Many thanks to Steven Toplis for this review of the many ups and downs in 2011.

Two weeks after that Swansea defeat, on a quiet Sunday afternoon, news broke that Billy Davies was sacked as Nottingham Forest boss. There were hints throughout his tenure that he would eventually sign his own P45 through his abrasive persona and constant public criticism of the board, nevertheless it was still a shock to see a man who saved the club from the brink of relegation in 2009 and transformed them into promotion contenders be given his marching orders.
Rumours began to surface that former England manager Steve McClaren was lined up to replace Davies – less than 24 hours later he was confirmed as the club’s next manager. His appointment split the fans, some felt he was a washed-up entity following his failed stint with England, while others looked at a good record at club level and saw some positivity from his appointment.
McClaren was unveiled to the press and soon began bringing in new players with Jonathan Greening and George Boateng re-uniting with their former boss at Middlesbrough, Andy Reid returning to Forest for a second spell and Olympiakos striker Matt Derbyshire – the former Blackburn man bringing Champions League experience to the Reds frontline. Nathan Tyson, Dele Adebola, Paul McKenna, Robert Earnshaw and Kelvin Wilson all left on free transfers, while Guy Moussi agreed terms on a new deal to remain a Forest player.
It seemed as if Forest were ready to push for promotion once again, bringing in a manager with McClaren’s track record to try and go that one step further and reach the Premier League. The Reds were placed amongst the likes of relegated West Ham United and big-spending Leicester City as pre-season favourites for promotion.
A 0-0 home stalemate against Barnsley on the opening day of the campaign failed to inspire, some decent football played but there was a lack of cutting-edge up front. In their next match, a home Carling Cup tie to neighbours Notts County, Forest toiled and were very nearly embarrassed as they were seconds away from being eliminated, but Wes Morgan thundered a brilliant 25-yard drive in off the bar to send the tie to penalties, which Forest won. A 2-0 away defeat at Millwall followed before the Reds picked up their first points of the campaign as Chris Gunter’s header secured a 1-0 success at Doncaster Rovers.
Striker Ishmael Miller arrived from Premier League West Brom for a £1.2 million fee, but the main story was Dutch winger Wesley Verhoek pulling out of a £2 million move to Forest at the eleventh hour, citing homesickness as his reason for not wanting to join. Forest had still not solved their left-back problem as Chris Cohen – a player more adept at playing in midfield – was moved into defence and the Reds missed his energy and tenacity in the middle of the park.
The Reds scored a last minute equaliser to salvage a 2-2 draw against Leicester City at the City Ground but were then beaten 4-1 in their next match on Trentside by West Ham United. Forest were better going forward, but goals were being shipped at an alarming rate and three were conceded the following week in a 3-2 loss at Southampton.
Derby County were next up at the City Ground and Forest got off to the perfect start as Miller was brought down in the box, Rams goalkeeper Frank Fielding was sent off and Andy Reid put McClaren’s men 1-0 up in the opening two minutes. However Forest failed to build on their lead and Jamie Ward equalised before the break, Chris Cohen exited the game with a serious knee injury, before in the second-half Jeff Kendrick curled home a low shot to give ten-men Derby the win as the Reds slumped to a disappointing loss.
Deespite a 1-0 win at Watford, Forest were left embarrassed in their next match as the defensive frailties returned in spectacular fashion to hand Burnley a 5-1 victory at Turf Moor. With virtually the same back four as in the past two seasons, it was becoming baffling as to how Forest were conceding with such regularity.
The following Sunday Forest hosted Birmingham City at the City Ground and it would prove to be a memorable afternoon. An hour before kick-off, a few hundred Reds fans staged a protest outside the ground calling for chairman Nigel Doughty and Chief Executive Mark Arthur to leave the club. The two have come in for their fair share of criticism from some sections of support in recent years, but this was the first time any sort of protest had occurred.
On the pitch it proved to be a similar story, Forest playing some decent football and taking the lead through Ishmael Miller’s header on 35 minutes. They held onto the lead until fifteen minutes from time, when Chris Burke’s 25-yard strike flew into the bottom corner and led to a defensive collapse, which allowed Chris Wood to score twice in ten minutes to seal a 3-1 success for the visitors and leave Forest a point above the relegation zone. At the final whistle, boos rang out around the ground and McClaren exited down the tunnel for the last time – the manager resigned after the game, having taken just eight points from his ten matches in charge and citing the club’s refusal to back him in the transfer market as the reason for his departure.
However there was more surprising news to follow as Chairman Doughty announced a few hours later that he would be standing down from his position and withdraw his funding at the end of the current season. It is one thing to see a manager resign, but for the manager and chairman to resign on the same day is unprecedented. Doughty said it was the honourable thing to do after he appointed McClaren, but it was nevertheless surprising and left the club in a mess.
Ten days later former Reds player and manager Frank Clark accepted Doughty’s invitation to succeed him as chairman and it was an appointment which appeased the supporters. Clark earned plaudits for his work as vice-chairman of the League Managers’ Association and brought a wealth of football experience to his new role at Forest.
One of his first jobs was to find a replacement for McClaren and it was Portsmouth manager Steve Cotterill who stepped into the Forest hotseat – brought in for his experience of working on a tight budget and getting the best out of limited resources. With Doughty’s funding set to decrease over the next few years, Forest would be operating under new financial restrictions and Cotterill was deemed the best man for the job.
He won his first two games against play-off chasing Middlesbrough and Blackpool. ‘Boro were beaten 2-0 at the City Ground as Forest put in a much-improved display, before winning 2- 1 at Bloomfield Road to offer realistic hope that they would be moving up the table sooner rather than later.
Two home wins against Reading and Ipswich either side of a loss at Cotterill’s former club Portsmouth seemed to suggest Forest were getting back to the form they were capable of. The new manager’s motivational style seemed to come through on the pitch as the players were working hard and playing some good football in spells on their way to victories.
However their form dipped dramatically as Forest lost five of their next six matches, drawing the other 0-0 at relegation rivals Bristol City. The Reds put in arguably their worst performance of the season as they were hammered 4-0 at home by Leeds United and lost twice more at home, 1-0 to both Crystal Palace and Peterborough in matches were Forest enjoyed good spells of possession and threatened going forward, but were punished for a lack of finishing prowess in the final third. It was a similar story in the 1-0 defeat at Brighton and the 0-0 draw at Bristol as Forest were left to rue missed opportunities.
With Cardiff City to come at the City Ground on New Year’s Eve, the Reds sit 22nd in the Championship table after the Boxing Day reversal to Peterborough, with goal difference separating them from safety. It is quite a contrast to this time last year when the Reds had just thrashed Derby and were on their way to forging another play-off push.
In the space of six months the club have gone from promotion contenders to relegation candidates and seen their financial plans change drastically. In 2012 we could see some of the club’s big earners and prize assets leave in order to free up funds to reshape the squad. The worst possible outcome in the next few months would be another relegation to League One – with the advent of Financial Fair Play coming in it could spell disaster for Forest and require further slashing of the club’s wage bill.
The current situation is almost unthinkable given the success the club has enjoyed over the last two years, however the threat of relegation is very real so the team have to start picking up results, and fast.
2011 has been one of the most tumultuous 12 months in Nottingham Forest’s history – here’s hoping the new year will bring a change in fortunes.