Wikipedia

1976–77 Nottingham Forest F.C. season

The 1976–77 season was Nottingham Forest's 112th year in existence and fifth campaign consecutive in the Second Division since their relegation in 1972.

Nottingham Forest F.C.
1976–77 season
ChairmanBJ Appleby, QC
ManagerBrian Clough
StadiumThe City Ground
Second Division3rd
FA Cup4th round
League Cup3rd round
Top goalscorerLeague: Peter Withe (16)
All: Withe (19)
Highest home attendance31,004 (League)
38,284 (Cup)
Lowest home attendance12,393 (League)
12,717 (Cup)
Average home league attendance20,540 (League)

Summary edit

During summer chairman BJ Appleby appointed Brighton & Hove Albion manager Peter Taylor as new assistant for Clough, now in his third season with the club. The 1972 First Division Champion Duo was reunited again after two campaigns now in Second Division.[1] The club reinforced the squad with several players, for the offensive line arriving striker Garry Birtles from Long Eaton United,[2] forward Peter Withe was bought from Birmingham City.[3] and Taylor asked for the return of Tony Woodcock[4] after a loan spell from Lincoln City F.C. The defensive line had a poor performance through September, Middleton replaced Wells as Goalkeeper starter and Taylor asked for the transfer in of central-back defender Larry Lloyd arriving from Coventry City during October allowing McGovern came back as midfielder.[5] Forest ended their season by beating Millwall 1–0, thanks to an own goal by Moore netting the winner, leaving them on 52 points with Bolton Wanderers (who draw Luton Town 1–1 on the same day) on 48 with three more games to play. Forest's destiny was not in their own hands, on 10 May Bolton won 2-1 to Cardiff City netting 50 and needed only two points in two more matches to overtake Forest.

On 14 May, Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Bolton Wanderers 1–0 at Burnden Park. In their final match Bolton only draw 2-2 to Bristol Rovers. The promotion was unusually close throughout the campaign and the final table saw Forest clinching the last 3rd spot just one point ahead of the teams in 4th (Bolton) and 5th (Blackpool). Also, the team won the Anglo-Scottish Cup during December after defeated Leyton Orient in the Finals with a massive 5–1 aggregate score.

Meanwhile, in League Cup the club advanced to the third round being defeated by Coventry City. In FA Cup the squad was eliminated in fourth round after a replay against Southampton F.C.

Squad 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   ENG John Middleton
— GK   ENG Chris Woods
— GK   ENG Peter Wells
— DF   ENG Viv Anderson
— DF   ENG Frank Clark
— DF   SCO John McGovern
— DF   ENG Sammy Chapman (c)
— DF   ENG Larry Lloyd
— DF   ENG Colin Barrett
— DF   ENG Bryn Gunn
— DF   ENG Glyn Saunders
— MF   ENG Terry Curran
— MF   ENG Ian Bowyer
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF   ENG Bert Bowery
— MF   ENG Steve Burke
— MF   NIR Martin O'Neill
— MF   SCO John Robertson
— MF   SCO George Lyall
— MF   ENG Sean Haslegrave
— FW   SCO John O'Hare
— FW   ENG Barry Butlin
— FW   ENG Tony Woodcock
— FW   ENG Garry Birtles
— FW   ENG Peter Withe

Transfers edit

Statistics edit

Players statistics edit

The statistics for the following players are for their time during 1976–77 season playing for Nottingham Forest. Any stats from a different club during 1976–77 are not included. Includes all competitive matches.

No. Pos Nat Player Total Second Division League Cup FA Cup Anglo-Scottish Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK   ENG Middleton 49 -47 38 -34 1 -2 5 -7 5 -4
DF   ENG Anderson 49 2 32+3 1 3 0 5 1 6 0
DF   ENG Lloyd 34 4 26 3 0 0 5 0 3 1
DF   ENG Chapman 41 4 29+2 2 2 0 2 0 6 2
DF   ENG Clark 56 0 42 0 2 0 5 0 7 0
MF   NIR O'Neill 51 11 36+2 9 2 2 5 0 6 0
MF   ENG Bowyer 57 14 41 12 2 0 5 1 9 1
MF   SCO McGovern 51 0 39 0 2 0 3 0 7 0
MF   SCO Robertson 57 11 41 6 2 0 5 3 9 2
FW   ENG Withe 42 19 32+1 16 0 0 5 1 4 2
FW   ENG Woodcock 37 17 30 11 0 0 5 5 2 1
GK   ENG Wells 9 -17 4 -9 1 -3 0 0 4 -5
FW   SCO O'Hare 32 6 16+3 3 2 1 5 0 6 2
MF   ENG Curran 20 12 11+2 7 2 1 0 0 5 4
DF   ENG Barrett 17 5 10 2 2 1 0 0 5 2
FW   ENG Butlin 17 6 8+2 3 2 0 0 0 5 3
MF   ENG Haslegrave 11 1 3+2 1 0 0 0 0 6 0
DF   ENG Saunders 7 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
FW   ENG Birtles 1 0 1 0
FW   ENG Bowery 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
GK   ENG Woods 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF   ENG Burke 1 0 0+1 0
MF   ENG Richardson 1 0 0+1 0
DF   ENG Gunn

Table edit

Main article: 1976–77 Football League § Second Division

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Wolverhampton Wanderers (C, P) 42 22 13 7 84 45 +39 57 Promotion to the First Division
2 Chelsea (P) 42 21 13 8 73 53 +20 55
3 Nottingham Forest (P) 42 21 10 11 77 43 +34 52
4 Bolton Wanderers 42 20 11 11 75 54 +21 51
5 Blackpool 42 17 17 8 58 42 +16 51
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Results by round edit

Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142
GroundAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAHAHAAHHAHHHAHAAHHAAH
ResultDDLDWDWLWLWLWWDWWWDDWLWLLWDLWLWWWWWDLLWDWW
Position1013171513127114858655552344434567777754333443333
Source: Competitive matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss;   = Leader, 1977–78 First Division;   = 1977–78 First Division;   = 1977–78 Third Division

Competitions edit

A list of Nottingham Forest's matches in the 1976–77 season.[6][7][8]

Second Division edit

Main article: 1976-77 Football League Second Division

Matches edit

21 August 1976 1 Fulham F.C. 2-2 Nottingham Forest Fulham
Lacy   38'
Mitchell   45'		   23' Curran
  63' O'Hare		 Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 9,437
25 August 1976 2 Nottingham Forest 1–1 Charlton Athletic Nottingham
Curran   33' (pen)   6' Hales Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 12,662
28 August 1976 3 Nottingham Forest 1–3 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nottingham
Daley   18' (o.g.)   14',   73' Gould
  16' Dailey 16		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 17,222
4 September 1976 4 Luton Town F.C 1–1 Nottingham Forest Luton
Barrett   89' (o.g.)   30' (pen) Curran Stadium: Kenilworth Road
11 September 1976 5 Nottingham Forest 4–3 Hereford United Nottingham
Bowyer   33'
Butlin   37'
Butlin   74'
Robertson   64'		   11',   75' McNeil
  17' Spiring		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 12,081
18 September 1976 6 Southampton F.C. 1–1 Nottingham Forest Southampton
Stokes   9'   28' Bowyer Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 23,006
25 September 1976 7 Nottingham Forest 5–1 Carlisle United Nottingham
O'Hare   19'
Bowyer   69',   89'
Barratt   72'
Withe   78'		   7' Barry Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 12,479
2 October 1976 8 Hull City F.C. 1–0 Nottingham Forest Kingston upon Hull
Bremner   40' Stadium: Boothferry Park
Attendance: 16,096
9 October 1976 9 Nottingham Forest 6–1 Sheffield United Nottingham
Bowyer   11'
Butlin   36'
Bowyer   41'
Curran   48'
Withe   56'
Anderson   61'		   38' (pen) Ian 'Chico' Hamilton Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 17,801
16 October 1976 10 Blackpool F.C. 1–0 Nottingham Forest Blackpool
Walsh   64' Stadium: Bloomfield Road
Attendance: 17,089
23 October 1976 11 Nottingham Forest 5–2 Burnley F.C. Nottingham
Curran   3'
Robertson   50' (pen)
Butlin   54'
O'Neill   76',   80'		   19' Flynn
  48' Smith		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 15,281
30 October 1976 12 Oldham Athletic 1–0 Nottingham Forest Oldham
Halom   31' Stadium: Boundary Park
Attendance: 10,597
6 November 1976 13 Nottingham Forest 3–0 Blackburn Rovers Nottingham
Bowyer   7'
Withe   52'
Haslegrave   77'		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 12,972
13 November 1976 14 Leyton Orient F.C. 0–1 Nottingham Forest Leyton
  74' Woodcock Stadium: Brisbane Road
Attendance: 27,089
20 November 1976 15 Nottingham Forest 1–1 Chelsea F.C. Nottingham
O'Neill   34'   38' Britton Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 27,089
27 November 1976 16 Cardiff City F.C. 0–3 Nottingham Forest Cardiff
  1'Withe
  43'Chapman
  88' Woodcock		 Stadium: Ninian Park
Attendance: 12,770
4 December 1976 17 Nottingham Forest 4–2 Bristol Rovers Nottingham
Robertson   13' (pen)
Woodcock   65'
Robertson   74'
Withe   88'		   30' David Williams
  38' Gordon Fearnley		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 16,302
11 December 1976 18 Millwall F.C. 0–2 Nottingham Forest Bermondsey
  11' O'Neill
  79' O'Hare		 Stadium: The Den
Attendance: 9,307
18 December 1976 19 Nottingham Forest 1–1 Plymouth Argyle Nottingham
Barrett   88'   12' Austin Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 15,180
27 December 1976 20 Bolton Wanderers 1–1 Nottingham Forest Bolton
Whatmore   46'   1' Withe Stadium: Burnden Park
Attendance: 31,313
1 January 1977 21 Blackburn Rovers 1–3 Nottingham Forest Blackburn
Alcock   29'   23' Withe
  27' Woodcock
  82'Bowyer		 Stadium: Ewood Park
Attendance: 14,534
14 January 1977 22 Charlton Athletic 2–1 Nottingham Forest Charlton
Mike Flanagan   23'
Hugh McAuley   34'		   37' Bowyer Stadium: The Valley
Attendance: 8,021
22 January 1977 23 Nottingham Forest 3–0 Fulham F.C. Nottingham
Lloyd   83'
O'Neill   85'
Woodcock   86'		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 24,718
5 February 1977 24 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–1 Nottingham Forest Wolverhampton
Carr   32'
Richards   35'		   89' Chapman Stadium: Molineux Stadium
Attendance: 30,661
12 February 1977 25 Nottingham Forest 1–2 Luton Town F.C. Nottingham
Lloyd   86'   55' R Futcher
  71' Aston		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 18,225
16 February 1977 26 Nottingham Forest abd. Southampton F.C Nottingham
  1' Holmes Stadium: City Ground
Note: Match abandoned at 47' due to fog.[9]
2 March 1977 27 Hereford United 0–1 Nottingham Forest Hereford
  38' Curran Stadium: Edgar Street
Attendance: 7,503
5 March 1977 28 Carlisle United 1–1 Nottingham Forest Carlisle
Martin   78'   72' (pen) Robertson Stadium: Brunton Park
8 March 1977 29 Nottingham Forest 1–2 Notts County Nottingham
Withe   86'   53' (o.g.) Viv Anderson
  63' (pen) Steve Carter		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 31,004
Referee: DW Civil
12 March 1977 30 Nottingham Forest 2–0 Hull City F.C. Nottingham
Woodcock   4'
Withe   45'		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 15,126
19 March 1977 31 Sheffield United 2–0 Nottingham Forest Sheffield
Edwards   37',   89' Stadium: Bramall Lane
Attendance: 20,370
22 March 1977 26 [10] Nottingham Forest 2–1 Southampton F.C. Nottingham
Woodcock   21'
O'Neill   55'		   65' Rodrigues Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 12,393
26 March 1977 32 Nottingham Forest 3–0 Blackpool F.C. Nottingham
Withe   43'
Woodcock  45'
Withe  80'		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 16,658
29 March 1977 33 Nottingham Forest 3–0 Leyton Orient Nottingham
Robertson   14'
Withe   31'
Withe   35'
Lloyd   60'		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 16,267
Note: Jackson saved a John Robertson penalty in the 14th minute
2 April 1977 34 Burnley F.C. 0–1 Nottingham Forest Burnley
  65' Woodcock Stadium: Turf Moor
Attendance: 10,904
6 April 1977 35 Nottingham Forest 3–1 Bolton Wanderers Nottingham
O'Neill   44'
Withe   53'
Bowyer   82'		   72' Paul Jones Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 24,580
9 April 1977 36 Notts County 1–1 Nottingham Forest Nottingham
Bradd   17'   27' Withe Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 32,518
16 April 1977 37 Chelsea F.C. 2–1 Nottingham Forest Fulham
15:00 Britton   63'
Finnieston   87'		 Report   42' O'Neill Stadium: Stamford Bridge
Attendance: 36,499
Referee: Ron Chalis
23 April 1977 38 Nottingham Forest 0–1 Cardiff City F.C. Nottingham
  25' Sayer Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 20,646
27 April 1977 39 Nottingham Forest 3–0 Oldham Athletic Nottingham
Bowyer   38'
O'Neill   83'
Woodcock   49'		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 17,139
30 April 1977 40 Bristol Rovers 1–1 Nottingham Forest Bristol
Bater   62'   84' Robertson Stadium: Eastville
Attendance: 8,893
2 May 1977 41 Plymouth Argyle 1–2 Nottingham Forest Plymouth
Bruce Bannister   19'   29' Woodcock
  52' Withe		 Stadium: Home Park
Attendance: 13,542
7 May 1977 42 Nottingham Forest 1–0 Millwall F.C. Nottingham
Moore   15' (o.g.) Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 23,529

League Cup edit

Main article: 1976-77 Football League Cup

Second round edit

31 August 1976 Walsall F.C. 2–4 Nottingham Forest Walsall
Alan Buckley   24'
Bernie Wright   86'		   17' Curran
  41' Barrett
  62' O'Neill
  80' O'Neill		 Stadium: Fellows Park
Attendance: 8,437

Third round edit

21 September 1976 Nottingham Forest 0–3 Coventry City Nottingham
  23' Mick Ferguson
  30' (pen) Mick Coop
  39' Les Cartwright		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 15,969
Referee: TP Bosi

FA Cup edit

Main article: 1976-77 FA Cup

Third round edit

8 January 1977 Nottingham Forest 1–1 Bristol Rovers Nottingham
John Robertson 53' (pen) David Williams 77' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 17,770
Replay edit
8 January 1977 Bristol Rovers 1–1 (a.e.t.) Nottingham Forest Bristol
Alan Warboys Tony Woodcock Stadium: 12,348
Second Replay edit
18 January 1977 Nottingham Forest 6–0 Bristol Rovers Birmingham
Woodcock   10'
Anderson   72'
Bowyer   52'
O'Hare   76'
Withe   59'

Woodcock   60'		 Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 5,736

Fourth round edit

29 January 1977 Nottingham Forest 3–3 Southampton F.C. Nottingham
Robertson   38' (pen)
Robertson   66'
Woodcock   69'		   52' Alan Ball
  57' Mick Channon
  68' Peter Osgood		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 38,284
Replay edit
1 February 1977 Southampton F.C. 2–1 Nottingham Forest Southampton
Woodcock   18'   10' Ted MacDougall
  66'		 Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 29,401

Anglo-Scottish Cup edit

First round edit

7 August 1976 1 Notts County 0–0 Nottingham Forest Nottingham
Stadium: City Ground
11 August 1976 2 Nottingham Forest 3–2 West Bromwich Albion Nottingham
Curran  
Curran  
Butlin  		 Stadium: City Ground
14 August 1976 3 Nottingham Forest 4–2 Bristol City Nottingham
Butlin  
Butlin  		 Stadium: City Ground

Quarterfinals edit

14 September 1976 3 Nottingham Forest   2–1   Kilmarnock F.C. Nottingham
Sammy Chapman  
Robertson  		 Stadium: City Ground
28 September 1976 3 Kilmarnock F.C.   2–2   Nottingham Forest Kilmarnock
  Curran
  Curran

Semifinals edit

20 October 1976 Nottingham Forest   2–2   Ayr United Nottingham
Lloyd  
Withe  		 Stadium: City Ground
3 November 1976 Ayr United   0–2   Nottingham Forest
  Withe
  Woodcock

Finals edit

13 December 1976 Leyton Orient   1–1   Nottingham Forest Leyton
  Robertson Attendance: 5,058
15 December 1976 Nottingham Forest   4–0
(5–1 agg.)		   Leyton Orient Nottingham
Chapman  
Barrett  
Barrett  
Bowyer  		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 12,717

References edit

  1. ^ "Brian Clough and the miracle of Nottingham Forest" theguardian.com 10 October 2015
  2. ^ Mullan, Sean (27 June 2015). "Manchester United's transfer 'firsts'". Manchester United. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  3. ^ "Peter Withe" The Observer, 6 February 2005
  4. ^ "The story of Tony Woodcock: An Englishman in Cologne". 1. FC Köln. 30 December 2015. Archived from the original on 11 June 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Honours". Nottinghamforest.co.uk. 23 July 2015. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  6. ^ "1977-1978". Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  7. ^ Smales, Ken (1991). Forest – The First 125 Years. Nottingham: Temple Printing. ISBN 978-1870010092.
  8. ^ Attaway, Pete (2010). Nottingham Forest: Brian Clough and His Legacy - A Complete Record 1975 - 2010. Southend-on-Sea: Desert Island Book. ISBN 978-1905328833.
  9. ^ "The Fog On The Trent Was Heaven Sent !". fansnetwork.co.uk. 10 January 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  10. ^ Delayed from 16 February 1977
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