Nottingham Forest - a sensation in the seventies, and today the greatest English fairy tale

(Patria) - Nottingham Forest has overshadowed the big clubs this Premier League season. After their sixth consecutive victory, they joined the title race six points behind Liverpool. However, they are the only team to have managed to beat the leader, and at their stadium, and in the very next round, they host them at their City Ground, writes Hayat.ba

But before we explain in more detail why they are so good this season, let's go back a little into the past.

Two excellent stories come from that region, namely central England and the city of Nottingham. The first is the story of Robin Hood, the outlaw who hid in the forests around Nottingham, robbing the rich to give to the poor. The second story is about the football outlaws from Nottingham, from the club named Forest, who literally shocked European football in the late seventies, winning two European Cup titles, even though they played in the English fourth division just five years earlier.



This club, one of the oldest in the world. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865. Initially, it was an amateur club, and in 1889, it joined the professional league of England. The club was founded by local players of bandy, a sport similar to hockey. The red colour of the jerseys has remained the club's trademark since its founding. In its long history, the club has won two European Cup trophies (today's Champions League), one UEFA Super Cup, two FA Cups, four League Cups, and the English championship once.



The period when Nottingham Forest became world-famous began in 1975, when Brian Clough took over as coach. At that time, the “Foresters” were playing in the second division (and two years earlier they were in the fourth division), and already in the 1976/77 season, Nottingham Forest entered the elite class of English football. No one could have predicted how Clough would go down in history. The very next season, Forest won the English championship, securing their place in the European Cup (today's Champions League). To the surprise of many, Forest went all the way, and on May 30, 1979, at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, the “Foresters” defeated the Swedish representative Malmö 1-0.

That the success was not accidental was shown by Brian Clough's players the very next season, when they again went all the way in the European Cup. This time, at the Santiago Bernabéu, they defeated German club Hamburg 1-0. The club, under Brian Clough's leadership, also won four League Cups in 1978, 1979, 1989, and 1990. He was at the helm of the “Foresters” for a full 18 years, from 1975 to 1993, when he resigned after the club was relegated from the first division. He died in 2004.

After those sensational years, Nottingham Forest fell into mediocrity and did not achieve success until 1989. Yes, Forest waited until 1989 for the next trophy, when they won the League Cup, still with Brian Clough as manager. His son, Nigel, was already playing in the team.

In 1999, the club was relegated from the English Premier League and failed to return to the top flight for 23 years. However, Nottingham Forest players qualified for the Premier League, after defeating Huddersfield 1-0 in the play-off final in London. Interestingly, they were eighth at the halfway point of the season, and fourth at the end, which earned them a play-off and eventually victory at Wembley after so many years of waiting.

Last year, at this time, the team from the north of England was fighting for survival. On Christmas 2023, the team had only 14 points, they were in 17th place in the table, two points away from the relegation zone. Last season was particularly tragicomic, in which Nottingham was punished with a points deduction for frantically accumulating players, thus violating financial regulations; in one transfer window in 2022, they brought in as many as 21 new players, which became a new record in English professional football. But all that was just enough to secure survival with a win against Burnley in the final round.



However the season ends, it will not silence the euphoria among Forest fans, who can finally enjoy looking at the table. Many have been reminded of those glorious days in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when Nottingham and the current leaders Liverpool were also in the top two positions in the top tier of English football. In addition to coach Espirito Santo, great credit also goes to the brilliant striker Chris Wood, who already has 12 league goals to his name.

It is quite possible that such a Nottingham will soon be ‘figured out’, meaning that even the slightest dip from this team will be enough to bring them back into more realistic bounds, but half the season has already passed and the team is doing great, far from the relegation battle that was predicted for them.

And perhaps Nottingham will eventually return to European competitions, where they haven't been since 1996 and the UEFA Cup quarter-finals. Those glorious years written on the stands of the City Ground may never again have a formal addition in the form of a triumphant season, but in today's context, this beautiful story is already triumphant in its own way.