I try to make game updates as quickly as possible, but there may be delays at some points when I'm not here to make them.
And there are bound to be some errors in all of this - if you see anything that looks wrong then please let me know via email.
My first Forest game was a 0-0 draw at home against Everton on November 4th, 1978. The first goal I saw was by Archie Gemmill in this 1-0 home win over Birmingham the next month. I had a season ticket for 20 years, and my dad Brian and nephew Tom still have theirs in the Brian Clough Stand, but I now live in the US so live-stream every game (usually at 7am on a Saturday). Again, yay.
DATA NOTES
Players - There are several cases where early newspaper reports often list only the last name of a player and, in early days, there may have been more than one player that shared a last name. For instance there are several Pikes, Formans and Smiths, and when the first name is known then the player has been identified as such. Where the player is only listed by the last name then the appearance is credited to the generic name i.e. just Smith or Pike etc.
CURRENT PROJECT(s):
- Add goal times to every game. That will give me more half-time scores but will take a while. I'm working backwards and currently only in the 1950's right now, so don't hold your breath!
- Try to add a newspaper report or other images of interest to every game
- Add opposition lineups to all games. That's nearly impossible, but I'll try my best
MAIN DATA SOURCES USED
'The Nottingham Forest Football Scrapbook' by Saphire Blue - A huge list of very early games, lineups and information on early players
ENFA (English National Football Archive) - Verification of results
British Newspaper Archive - An invaluable resource for newspaper cuttings for games from 1865 and onwards
WorldFootball.net - Goal times, opposition lineups, referees and opponent managers from the 1990's onwards
FCHD (Football Club History Database) - Main cup dates and results
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation - Miscellaneous cup dates and results
AFS (Association of Football Statisticians) - Lineups (especially subs)
England Stats - International appearances for England
'A Complete Record 1865-1991' by Pete Attaway - Book of lineups
'Forest - The First 125 Years' by Ken Smales - The former Forest secretary's historical list of games and lineups
'Real Forest TV' - Facebook page by Lee Gilbert, with game videos
Bridport Red - Lineups (No longer on line)
DATABASE STATS
For the purpose of The City Ground's stats, all the games we've played in are divided into Competitive and Non-Competitive games.
Here's the list of what game type is in each group:
Competitive: League, Playoffs, FA Cup, League Cup, All European games, EFL Trophy, Anglo-Scottish Cup, Anglo-Italian Cup, Full Members Cup and Charity Shield
Non-Competitive: Football Alliance, World War I and World War II games, Friendlies, Testimonials etc.
| Statistic | Total | Competitive | Non-Competitive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seasons | 159 | - | - |
| Games | 7,501 | 5,720 | 1,781 |
| Players | 1,985 | 1,201 | 784 |
| Goals | 12,217 | 8,325 | 3,892 |
| Managers | 50 | - | - |
| Transfers | 3,123 | - | - |
| Opponents | 560 | - | - |
| Opp Managers | 1,059 | - | - |
| Referees | 1,271 | - | - |
| Grounds | 450 | - | - |