On 26 November 1977, Nottingham Forest drew 0-0 with West Brom to start a club-record streak of 42 unbeaten league matches.
Forest were in the third full season under the managerial duo of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, who took charge of the club in January 1975. They were in Division Two at the time, but won promotion to the top flight for the 1977-78 season.
They started off well in the First Division, winning ten and drawing two of their first thirteen matches and claiming the table's top spot in week nine. They remained there for the duration of the season, even after losing two of their first three games in November. Those two losses, to Chelsea and Leeds, joined an earlier one to Arsenal as their only losses on the season.
Their next match was the home draw against West Brom, followed by another 25 undefeated matches in the league to lift them seven points clear of runners-up Liverpool in the final table (Forest had also beaten Liverpool in that season's League Cup final).
The next season started with another 16 straight undefeated matches to take the total to 42 before Forest finally lost to Liverpool on 9 December 1978. They finished the season as runners-up to Liverpool in the league, but took some consolation by winning the first of two consecutive European Cups that year.
On 4 October 1990, Peter Taylor, who won a league title and two European Cups as an assistant to Brian Clough, passed away while on holiday in Spain. He was 62.
Although best known for his abilities as a manager and scout, Taylor enjoyed a lengthy playing career with Coventry City (1950-55), Middlesbrough (1955-61), and Port Vale (1961-62). Then, in 1962, he took his first managerial job as player-manager for Burton Albion and spent two seasons there before leaving to join Hartlepool as an assistant to his former Middlesbrough teammate, Brian Clough.
Taylor and Clough spent ten of the next twelve seasons together, including six and a half years at Derby County where they won the league title in 1972. Their only time apart was from 1974 to 1976, when Taylor took charge of Brighton & Hove after Clough left for his ill-fated spell at Leeds United. They reunited in 1976, when Taylor joined Clough at Nottingham Forest and the pair proceeded to win two European Cups (1979, 1980).
In 1982, Taylor left Clough and returned to Derby County, managing them for two seasons before retiring in 1984. During that second spell at Derby, Taylor signed winger John Robertson from Derby without telling Clough in advance. The signing created a rift between the two men, who never spoke to one another afterward, a fact deeply regretted by Clough after Taylor's death.
In 2010, Derby County commemorated Taylor and Clough with a statue of the pair outside the ground.
On 22 April 1978, Nottingham Forest won the league with a scoreless draw at Coventry City. They were the fifth (and to date last) team to win the English top flight as a newly-promoted team.
The rise was orchestrated by the managerial team of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, who took charge of the club in January 1975. At the time, Forest were a mid-table Division Two team whose only major honors were the 1898 and 1959 FA Cups. Although they finished sixteenth out of twenty-two teams that first season under Clough and Taylor, they ended the 1975-76 season in eighth, then claimed the last promotion spot the following year with a third-place finish.
They got a strong start on their return to the top flight, winning seven of their first nine matches to take a firm grip on first place. They remained there for the rest of the season.
By the time they visited Coventry City, Forest were six points clear of second-place Everton, who had only three matches left to play (Forest had five remaining). At the time, teams earned two points for a win, so even a draw with Coventry would have put Forest out of Everton's reach. And a draw is what they got, as the match finished 0-0 to secure Forest's first top-flight title with four games left.
Before that, Liverpool (in 1906), Everton (1932), Tottenham (1951), and Ipswich Town (1962) each had won the league as newly-promoted teams, but Forest remain the last to do it. They were also the first to do it without being promoted as Division Two champions.
Their success continued under Clough and Taylor, with back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980.
On 12 April 1992, Manchester United defeated Nottingham Forest in the League Cup Final. It was the first League Cup for the club and the first piece of silverware for Ryan Giggs, who later became the most decorated British player in history.
It was United's second consecutive appearance in the Final after losing to Sheffield Wednesday the year before. Forest, meanwhile, had won it in 1990, the last of four League Cups won by the club under manager Brian Clough.
Played before a crowd of almost 77,000 at Wembley Stadium, it was closely-fought affair, with Giggs (pictured) providing the assist for the day's only goal, scored in the 14th minute by United forward Brian McClair. It was only the third domestic trophy for manager Alex Ferguson, after the 1990 FA Cup and the 1990 FA Charity Shield (the latter shared with Liverpool), but he had also won the Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in 1991. He and Giggs would go on to win a multitude of additional silverware with United, including 13 league titles, 4 FA Cups, 3 League Cups, and 2 Champions League trophies. Two of Forest's starting XI that day, Roy Keane and Teddy Sheringham, would themselves later win trophies with United as well.
It was the last cup final for Clough, who had already won 2 league titles and 2 European Cups. He retired in 1993.
On 30 May 1979, Nottingham Forest won their first European trophy, beating Malmö FF in the European Cup Final before a crowd of 57,000 at the Olympiastadion in Munich. It was an incredible accomplishment for Forest, who became only the third English side - after Manchester United and Liverpool - to claim Europe's biggest prize.
Forest were riding a wave of success under manager Brian Clough, who had taken Derby County to the European Cup semifinals six years earlier. After leaving Derby and suffering through a brief spell at Leeds, Clough moved to Forest in January 1975. Though they were in the Second Division at the time, Clough steered them to promotion in 1977, then to the League title in 1978.
In the European Cup, Forest advanced with wins over Liverpool, AEK Athens, Grasshopper, and Köln. Malmö, who were also playing in their first European Cup Final, reached it by beating Monaco, Dynamo Kiev, Wisła Kraków, and Austria Vienna.
Despite the participation of two relative Cinderella teams, the match itself was anticlimactic. Malmö, dealing with the loss of key players to injury, played a defensive game to slow the English attack. But Forest secured the match's only goal near the end of the first half, as their £1 million signing Trevor Francis - making his first European appearance for Forest - scored a 45th-minute header (pictured) that turned out to be the match-winner.
Forest successfully defended their title the next season, beating Hamburg 1-0.
On 9 February 1979, Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough introduced the press to his newest signing, English striker Trevor Francis--the first player in England to break the £1 million transfer fee barrier. Clough added to the spectacle by showing up at the press conference in a bright red leather jacket with his squash racket in hand.
When Clough signed Francis from Birmingham City, he was careful to set the transfer fee at £999,999 in order to prevent the "million pound" mark from going to the striker's head. But taxes pushed the total fee over £1.1 million, more than doubling the previous record of £495,000, paid by Manchester United to Middlesbrough for defender Gordon McQueen in February 1978.
With Francis in the side, Forest lost only one league match for the remainder of the season, finishing second in the Division One table, and won the League Cup. The crown jewel in their season, however, was their 1-0 win over over Swedish side Malmö in the 1979 European Cup Final, with Francis heading in the winning goal.
That proved to be the highlight of Francis' career. Injuries hampered his time at Forest, preventing him from playing in their win in the 1980 European Cup Final, and he moved to Manchester City in 1981 for £1.2 million.
On 10 August 1974, Liverpool defeated Leeds United on penalties, 1-1 (6-5), to claim the FA Charity Shield before a crowd of 67,000 at London's Wembley Stadium. It was the first Charity Shield match to be shown live on television and it was one that most spectators would not forget.
The day was significant for both managers, as it was Bill Shankly's last match in charge of Liverpool and Brian Clough's first in charge of Leeds United. Prior to his appointment at Elland Road, Clough had been fiercely critical of Leeds and his predecessor Don Revie for playing what Clough called "dirty football." Unfortunately for Clough, the match was overshadowed by the very tactics he had criticized.
Early in the match, Leeds midfielder Johhny Giles earned a quick booking for lashing out at a Liverpool player. The situation grew worse as Leeds midfielder and captain Billy Bremner repeatedly knocked into Liverpool forward Kevin Keegan. Keegan grew increasingly frustrated, both with Bremner and with the referee for allowing Bremner's behavior to continue. The situation escalated to the point where a scuffle broke out between Keegan and Bremner and both were ejected. On their way off the pitch, both players insulted their teams and supporters by stripping off their shirts and throwing them to the ground.
Although both players were ejected, Clough was certain his own player was to blame and was quoted afterward as saying "Billy Bremner's behaviour was scandalous, producing one of the most notorious incidents in Wembley history. It was as if the players were offering grounds for all my criticism that they had resented so much."
The FA fined Keegan and Bremner £500 each. Keegan was also suspended for three matches, while Bremner was suspended for eight. By the time Bremner's suspension ended, Clough had departed from Elland Road, having been sacked after 44 days in charge.
On 20 July 1974, controversial manager Brian Clough was named manager of Leeds United. He was dismissed from the post on 12 September 1974, after only 44 days in charge.
A star striker for Middlesbrough (1955-61) and Sunderland (1961-64), Clough's playing career was cut short by a knee injury. He turned to management and, in 1965, took over at Hartlepools United. He was then just 30 years old, making him the youngest manager in the League at that time.
In May 1967, Clough took over at Derby County, then languishing in the Second Division. Clough, along with assistant manager Peter Taylor, reversed Derby's fortunes and led them to the First Division title at the end of the 1971-72 season. Clough and Taylor soon fell out with Derby's Board of Directors over issues including transfer fees and Clough's propensity for making controversial statements (such as his criticism of the Derby supporters as "a disgraceful lot"), and the pair resigned in October 1973.
After a brief and unsuccessful spell at Brighton & Hove Albion during the 1973-74 season, Clough took the reins at Leeds, who were coming off their own First Division title. Taylor remained at Brighton.
Clough's move to Leeds raised more than a few eyebrows, as, during his time at Derby, he had been especially critical of Leeds and their previous manager, Don Revie. In particular, he had accused Revie's Leeds side of playing dirty and suggested that the club should be relegated and Revie himself fined.
Despite his appointment as manager, Clough reportedly remained vociferously critical of Revie and Leeds' prior tactics, which alienated him from many of the team's best players, including the midfield pair of Irish international Johnny Giles and Scottish international Billy Bremner. Clough's Leeds side won only one match and drew two from its first six, after which he was promptly sacked.
Clough cemented his status as a coaching legend, however, after moving to Nottingham Forest in 1975. At that time, Forest was a mid-table Second Division side, but Clough and Taylor (who joined Forest from Brighton in 1976) led them to promotion in 1977 and the Division One title in 1978. At Forest, Clough also achieved his crowning glory, winning back-to-back European Cup titles in 1979 and 1980.
Clough retired in 1993 and died in 2004. In 2006, author David Peace published a fictionalized account of Clough's time at Leeds, titled The Damned Utd. Critics generally praised the book, but Clough's family and former players—including Giles—claimed Peace's portrayals of events was inaccurate and painted Clough in an unfairly negative light. A film version of the book was released in 2009, starring Michael Sheen as Clough.
On 20 September 2004, Brian Clough, a manager who was equal parts controversial and successful, passed away at the age of 69.
A prolific striker in his playing days with Middlesbrough and Sunderland, his career was cut short by a knee injury when he was 29. The following year, he became the manager at Division Four club Hartlepool, where he was joined by assistant Peter Taylor. The two formed a very successful partnership--they moved to Second Division Derby County in 1967, earned promotion in 1969 and won the league in 1972.
In 1974, after feuding with the Derby directors, Clough and Taylor resigned and moved to Brighton, back in Division Three, but Clough left after less than a year to replace Don Revie at Leeds United. The move created a rift with Taylor, who remained at Brighton while Clough lasted only 44 days at Leeds.
He then took charge of Nottingham Forest in 1975 and reconciled with Taylor, who joined him there in 1976. They won the league in 1978 and followed that success with two consecutive European Cups. By 1982, however, the pair fell out again, in part over Taylor's return to Derby, and never spoke again. Clough remained at Forest until his retirement in 1993.
In 2003, he successfully recovered from liver transplant surgery, but lost his life to stomach cancer a year later.
On 26 November 1977, Nottingham Forest drew 0-0 with West Brom to start a club-record streak of 42 unbeaten league matches.
Forest were in the third full season under the managerial duo of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, who took charge of the club in January 1975. They were in Division Two at the time, but won promotion to the top flight for the 1977-78 season.
They started off well in the First Division, winning ten and drawing two of their first thirteen matches and claiming the table's top spot in week nine. They remained there for the duration of the season, even after losing two of their first three games in November. Those two losses, to Chelsea and Leeds, joined an earlier one to Arsenal as their only losses on the season.
Their next match was the home draw against West Brom, followed by another 25 undefeated matches in the league to lift them seven points clear of runners-up Liverpool in the final table (Forest had also beaten Liverpool in that season's League Cup final).
The next season started with another 16 straight undefeated matches to take the total to 42 before Forest finally lost to Liverpool on 9 December 1978. They finished the season as runners-up to Liverpool in the league, but took some consolation by winning the first of two consecutive European Cups that year.
On 4 October 1990, Peter Taylor, who won a league title and two European Cups as an assistant to Brian Clough, passed away while on holiday in Spain. He was 62.
Although best known for his abilities as a manager and scout, Taylor enjoyed a lengthy playing career with Coventry City (1950-55), Middlesbrough (1955-61), and Port Vale (1961-62). Then, in 1962, he took his first managerial job as player-manager for Burton Albion and spent two seasons there before leaving to join Hartlepool as an assistant to his former Middlesbrough teammate, Brian Clough.
Taylor and Clough spent ten of the next twelve seasons together, including six and a half years at Derby County where they won the league title in 1972. Their only time apart was from 1974 to 1976, when Taylor took charge of Brighton & Hove after Clough left for his ill-fated spell at Leeds United. They reunited in 1976, when Taylor joined Clough at Nottingham Forest and the pair proceeded to win two European Cups (1979, 1980).
In 1982, Taylor left Clough and returned to Derby County, managing them for two seasons before retiring in 1984. During that second spell at Derby, Taylor signed winger John Robertson from Derby without telling Clough in advance. The signing created a rift between the two men, who never spoke to one another afterward, a fact deeply regretted by Clough after Taylor's death.
In 2010, Derby County commemorated Taylor and Clough with a statue of the pair outside the ground.
On 22 April 1978, Nottingham Forest won the league with a scoreless draw at Coventry City. They were the fifth (and to date last) team to win the English top flight as a newly-promoted team.
The rise was orchestrated by the managerial team of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, who took charge of the club in January 1975. At the time, Forest were a mid-table Division Two team whose only major honors were the 1898 and 1959 FA Cups. Although they finished sixteenth out of twenty-two teams that first season under Clough and Taylor, they ended the 1975-76 season in eighth, then claimed the last promotion spot the following year with a third-place finish.
They got a strong start on their return to the top flight, winning seven of their first nine matches to take a firm grip on first place. They remained there for the rest of the season.
By the time they visited Coventry City, Forest were six points clear of second-place Everton, who had only three matches left to play (Forest had five remaining). At the time, teams earned two points for a win, so even a draw with Coventry would have put Forest out of Everton's reach. And a draw is what they got, as the match finished 0-0 to secure Forest's first top-flight title with four games left.
Before that, Liverpool (in 1906), Everton (1932), Tottenham (1951), and Ipswich Town (1962) each had won the league as newly-promoted teams, but Forest remain the last to do it. They were also the first to do it without being promoted as Division Two champions.
Their success continued under Clough and Taylor, with back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980.
On 12 April 1992, Manchester United defeated Nottingham Forest in the League Cup Final. It was the first League Cup for the club and the first piece of silverware for Ryan Giggs, who later became the most decorated British player in history.
It was United's second consecutive appearance in the Final after losing to Sheffield Wednesday the year before. Forest, meanwhile, had won it in 1990, the last of four League Cups won by the club under manager Brian Clough.
Played before a crowd of almost 77,000 at Wembley Stadium, it was closely-fought affair, with Giggs (pictured) providing the assist for the day's only goal, scored in the 14th minute by United forward Brian McClair. It was only the third domestic trophy for manager Alex Ferguson, after the 1990 FA Cup and the 1990 FA Charity Shield (the latter shared with Liverpool), but he had also won the Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in 1991. He and Giggs would go on to win a multitude of additional silverware with United, including 11 league titles, 4 more FA Cups, 3 more League Cups, and 2 Champions League trophies. Two of Forest's starting XI that day, Roy Keane and Teddy Sheringham, would themselves later win trophies with United as well.
It was the last cup final for Clough, who had already won 2 league titles and 2 European Cups. He retired in 1993.
On 30 May 1979, Nottingham Forest won their first European trophy, beating Malmö FF in the European Cup Final before a crowd of 57,000 at the Olympiastadion in Munich. It was an incredible accomplishment for Forest, who became only the third English side - after Manchester United and Liverpool - to claim Europe's biggest prize.
Forest were riding a wave of success under manager Brian Clough, who had taken Derby County to the European Cup semifinals six years earlier. After leaving Derby and suffering through a brief spell at Leeds, Clough moved to Forest in January 1975. Though they were in the Second Division at the time, Clough steered them to promotion in 1977, then to the League title in 1978.
In the European Cup, Forest advanced with wins over Liverpool, AEK Athens, Grasshopper, and Köln. Malmö, who were also playing in their first European Cup Final, reached it by beating Monaco, Dynamo Kiev, Wisła Kraków, and Austria Vienna.
Despite the participation of two relative Cinderella teams, the match itself was anticlimactic. Malmö, dealing with the loss of key players to injury, played a defensive game to slow the English attack. But Forest secured the match's only goal near the end of the first half, as their £1 million signing Trevor Francis - making his first European appearance for Forest - scored a 45th-minute header (pictured) that turned out to be the matchwinner.
Forest successfully defended their title the next season, beating Hamburg 1-0.
On 9 February 1979, Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough introduced the press to his newest signing, English striker Trevor Francis--the first player in England to break the £1 million barrier. Clough added to the spectacle by showing up at the press conference in a bright red leather jacket with his squash racket in hand.
When Clough signed Francis from Birmingham City, he was careful to set the transfer fee at £999,999 in order to prevent the "million pound" mark from going to the striker's head. But taxes pushed the total fee over £1.1 million, more than doubling the previous record of £495,000, paid by Manchester United to Middlesbrough for defender Gordon McQueen in February 1978.
With Francis in the side, Forest lost only one league match for the remainder of the season, finishing second in the Division One table, and won the League Cup. The crown jewel in their season, however, was their 1-0 win over over Swedish side Malmö in the 1979 European Cup Final, with Francis heading in the winning goal.
That proved to be the highlight of Francis' career. Injuries hampered his time at Forest, preventing him from playing in their win in the 1980 European Cup Final, and he moved to Manchester City in 1981 for £1.2 million.
On 10 August 1974, Liverpool defeated Leeds United on penalties, 1-1 (6-5), to claim the FA Charity Shield before a crowd of 67,000 at London's Wembley Stadium. It was the first Charity Shield match to be shown live on television and it was one that most spectators would not forget.
The day was significant for both managers, as it was Bill Shankly's last match in charge of Liverpool and Brian Clough's first in charge of Leeds United. Prior to his appointment at Elland Road, Clough had been fiercely critical of Leeds and his predecessor Don Revie for playing what Clough called "dirty football." Unfortunately for Clough, the match was overshadowed by the very tactics he had criticized.
Early in the match, Leeds midfielder Johhny Giles earned a quick booking for lashing out at a Liverpool player. The situation grew worse as Leeds midfielder and captain Billy Bremner repeatedly knocked into Liverpool forward Kevin Keegan. Keegan grew increasingly frustrated, both with Bremner and with the referee for allowing Bremner's behavior to continue. The situation escalated to the point where a scuffle broke out between Keegan and Bremner and both were ejected. On their way off the pitch, both players insulted their teams and supporters by stripping off their shirts and throwing them to the ground.
Although both players were ejected, Clough was certain his own player was to blame and was quoted afterward as saying "Billy Bremner's behaviour was scandalous, producing one of the most notorious incidents in Wembley history. It was as if the players were offering grounds for all my criticism that they had resented so much."
The FA fined Keegan and Bremner £500 each. Keegan was also suspended for three matches, while Bremner was suspended for eight. By the time Bremner's suspension ended, Clough had departed from Elland Road, having been sacked after 44 days in charge.
On 20 July 1974, controversial manager Brian Clough was named manager of Leeds United. He was dismissed from the post on 12 September 1974, after only 44 days in charge.
A star striker for Middlesbrough (1955-61) and Sunderland (1961-64), Clough's playing career was cut short by a knee injury. He turned to management and, in 1965, took over at Hartlepools United. He was then just 30 years old, making him the youngest manager in the League at that time.
In May 1967, Clough took over at Derby County, then languishing in the Second Division. Clough, along with assistant manager Peter Taylor, reversed Derby's fortunes and led them to the First Division title at the end of the 1971-72 season. Clough and Taylor soon fell out with Derby's Board of Directors over issues including transfer fees and Clough's propensity for making controversial statements (such as his criticism of the Derby supporters as "a disgraceful lot"), and the pair resigned in October 1973.
After a brief and unsuccessful spell at Brighton & Hove Albion during the 1973-74 season, Clough took the reins at Leeds, who were coming off their own First Division title. Taylor remained at Brighton.
Clough's move to Leeds raised more than a few eyebrows, as, during his time at Derby, he had been especially critical of Leeds and their previous manager, Don Revie. In particular, he had accused Revie's Leeds side of playing dirty and suggested that the club should be relegated and Revie himself fined.
Despite his appointment as manager, Clough reportedly remained vociferously critical of Revie and Leeds' prior tactics, which alienated him from many of the team's best players, including the midfield pair of Irish international Johnny Giles and Scottish international Billy Bremner. Clough's Leeds side won only one match and drew two from its first six, after which he was promptly sacked.
Clough cemented his status as a coaching legend, however, after moving to Nottingham Forest in 1975. At that time, Forest was a mid-table Second Division side, but Clough and Taylor (who joined Forest from Brighton in 1976) led them to promotion in 1977 and the Division One title in 1978. At Forest, Clough also achieved his crowning glory, winning back-to-back European Cup titles in 1979 and 1980.
Clough retired in 1993 and died in 2004. In 2006, author David Peace published a fictionalized account of Clough's time at Leeds, titled The Damned Utd. Critics generally praised the book, but Clough's family and former players—including Giles—claimed Peace's portrayals of events was inaccurate and painted Clough in an unfairly negative light. A film version of the book was released in 2009, starring Michael Sheen as Clough.
On 26 November 1977, Nottingham Forest drew 0-0 with West Brom to start a club-record streak of 42 unbeaten league matches.
