1977–78 Nottingham Forest F.C. season

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.

Nottingham Forest F.C.
1977–78 season
ChairmanS.M. Dryden, J.P.
ManagerBrian Clough
First Division1st
(In 1978–79 European Cup)
FA Cup6th Round
League CupWinners
Top goalscorerLeague:
Robertson
Withe (12)

All:
Withe
Woodcock (19)
Highest home attendance47,218 vs. Liverpool
(Division One,
26 December 1977)
Lowest home attendance18,224 vs West Ham United
(League Cup,
30 August 1977)
Average home league attendance32,501

Summary

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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.

The squad 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. The others were Liverpool in 1906, Everton in 1932, Tottenham Hotspur in 1951 and Ipswich Town in 1962. Forest remain the only club to achieve this feat having not been promoted as champions.

Squad

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK   ENG Peter Shilton
GK   ENG John Middleton
GK   ENG Chris Woods
DF   ENG Viv Anderson
DF   SCO Kenny Burns
DF   ENG Larry Lloyd
DF   ENG Colin Barrett
DF   ENG Bryn Gunn
DF   ENG David Needham
DF   ENG Frank Clark
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   NIR Martin O'Neill
MF   SCO Archie Gemmill
MF   SCO John McGovern
MF   SCO John Robertson
MF   ENG Steve Burke
FW   ENG Peter Withe
FW   ENG Tony Woodcock
MF   ENG Ian Bowyer
FW   SCO John O'Hare
FW   ENG Garry Birtles
FW   ENG Steve Elliott

Transfers

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In
Pos. Name from Type
DF Kenny Burns Birmingham City £150,000 [1]
GK Peter Shilton Stoke City £325,000 [2]
MF Archie Gemmill Derby County £25,000 & P/E [3]

Winter

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In
Pos. Name from Type
DF David Needham Queens Park Rangers £140,000 [8]
Out
Pos. Name To Type
MF Terry Curran Derby County £50,000 [9]

Competitions

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First Division

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League Table

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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 42 24 9 9 65 34 +31 57 Qualification for the European Cup first round[a]
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
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ Liverpool qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1977–78 European Cup winners.

Position by round

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Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142
GroundAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHHHAHAAHHAAHAA
ResultWWWLWWWDWDWWWLWLDWWWDWWDDWWDWWWDWWDDWDWDDD
Position511433221111111111111111111111111111111111
Source: Competitive matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss;   = Leader, 1978-79 European Cup;   = 1978-79 UEFA Cup;   = 1978-79 Second Division

A list of Nottingham Forest's matches in the 1977–78 season.[10][11][12]

Matches

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20 August 1977 1 Everton 1–3 Nottingham Forest Walton
Pearson   44' Withe   20'
Robertson   38'
O'Neill   77'
Stadium: Goodison Park
Attendance: 38,001
23 August 1977 2 Nottingham Forest 1–0 Bristol City West Bridgford
Withe   82' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 21,743
27 August 1977 3 Nottingham Forest 3–0 Derby County West Bridgford
Withe   31', 67'
Robertson   78'
Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 28,807
3 September 1977 4 Arsenal 3–0 Nottingham Forest Islington
Stapleton   3', 60'
Brady   69' (pen.)
Stadium: Highbury
Attendance: 40,810
10 September 1977 5 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–3 Nottingham Forest Wolverhampton
Bell   73'
Daley   82' (pen.)
  18' Withe
  64' Bowyer
  72' Woodcock
Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 24,662
17 September 1977 6 Nottingham Forest 2–0 Aston Villa West Bridgford
Woodcock   5'
Robertson   89'
Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 31,016
24 September 1977 7 Leicester City 0–3 Nottingham Forest Leicester
O'Neill   18'
Woodcock   63'
Robertson   89' (pen.)
Stadium: Filbert Street
Attendance: 21,447
1 October 1977 8 Nottingham Forest 1–1 Norwich City West Bridgford
Burns   73' Peters   78' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 23,741
4 October 1977 9 Nottingham Forest 4–0 Ipswich Town West Bridgford
Withe   43', 58', 86', 89' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 26,845
8 October 1977 10 West Ham United 0–0 Nottingham Forest Upton Park
Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 26,128
15 October 1977 11 Nottingham Forest 2–1 Manchester City West Bridgford
Woodcock   34'
Withe   86'
Kidd   21' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 35,572
22 October 1977 12 Queens Park Rangers 0–2 Nottingham Forest Shepherd's Bush
Bowyer   59'
Burns   82'
Stadium: Loftus Road
Attendance: 24,248
29 October 1977 13 Nottingham Forest 4–0 Middlesbrough West Bridgford
Anderson   31', 44'
Bowyer   40'
McGovern   55'
Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 27,373
5 November 1977 14 Chelsea 1–0 Nottingham Forest Fulham
Aylott   55' Stadium: Stamford Bridge
Attendance: 36,116
12 November 1977 15 Nottingham Forest 2–1 Manchester United West Bridgford
Burns   49'
Gemmill   74'
Pearson   5' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 30,183
19 November 1977 16 Leeds United 1–0 Nottingham Forest Leeds
Hankin   36' Stadium: Elland Road
Attendance: 42,925
3 December 1977 18 Birmingham City 0–2 Nottingham Forest Birmingham
O'Neill   10'
Woodcock   52'
Stadium: St. Andrew's
Attendance: 29,925
10 December 1977 19 Nottingham Forest 2–1 Coventry City West Bridgford
O'Neill   40'
McGovern   44'
Wallace   41' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 29,823
17 December 1977 20 Manchester United 0–4 Nottingham Forest Manchester
B. Greenhoff   23' (o.g.)
Woodcock   28', 89'
Robertson   53'
Stadium: Old Trafford
Attendance: 54,375
26 December 1977 21 Nottingham Forest 1–1 Liverpool West Bridgford
Gemmill   21' Heighway   39' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 47,218
31 December 1977 23 Bristol City 1–3 Nottingham Forest Bristol
Mabbutt   82' Needham   11'
Woodcock   21'
O'Neill   58'
Stadium: Ashton Gate
Attendance: 31,990
2 January 1978 24 Nottingham Forest 1–1 Everton West Bridgford
Robertson   25' (pen.) Ross   85' (pen.) Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 44,030
14 January 1978 25 Derby County 0–0 Nottingham Forest Derby
Stadium: Baseball Ground
Attendance: 36,500
21 January 1978 26 Nottingham Forest 2–0 Arsenal West Bridgford
Needham   32'
Gemmill   64'
Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 35,743
25 February 1978 28 Norwich City 3–3 Nottingham Forest Norwich
Ryan   44' (pen.)
Suggett   68'
Robson   70'
Withe   16'
Barrett   22'
O'Neill   24'
Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 26,004
4 March 1978 29 Nottingham Forest 2–0 West Ham United West Bridgford
Needham   79'
Robertson   81' (pen.)
Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 33,924
14 March 1978 30 Nottingham Forest 1–0 Leicester City West Bridgford
Robertson   13' (pen.) Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 32,355
25 March 1978 31 Nottingham Forest 2–0 Newcastle United West Bridgford
Robertson   32' (pen.)
Anderson   67'
Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 35,552
29 March 1978 32 Middlesbrough 2–2 Nottingham Forest Middlesbrough
Mills   13'
Cummins   22'
Woodcock   20'
O'Neill   54'
Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 25,445
1 April 1978 33 Nottingham Forest 3–1 Chelsea West Bridgford
Burns   68'
O'Neill   82'
Robertson   87'
Langley   8' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 31,262
5 April 1978 34 Aston Villa 0–1 Nottingham Forest Birmingham
Woodcock   86' Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 44,315
11 April 1978 35 Manchester City 0–0 Nottingham Forest Moss Side
Stadium: Maine Road
Attendance: 43,428
15 April 1978 36 Nottingham Forest 1–1 Leeds United West Bridgford
Withe   65' F. Gray   41' (pen.) Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 38,662
22 April 1978 38 Coventry City 0–0 Nottingham Forest Coventry
Stadium: Highfield Road
Attendance: 36,881
25 April 1978 39 Ipswich Town 0–2 Nottingham Forest Ipswich
Mariner   73' (o.g.)
Clark   78'
Stadium: Portman Road
Attendance: 30,062
4 May 1978 42 Liverpool 0–0 Nottingham Forest Liverpool
Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 50,021

League Cup

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Second round

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30 August 1977 Nottingham Forest 5–0 West Ham United Nottingham
O'Neill   9'
Bowyer   25', 85'
Woodcock   65'
Withe   78'
Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 18,224

Third round

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25 October 1977 Nottingham Forest 4–0 Notts County Nottingham
Robertson   16' (pen.)
Woodcock   46'
Bowyer   65', 84'
Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 26,931

Fourth round

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29 November 1977 Nottingham Forest 4–2 Aston Villa Nottingham
Lloyd   7'
Anderson   13'
Withe   25'
Woodcock   52'
Little   79'
Carrodus   85'
Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 29,333

Fifth round

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17 January 1978 Bury 0–3 Nottingham Forest Bury
Bowyer   8'
O'Neill   55'
Robertson   78'
Stadium: Gigg Lane
Attendance: 21,500

Semifinals

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8 February 1978 1 Leeds United 1–3 Nottingham Forest Leeds
E. Gray   28' Withe   19', 21'
O'Hare   75'
Stadium: Elland Road
Attendance: 43,222
22 February 1978 2 Nottingham Forest 4–2
(7–3 agg.)
Leeds United Nottingham
Withe   18'
Bowyer   49'
O'Neill   72'
Woodcock   75'
F. Gray   13'
Graham   19'
Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 38,131

Final

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18 March 1978 Nottingham Forest 0–0 (a.e.t.) Liverpool London
Stadium: Wembley
Attendance: 100,000
22 March 1978 replay Nottingham Forest 1–0 Liverpool Manchester
Robertson   52' (pen.) Stadium: Old Trafford
Attendance: 54,375

FA Cup

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Third round

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7 January 1978 Nottingham Forest 4–1 Swindon Town Nottingham
Woodcock   37', 77'
Withe   55'
Robertson   67'
Moss   84' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 28,953

Fourth round

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31 January 1978 Nottingham Forest 2–1 Manchester City Nottingham
Robertson   3'
Withe   59'
Kidd   61' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 38,509

Fifth round

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18 February 1978 Queens Park Rangers 1–1 Nottingham Forest London
Busby   18' O'Neill   89' Stadium: Loftus Road
Attendance: 26,803
27 February 1978 replay Nottingham Forest 1–1 (a.e.t.) Queens Park Rangers Nottingham
Robertson   19' (pen.) Shanks   43' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 40,097
2 March 1978 2nd replay Nottingham Forest 3–1 Queens Park Rangers Nottingham
O'Neill   2'
Woodcock   65', 79'
Bowles   64' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 33,960

Sixth round

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Pre-season and Friendlies

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1 August 1977 Friendly St Gallen   2–3 Nottingham Forest St Gallen, Switzerland
Bowyer   51'
Withe   7'   37'
Stadium: Espenmoos
Attendance: 2,300
5 August 1977 Friendly SV Plattling   1–5 Nottingham Forest Plattling, Germany
O'Neill  
Elliott      
Birtles  
Stadium: Rennbahnstadion
Attendance: 1,500
6 August 1977 Friendly VfR Neuburg   1–5 Nottingham Forest Neuberg, Germany
Woodcock    
Barrett  
O'Neill  
Bowyer  
Attendance: 1,000
9 August 1977 Friendly SC Bregenz   0–3 Nottingham Forest Bregenz, Austria
Elliott  
Woodcock    
Stadium: Casino Stadium
Attendance: 2,000
13 August 1977 Centenary Match Skegness Town 0–4 Nottingham Forest Skegness
Burns  
Bowyer  
Elliott  
Robertson   (pen.)'
Stadium: Burgh Road
Attendance: 2,500
15 August 1977 County Cup Final Nottingham Forest 1–1
(3–2 p)
Notts County Nottingham
Bowyer   49' Smith   Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 11,569
Referee: G. Flint
12 September 1977 Liam O'Kane Testimonial Nottingham Forest XI 0–0 Leicester City XI Nottingham
Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 5,190
Referee: B. Martin
17 October 1977 John Harris Testimonial Sheffield United XI 1–6 Nottingham Forest Sheffield
Burns  
Withe      
Woodcock  
Robertson  
Stadium: Bramall Lane
Attendance: 6,780
Referee: K. Styles
14 November 1977 Alan Goad Testimonial Hartlepool United 2–2 Nottingham Forest Hartlepool
Burns  
Woodcock  
Stadium: Victoria Park
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: P. Partridge
3 April 1978 Henry Newton Testimonial Derby County 1–2 Nottingham Forest Derby
Lloyd  
Bowyer  
Stadium: The Baseball Ground
Attendance: 9,070
Referee: M. Taylor
12 April 1978 Les Bradd Testimonial Notts County 0–1 Nottingham Forest Nottingham
O'Hare   Stadium: Meadow Lane
Attendance: 10,129
Referee: B. Martin

Statistics

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Squad statistics

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No. Pos Nat Player Total Football League
Division One
Football League
Cup
FA
Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK   ENG Peter Shilton 43 0 37 0 0 0 6 0
DF   ENG Viv Anderson 50 4 37 3 8 1 5 0
DF   SCO Kenny Burns 55 4 41 4 8 0 6 0
DF   ENG Larry Lloyd 34 1 26 0 6 1 2 0
DF   ENG Colin Barrett 43 1 33+2 1 5 0 3 0
MF   NIR Martin O'Neill 54 13 38+2 8 8 3 6 2
MF   SCO Archie Gemmill 38 3 32+2 3 0 0 4 0
MF   SCO John McGovern 42 5 31 4 7 1 4 0
MF   SCO John Robertson 56 18 42 12 8 3 6 3
FW   ENG Peter Withe 54 19 40 12 8 5 6 2
FW   ENG Tony Woodcock 50 19 36 11 8 4 6 4
GK   ENG John Middleton 6 0 5 0 1 0 0 0
MF   ENG Ian Bowyer 39 10 25+3 4 8 6 3 0
DF   ENG David Needham 22 4 16 4 0 0 6 0
DF   ENG Frank Clark 20 1 12+1 1 4 0 3 0
FW   SCO John O'Hare 13 1 10 0 1+1 1 0+1 0
GK   ENG Chris Woods 7 0 0 0 7 0 0 0
DF   ENG Bryn Gunn 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF   ENG Steve Burke 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW   ENG Garry Birtles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW   ENG Steve Elliott 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

References

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  1. ^ July 1977
  2. ^ September 1977
  3. ^ September 1977
  4. ^ July 1977
  5. ^ September 1977
  6. ^ September 1977
  7. ^ P/E September 1977
  8. ^ December 1977
  9. ^ November 1977
  10. ^ "1977-1978". Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  11. ^ Smales, Ken (1991). Forest - The First 125 Years. Nottingham: Temple Printing. ISBN 978-1870010092.
  12. ^ Attaway, Pete (2010). Nottingham Forest: Brian Clough and His Legacy - A Complete Record 1975 - 2010. Southend-on-Sea: Desert Island Book. ISBN 978-1905328833.