| Nottingham Forest
FC was founded in 1865 in the Clifton Arms in Nottingham,
and the team played their first match against Notts County
the same year.
However for two decades the club, which was named after
its first ground, Forest Recreation Ground, had
to make do with only playing friendly games because the
team did not win Football League status until 1888.
Once The Reds took up their position in the League
there was no stopping them, with the climax coming in
1898 when Forest won the FA Cup for the first time.
But the glory did not last long as the club went downhill
and suffered a series of relegations, which kept them
out of the limelight for many years.
Finally, after much heartache for fans and players, The
Reds won promotion to the second division in 1952 and
continued to climb the football league until they were
back in the top flight.
In 1959 the team once again lifted the FA Cup and by the
1966/67 season they had managed to pull in the biggest
crowds in their history and finished runners up in
the first division.
Unfortunately after a few seasons playing the best in
the business, Forest were once again relegated to the
second division where they stayed for a while.
However, Forest put the poor performances behind them
when, in 1976, a new era dawned as the legendary Brian
Clough took his first strides as manager at the City
Ground.
With his sidekick Peter Taylor, the great 'Cloughie',
as he was affectionately known, took the club to new heights
bagging the European Cup twice in succession in
1979 and 1980, along with the European Super Cup in 1979 and the Division One Championship 1977/78.
During Clough’s reign Forest also won the League
Cup four times in 1978, 1979, 1989 and 1990, but by
1993 the glory days were over and he resigned as manager
when the team were relegated.
The news of Brian Clough’s death in September 2004
brought sadness to the entire football world, particularly
in Nottingham where flowers were lay at the City Ground [map] in his memory and fans recalled the ‘Cloughie
Days’.
After Clough it has been a mixture of highs and lows for
Nottingham Forest, with triumph in the first division
in the 1997/98 season but relegation after that.
Today the club plays in Coca Cola League Division One but still manages to pull in the crowds week in week out.
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