1977–78_Nottingham_Forest_F.C._season

Nottingham Forest F.C.
1977–78 season
Chairman	S.M. Dryden, J.P.
Manager	Brian Clough
First Division	1st
FA Cup	6th Round
League Cup	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: Robertson; Withe (12); All: Withe; Woodcock (19)
Highest home attendance	47,218 vs. Liverpool ; (Division One,; 26 December 1977)
Lowest home attendance	18,224 vs West Ham United; (League Cup, ; 30 August 1977)
Average home league attendance	32,501
	← 1976–77 1978–79 →

1977–78 Nottingham Forest F.C. season

Nottingham Forest F.C. 1977–78 football 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.

Quick Facts season, Chairman ...

Summary

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.

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article 1977–78_Nottingham_Forest_F.C._season, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[table_note_res_LIV0.96294485496494-1] Liverpool qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1977–78 European Cup winners.

[2] [1]
"1977-1978". Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2019.

[3] [2]
Smales, Ken (1991). Forest - The First 125 Years. Nottingham: Temple Printing. ISBN 978-1870010092.

[4] [3]
Attaway, Pete (2010). Nottingham Forest: Brian Clough and His Legacy - A Complete Record 1975 - 2010. Southend-on-Sea: Desert Island Book. ISBN 978-1905328833.

[lower-alpha 1]

[1]

[2]

[3]

Position	Nation	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Position	Nation	Name	Total		Division One		League Cup		FA Cup
GK		Peter Shilton	43	0	37	0	0	0	6	0
DF		Viv Anderson	50	4	37	3	8	1	5	0
DF		Kenny Burns	55	4	41	4	8	0	6	0
DF		Larry Lloyd	34	1	26	0	6	1	2	0
DF		Colin Barrett	41(2)	1	33(2)	1	5	0	3	0
MF		Martin O'Neill	52(2)	13	38(2)	8	8	3	6	2
MF		Archie Gemmill	36(2)	3	32(2)	3	0	0	4	0
MF		John McGovern	42	5	31	4	7	1	4	0
MF		John Robertson	56	18	42	12	8	3	6	3
FW		Peter Withe	54	19	40	12	8	5	6	2
FW		Tony Woodcock	50	19	36	11	8	4	6	4
GK		John Middleton	6	0	5	0	1	0	0	0
GK		Chris Woods	7	0	0	0	7	0	0	0
DF		Frank Clark	19(1)	1	12(1)	1	4	0	3	0
DF		Bryn Gunn	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
DF		David Needham	22	4	16	4	0	0	6	0
MF		Steve Burke	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
MF		Ian Bowyer	36(3)	10	25(3)	4	8	6	3	0
FW		Garry Birtles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW		Steve Elliott	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW		John O'Hare	11(2)	1	10	0	1(1)	1	0(1)	0
		Own goals		2		2

Pos	Player	From	Fee	Date
DF	Kenny Burns	Birmingham City	£150,000	July 1977
GK	Peter Shilton	Stoke City	£325,000	September 1977
MF	Archie Gemmill	Derby County	£25,000 & P/E	September 1977
DF	David Needham	Queens Park Rangers	£140,000	December 1977

Pos	Player	To	Fee	Date
DF	Sammy Chapman	Notts County	£7,500	July 1977
FW	Barry Butlin	Peterborough United	£20,000	September 1977
MF	Sean Haslegrave	Preston North End	£25,000	September 1977
GK	John Middleton	Derby County	P/E	September 1977
MF	Terry Curran	Derby County	£50,000	November 1977

Pos	Team v t e	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^{[lower-alpha 1]}
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

20 August 1977 1	Everton	1–3	Nottingham Forest	Liverpool
	Pearson 44'		Withe 20' Robertson 38' O'Neill 77'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 38,001

1977–78_Nottingham_Forest_F.C._season

1977–78 Nottingham Forest F.C. season

Summary

Players

Squad Stats

Transfers In

Transfers Out

Club Kit

Table

Results by round

Matches

Competitive

Division One

League Cup

Second round

Third round

Fourth round

Fifth round

Semifinals

Final

Replay

FA Cup

Third round

Fourth round

Fifth round

Replay

Second replay

Sixth round

Pre-season and Friendlies

References

Share this article:

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42
Ground	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	A
Result	W	W	W	L	W	W	W	D	W	D	W	W	W	L	W	L	D	W	W	W	D	W	W	D	D	W	W	D	W	W	W	D	W	W	D	D	W	D	W	D	D	D
Position	5	1	1	4	3	3	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

23 August 1977 2	Nottingham Forest	1–0	Bristol City	Nottingham
	Withe 82'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 21,743

27 August 1977 3	Nottingham Forest	3–0	Derby County	Nottingham
	Withe 31', 67' Robertson 78'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 28,807

3 September 1977 4	Arsenal	3–0	Nottingham Forest	London
	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.)		Withe 18' Bowyer 64' Woodcock 72'	Stadium: Molineux Attendance: 24,662

17 September 1977 6	Nottingham Forest	2–0	Aston Villa	Nottingham
	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	Nottingham
	Burns 73'		Peters 78'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 23,741

4 October 1977 9	Nottingham Forest	4–0	Ipswich Town	Nottingham
	Withe 43', 58', 86', 89'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 26,845

8 October 1977 10	West Ham United	0–0	Nottingham Forest	London
				Stadium: Upton Park Attendance: 26,128

28 December 1977 22	Newcastle United	0–2	Nottingham Forest	Newcastle upon Tyne
			Needham 16' McGovern 71'	Stadium: St. James' Park Attendance: 54,375

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

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

15 October 1977 11	Nottingham Forest	2–1	Manchester City	Nottingham
	Woodcock 34' Withe 86'		Kidd 21'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 35,572

22 October 1977 12	Queens Park Rangers	0–2	Nottingham Forest	London
			Bowyer 59' Burns 82'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 24,248

29 October 1977 13	Nottingham Forest	4–0	Middlesbrough	Nottingham
	Anderson 31', 44' Bowyer 40' McGovern 55'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 27,373

5 November 1977 14	Chelsea	1–0	Nottingham Forest	London
	Aylott 55'			Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 36,116

12 November 1977 15	Nottingham Forest	2–1	Manchester United	Nottingham
	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

26 November 1977 17	Nottingham Forest	0–0	West Bromwich Albion	Nottingham
				Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 31,908

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	Nottingham
	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	Nottingham
	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	Nottingham
	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	Nottingham
	Needham 32' Gemmill 64'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 35,743

4 February 1978 27	Nottingham Forest	2–0	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Nottingham
	Woodcock 40' McGovern 53'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 28,803

4 March 1978 29	Nottingham Forest	2–0	West Ham United	Nottingham
	Needham 79' Robertson 81' (pen.)			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 33,924

14 March 1978 30	Nottingham Forest	1–0	Leicester City	Nottingham
	Robertson 13' (pen.)			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 32,355

25 March 1978 31	Nottingham Forest	2–0	Newcastle United	Nottingham
	Robertson 32' (pen.) Anderson 67'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 35,552

1 April 1978 33	Nottingham Forest	3–1	Chelsea	Nottingham
	Burns 68' O'Neill 82' Robertson 87'		Langley 8'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 31,262