Following In Our Father's Footsteps: Nottingham Forest FC

WELCOME TO FOREST: NIGEL CLOUGH

Born on the 19th March 1966 in Sunderland, Nigel Clough, made 311 appearances for Nottingham Forest, scoring 101 goals from midfield or as a forward, in a 9 year spell as a player at the club, leaving in 1993 when his father Brian Clough retired from football. After winning the League Cup twice as a club, Clough remembers his time at the City Ground as a player fondly, describing it as ”The best time of my career. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I cannot wait to return here as manager of this fantastic club, and hopefully we can go on to have a lot of success together.” His time at the City Ground also earnt the former Red 14 caps for his country. ”Playing for England was an amazing honour, walking out at Wembley was something I will never ever forget, even if I did do it as a player for Forest a few times in the Cup Finals.”

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After leaving the City Ground, Clough moved on to 18 times Champions Liverpool, going on to make 39 appearances over a 3 year spell, before he eventually left Anfield and the KOP behind for a similarly fruitful spell at Manchester City where he again only made 39 appearances in Manchester. In 1998 he moved down the River Trent to Burton to become player-manager at the now League One club. Talking about his time at Liverpool and Manchester City, he said ”To play at two massive clubs like that was a massive honour for me, and any footballer would kill for the chance to walk out in front of the KOP or in front of all those Manchester City fans. For me though, there is nothing like walking out in front of the Forest fans and it was always my intention to return here one day.”

However he also remembers his at Burton Albion almost as fondly. During his time at the club he made 227 appearances for the club in the various tiers of non-league football, before he retired from playing in 2008. His time at Burton was served as player-manager though, and under his guidance the club was taken into the Football League, winning the Conference Premier 2008-2009. ”That was a magnificent experience and one I won’t forget for the rest of my life. We were fantastic that season and the connection I have with that club now is one that will never disappear. We experienced some real highs and some real lows and for the state the club was in during the time was there, getting promotion to the Football League will feel the same as Nottingham Forest winning the European Cup.”

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After the success he achieved at Burton, Clough moved on to become manager at Forest’s rivals Derby where he stayed from January 2009 to September 2013. His time at the club was initially marred by poor discipline as well as a humiliating defeat to lowly Crawley Town in the FA Cup. He signed a new three year deal in 2012, however after a run of 3 defeats in 8 days in 2013 he was sacked just a year into that extended contract. "That period at Derby seems like a happy time and it is fondly remembered but moments like that defeat to Crawley will not be forgotten quickly enough."

After leaving Derby, Clough was quickly approached by Sheffield United to become their new boss and hopefully the man to take them back into the Championship. Promotion was never achieved though, although they came close. However Clough will most fondly be remembered for the fantastic cup runs, reaching the Semi Finals of the FA Cup in 2013-2014, and the Capitol One Cup in 2014-2015. "It was disappointing to not achieve that ultimate goal which was promotion but reaching the Semi Finals of both cup competitions was brilliant and was a lot of fun. Achieving that with a League One club was a really big achievement, but to do it two seasons in a row was something massive."

The final words from the new man in charge of the City Ground were centred around the big task in hand at Forest. "I know it's going to be one hell of a tough task but one that I am extremely prepared for. It might be a tough first season, not being able to bring in new players will be really tough but we can cope with that and hopefully have a good season in the Championship! Hopefully we can improve on last season's 14th place and finish a bit higher up the table then we did last year! Anything more than that would be a dream this season!"

CHRIS COHEN SIGNS TWO YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION

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- Club captain signs two year extension at the City Ground
- Weekly wage rumoured to have been increased significantly
- Midfielder currently out for 6 months with torn knee ligaments, his third injury of the kind in his career

Nottingham Forest manager Nigel Clough has today confirmed that Club Captain Chris Cohen has signed a new two year contract extension at the City Ground, keeping him at the club until June 2018. The midfielder has made 237 appearances for Forest, scoring 3 goals and is believed to be delighted to have his stay at the club extended despite the horrific injury he suffered. The midfielder’s spell on the sidelines has now been ongoing for 11 months and with it set to be extended for another 6 months, the midfielder is reaching a point of desperation over his return to first team football.

Upon signing his new deal, Cohen claimed ”I am delighted to have been offered the opportunity to play at the club for an extra two years. It feels like years since I pulled on the club’s shirt but it’s an experience that I want to experience again, and will soon. The injury is getting better all the time and it’s going to be great when I can finally go out onto that field when it’s fully healed, knowing that I’ve still got two years on my contract.”

His new manager Nigel Clough also claimed he was delighted at the midfielder’s extended stay ”It’s fantastic that Chris has committed himself to the club for an even longer period. He’s a great player and a really hard worker, and although we’ve not worked together that much of yet, it’s going to be brilliant to have him back in the team and we’re all counting the days to when he returns to the first team.”