The City Ground (Nottingham Forest)

Welcome to the latest instalment of the blog.

We journey all the way to Nottinghamshire for this chapter of the blog, to the home of previous European Champions and multiple history makers: Nottingham Forest. Forest play at the City Ground in Nottingham's city centre, just over the Trent Bridge from their rivals and neighbours, Notts County. This is a fresh new ground for both myself and my day's company, AFC Finners, and it's one I've always wanted to visit. From the city centre, the City Ground is about a fifteen-minute walk.Nottingham has a lot of history and a few notable landmarks for visitors to admire. The City Of Caves, Wollaton Hall, and Nottingham Castle are among them. There are plenty of shops to browse if you aren't interested in history or tourism. We drove to the stadium after taking in the sights of Nottingham.

It’s All In The Name

Nottingham Forest are known as The Reds, The Garibaldi, and The Tricky Trees.

The name The Reds is obviously a reference to the colour that Nottingham Forest play in. The name Tricky Trees comes from Nottingham Forest's proximity to Sherwood Forest, which is densely forested. The most intriguing is the Garibaldi. During the Napoleonic Wars, Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian freedom fighter who wore red blouses. By uniting the Italian state, opposing tyrants, and opposing the Pope and his beliefs, he won the hearts of the British people. The British admired Garibaldi for "undoing the chains of oppressed nationalities, and helping to sweep away the wrong and establish freedom," and Nottinghamians were no exception. In 1865, a group of enthusiasts formed the Nottingham Forest Football Club. During a meeting at The Clinton Arms, they decided that the team would wear Garibaldi red, a reference to his red blouses. During the early years, Nottingham Forest were referred to as the 'Garibaldi Reds' just as frequently as the Foresters.

Some Notable Former Players

Jermaine Jenas

Stuart Pearce

Stan Collymore

Michael Dawson

Roy Keane

Some Notable People From Nottingham:

• Mark and Roxanne Hoyle (Ladbaby)- YouTubers

• Alice Levine- Comedian

• Viv Anderson- Footballer

• Matthew Horne- Actor

• Andrew Cole- Footballer

• Carl Froch- Boxer

A History Lesson With AFC Finners

Nottingham Forest were founded in 1865 and became a member of the Football League in the 1890s. When they defeated Derby County in the FA Cup final in 1898, they earned their first major trophy. The club came close to going bankrupt during World War I before winning the second division in 1922 and returning to the top flight. Three seasons later, they were relegated to the second tier, where they remained until 1949, when they were relegated to the third tier. In 1957, they were promoted to the First Division, and in 1959, they won their second FA Cup, defeating Luton 2-1 in the final.

The 1960s saw them come second in the league in 1967, but they were relegated back in 1972. Their fortunes were about to change forever.

In 1975, Brian Clough took over as manager, with Peter Taylor joining him as an assistant the following year. Brian Clough had just been fired by Leeds after only 44 days in charge, and he was eager to make amends after his success with Derby County. Clough secured Forest's promotion to the Premier League in 1977, and the following season was nothing short of miraculous.

The next season, Nottingham Forest won their first and only First Division title, finishing seven points clear at the top. That season, they also won their first League Cup. Clough had performed wonders, but he was about to perform even more.

Forest won the league cup the following season while also making their first foray into Europe. They advanced to the European Cup final, when they defeated 1-0 Malmo thanks to a goal from world record signing Trevor Francis. The next season, they repeated the feat, beating Hamburg 1-0 thanks to a John Robertson goal.

Forest's fortunes deteriorated in the 1980s, with the European Cup-winning side disbanded to maximise resale value, and Peter Taylor departing in 1982. Clough would lead them to more silverware with the League Cup in 1989 and 1990, but his stint at the club was cut short when they were relegated from the Premier League in 1993.

Nottingham Forest returned to the Premier League almost immediately under Frank Clark, although they ended bottom in 1997, were relegated after returning to the top division in 1999, and have not played in the top flight since.

Nottingham Forest has had a difficult time in the twenty-first century, having been relegated to the third tier, but under the leadership of Steve Cooper, the club has recovered momentum and is striving to return to the Premier League.

They've won one Third Division title, three Second Division titles, four League Cups one First Division title, two FA Cups, and two European Cups in all.

And here's a fun fact: Nottingham Forest gifted a set of its red kits to a London team that was just getting started in the 1880s, and they've been playing in red ever since. Arsenal was the name of the team.

Honours

🏆First Division (Champions: 1977–78) (Runners-up: 1966–67, 1978–79)

🏆Football Alliance (Champions: 1891–92)

🏆FA Cup (Winners: 1897–98, 1958–59) (Runners-up: 1990–91)

🏆Football League Cup (Winners: 1977–78, 1978–79, 1988–89, 1989–90) (Runners-up: 1979–80, 1991–92)

🏆FA Charity Shield (Winners: 1978) (Runners-up: 1959)

🏆European Cup (Winners: 1978–79, 1979–80)

🏆European Super Cup (Winners: 1979) (Runners-up: 1980)

🏆Intercontinental Cup (Runners-up: 1980)

🏆Anglo-Scottish Cup (Winners: 1977)

🏆Second Division/Championship (Champions: 1906–07, 1921–22, 1997–98) (Runners-up: 1956–57, 1993–94) (Promoted: 1976–77)

🏆Third Division/League One (Champions: 1950–51) (Runners-up: 2007–08)

🏆Full Members Cup (Winners: 1988–89, 1991–92)

Matchday: Nottingham Forest 5-1 Swansea City

The stadium is about a 25-minute walk from the city centre; however, if you're like me and don't like walking, you can take the 11 bus from the city centre to the stadium. There are numerous parking lots close to the stadium, but we parked at Nottingham train station, which charges £5 on Saturdays.

We walked around Nottingham, during which we visited Robin Hood's statue, the cat cafe and Brian Clough's statue in the city centre. Finding somewhere to eat was an issue in the city centre. Most places were full, but we managed to get a spot to eat at Taco Bell. We asked a local which bus we needed to take to get to the stadium, to which he assumed I was talking about the Mansfield Town stadium. After clarification, he told us how to get to the City Ground.

We took a leisurely stroll along the River Trent when we arrived at the ground, which was delightful and aesthetically pleasing. The ground is located on the river's banks, so it is part of the aesthetic. There was a family area with musical entertainment and a bar. Next to it was a merchandise stall, which sold a variety of items such as matchday programmes, replica shirts, and foam fingers (who knew these still existed?). I was also able to get my usual pin badge for £3. The Brian Clough stand, named after the club stalwart, is located adjacent to the fan zone. Then there's the Bridgford Stand, which is home to the away fans. The family stand, which is directly across from the Brian Clough Stand, is where we were. Finally, the Trent End is located directly across from the Bridgford Stand.

Nottingham Forest's ticketing system was second to none. We won tickets for their game against Swansea on the Sky Bet EFL Rewards App and getting them was a breeze. We simply approached the ticket counter, introduced ourselves, and bob's your uncle. It was far better organised than the farce at Birmingham City. As previously stated, we were in the Family stand. We had a relatively easy time mixing with the local fans. It goes without saying that the Nottingham Forest fans we met on the day were fantastic. They were friendly, engaging, polite, and amusing. It was a pleasure to be around them, to be honest.

The atmosphere was incredible. At one point, Nottingham Forest fans began belting out a spine-tingling rendition of Mull of Kintyre. It was absolutely incredible, and it was probably the best atmosphere I have ever witnessed in my 500 football matches.

Teamsheets

Nottingham Forest

Manager: Steve Cooper

Brice Samba

Steve Cook

Scott McKenna

Joe Worrall

Djed Spence

Jack Colback ⚽

Ryan Yates

James Garner

Brennan Johnson

Philip Zinckernagel

Sam Surridge ⚽⚽⚽

Substitutes

Ethan Horvath

Tobias Figueiredo

Richie Laryea

Cafu

Joe Lolley

Alex Mighten ⚽

Dale Taylor

Swansea City

Manager: Russell Martin

Andrew Fisher

Kyle Naughton

Cyrus Christie

Ryan Manning

Joel Latibeaudiere

Matt Grimes

Hannes Wolf

Flynn Downes

Michael Obafemi ⚽

Joel Piroe

Cameron Congreve

Substitutes

Ben Hamer

Nathanael Ogbeta

Jay Fulton

Korey Smith

Olivier Ntcham

Kyle Joseph

Jamie Paterson

The game began dramatically in Nottingham Forest's favour. Their first opportunity came when Sam Surridge used his strength to set up Philip Zinckernagel, who was denied by a Swansea defender. Steve Cook then played Surridge through on goal, but he could only lift it into the goalkeeper's hands. Then there was the drama. Djed Spence crossed the ball to Jack Colback, who scrambled it into the net. A penalty and a red card were given against Cyrus Christie after appearing to handle the ball on the line, according to the referee. However, goal line technology revealed that the ball had crossed the line, so the goal was awarded and the red card was revoked. Swansea quickly equalised after that. A through ball found Michael Obafemi, who slotted it under the goalkeeper. The ball was immediately crossed back in, and Surridge had another header saved by the keeper after heading a ball in from Garner against the crossbar. At halftime, the score was 1-1.

Nottingham Forest quickly regained the lead in the second half. Sam Surridge headed in to make it 2-1 after James Garner crossed the ball. Soon after, the score was 3-1. James Garner sped through the midfield before finding Sam Surridge, who curled a beautiful shot into the top right corner. It didn't take long for Surridge to complete the hat trick. Zinckenagel broke through the midfield and found Djed Spence on the right. Spence's initial cross was blocked, but Surridge slammed in the rebound to make it 4-1. Forest added another goal to their tally. Brice Samba, the goalkeeper, found Alex Mighten with a long ball. Mighten was able to keep control of the ball before finishing past Swansea's keeper. The final score was 5-1. Swansea City are on track to finish in the Championship's midtable, while Nottingham Forest are vying for automatic promotion to the Premier League. They have a crucial game against Bournemouth this week, and a win would propel them into the top two. If they win this game, it's difficult to see Forest going anywhere other than the Premier League, and if they play as well as they did against Swansea, there's no reason why they can't.

Scores On The Doors

Atmosphere: 10/10

Food and Drink: 7/10

Stadium: 8/10

Welcome: 9/10

Overall Experience: 9.5/10

GG