2008–09 Nottingham Forest F.C. season

The 2008–09 season was Nottingham Forest's first season back in the Football League Championship, following promotion from League One in the 2007–08 season, after spending three years in the third tier. Forest finished in 19th place, seven points above the relegation zone, having been involved in the relegation scrap all season, with Billy Davies changing fortunes around to secure Championship status for the 2009–10 season.

Nottingham Forest F.C.
2008–09 season
ChairmanNigel Doughty
ManagerColin Calderwood (until 26 December)
John Pemberton (caretaker)
Billy Davies (4 January onwards)
Football League Championship19th
FA CupFourth round
League CupSecond round
Top goalscorerLeague: Robert Earnshaw (12)
All: Robert Earnshaw (17)
Highest home attendance29,140 (vs. Derby County, Championship, 21 February 2009)
Lowest home attendance4,030 (vs. Morecambe, League Cup, 13 August 2008)

Team kit

Supplier: Umbro
Sponsor(s): Capital One

Home
Away
Third

Source: Wikipedia Nottingham Forest Article

Technical staff

Pre-season and friendlies

Summary

Forest had a busy pre-season, making six promising signings, with seven players leaving as they prepared for the 2008–09 season. The players to come in were Welsh international striker Robert Earnshaw on a three-year deal for £2.65 million, Liverpool midfielder Paul Anderson on a one-year loan, ex-Manchester United striker Andrew Cole on a 12-month contract, French midfielder Guy Moussi from Angers SCO, striker Mickael Darnet from AS Cannes and Joe Garner from Carlisle United for £1.14 million. Those departing Forest were striker Grant Holt to Shrewsbury Town, Northern Ireland international midfielder Sammy Clingan to Norwich City, Ghanaian international striker Junior Agogo to Egyptian side Zamalek Sporting Club, left-back Matt Lockwood to Colchester United and midfielder Kris Commons to Derby County.

Forest had a reasonably successful pre-season, winning four, drawing one and losing two in their seven pre-season fixtures. Their warm-ups included two games against Premier League opposition in Everton and Sunderland. Forest were then asked to partake in a friendly against a second-string Republic of Ireland side on 9 October during the international break, which Forest lost 2–0.

Results

Date Opponents H / A Result
F – A
Scorers Referee Attendance
18 July 2008 Offenbach Kickers A 2 – 1 McCleary, Davies 5,000
22 July 2008 Burton Albion A 3 – 1 Davies 23', McGugan 47', Tyson 81' O. Langford 2,340
23 July 2008 AFC Telford United A 4 – 1 Thornhill 7', McCleary 20', Newbold 37', Sinclair 8' Steve Torr 1,441
25 July 2008 Everton H 1 – 1 Valente (og) 56' K. Friend 15,488
28 July 2008 Curzon Ashton A 1 – 2 Sinclair 68' Darren Bond 524
30 July 2008 Sunderland H 0 – 1 Andy Woolmer 12,573
2 August 2008 Notts County A 3 – 2 Earnshaw (2) 27', 74', Bennett 34' R. Booth 7,665
9 October 2008 Republic of Ireland XI A 0 – 2 Damien Hancock 4,040

Coca-Cola Championship

Summary

Forest kicked off the 2008–09 season with a goalless home draw against Reading before suffering their first league defeat in the Championship in a 3–1 loss at Swansea City. With four strikers injured, Forest secured the loan signing of Manchester United forward Lee Martin. Martin started the scoring in the 3–2 success over Watford with a 25-yard curler; the victory was Forest's first of the Championship campaign. Robert Earnshaw netted his first league goal for the club in the victory, with Nathan Tyson, returning from injury, taking just four minutes after stepping off the bench to net the winner to put Forest 14th in the league table. Forest finished the month with a 5–1 defeat to Wolves, who went top of the Championship following the result. This marked Tyson's first start of the season after a hamstring injury. Forest picked up one point in five games during September in a 0–0 home draw against Charlton sandwiched by 2–1 loses to both Burnley and Preston, and losses at Plymouth and Sheffield Wednesday. Forest then lost their first two games in October with a 2–0 home loss to Crystal Palace and a 2–1 defeat at QPR. They won a home point against Ipswich Town but lost again four days later to Cardiff City, with both goals conceded both penalties. This run of poor form saw Forest prop up the Championship. With two away games coming up, it was being touted that manager Colin Calderwood faced the sack if they could not record a victory, but they did with a 2–1 away victory at Crystal Palace, with goals coming from midfielders Chris Cohen and Matt Thornhill. This was Forest's first win in ten games and in more than two months, and saw Forest them off the foot of the league.

November started with the East Midlands derby against Derby County at Pride Park Stadium, the first time the two teams had met in a competitive fixture in over three years. The match proved to be controversial, with Emanuel Villa scoring at both ends to make the score 1–1. Lewis McGugan was given a straight red card, then a 93rd-minute penalty for Derby was saved by former Ram Lee Camp, with manager Colin Calderwood commenting after that the save would go down in the folklore. Veteran striker Andrew Cole then had his contract cancelled by "mutual consent" after the ex-Manchester United forward had fallen out with the club, as he was often being left on the bench. Forest followed up the Derby draw with another 1–1 draw at home to promotion-chasing Birmingham City and then a 2–2 draw away to Bristol City; the latter match saw Camp save another injury-time penalty and a point, seeing Forest into a four-game unbeaten run. However, they then lost 2–1 at home to Norwich City to return to the bottom of the table. A further 0–0 away draw at relegation rivals Doncaster Rovers saw mass tabloid speculation that manager Colin Calderwood was set to be replaced by Billy Davies. In the next game, at home to Barnsley, Forest won by a 36th-minute header from Joe Garner, moving off the foot of the table to 23rd. Forest drew 2–2 at Coventry City, twice coming from behind to claim a point, but their poor home form continued with a 1–0 home loss to Sheffield United and a 0–0 draw against relegation rivals Blackpool. Forest then recorded an important victory away at Southampton, with defender Wes Morgan scoring his first goal of the season and Joe Garner chipping the goalkeeper from 35 yards. This took Forest to just one point off safety, with their next game at home to bottom-of-the-table Doncaster Rovers, but Forest were 4–0 down within an hour and down to ten men for much of the second half after Julian Bennett came off injured after Forest had used all their substitutions, with a cruciate-ligament injury ruling the left-back out for the rest of the season. Forest replied with two late goals, but immediately after the game the Forest board terminated manager Colin Calderwood's contract after two and a half years in charge of the club; assistant manager David Kerslake was also dismissed. Reserve-team manager John Pemberton took caretaker charge at Norwich City, which Forest won 3–2 to rise out of the relegation zone for the first time in three months; this game saw the end of Lee Camp's loan spell. On 1 January, Nottingham Forest appointed Billy Davies as their new manager, signing a three-and-a-half-year deal with David Kelly named as his assistant manager. Davies watched the next match, against nouveau-riche Premier League side Manchester City in the FA Cup third round, which saw Forest won 3–0 with goals from strikers Nathan Tyson, Robert Earnshaw and Joe Garner. Davies' first game in charge saw Forest go to bottom of the table Charlton Athletic and beat the strugglers 2–0, with Tyson and Earnshaw netting for the Reds. Their third victory in a row pushed Forest up to 21st and moved them closer to teams directly above them. A 2–0 home win Plymouth Argyle moved them into 20th before a big rival match in the FA Cup against Derby County at Pride Park, which ended 1–1.[1] There will be a replay on 4 February at the City Ground. This was followed up by a 2–1 home win against Sheffield Wednesday, in which Forest came from behind to win. The result put them 17th, four points clear of the relegation zone. February saw just one win for Forest at the end of the month against promotion chasing Reading. Forest lost their opening game of February to local rivals Derby in the FA Cup. Forest then drew 1–1 with QPR before going on a three-game losing streak to Birmingham City, Ipswich Town and Derby this time in the league. After the bitter disappointment of picking up just one victory in February, Forest were looking to get off to the best possible start, and they did against Preston in a 2–1 victory with a brace from Rob Earnshaw sending Forest three places up the table into 18th and looking a lot less likely to face the drop after another good result this time a 1–1 draw to Swansea City. However another three game losing streak to Watford, a 5–0 loss to Burnley and then a 1–0 defeat to Wolves thanks to a Michael Kightly goal saw Forest take another dramatic downturn and they slipped in the league table to the regulation place of 22nd. Forest knew that with just six games left to stay in the Championship they needed something special. After a 1–1 draw against Barnsley following a desperate equaliser from Rob Earnshaw, Forest still sat in the drop zone. Up next were Bristol City, when city went ahead through Ivan Sproule things looked bleak again at the City Ground. Rob Earnshaw again showed his fantastic ability to score vital goals after grabbing an equaliser but with twelve minutes to go Forest went 2–1 down thanks to Dele Adebola. Forest turned things round in a fantastic comeback, Joe Garner making it 2–2 and then in stoppage time on loan Dexter Blackstock grabbed the late winner to give Forest a vital three points and climb themselves out of the drop zone. A midweek match against Sheffield United followed the fantastic win against City but it was a dull affair. After Kelvin Wilson was sent off early on, Forest's best chance fell to Joe Garner who fired over the crossbar and the Red's had to settle for a 0–0 draw that put them back into the drop zone on goal difference with Barnsley. Coventry City was the next opponents Forest had to face. Forest seemed more likely too pick up a result as the match was at the City Ground following the hysterics last week against Bristol City. And the only goal from James Perch after 46 minutes gave Forest a well-deserved win sending them up to 20th and out the drop zone, however they could not be complacent yet as both Norwich City and Barnsley, the two teams behind them had games in hand. Following the draw at Coventry, Forest saw that both Barnsley and Norwich failed to pick up a result that threatened Forest's safety. The early kick off saw on 25 April saw Forest hold Blackpool to a 1–1 draw at Bloomfield Road. Barnsley played Wolves and looked to have won what was a vital game however a late equaliser for Wolves saw Forest with a chance to stay up if Norwich were to lose to Reading. And they did, two goals from Shane Long meant Forest had escaped the drop. On the final day Forest beat already relegated Southampton 3–1 and secure 19th place just behind rivals Derby County.

Results

Date Opponents H / A Result

F – A

Scorers Attendance League

position

10 August 2008 Reading H 0 – 0 21,571 13th
16 August 2008 Swansea City A 1 – 3 Perch 35' 16,611 20th
23 August 2008 Watford H 3 – 2 Martin 10', Earnshaw 35', Tyson 69' 20,005 14th
30 August 2008 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 1 – 5 Stearman (og) 54' 25,301 16th
13 September 2008 Burnley H 1 – 2 Earnshaw 52' 20,504 21st
16 September 2008 Preston North End A 1 – 2 Mawene (og) 67' 13,145 23rd
20 September 2008 Charlton Athletic H 0 – 0 18,771 23rd
27 September 2008 Plymouth Argyle A 0 – 1 12,594 24th
30 September 2008 Sheffield Wednesday A 0 – 1 20,823 24th
4 October 2008 Crystal Palace H 0 – 2 22,811 24th
18 October 2008 Queens Park Rangers A 1 – 2 McGugan 84' 15,122 24th
21 October 2008 Ipswich Town H 1 – 1 McCleary 32' 19,455 24th
25 October 2008 Cardiff City H 0 – 1 19,468 24th
28 October 2008 Crystal Palace A 2 – 1 Cohen 28', Thornhill 81' 15,162 23rd
2 November 2008 Derby County A 1 – 1 Villa (og) 57' 33,010 23rd
8 November 2008 Birmingham City H 1 – 1 Perch 52' 21,415 23rd
15 November 2008 Bristol City A 2 – 2 Garner 11', Tyson 47' 17,440 23rd
22 November 2008 Norwich City H 1 – 2 Anderson 38' 18,566 24th
25 November 2008 Doncaster Rovers A 0 – 0 12,612 24th
29 November 2008 Barnsley H 1 – 0 Garner 36' 24,974 23rd
6 December 2008 Coventry City A 2 – 2 Earnshaw 27', Garner 61' 17,542 23rd
9 December 2008 Sheffield United H 0 – 1 19,541 23rd
13 December 2008 Blackpool H 0 – 0 19,103 22nd
20 December 2008 Southampton A 2 – 0 Morgan 42', Garner 75' 26,580 22nd
26 December 2008 Doncaster Rovers H 2 – 4 Hird (og) 68', Garner 85' 26,501 22nd
28 December 2008 Norwich City A 3 – 2 Thornhill 17', McGugan 30', Earnshaw 89' 25,475 21st
10 January 2009 Charlton Athletic A 2 – 0 Tyson 34', Earnshaw 36' 24,553 20th
17 January 2009 Plymouth Argyle H 2 – 0 Earnshaw 24', Anderson 21' 20,392 18th
27 January 2009 Sheffield Wednesday H 2 – 1 Tyson 34', Chambers 75' 22,618 17th
31 January 2009 Cardiff City A 0 – 2 18,779 17th
7 February 2009 Queens Park Rangers H 2 – 2 McGugan 45+1' (pen.), Cohen 67' 25,859 18th
14 February 2009 Birmingham City A 0 – 2 17,631 19th
18 February 2009 Ipswich Town A 1 – 2 Tyson 77' 19,930 20th
21 February 2009 Derby County H 1 – 3 Earnshaw 87' 29,140 20th
28 February 2009 Reading A 1 – 0 McGugan 61' 21,196 21st
3 March 2009 Preston North End H 2 – 1 Earnshaw (2) 58', 71' 17,568 18th
7 March 2009 Swansea City H 1 – 1 McGugan 76' 20,475 20th
10 March 2009 Watford A 1 – 2 Thornhill 17' 14,730 20th
14 March 2009 Burnley A 0 – 5 13,055 21st
21 March 2009 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 0 – 1 24,510 22nd
4 April 2009 Barnsley A 1 – 1 Earnshaw 68' 19,681 22nd
11 April 2009 Bristol City H 3 – 2 Earnshaw 32', Garner 83', Blackstock 89' 22,776 21st
13 April 2009 Sheffield United A 0 – 0 28,374 22nd
18 April 2009 Coventry City H 1 – 0 Perch 46', 27,856 20th
25 April 2009 Blackpool A 1 – 1 Blackstock 9' 9,279 20th
3 May 2009 Southampton H 3 – 1 Garner 73', Chambers 87', Earnshaw 90+2' 29,008 19th

Results by round

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
GroundHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAAHAHHAAHAHAHAH
ResultDLWLLLDLLLLDLWDDDLDWDLDWLWWWWLDLLLWWDLLLDWDWDW
Source:
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
17 Coventry City 46 13 15 18 47 58 11 54
18 Derby County 46 14 12 20 55 67 12 54
19 Nottingham Forest 46 13 14 19 50 65 15 53
20 Barnsley 46 13 13 20 45 58 13 52
21 Plymouth Argyle 46 13 12 21 44 57 13 51
Updated to match(es) played on 3 May 2009. Source: The Football League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

League Cup

Results

Date Round Opponents H / A Result

F – A

Scorers Referee Attendance
13 August 2008 Round One Morecambe H 4 – 0 Cohen 14', Earnshaw (2) 62', 88', Newbold 81' C. Boyeson 4,030
27 August 2008 Round Two Sunderland H 1 – 2 (a.e.t.) Earnshaw 60' I. Williamson 9,198

FA Cup

Results

Date Round Opponents H / A Result

F – A

Scorers Referee Attendance
3 January 2009 Round Three Manchester City A 3 – 0 Tyson 38', Earnshaw 42', Garner 75' L. Probert 31,869
23 January 2009 Round Four Derby County A 1 – 1 Earnshaw 64' H. Webb 32,035
4 February 2009 Round Four – Replay Derby County H 2 – 3 Cohen 2', Tyson 14' (pen.) C. Foy 29,001

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

The statistics for the following players are for their time during 2008–09 season playing for Nottingham Forest. Any stats from a different club during 2008–09 are not included.

  • Nottingham Forest have also had four own-goals scored for them during 2008–09
No. Pos Nat Player TotalChampionshipFA CupLeague Cup
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
1 GK Paul Smith 3302803020
2 DF Kelvin Wilson 39035+102+1000
3 DF Joel Lynch 24020+301000
4 DF Luke Chambers 44232+723020
5 DF Wes Morgan 4614212020
6 DF Ian Breckin 28017+603020
7 MF James Perch 42336+133020
8 MF Lewis McGugan 36525+853000
9 FW Nathan Tyson 39728+75320+10
10 FW Robert Earnshaw 361726+6122223
11 MF Paul Anderson 28224+222000
12 MF Garath McCleary 43114+2511+101+10
14 MF Arron Davies 1603+1000+2010
15 MF Chris Cohen 4644123121
16 FW Joe Garner 30819+970+2100
17 MF Lee Martin 1419+410010
17 DF Chris Gunter 80800000
18 MF Isaiah Osbourne 807+100000
19 MF Guy Moussi 19014+102020
20 MF Carl Fletcher 504+100000
20 GK Iain Turner 30300000
21 GK Lee Camp 1501500000
22 MF Gary McSheffrey 40400000
23 FW Dexter Blackstock 62620000
24 MF Mark Byrne 200+100+1000
25 DF Richard Tait 00000000
26 MF Matt Thornhill 28313+113201+10
27 DF Brendan Moloney 1209+300000
28 FW Emile Sinclair 400+30000+10
29 DF Julian Bennett 13010+200010
30 GK Dale Roberts 00000000
30 GK Karl Darlow 00000000
31 GK Paddy Gamble 00000000
32 DF Hamza Bencherif 00000000
33 MF Liam Hook 00000000
34 MF Reece Staples 00000000
34 FW Nialle Rodney 00000000
35 DF Tom Sharpe 00000000
36 DF Joe Heath 1209+100+1010
37 FW Adam Newbold 610+400+100+11
38 FW Mickael Darnet 00000000
39 DF Gavin Kavanagh 00000000
39 GK Barry Richardson 00000000
40 GK Shane Redmond 00000000
41 MF James Reid 100+100000
42 FW Ryan Whitehurst 00000000
45 DF Aaron Mitchell 00000000
46 MF James Dunne 00000000

Top scorers

Last updated on 26 October 2008.
P Player FLC FAC LC Total
1 Robert Earnshaw 12 2 3 17
2 Joe Garner 7 1 8
3 Nathan Tyson 5 2 7
4 Lewis McGugan 5 5
5 Chris Cohen 2 1 1 4
6 Matt Thornhill 3 3
7 James Perch 3 3
8 Dexter Blackstock 2 2
9 Luke Chambers 2 2
10 Paul Anderson 2 2
11 Wes Morgan 1 1
12 Lee Martin 1 1
13 Garath McCleary 1 1
14 Adam Newbold 1 1
- Own Goals 4 4

Disciplinary record

Last updated on 19 July 2009.

Includes cards collected whilst at other clubs during 2008–09

N
Pos.
Nat.
Name
Notes
2 DF Kelvin Wilson 2 0 1
8 MF Lewis McGugan 3 0 1
5 DF Wes Morgan 6 1 0
26 MF Matt Thornhill 2 1 0
7 MF James Perch 10 0 0
16 FW Joe Garner 8 0 0
9 FW Nathan Tyson 7 0 0
4 DF Luke Chambers 7 0 0
15 MF Chris Cohen 6 0 0
27 DF Brendan Moloney 5 0 0
6 DF Ian Breckin 5 0 0
12 MF Garath McCleary 4 0 0
23 FW Dexter Blackstock 4 0 0
29 DF Julian Bennett 3 0 0
18 FW Andrew Cole 3 0 0
3 DF Joel Lynch 2 0 0
28 FW Emile Sinclair 2 0 0
17 MF Lee Martin 1 0 0
19 MF Guy Moussi 1 0 0
21 GK Lee Camp 1 0 0
20 MF Carl Fletcher 1 0 0
14 MF Arron Davies 1 0 0
36 DF Joe Heath 1 0 0
11 MF Paul Anderson 1 0 0
37 FW Adam Newbold 1 0 0
10 FW Robert Earnshaw 1 0 0
18 MF Isaiah Osbourne 1 0 0

Source:
Only competitive matches
= Number of bookings; = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card; = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.

Transfers

In

# Pos Player From Fee Date
10FW Robert Earnshaw Derby County£2.65 million30 May 2008
19MF Guy Moussi Angers SCOUndisclosed1 July 2008
18FW Andrew Cole SunderlandFree4 July 2008
16FW Joe Garner Carlisle United£1.14 million25 July 2008

Out

# Pos Player To Fee Date
MF Kris Commons Derby CountyFree21 May 2008
MF Felix Bastians BSC Young BoysFree21 May 2008
MF Alan Power Hartlepool UnitedFree21 May 2008
FW Junior Agogo El ZamalekUndisclosed2 June 2008
DF Matt Lockwood Colchester UnitedUndisclosed3 June 2008
MF Sammy Clingan Norwich CityFree17 June 2008
FW Grant Holt Shrewsbury Town£170,00024 June 2008
18FW Andrew Cole RetiredReleased31 October 2008

Loans in

# Pos From Player Start End
11MF Paul Anderson Liverpool26 June 20081 June 2009
17MF Lee Martin Manchester United13 August 200831 December 2008
3DF Joel Lynch Brighton and Hove Albion25 September 20081 June 2009
20MF Carl Fletcher Crystal Palace17 October 200824 November 2008
21GK Lee Camp Queens Park Rangers20 October 200831 December 2008
MF James Dunne Arsenal24 October 200831 December 2008
18MF Isaiah Osbourne Aston Villa3 March 20091 June 2009
22MF Gary McSheffrey Birmingham City5 March 200922 March 2009
17DF Chris Gunter Tottenham Hotspur12 March 20091 June 2009
20GK Iain Turner Everton19 March 20091 June 2009
23FW Dexter Blackstock Queens Park Rangers26 March 20091 June 2009

Loans out

# Pos To Player Start End
31GK Paddy Gamble Mansfield Town8 August 200831 December 2008
35DF Tom Sharpe Stalybridge Celtic20 September 20081 June 2009
40GK Shane Redmond Eastwood Town20 September 20081 June 2009
30GK Dale Roberts Rushden and Diamonds1 October 20081 June 2009
28FW Emile Sinclair Mansfield Town17 October 20081 June 2009
27DF Brendan Moloney Rushden and Diamonds24 October 200827 November 2008

Notes

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