 in front of a near sell-out crowd at the City Ground. It was the first time Forest have won more than two games in a row since 2004, when Joe Kinnear was in charge and the first time they have won more than 4 in a row for 11 years. The winning run eventually ended in a thrilling 3–2 defeat at the hands of struggling Hartlepool United.

Barlow and McParland were named joint Managers Of The Month for March 2006 as they were the only team in the football league to go unbeaten in that month.

Forest took 28 points out of a possible 39 under Barlow and McParland in the final 13 games of the season and just missed out on the play-offs when they could only draw at Bradford City on the final day of the season.

Ian McParland/Frank Barlow's record

Played: 13

Won: 8

Drawn: 4

Lost: 1

Calderwood's Forest: (May 2006–Dec 2008)

In May 2006, Colin Calderwood became the twelfth manager of Nottingham Forest in thirteen years. The former Scotland international had previously been on Forest's books as a player in 2000, having only recently taken the step into management with Northampton Town, Calderwood's first game in charge was a 5–0 friendly win at local side Ilkeston Town.

Calderwood's first season in League One as Forest manager started with two new signings in the shapes of goalkeeper Paul Smith and Ghanaian International striker Junior Agogo. Forest won their first four matches of the season, including their opening match against Bradford City. Forest's first defeat of the campaign came in the League Cup first round with defeat at Football League newcomers Accrington Stanley. Calderwood was named League One's Manager Of The Month for August after 7 matches unbeaten, including a 4–0 home win against Chesterfield. The Reds then went four games without a win, with a home defeat to Oldham and were then thrashed 4–0 against Scunthorpe United, yet again at home.

However, Forest returned to good form as they went nine games unbeaten, including a seven match winning run, before losing to Bournemouth. This led to the collapse of their seven-point league lead as they just won one in five with a 1–1 draw against Tranmere Rovers knocking them off the top of League One in late December 2006 for the first time since August 2006. A further 5–0 defeat away at Oldham saw Forest fall out of the automatic promotion places.

But, fortunes again picked up as Forest produced a shock 2–0 win at home to Premiership side Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup third round. However, disappointment was to follow as Forest were comfortably beaten 3–0 by then holding league champions Chelsea in the following round.

The Reds then invested in three players, former player David Prutton and Alan Wright joining on a season-long loans with defender Luke Chambers signing for an undisclosed fee. Those three additions helped Forest back into good form by only losing three times in their next 17 League One games. This put Forest only one point behind second-placed Bristol City with one game remaining, but a 0–0 draw at home to Crewe and victory for City meant that Forest finished the 2006–07 season in 4th place, and in the play-offs.

Forest faced Yeovil Town in the play-off semi-finals and won the first-leg encounter at Huish Park 2–0 with penalties from Kris Commons and James Perch. Forest were left odds-on to progress to Wembley, only to lose 5–2 after extra-time at home in the second leg to condemn The Reds to a third season in League One. Top scorer Grant Holt (18 goals in all competitions) was the runaway winner of the fans' player of the season.

On 20 June 2007, Forest announced ambitious plans to relocate to a new stadium in the Clifton area of the city.^[52]

Calderwood signed five players in the middle of 2007, most notably former Celtic captain Neil Lennon on a free transfer. Also captured were left-back Matt Lockwood from Leyton Orient, Preston North End defender Kelvin Wilson and Yeovil Town duo midfielder Chris Cohen and attacking winger Arron Davies all signing for undisclosed fees.

Forest started poorly to the 2007–08 campaign as they failed to win in their first six competitive games. The Reds drew three times and lost 2–1 at home to rivals Leeds United, as well as losing 3–2 to Peterborough United in the Football League Trophy, despite performing well.

In the League Cup, after beating Chester City 4–2 on penalties, the second round tie against Leicester City was abandoned at half-time due to the collapse of Clive Clarke. In the replay, as The Reds were leading 1–0 when the referee called the game off, Leicester sportingly allowed Forest to take the 1–0 lead after 23 seconds through goalkeeper Paul Smith setting many football records. Despite this, Forest lost the game 3–2 after being ahead with three minutes to go.

However, The Reds' league fortunes improved with an eight-game league unbeaten run. After drawing 2–2 at Bristol Rovers, Forest then hit five wins in six games which included two hat-tricks, helping The Reds score 15 in the process. The unbeaten run continued with a 0–0 draw at home to Doncaster Rovers but then collapsed as Forest only claimed one point in their next two games. However, they have recovered with three vital wins over promotional rivals to move up to second in the League One table. The Reds also set the Football League record for the most league clean sheets this season, 10 clean sheets in 16 league games.

In the 2007–08 campaign, Forest were named title favourites for the third consecutive year. Calderwood signed five players in the middle of 2007, most notably former Celtic captain Neil Lennon on a free transfer. Also captured were left-back Matt Lockwood from Leyton Orient, Preston North End defender Kelvin Wilson and Yeovil Town duo midfielder Chris Cohen and attacking winger Arron Davies all signing for undisclosed fees.

But they lost top spot with some poor results, as they failed to win away from home, in a run lasting seven games. After moving back into second place, Forest's away form once again was found lacking which allowed Carlisle and Doncaster to overtake them into second and third place respectively. Forest hit a poor spell of results, seeing them collect just one win in seven games.

However, they turned their form around, and after being 11 points behind second-place at one point, Forest amazingly turned it around. A win Carlisle saw Forest then win six out of their last seven games of the season. Forest, who had only been in the automatic promotion places once all season got promoted to the Championship on a dramatic last day of the season, by beating Yeovil 3–2 at the City Ground to secure second place. The Reds kept a league record of 24 clean sheets out of 46 games, which helped them end their three-year spell in the league's third tier and gain their first promotion in ten years.

Forest had begun preparing for the 2008–09 season, with the release of three players, including Kris Commons, and offering six players new contracts, including Sammy Clingan and Nathan Tyson.^[53] Forest also agreed a £2.65m fee for Derby striker Robert Earnshaw, in total buying 5 players, including Earnshaw, along with Carlisle United striker Joe Garner, Guy Moussi of Angers SCO, Paul Anderson on a season long loan from Liverpool and veteran striker Andy Cole.^[54]

On 26 December 2008, after a string of poor and inconsistent results, Calderwood was relieved of his duties.

Colin Calderwood's Football League record

Played: 109

Won: 52

Drawn: 33

Lost: 24

Billy Davies: (Jan 2009–Jun 2011, Feb 2013–)

Under the temporary stewardship of John Pemberton, Forest finally climbed out of the relegation zone, having beaten Norwich City 3–2.^[55] Billy Davies was confirmed as the new manager on 1 January 2009^[56] and watched Pemberton's side beat Manchester City 3–0 away in the FA Cup, prior to taking official charge. Under Davies, Forest stetched 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.

In preparation for the 2009–10 campaign, Forest signed nine players, five of whom were on loan at the club in the previous season and returned on permanent deals. The returnees Lee Camp,^[57][58] Chris Gunter,^[59][60] Joel Lynch,^[61] Paul Anderson^[62] and Dexter Blackstock^[63] have been joined by Paul McKenna,^[59][60] David McGoldrick,^[64] Dele Adebola^[65] and loanee Radosław Majewski.^[66] The season has been very successful for Forest with the club holding a top-three position for the majority of the season, putting together an unbeaten run of 20 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 bitter local rivals Derby County and Leicester City. On 10 April 2010, despite it being confirmed that the club would miss out on automatic promotion to the Premier League after West Bromwich Albion defeated Doncaster Rovers 3–2, Forest secured a Play-off place in the Football League Championship after a 3–0 home victory against Ipswich Town. However, Forest were beaten by Blackpool at Bloomfield Road, 2–1, on 9 May 2010 and 4–3 in the home leg at the City Ground on 12 May 2010 (the club's first defeat at home since losing to the same opposition in September 2009), going out 6–4 on aggregate and missing out on promotion to the Premier League. The 2010–11 season saw Forest, after a season of highs and lows, finish sixth place in championship table with 75 points, putting them into the play-offs for the fourth time in the space of eight years. Unfortunately, promotion was yet again to elude Forest, as they were beaten over 2 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 a hard fought contest against the Welsh outfit.

Steve McClaren (Jun 2011–Oct 2011)

In June 2011 Billy Davies's contract was terminated,^[67][68] and he was replaced as manager by Steve McClaren, who signed a three-year contract.^[69][70] McClaren brought in Andy Reid,^[71] Jonathan Greening,^[72] George Boateng,^[73] Matt Derbyshire and^[74] Ishmael Miller^[75] on permanent deals and Clint Hill^[76] on an emergency loan.

Following a poor start to the 2011–2012 season, Steve McClaren became increasingly frustrated with his managerial role. As with his predecessor McClaren repeatedly called for the club to show greater ambition in signing new players, including "stellar" signings which would take his squad to the next level, especially since the club had seen 9 players leave in the off-season. Despite these concerns, the transfer window closed with only 5 new additions. After an injury to Chris Cohen, Clint Hill was signed on loan from Queen's Park Rangers, but other loan targets identified by McClaren were not pursued. After a 5–1 defeat away to Burnley, McClaren held emergency talks with the club chairman, Nigel Doughty. The result of the meeting was the departure of David Pleat as a club adviser. Pleat had drawn the ire of many fans because of his role in the club's acquisition committee, and rightly or wrongly, it was assumed he had been obstructionist and advised the club not to make expensive new signings. The departure of Pleat, which was also accompanied by the departure of Bill Beswick, was viewed as a sign the club were behind McClaren. However, less than a week later McClaren resigned from his role as manager on Sunday, 2 October 2011 after a 3–1 home defeat to Birmingham. Forest held a 1–0 lead for much of the game before eventually falling apart after Birmingham scored the equaliser. McClaren's disappointment with the lack of new signings was assumed to be behind the reason for his departure, and he left the club without compensation. Nigel Doughty also announced he would resign from his role as chairman at the end of the season, though it was stated he would continue to support the club financially. Doughty had also become an unpopular figure with some supporters since his lack of financial backing for McClaren and his predecessor appeared to be tied to his concerns over financial fair play rules that were to be adopted in the Championship in the near future. A new search for manager and chairman began immediately with the names of former players Nigel Clough, Roy Keane, and Martin O'Neill, among others, being touted by betting agencies to take over the vacant managerial position.