| 1984–85 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Maurice Roworth | ||
| Manager | Brian Clough | ||
| Stadium | The City Ground | ||
| First Division | 9th | ||
| FA Cup | Second round | ||
| League Cup | Third round | ||
| Top goalscorer | League: Peter Davenport (16) All: Davenport (17) | ||
|  | |||
The 1984–85 season was Nottingham Forest's 120th year in existence and 8th consecutive season in the First Division. Also the club competed in the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup.
Summary
In his tenth season as manager Brian Clough after several disagreements the last season with Hans van Breukelen transferred in Dutch Goalkeeper Hans Segers from PSV Eindhoven.[1] Also starter Right back Defender Viv Anderson left the club after nine seasons being transferred out to Arsenal for £250,000,[2] his spot for this campaign was covered by Kenny Swain who already was playing as a left back during the last two seasons. Swain was replaced by Scottish left back defender Jim McInally who delivered an outstanding performance during the season.[3] Meanwhile, Clough transferred out Ian Wallace after a disappointing 1983–84 season, but Trevor Christie his replacement was a flop and left the club during winter, due to injuries Birtles and Riley collapsed the ofensive line meaning Peter Davenport as the only striker with a decent outcome including 17 goals scored.
Clough reinforced the midfield with John Metgod[4] after his chaotic seasons in Real Madrid the Dutch player delivered a decent performance in a competitive line with Hodge, Bowyer, Wigley and Gary Mills reinforcing the mid line during winter. However, the injuries (including Colin Walsh) and the mediocre performance of the strikers sink the squad to the 9th spot in League and early eliminations in UEFA Cup, League Cup and FA Cup. The season is best remembered due to the debut of Forward Nigel Clough son of the club manager and the flop of midfielder Gary Megson as Clough said:"he couldn't trap a bag of cement". Megson spent five months at the City Ground, without making a single first-team appearance before being sold to Newcastle United.
Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| 
 | 
 | 
Transfers
| In | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Name | from | Type | 
| GK | Hans Segers | PSV Eindhoven | £42,000 | 
| DF | Jim McInally | Celtic Glasgow | £47,000,000 | 
| MF | Johnny Metgod | Real Madrid | |
| FW | Trevor Christie | Notts County | |
| FW | Paul Kee | Mansfield Town F.C. | |
| MF | Gary Megson | Sheffield Wednesday | |
| MF | Franz Carr | Blackburn Rovers | £100,000 | 
| DF | Alan Davidson | South Melbourne FC | |
| MF | Paul Raynor | ||
| DF | Gary Fleming | ||
| MF | David Campbell | ||
| GK | Darren Heyes | ||
| Out | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Name | To | Type | 
| DF | Viv Anderson | Arsenal | £210,000 | 
| FW | Ian Wallace | Brest | |
| GK | Hans van Breukelen | PSV Eindhoven | |
| GK | Kevin Hitchcock | Mansfield Town | loan | 
| DF | Colin Todd | Oxford United | |
| MF | Danny Wilson | Brighton and Hove Albion | |
| DF | Nigel Johnson | ||
| DF | Les Robinson | ||
| DF | Adrian Shaw | ||
| DF | Shaun Finney | ||
Winter
| In | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Name | from | Type | 
| FW | Nigel Clough | ||
| Out | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Name | To | Type | 
| MF | Gary Megson | Sheffield Wednesday | |
| FW | Trevor Christie | Derby County | |
Results
Division One
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Arsenal | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 61 | 49 | +12 | 66 | 
| 8 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 58 | 45 | +13 | 65 | 
| 9 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 19 | 7 | 16 | 56 | 48 | +8 | 64 | 
| 10 | Aston Villa | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 60 | 60 | 0 | 56 | 
| 11 | Watford | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 81 | 71 | +10 | 55 | 
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Results by round
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; = Champions, Qualified to 1985–86 European Cup; = Qualified to 1985–86 UEFA Cup; = Relegated to Division Two
On June 2, 1985 English teams were banned by UEFA from its competitions from the season 1985–86 on until the season 1990–91 because of the Heysel Disaster in 1985, involving Liverpool fans.[5]
Matches
| 25 August 1984 1 | Sheffield Wednesday | 3-1 | Nottingham Forest | Sheffield | 
| Mel Sterland  19' (pen)' Imre Varadi  58' John Pearson  81' |  37' Peter Davenport | Stadium: Hillsborough Attendance: 31,950 Referee: N Midgley | 
| 29 August 1984 2 | Nottingham Forest | 2-0 | Arsenal | Nottingham | 
| Johnny Metgod  63' Peter Davenport  66' | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 18,215 Referee: D Scott | 
| 01 September 1984 3 | Nottingham Forest | 3-1 | Sunderland | Nottingham | 
| Peter Davenport  15',  53',  63' |  19' (pen) Colin West | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 15,760 Referee: VG Callow | 
| 05 September 1984 4 | Aston Villa | 0-5 | Nottingham Forest | Birmingham | 
|  33' Ian Bowyer  60',  68',  88' Trevor Christie  77' Steve Hodge | Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 17,730 Referee: JB Worrall | 
| 08 September 1984 5 | Queens Park Rangers | 3-0 | Nottingham Forest | White City | 
| Wayne Fereday  4',  72' Gary Bannister  19' | Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 13,507 Referee: IJ Borrett | 
| 16 September 1984 6 | Nottingham Forest | 3-1 | Luton Town | Nottingham | 
| Steve Hodge  60',  76' Peter Davenport  67' |  82' David Moss | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 18,605 Referee: KA Redfern | 
| 22 September 1984 7 | West Ham United | 0-0 | Nottingham Forest | Upton Park | 
| Stadium: Boleyn Ground Attendance: 17,434 Referee: JE Martin | 
| 29 September 1984 8 | Nottingham Forest | 3-1 | Norwich City | Nottingham | 
| Dave Watson  22' (o.g.) Steve Hodge  88' Trevor Christie  90' |  87' Peter Mendham | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 15,166 Referee: PA Tyldesley | 
| 06 October 1984 9 | Nottingham Forest | 1-1 | Stoke City | Nottingham | 
| Peter Davenport  88' (pen) |  12' George Berry | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 14,129 Referee: T Mills | 
| 13 October 1984 10 | West Bromwich Albion | 4-1 | Nottingham Forest | West Bromwich | 
| Steve Mackenzie  23' Garry Thompson  52',  60',  83' |  31' Ian Bowyer | Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 12,991 Referee: HW King | 
| 20 October 1984 11 | Newcastle United | 1-1 | Nottingham Forest | Newcastle-upon-Tyne | 
| Ken Wharton  79' |  45' Steve Hodge | Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 28,328 Referee: NL Wilson | 
| 28 October 1984 12 | Nottingham Forest | 0-2 | Liverpool | Nottingham | 
|  34' Ronnie Whelan  54' Ian Rush | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 19,838 Referee: G Courtney | 
| 03 November 1984 13 | Southampton | 1-0 | Nottingham Forest | Southampton | 
| David Puckett  20' | Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 17,818 Referee: C Downey | 
| 10 November 1984 14 | Nottingham Forest | 1-2 | Tottenham Hotspur | Nottingham | 
| Peter Davenport  57' |  54' Micky Hazard  74' Tony Galvin | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 21,406 Referee: NH Glover | 
| 17 November 1984 15 | Coventry City | 1-3 | Nottingham Forest | Coventry | 
| Terry Gibson  56' (pen) |  42' (o.g.)Micky Adams  77'Colin Walsh  90'David Riley | Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 9,840 Referee: K Walmsley | 
| 25 November 1984 16 | Nottingham Forest | 2-1 | Leicester City | Nottingham | 
| Peter Davenport  24',  29' (pen) |  20' Ian Banks | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 21,463 Referee: KS Hackett | 
| 01 December 1984 17 | Watford | 2-0 | Nottingham Forest | Watford | 
| George Reilly  3' Worrell Sterling  28' | Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 17,758 Referee: DA Hedges | 
| 08 December 1984 18 | Nottingham Forest | 3-2 | Manchester United | Nottingham | 
| Steve Hodge  62' Gary Mills  77' Johnny Metgod  90' |  14' (pen),  28' Gordon Strachan | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 25,902 Referee: AW Ward | 
| 15 December 1984 19 | Everton | 5-0 | Nottingham Forest | Liverpool | 
| Graeme Sharp  20',  75' Kevin Sheedy  32' Trevor Steven  44' Peter Reid  50' |  32' Chris Fairclough | Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 22,453 Referee: MG Peck | 
| 23 December 1984 20 | Sunderland | 0-2 | Nottingham Forest | Sunderland | 
|  32'Trevor Christie  89'Steve Wigley | Stadium: Roker Park Attendance: 21,086 Referee: CN Seel | 
| 26 December 1984 21 | Nottingham Forest | 2-0 | Ipswich Town | Nottingham | 
| Steve Hodge  53' Johnny Metgod  55' | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 17,123 Referee: TJ Holbrook | 
| 29 December 1984 22 | Nottingham Forest | 3-2 | Aston Villa | Nottingham | 
| Peter Davenport  41',  86' (pen) Johnny Metgod  84' | Colin Gibson  17' Paul Rideout  35' | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 17,676 Referee: IA Hendrick | 
| 01 January 1985 23 | Chelsea | 1-0 | Nottingham Forest | Fulham | 
| Mickey Thomas  69' | Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 21,552 Referee: DJ Axcell | 
| 02 February 1985 24 | Norwich City | 0-1 | Nottingham Forest | Norwich | 
|  87' Peter Davenport | Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 13,753 Referee: M Dimblebee | 
| 09 February 1985 25 | Nottingham Forest | 2-0 | Queens Park Rangers | Nottingham | 
| Steve Hodge  80' Johnny Metgod  86' | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 11,991 Referee: J McAulay | 
| 23 February 1985 26 | Nottingham Forest | 2-0 | Southampton | Nottingham | 
| Steve Hodge  24' Peter Davenport  28' (pen) | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 14,752 Referee: PW Vanes | 
| 02 March 1985 27 | Liverpool | 1-0 | Nottingham Forest | Liverpool | 
| John Wark  49' (pen) | Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 35,696 Referee: TA Jones | 
| 09 March 1985 28 | Nottingham Forest | 0-0 | Newcastle United | Nottingham | 
| Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 17,425 Referee: EJ Scales | 
| 16 March 1985 29 | Nottingham Forest | 1-2 | West Bromwich Albion | Nottingham | 
| Peter Davenport  55' | Nicky Cross  48' Gary Owen  74' | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 12,663 Referee: D Hutchinson | 
| 20 March 1985 30 | Nottingham Forest | 0-0 | Sheffield Wednesday | Nottingham | 
| Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 17,648 Referee: PN Willis | 
| 23 March 1985 31 | Stoke City | 1-4 | Nottingham Forest | Stoke-on-Trent | 
| Steve Parkin  10' |  27' Steve Hodge  34' Paul Hart  52' David Riley  79' (pen) Peter Davenport | Stadium: Victoria Ground Attendance: 7,544 Referee: G Courtney | 
| 30 March 1985 32 | Nottingham Forest | 1-2 | West Ham United | Nottingham | 
| Steve Hodge  55' |  20' Tony Cottee  75' Paul Goddard | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 13,560 Referee: GM Tyson | 
| 06 April 1985 33 | Ipswich Town | 1-0 | Nottingham Forest | Ipswich | 
| Alan Sunderland  30' | Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 16,497 Referee: AN Buksh | 
| 10 April 1985 34 | Nottingham Forest | 2-0 | Chelsea | Nottingham | 
| Garry Birtles  49' Johnny Metgod  54' | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 14,666 Referee: T Fitzharris | 
| 13 April 1985 35 | Arsenal | 1-1 | Nottingham Forest | Islington | 
| Ian Allinson  82' |  5' Gary Mills | Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 24,151 Referee: JC Deakin | 
| 20 April 1985 36 | Nottingham Forest | 2-0 | Coventry City | Nottingham | 
| Gary Mills  25' Ken Hibbitt  40' (o.g.) | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 12,990 Referee: J Lovatt | 
| 24 April 1985 37 | Luton Town | 1-2 | Nottingham Forest | Luton | 
| David Moss  18' (pen) |  2' Gary Mills  89' Steve Hodge | Stadium: Kenilworth Road Attendance: 10,156 Referee: B Hill | 
| 27 April 1985 38 | Leicester City | 1-0 | Nottingham Forest | Leicester | 
| Lineker  32' | Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 13,886 Referee: BT Stevens | 
| 04 May 1985 39 | Nottingham Forest | 1-1 | Watford | Nottingham | 
| Nigel Clough  86' |  29'Colin West | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 12,649 Referee: T Simpson | 
| 06 May 1985 40 | Manchester United | 2-0 | Nottingham Forest | Manchester | 
| John Gidman  8' Frank Stapleton  67' | Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 41,775 Referee: MG Peck | 
| 11 May 1985 41 | Nottingham Forest | 1-0 | Everton | Nottingham | 
| Garry Birtles  10' | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 18,784 Referee: T Mills | 
| 17 May 1985 42 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1-0 | Nottingham Forest | Tottenham | 
| Mark Falco  22' | Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 20,075 Referee: LC Shapter | 
UEFA Cup
| 19 September 1984 1st | Nottingham Forest   | 0-0 | .svg.png.webp) Club Brugge KV | Nottingham | 
| Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 18,307 | 
| 03 October 1984 1st | Club Brugge KV .svg.png.webp)  | 1-0 (1-0 agg.) |  Nottingham Forest | |
| Willy Wellens  89' | Attendance: 20,000 | 
League Cup
| 25 September 1984 2 | Portsmouth (Div 2) | 1-0 | Nottingham Forest | |
| Alan Biley  65' | Attendance: 20,409 Referee: RS Lewis | 
| 10 October 1984 2 | Nottingham Forest | 3-0 (a.e.t.) (3-1 agg.) | Portsmouth | Nottingham | 
| Steve Hodge  46' Steve Wigley  92' Bryn Gunn  95' | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 18,128 Referee: RF Nixon | 
| 31 October 1984 3 | Nottingham Forest | 1-1 | Sunderland | Nottingham | 
| David Hodgson  21' | Trevor Christie  44' | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 14,291 Referee: D Shaw | 
| 06 November 1984 3 | Sunderland | 1-0 (a.e.t.) | Nottingham Forest | |
| Howard Gayle  110' | Attendance: 23,184 Referee: RA Banks | 
FA Cup
| 06 January 1985 3 | Nottingham Forest | 1-1 | Newcastle United | Nottingham | 
| Ian Bowyer  69' |  36' Gary Megson | Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 23,582 Referee: JB Worrall | 
| 09 January 1985 3 | Newcastle United | 1-3 (a.e.t.) | Nottingham Forest | |
| Chris Waddle  64' |  29' (pen)Peter Davenport  107' Ian Bowyer  110'Trevor Christie | Attendance: 25,166 Referee: JB Worrall | 
| 26 January 1985 4 | Nottingham Forest | 0-0 | Wimbledon | Nottingham | 
| Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 17,184 Referee: N Midgley | 
| 30 January 1985 4 | Wimbledon | 1-0 | Nottingham Forest | |
| Paul Fishenden  12' | Attendance: 10,348 Referee: N Midgley | 
Statistics
Squad statistics
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Division One | FA Cup | Other | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
| GK |  NED | Hans Segers | 32 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| DF |  ENG | Kenny Swain | 47 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| DF |  ENG | Chris Fairclough | 45 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| DF |  ENG | Paul Hart | 38 | 1 | 34 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| DF |  SCO | Jim McInally | 28 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| MF |  ENG | Steve Wigley | 44 | 2 | 34+1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4+1 | 1 | |
| MF |  ENG | Ian Bowyer | 49 | 4 | 39 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | |
| MF |  ENG | Gary Mills | 31 | 4 | 18+8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | |
| MF |  NED | Johnny Metgod | 50 | 6 | 40 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| MF |  ENG | Steve Hodge | 51 | 13 | 42 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| FW |  ENG | Peter Davenport | 44 | 17 | 35 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | |
| GK |  ENG | Steve Sutton | 20 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| DF |  ENG | Bryn Gunn | 24 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| FW |  ENG | Trevor Christie | 20 | 7 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
| FW |  ENG | Garry Birtles | 15 | 2 | 12+1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| MF |  SCO | Colin Walsh | 18 | 1 | 10+3 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| FW |  ENG | Nigel Clough | 9 | 1 | 8+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| FW |  ENG | David Riley | 11 | 2 | 7+3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| DF | .svg.png.webp) AUS | Alan Davidson | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| MF |  ENG | Paul Raynor | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| DF |  ENG | Des Walker | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| DF | .svg.png.webp) NIR | Gary Fleming | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| DF |  ENG | Mark Smalley | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| MF | .svg.png.webp) NIR | David Campbell | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| GK |  ENG | Darren Heyes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| FW | .svg.png.webp) NIR | Paul Kee | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| MF |  ENG | Gary Megson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| MF |  ENG | Franz Carr | |||||||||
References
- ↑ "Suspended ban for Grobbelaar and Segers". BBC News. 13 December 1997. Retrieved 14 December 2008.
- ↑ Dickinson, Jason; Brodie, John (2005). The Wednesday Boys: A Definitive Who's Who of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club 1880–2005. Sheffield: Pickard Communication. pp. 3–4. ISBN 0-9547264-9-9.
- ↑ "The City Ground". thecityground.com.
- ↑ "Metgod". 11 November 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ↑ Simon Burnton (2 June 2020). "'Quarantine our sad, sick game': how Heysel tragedy changed English football". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2 September 2023.














