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1978–79 Nottingham Forest F.C. season

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Nottingham Forest F.C.
1978–79 season
ChairmanS.M. Dryden, J.P.
ManagerBrian Clough
Division OneRunners-up
FA Cup5th Round
Football League CupWinners
FA Charity ShieldWinners
European CupWinners
(In 1979-80 European Cup)
Top goalscorerLeague:
Birtles (14)
All:
Birtles (26)
Highest home attendance41,898 vs. Liverpool
(Division One,
28 April 1979)
Lowest home attendance20,388 vs Southampton
(Division One,
2 May 1979)
Average home league attendance30,446

The 1978–79 season was Nottingham Forest's second year back in the Football League First Division. They had won the title in the previous season, meaning that they qualified for the European Cup for the first time in their history.

Summary

[edit]

Forest opened the defence of their title with six draws in their first seven league matches. On 7 September the 2–1 win at Aston Villa broke the previous undefeated record of 34 consecutive league games by Don Revie' Leeds United in the 1968–69 season.[1] On 28 November the 1–0 win at Bolton set an undefeated record of 42 consecutive league games.[2] The record stood for twenty six years.[3] Garry Birtles broke into the first team and ended up being the club's top scorer as they ended up as league runners-up, retained the League Cup and won the European Cup. Along the way they knocked out holders Liverpool and came from behind to oust West German champions Cologne. Trevor Francis became the first £1,000,000 player when he signed for the Reds from Birmingham City and immediately proved his worth by scoring the only goal of the European Cup final against Malmö in Munich. 26 year old Colin Barrett suffered a serious leg injury 10 days after scoring in the win against Liverpool. He only played seven further competitive games for Forest and 12 in his career.

Players

[edit]

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 England ENG Peter Shilton
— GK England ENG Jim Montgomery
— GK England ENG Chris Woods
— DF England ENG Viv Anderson
— DF Scotland SCO Kenny Burns
— DF England ENG Larry Lloyd
— DF England ENG Frank Clark
— DF England ENG Dave Needham
— DF England ENG Colin Barrett
— DF England ENG Bryn Gunn
— MF Northern Ireland NIR Martin O'Neill
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Scotland SCO John McGovern
— MF England ENG Ian Bowyer
— MF Scotland SCO John Robertson
— MF Scotland SCO Archie Gemmill
— MF Scotland SCO John O'Hare
— MF England ENG Gary Mills
— MF England ENG Steve Burke
— FW England ENG Garry Birtles
— FW England ENG Tony Woodcock
— FW England ENG Trevor Francis
— FW England ENG Steve Elliott
— FW England ENG Peter Withe


Transfers

[edit]
Out
Pos. Name To Type
FW Peter Withe Newcastle United £200,000 [5]

Winter

[edit]
In
Pos. Name from Type
FW Trevor Francis Birmingham City £999,999.99 [6]
Out
Pos. Name To Type

Competitions

[edit]
Competition Started round Final
position / round 		First match Last match
First Division – 2nd 1 August 1978 2 May 1979
FA Cup – Fifth round 1 August 1978
FA Cup – Fifth round

Division One

[edit]
Main article: 1978–79 Football League § First Division

League table

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Liverpool (C) 42 30 8 4 85 16 +69 68 Qualification for the European Cup first round
2 Nottingham Forest 42 21 18 3 61 26 +35 60 Qualification for the European Cup first round[a]
3 West Bromwich Albion 42 24 11 7 72 35 +37 59 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4 Everton 42 17 17 8 52 40 +12 51
5 Leeds United 42 18 14 10 70 52 +18 50
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ Nottingham Forest qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1978–79 European Cup winners.

Results by round

[edit]
Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142
GroundHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAAHHHHHAAHHAHAHAHAA
ResultDDDDWDDWWWWDDWDWLWDDLWWDDWWWDWWWDDWDLWDWWW
Position1113101069864333444445555566666666443433233332
Source: Competitive matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss;   = Leader, 1979–80 European Cup;   = 1979-80 UEFA Cup ;   = 1979–80 Second Division

Matches

[edit]
19 August 1978 1 Nottingham Forest 1–1 Tottenham Hotspur West Bridgford
O'Neill 12' [7] Villa 27' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 41,223
22 August 1978 2 Coventry City 0–0 Nottingham Forest Coventry
Stadium: Highfield Road
Attendance: 28,585
26 August 1978 3 Queens Park Rangers 0–0 Nottingham Forest Shepherd's Bush
Stadium: Loftus Road
Attendance: 17,971
2 September 1978 4 Nottingham Forest 0–0 West Bromwich Albion West Bridgford
Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 28,239
9 September 1978 5 Nottingham Forest 2–1 Arsenal West Bridgford
Bowyer 71'
Robertson 53' (pen)		 6' Brady Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 28,124
16 September 1978 6 Manchester United 1–1 Nottingham Forest Manchester
66' J Greenhoff 10' Bowyer Stadium: Old Trafford
Attendance: 53,039
23 September 1978 7 Nottingham Forest 2–2 Middlesbrough West Bridgford
Birtles 18'
O'Neill 44'		 46' Mills
49' Armstrong		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 26,287
30 September 1978 8 Aston Villa 1–2 Nottingham Forest Birmingham
18' (pen) Craig [8] 49' Woodcock
79' (pen) Robertson		 Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 36,735
7 October 1978 9 Nottingham Forest 3–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers West Bridgford
Birtles 25', 60'
O'Neill 55'		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 29,313
14 October 1978 10 Bristol City 1–3 Nottingham Forest Bristol
Ritchie 11' (pen) Birtles 5'
Robertson 26' (pen), 54' (pen)		 Stadium: Ashton Gate
Attendance: 26,953
21 October 1978 11 Nottingham Forest 1–0 Ipswich Town West Bridgford
O'Neill 13' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 28,911
28 October 1978 12 Southampton 0–0 Nottingham Forest Southampton
Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 22,530
4 November 1978 13 Nottingham Forest 0–0 Everton West Bridgford
Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 35,415
11 November 1978 14 Tottenham Hotspur 1–3 Nottingham Forest Tottenham
Pratt 80' Anderson 63'
Robertson 68'
Birtles 82'		 Stadium: White Hart Lane
Attendance: 50,541
18 November 1978 15 Nottingham Forest 0–0 Queens Park Rangers West Bridgford
Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 28,036
25 November 1978 16 Bolton Wanderers 0–1 Nottingham Forest Bolton
67' Robertson Stadium: Burnden Park
Attendance: 25,692
9 December 1978 18 Liverpool 2–0 Nottingham Forest Liverpool
16:00 GMT McDermott 29' (pen)
McDermott 48'		 Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 51,469
16 December 1978 19 Nottingham Forest 1–0 Birmingham City West Bridgford
Gemmill 72' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 25,224
23 December 1978 20 Manchester City 0–0 Nottingham Forest Moss Side
Stadium: Maine Road
Attendance: 37,012
26 December 1978 21 Nottingham Forest 1–1 Derby County West Bridgford
Woodcock 55' 45' (pen) Daly Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 34,256
13 January 1979 23 Arsenal F.C. 2–1 Nottingham Forest Islington
Stapleton 81'
Price 61'		 38' Robertson Stadium: Highbury Park
Attendance: 52,158
3 February 1979 24 Middlesbrough F.C. 1–3 Nottingham Forest Middlesbrough
Proctor 24' 17' Birtles
62' Birtles
47' (pen) Robertson		 Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 31,330
24 February 1979 26 Nottingham Forest 2–0 Bristol City West Bridgford
Needham 8'
Birtles 16'		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 28,008
3 March 1979 27 Ipswich Town 1–1 Nottingham Forest Ipswich
Brazil 54' 24' Birtles Stadium: Portman Road
Attendance: 27,198
10 March 1979 28 Everton F.C. 1–1 Nottingham Forest Walton
Telfer 5' 18' Barrett Stadium: Goodison Park
Attendance: 37,745
14 March 1979 29 Nottingham Forest 2–1 Norwich City West Bridgford
Woodcock 53'
Woodcock 61'		 67' Fashanu Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 24,046
24 March 1979 28 Nottingham Forest 3–0 Coventry City West Bridgford
Woodcock 25'
Birtles 65'
Needham 85'		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 24,514
28 March 1979 17 Nottingham Forest 6–0 Chelsea F.C. West Bridgford
19:30 O'Neill 45'
Woodcock 46'
Birtles 54'
Woodcock 63'
O'Neill 65'
O'Neill 71'		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 24,514
Referee: Bert Newsome
31 March 1979 29 Nottingham Forest 1–1 Bolton Wanderers West Bridgford
Francis 89' 35'Gowling Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 29,015
4 April 1979 32 Nottingham Forest 4–0 Aston Villa West Bridgford
Evans 13' (o.g.)
Woodcock 49'
Francis 55'
O'Neill 71'		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 27,056
7 April 1979 33 Chelsea F.C. 1–3 Nottingham Forest Fulham
Wilkins 61' 9' Francis
43'O'Neill

47' Bowyer		 Stadium: Stamford Bridge
Attendance: 29,213
14 April 1979 35 Derby County 1–2 Nottingham Forest Derby
Webb 42' 27' Birtles
34' O'Neill		 Stadium: Baseball Ground
Attendance: 30,156
16 April 1979 36 Nottingham Forest 0–0 Leeds United West Bridgford
Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 37,397
18 April 1979 Nottingham Forest 1–1 Manchester United West Bridgford
Francis 87' 47' Jordan Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 33,074
21 April 1979 37 Birmingham City 0–2 Nottingham Forest Birmingham
5' Birtles
48' Robertson		 Stadium: St'Andrews Park
Attendance: 22,189
28 April 1979 39 Nottingham Forest 0–0 Liverpool F.C. West Bridgford
Stadium: Nottingham
Attendance: 41,898
30 April 1979 40 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–0 Nottingham Forest Wolverhampton
Richards Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 23,616
2 May 1979 Nottingham Forest 1–0 Southampton West Bridgford
Francis 66' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 20,388
5 May 1979 41 Norwich City 1–1 Nottingham Forest Norwich
Reeves 27' 56' Woodcock Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 17,651
9 May 1979 42 Nottingham Forest 3–1 Manchester City West Bridgford
Birtles 4'
Bowyer 60'

Woodcock 61'		 51' (o.g.) Lloyd Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 21,104
15 May 1979 Leeds United 1–2 Nottingham Forest Leeds
Cherry 60' 5' Mills
85' (o.g.) Hawley		 Stadium: Elland Road
Attendance: 33,544
18 May 1979 West Bromwich Albion 0–1 Nottingham Forest West Bromwich
82' Francis Stadium: The Hawthorns
Attendance: 28,246

Last updated: 28 August 2011
Source: Bridport Red Archive

League Cup

[edit]
Main article: 1978–79 Football League Cup

Round Two

[edit]
29 August 1978 Oldham Athletic 0–0 Nottingham Forest Oldham
Stadium: Boundary Park
Attendance: 13,793
6 September 1978 replay Nottingham Forest 4–2 Oldham Athletic Nottingham
Needham 49'
Burns 57'
Woodcock 61'
Robertson 63' (pen)		 Alan Young
Vic Halom		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 19,669

Round Three

[edit]
4 October 1978 Oxford United 0–5 Nottingham Forest Oxford
24' Birtles
30' McGovern
43' O'Neill
59' Robertson
89' Anderson		 Stadium: Manor Ground
Attendance: 14,287

Round Four

[edit]
7 November 1978 Everton 2–3 Nottingham Forest Liverpool
Kenny Burns 15' (o.g.)
Bob Latchford 88'		 52' Lloyd
73' Anderson
75' Woodcock		 Stadium: Goodison Park
Attendance: 48,503

Round Five

[edit]
13 December 1978 R5 Nottingham Forest 3–1 Brighton & Hove Albion Nottingham
McGovern 21'
Birtles 66'
Robertson 59'		 50' Peter Ward Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 30,672

Semifinals

[edit]
17 January 1979 1 Nottingham Forest 3–1 Watford Nottingham
Birtles 13', 47'
Robertson 79'		 9' Blissett Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 32,438
30 January 1979 2 Watford 0–0
(1–3 agg.)		 Nottingham Forest Watford
Stadium: Vicarage Road
Attendance: 27,656

Final

[edit]
Main article: 1979 Football League Cup Final
17 March 1979 Final Nottingham Forest 3–2 Southampton Wembley, London
Birtles 51', 79'
Woodcock 83'		 16' David Peach
88' Holmes		 Stadium: Wembley
Attendance: 96,952
Referee: P. Reeves

Last updated: 28 August 2011
Source: Bridport Red Archive

FA Cup

[edit]
Main article: 1978–79 FA Cup

Third round

[edit]
10 January 1979 Nottingham Forest 2-0 (a.e.t.) Aston Villa Nottingham
Needham 58'
Woodcock 73'		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 29,550

Fourth round

[edit]
27 January 1979 Fourth round Nottingham Forest 3–1 York City Nottingham
McGovern 44'
Lloyd 15'
O'Neill 73'		 81' Barry Wellings Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 25,228

Fifth round

[edit]
26 February 1979 Fifth round Nottingham Forest 0–1 Arsenal Nottingham
Stapleton Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 35,908
Referee: -

Last updated: 28 August 2011
Source: Bridport Red Archive

FA Charity Shield

[edit]
Main article: 1978 FA Charity Shield
12 August 1978 Final Nottingham Forest 5–0 Ipswich Town Wembley, London
15:00 UTC+1 O'Neill 10', 65'
Lloyd 46'
Withe 27'
Robertson 87'		 Stadium: Wembley
Attendance: 64,438
Referee: P. Reeves

Last updated: 28 August 2011
Source: Bridport Red Archive

European Cup

[edit]
Main article: 1978–79 European Cup

First round

[edit]
13 September 1978 First Leg Nottingham Forest England 2–0 England Liverpool Nottingham
Barrett 87 '
Birtles 26'		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 38,318
Referee: -
27 September 1978 Second Leg Liverpool England 0–0
(0–2 agg.)		 England Nottingham Forest Liverpool, England
Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 51,679
Referee: -
Second round
[edit]
18 October 1978 First Leg AEK Athens Greece 1–2 England Nottingham Forest Athens, Greece
McGovern
Birtles		 Stadium: AEK Stadium
Attendance: 36,000
Referee: -
1 November 1978 Second Leg Nottingham Forest England 5–1
(7–2 agg.)		 Greece AEK Athens Nottingham
Needham
Woodcock
Anderson
Birtles , 		Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 38,069
Referee: -
Quarter-final
[edit]
7 March 1979 First Leg Nottingham Forest England 4–1 Switzerland Grasshopper Nottingham
Lloyd
Gemmil
Birtles
Robertson (pen.)'		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 31,949
Referee: -
21 March 1979 Second Leg Grasshopper Switzerland 1–1
(2–5 agg.)		 England Nottingham Forest Zürich, Switzerland
O'Neill Stadium: Hardturm
Attendance: 7,800
Referee: -
Semi-final
[edit]
11 April 1979 Nottingham Forest England 3–3 West Germany 1. FC Köln Nottingham
Birtles 28'
Bowyer 53'
Robertson 63'		 Report 6' Van Gool
20' Müller
85' Okudera		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 40,804
Referee: Portugal António Garrido
25 April 1979 1. FC Köln West Germany 0–1
(3-4 agg.)		 England Nottingham Forest Cologne
Report 65' Bowyer Stadium: Müngersdorder Stadion
Attendance: 60,000[9]
Referee: Romania Nicolae Rainea
Final
[edit]
Main article: 1979 European Cup Final
30 May 1979 Nottingham Forest England 1–0 Sweden Malmö FF Munich
20:15 CET Francis 45+1' Report Stadium: Olympiastadion
Attendance: 68,000
Referee: Austria Erich Linemayr


Last updated: 28 August 2011
Source: Bridport Red Archive

Pre-season and Friendlies

[edit]
25 July 1978 Friendly Red Star Belgrade Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 3–2 England Nottingham Forest Belgrade, Yugoslavia
O'Neill
Withe		 Stadium: Stadion FK Crvena Zvezda
Attendance: 33,000
Referee: -
27 July 1978 Friendly Dinamo Zagreb Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1–1 England Nottingham Forest Zagreb, Yugoslavia
Needham Stadium: Stadion Maksimir
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Raus
30 July 1978 Friendly NK Osijek Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1–1 England Nottingham Forest Osijek, Yugoslavia
Bowyer Stadium: Stadion Gradski vrt
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Fresl
2 August 1978 Friendly AEK Athens Greece 1–1 England Nottingham Forest Athens, Greece
Viera 69' 15' Woodcock Stadium: AEK Stadium
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Alexopoulos
14 August 1978 Vigo Tournament R.C. Celta Vigo Spain 1–1 England Nottingham Forest Vigo, Spain
Senra 89' 90+2' Withe Stadium: Balaídos
Attendance: 13,000
Referee: Balsa-Ron
16 August 1978 Vigo Tournament F.C. Porto Portugal 1–0 England Nottingham Forest Vigo, Spain
Gonzales 81' Stadium: Balaídos
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Garcia De Loza
4 September 1978 Sandy Pate Testimonial Mansfield Town 1–6 Nottingham Forest Mansfield
Stadium: Field Mill
Attendance: 7,051
Referee: -
5 December 1978 Friendly Nottingham Forest England 2–0 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dinamo Zagreb Nottingham
Birtles , Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 5,338
Referee: Styles
19 February 1979 Nick Jennings Testimonial Exeter City 0–5 Nottingham Forest Exeter
Anderson
Birtles
, Woodcock
Bowyer		 Stadium: St James Park
Attendance: 9,479
Referee: Atkins
21 February 1979 Trevor Stokes Testimonial West Bromwich Albion 0–0 Nottingham Forest Witney
Stadium: Marriots Stadium
Attendance: 3,500
Referee: Ladbrook
11 May 1979 Lawrie McMenemy Testimonial Southampton 0–4 Nottingham Forest Southampton
, Bowyer
Birtles
Mills		 Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 14,693
Referee: -

Statistics

[edit]

Squad statistics

[edit]
No. Pos Nat Player Total Football League
Division One		 Football League
Cup		 FA
Cup		 European Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK England ENG Shilton 62 0 42 0 8 0 3 0 9 0
DF England ENG Anderson 58 3 40 1 7 2 3 0 8 0
DF Scotland SCO Burns 36 1 25 0 5 1 1 0 5 0
DF England ENG Lloyd 54 3 36 0 7 1 3 1 8 1
DF England ENG Clark 32 0 20 0 3 0 2 0 7 0
MF Northern Ireland NIR O'Neill 41 13 28 10 6 1 3 1 4 1
MF Scotland SCO McGovern 54 4 36 0 7 2 3 1 8 1
MF England ENG Bowyer 40 6 26+3 4 5 0 1 0 5 2
MF Scotland SCO Robertson 62 15 42 9 8 4 3 0 9 2
FW England ENG Birtles 54 26 35 14 7 6 3 0 9 6
FW England ENG Woodcock 56 15 36 10 8 3 3 1 9 1
GK England ENG Montgomery 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF Scotland SCO Gemmill 40 2 24 1 6 0 3 0 7 1
DF England ENG Needham 38 5 23+3 2 6 1 2 1 4 1
FW England ENG Francis 21 7 19+1 6 0 0 0 0 1 1
DF England ENG Barrett 17 2 11 1 3 0 0 0 3 1
MF Scotland SCO O'Hare 14 0 9+2 0 1+1 0 0 0 1 0
MF England ENG Mills 6 1 4 1 0+1 0 0 0 0+1 0
FW England ENG Elliott 6 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
FW England ENG Withe 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DF England ENG Gunn 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
GK England ENG Woods 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF England ENG Burke 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Last updated: 28 August 2011
Source: The City Ground

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Longest unbeaten runs in English Football". thefootballfaithful.com. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  2. ^ "List of Nottingham Forest 42 games unbeaten". RSSSF. 20 April 1999. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  3. ^ McCarra, Kevin (22 October 2004). "Sense of injustice burns as Arsenal fires fade". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  4. ^ September 1978
  5. ^ August 1978
  6. ^ February 1979
  7. ^ "Argentine cup star aids Tottenham tie". Montreal Gazette. 21 August 1978. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  8. ^ "Forest make Soccer history". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 October 1978. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  9. ^ "1. FC Köln v Nottingham Forest, 25 April 1979" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
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