1978–79 Nottingham Forest F.C. season

Nottingham Forest F.C.
1978–79 season
Chairman	S.M. Dryden, J.P.
Manager	Brian Clough
Division One	Runners-up
FA Cup	5th Round
Football League Cup	Winners
FA Charity Shield	Winners
European Cup	Winners; (In 1979-80 European Cup)
Top goalscorer	League: ; Birtles (14); All: ; Birtles (26)
Highest home attendance	41,898 vs. Liverpool; (Division One,; 28 April 1979)
Lowest home attendance	20,388 vs Southampton; (Division One,; 2 May 1979)
Average home league attendance	30,446
Home colours	Away colours
	← 1977–78 1979–80 →

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

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

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	ENG	Peter Shilton
—	GK	ENG	Jim Montgomery
—	GK	ENG	Chris Woods
—	DF	ENG	Viv Anderson
—	DF	SCO	Kenny Burns
—	DF	ENG	Larry Lloyd
—	DF	ENG	Frank Clark
—	DF	ENG	Dave Needham
—	DF	ENG	Colin Barrett
—	DF	ENG	Bryn Gunn
—	MF	NIR	Martin O'Neill


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	SCO	John McGovern
—	MF	ENG	Ian Bowyer
—	MF	SCO	John Robertson
—	MF	SCO	Archie Gemmill
—	MF	SCO	John O'Hare
—	MF	ENG	Gary Mills
—	MF	ENG	Steve Burke
—	FW	ENG	Garry Birtles
—	FW	ENG	Tony Woodcock
—	FW	ENG	Trevor Francis
—	FW	ENG	Steve Elliott
—	FW	ENG	Peter Withe

Transfers

In
Pos.	Name	from	Type
GK	Jimmy Montgomery	Birmingham City
MF	Gary Mills	Youth system	^[4]

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

Winter

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

Out
Pos.	Name	To	Type

Competitions

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

League table

Pos	Team v t e	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:

^ Nottingham Forest qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1978–79 European Cup winners.

Results by round

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	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	H	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A
Result	D	D	D	D	W	D	D	W	W	W	W	D	D	W	D	W	L	W	D	D	L	W	W	D	D	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	D	D	W	D	L	W	D	W	W	W
Position	11	13	10	10	6	9	8	6	4	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	4	4	3	4	3	3	2	3	3	3	3	2

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

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

Round Two

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

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

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

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

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

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

Third round

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

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

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

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

First round

13 September 1978 First Leg	Nottingham Forest	2–0	Liverpool	Nottingham
	Barrett 87 ' Birtles 26'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 38,318 Referee: -

27 September 1978 Second Leg	Liverpool	0–0 (0–2 agg.)	Nottingham Forest	Liverpool, England
				Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 51,679 Referee: -

Second round

18 October 1978 First Leg	AEK Athens	1–2	Nottingham Forest	Athens, Greece
			McGovern Birtles	Stadium: AEK Stadium Attendance: 36,000 Referee: -

1 November 1978 Second Leg	Nottingham Forest	5–1 (7–2 agg.)	AEK Athens	Nottingham
	Needham Woodcock Anderson Birtles ,			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 38,069 Referee: -

Quarter-final

7 March 1979 First Leg	Nottingham Forest	4–1	Grasshopper	Nottingham
	Lloyd Gemmil Birtles Robertson (pen.)'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 31,949 Referee: -

21 March 1979 Second Leg	Grasshopper	1–1 (2–5 agg.)	Nottingham Forest	Zürich, Switzerland
			O'Neill	Stadium: Hardturm Attendance: 7,800 Referee: -

Semi-final

11 April 1979	Nottingham Forest	3–3	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: António Garrido

25 April 1979	1. FC Köln	0–1 (3-4 agg.)	Nottingham Forest	Cologne
		Report	65' Bowyer	Stadium: Müngersdorder Stadion Attendance: 60,000^[9] Referee: Nicolae Rainea

Final

30 May 1979	Nottingham Forest	1–0	Malmö FF	Munich
20:15 CET	Francis 45+1'	Report		Stadium: Olympiastadion Attendance: 68,000 Referee: Erich Linemayr

Last updated: 28 August 2011
Source: Bridport Red Archive

Pre-season and Friendlies

25 July 1978 Friendly	Red Star Belgrade	3–2	Nottingham Forest	Belgrade, Yugoslavia
			O'Neill Withe	Stadium: Stadion FK Crvena Zvezda Attendance: 33,000 Referee: -

27 July 1978 Friendly	Dinamo Zagreb	1–1	Nottingham Forest	Zagreb, Yugoslavia
			Needham	Stadium: Stadion Maksimir Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Raus

30 July 1978 Friendly	NK Osijek	1–1	Nottingham Forest	Osijek, Yugoslavia
			Bowyer	Stadium: Stadion Gradski vrt Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Fresl

2 August 1978 Friendly	AEK Athens	1–1	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	1–1	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	1–0	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	2–0	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

Squad statistics

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

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Last updated: 28 August 2011
Source: The City Ground

References

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

[table_note_res_NFO0.92352730823845-7] Nottingham Forest qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1978–79 European Cup winners.

[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

[8] "Argentine cup star aids Tottenham tie". Montreal Gazette. 21 August 1978. Retrieved 20 January 2013.

[9] "Forest make Soccer history". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 October 1978. Retrieved 20 January 2013.

[10] "1. FC Köln v Nottingham Forest, 25 April 1979" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 6 March 2022.

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