1980–81 Nottingham Forest F.C. season

Nottingham Forest
1980–81 season
Chairman	Geoffrey McPherson
Manager	Brian Clough
Stadium	The City Ground
First Division	7th
FA Cup	Quarter-finals
League Cup	Fourth round
European Cup	Round of 32
European Super Cup	Runners-up
Intercontinental Cup	Runners-up
Top goalscorer	League: ; Ian Wallace (11); All: ; Ian Wallace (13)
Highest home attendance	32,266 (League)
Lowest home attendance	21,242 (League)
Average home league attendance	26,330 (League)
Home colours	Away colours
	← 1979–80 1981–82 →

The 1980–81 season was Nottingham Forest's 116th year in existence and fourth consecutive season in the First Division.

Summary

In May, the board appointed Geoffrey McPherson as the club's new chairman, replacing Stuart Dryden.^[1] On 30 May McPherson negotiated a new three-year new contract for Clough and Taylor after they won the European Cup Final. The club reinforced the squad, with forward Ian Wallace signing from Coventry City for £1.25 million ^[2] and Swiss player Raimondo Ponte signing from Grasshopper Club Zürich, to boost an ageing midfield.^[3] On 15 October, the club sold Garry Birtles to Manchester United for £1.25 million,^[4] prompting the arrival of forward Peter Ward from Brighton & Hove Albion.^[5] In spite of these new arrivals, during the season the team dropped to mid-table, and by spring the midfield was weakened after the departures of Martin O'Neill, Raimondo Ponte, Ian Bowyer and defender Larry Lloyd. Forward Trevor Francis suffered an injury that sidelined him until December. Forest finished the season in 7th place, missing out on qualification for the following season's UEFA Cup after a draw 1–1 with Coventry City on the final day, with Southampton taking the European berth on goal difference.

Forest's defence of the European Cup ended in the first round following a 2–0 aggregate defeat to Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia. In the League Cup the team was eliminated in the fourth round by Watford. The club lost the European Super Cup on away goals to Valencia CF. In February, the team lost the Intercontinental Cup 1–0 to Nacional in Tokyo. Finally, in the FA Cup the team was knocked out at the quarter-final stage following a replay with Ipswich Town. Also, after seven seasons Scottish trainer Jimmy Gordon announced his retirement.

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	ENG	Peter Shilton
—	GK	ENG	Steve Sutton
—	GK	ENG	Lee Smelt
—	DF	ENG	Viv Anderson
—	DF	ENG	Larry Lloyd
—	DF	SCO	Kenny Burns
—	DF	SCO	Frank Gray
—	DF	ENG	Bryn Gunn
—	DF	ENG	David Needham
—	DF	NOR	Einar Aas
—	DF	ENG	Stephen Kendal


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	ENG	Stuart Gray
—	MF	SCO	Colin Walsh
—	MF	NIR	Martin O'Neill
—	MF	SCO	John McGovern (c)
—	MF	SCO	John Robertson
—	MF	ENG	Ian Bowyer
—	MF	ENG	Gary Mills
—	MF	SUI	Raimondo Ponte
—	FW	ENG	Trevor Francis
—	FW	ENG	Peter Ward
—	FW	ENG	Garry Birtles
—	FW	ENG	Ian Wallace

Transfers

In
Pos.	Name	from	Type
FW	Ian Wallace	Coventry City	£1,250,000 ^[a]
MF	Raimondo Ponte	Grasshopper Club Zürich	^[b]
MF	Stuart Gray	Youth system
DF	Stephen Kendal
GK	Lee Smelt

Out
Pos.	Name	To	Type
FW	John O'Hare		Retired
FW	Charlie George	Southampton	loan ended
GK	Lee Smelt	Peterborough United
GK	Jimmy Montgomery		retired

Autumn

In
Pos.	Name	from	Type
FW	Peter Ward	Brighton & Hove Albion	^[c]

Out
Pos.	Name	To	Type
FW	Garry Birtles	Manchester United	£1,250,000 ^[d]

Winter

In
Pos.	Name	from	Type

Out
Pos.	Name	To	Type
MF	Martin O'Neill	Norwich City	^[e]
MF	Ian Bowyer	Sunderland	^[f]
DF	Larry Lloyd	Wigan Athletic	^[g]

Spring

In
Pos.	Name	from	Type
DF	Einar Aas	Bayern München	^[h]

Out
Pos.	Name	To	Type
MF	Raimondo Ponte	SC Bastia	^[i]

Competitions

A list of Nottingham Forest's matches in the 1980–81 season.^[6]^[7]^[8]

First Division

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
5	Liverpool	42	17	17	8	62	42	+20	51	Qualification for the European Cup first round^[j]
6	Southampton	42	20	10	12	76	56	+20	50	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
7	Nottingham Forest	42	19	12	11	62	44	+18	50
8	Manchester United	42	15	18	9	51	36	+15	48
9	Leeds United	42	17	10	15	39	47	−8	44

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:

^ Transferred in on 16 August 1980
^ Transferred in on 16 August 1980
^ Transferred in on 1 October 1980
^ Transferred out on 15 October 1980
^ Transferred out on 22 February 1981
^ Transferred out on 15 January 1981
^ Transferred out on 11 February 1981
^ Transferred in on 4 April 1981
^ Transferred out on 28 March 1981
^ Liverpool qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1980–81 European Cup winners.

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42
Ground	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H
Result	L	W	D	W	D	W	W	L	L	D	W	W	W	D	W	D	L	L	L	D	W	L	W	W	D	L	W	D	W	W	D	W	W	D	L	W	L	D	L	W	W	D
Position	18	14	13	6	6	4	2	5	8	9	6	5	5	4	3	3	4	7	8	8	8	8	7	5	5	7	8	8	6	6	5	4	3	3	6	3	6	6	8	6	4	7

Source: Competitive matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; = Leader, 1981–82 European Cup; = 1981-82 UEFA Cup; = 1981–82 Second Division

Matches

16 August 1980 1	Tottenham Hotspur	2–0	Nottingham Forest	Tottenham
	Hoddle 48' (pen.) Crooks 77'			Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 43,270

20 August 1980 2	Nottingham Forest	2–1	Birmingham City	West Bridgford
	Birtles 37' Ponte 62' O'Neill		46' Worthington Dennis	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 26,561

23 August 1980 3	Everton	0–0	Nottingham Forest	Walton
				Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 25,981

30 August 1980 4	Nottingham Forest	5–0	Stoke City	West Bridgford
	Wallace 10' Birtles 31' Robertson 76' (pen.) Wallace 77' Birtles 82'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 21,915

6 September 1980 5	Middlesbrough	0–0	Nottingham Forest	Middlesbrough
				Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 17,119

13 September 1980 6	Nottingham Forest	3–2	Manchester City	West Bridgford
	Birtles 16' Bowyer 46' Wallace 49'		25' D.Bennett 34' Henry	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 23,184

20 September 1980 7	Nottingham Forest	5–0	Leicester City	West Bridgford
	F. Gray 12' Robertson 72' (pen.) Birtles 81' Mills 86' Birtles 89'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 27,145

27 September 1980 8	Arsenal	1–0	Nottingham Forest	Islington
	Rix 50'			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 37,584

4 October 1980 9	Nottingham Forest	1–2	Manchester United	West Bridgford
	I.Wallace 31'		Macari 43' 74' Coppell	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 29,801

8 October 1980 10	Sunderland	2–2	Nottingham Forest	Sunderland
	Rowell 27' Brown 36'		69' Mills 72' Bowyer	Stadium: Roker Park Attendance: 30,515

11 October 1980 11	Brighton & Hove Albion	0–1	Nottingham Forest	Brighton
			31' Wallace	Stadium: Goldstone Ground Attendance: 17,420

18 October 1990 12	Nottingham Forest	2–1	West Bromwich Albion	West Bridgford
	Bowyer 36' G.Mills 41'		Moses 15'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 25,095

22 October 1980 13	Nottingham Forest	2–1	Leeds United	West Bridgford
	Burns 38' Wallace 44'		28' Harris	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 25,033

25 October 1980 14	Norwich City	1–1	Nottingham Forest	Norwich
	Royle 53'		49' Robertson	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 17,849

1 November 1980 15	Nottingham Forest	2–1	Southampton	West Bridgford
	Ward 7' Robertson 44' (pen.)		13' Moran	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 24,669

8 November 1980 16	Liverpool	0–0	Nottingham Forest	Liverpool
				Stadium: Anfield Road Attendance: 43,143

11 November 1980 17	Birmingham City	2–0	Nottingham Forest	Birmingham
	Worthington 4' Worthington 62'			Stadium: St. Andrew's Park Attendance: 22,433

15 November 1980 18	Nottingham Forest	0–3	Tottenham Hotspur	West Bridgford
			47' Archibald 53' Ardiles 83' Archibald 83'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 25,400

22 November 1980 19	Nottingham Forest	1–2	Ipswich Town	West Bridgford
	Wallace 76'		37' Brazil 78' (pen.) Wark	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 24,423

29 November 1980 20	Coventry City	1–1	Nottingham Forest	Coventry
	Daly 51' (pen.)		25' Wallace	Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 15,171

6 December 1980 21	Nottingham Forest	3–0	Crystal Palace	West Bridgford
	0 F.Gray 47' (pen.) Walsh 66' Ward 72'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 20,223

13 December 1980 22	Leeds United	1–0	Nottingham Forest	Leeds
	Greenhoff 55'			Stadium: Ellan Road Attendance: 21,882

20 December 1980 23	Nottingham Forest	3–1	Sunderland	West Bridgford
	Ponte 15' Walsh 41' T.Francis 51'		53' Rowell	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 23,151

26 December 1980 24	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1–4	Nottingham Forest	Wolverhampton
	J.Richards 70' (pen.)		: Brazier 30' (o.g) F.Gray 63' (pen.) Palmer 66' (o.g.) Ponte 73'	Stadium: Molineux Attendance: 31,558

27 December 1980 25	Nottingham Forest	2–2	Aston Villa	West Bridgford
	Francis 41' O’Neill 88'		17' (o.g.) Lloyd 68' G.Shaw	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 33,930

10 January 1981 26	Ipswich Town	2–0	Nottingham Forest	Ipswich
	Mariner 53' Mühren 74'			Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 25,701

31 January 1981 28	Nottingham Forest	1–0	Everton	West Bridgford
	Burns 34'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 25,611

7 February 1981 29	Manchester City	1–1	Nottingham Forest	Moss Side
	Power 11'		55' Francis	Stadium: Maine Road Attendance: 39,524

18 February 1981 30	Stoke City	1–2	Nottingham Forest	Stoke
	Heath 51'		8' (o.g.) Doyle 56' Walsh	Stadium: Victoria Ground Attendance: 39,524

21 February 1981 31	Nottingham Forest	3–1	Arsenal	West Bridgford
	O’Neill 9' O'Neill 14' Burns 74'		29' Stapleton	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 25,357

28 February 1981 32	Leicester City	1–1	Nottingham Forest	Leicester
	Lynex 45'		90' Walsh	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 26,608

3 March 1981 33	Nottingham Forest	1–0	Middlesbrough	West Bridgford
	Burns 82'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 19,690

14 March 1981 34	Nottingham Forest	4–1	Brighton & Hove Albion	West Bridgford
	Robertson 30' (pen.) Wallace 38' Mills 52' Burns 69'		20' Stille	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 20,688

18 March 1981 35	Manchester United	1–1	Nottingham Forest	Greater Manchester
	Wallace 38'		44' K.Burns	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 38,205

21 March 1981 27 ^[a]	West Bromwich Albion	2–1	Nottingham Forest	West Bromwich
	Gunn 6' (o.g.) Deehan 81'		46' Mills	Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 19,269

28 March 1981 36	Nottingham Forest	2–1	Norwich City	West Bridgford
	T.Francis 53' T.Francis 54'		44' Fashanu	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 22,353

4 April 1981 37	Southampton	2–0	Nottingham Forest	Southampton
	Keegan 18' Channon 39'			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 22,712

11 April 1981 38	Nottingham Forest	0–0	Liverpool	West Bridgford
				Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 27,363

18 April 2021 39	Aston Villa	2–0	Nottingham Forest	Birmingham
	Cowans 29' (pen.) Withe 45'			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 34,707

20 April 1981 40	Nottingham Forest	1–0	Wolverhampton Wanderers	West Bridgford
	Francis 31'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 19,711

25 April 1981 41	Crystal Palace	1–3	Nottingham Forest	Selhurst
	Smillie 65'		32' S.Gray 44' Wallace 58' Aas	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 12,138

2 May 1981 42	Nottingham Forest	1–1	Coventry City	West Bridgford
	Robertson 43' (pen.)		24' Thompson	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 21,511

League Cup

Second round

27 August 1980 1	Nottingham Forest	3–0	Peterborough United	Nottingham
	Gray 87' Birtles 76' Robertson 47' (pen.)			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 16,117

3 September 1980 2	Peterborough United	1–1	Nottingham Forest	Peterborough
	Cooke 33'		28' Mills	Stadium: London Road Attendance: 11,503

Third round

23 September 1980	Bury	0–7	Nottingham Forest	Bury
			37' Anderson 5' Ponte 88' Ponte 66' Ponte 71' Birtles 89' Birtles 36' Mills	Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 8,828

Fourth round

28 October 1980	Watford	4–1	Nottingham Forest	Watford
	Blissett 41' (pen.) Jenkins 44', 55', 68'		74' Wallace	Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 22,597

FA Cup

Third round

3 January 1981	Nottingham Forest	3–3	Bolton Wanderers	Nottingham
	Ponte 83' Francis 32' Francis 68'		40', 54' Hoggan 69' Whatmore	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 22,920

6 January 1981 Replay	Bolton Wanderers	0–1 (a.e.t.)	Nottingham Forest	Nottingham
			113' Francis	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 22,799

Fourth round

24 January 1981	Nottingham Forest	1–0	Manchester United	Nottingham
	Francis 15'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 34,110

Fifth round

14 February 1981	Nottingham Forest	2–1	Bristol City	Nottingham
	Wallace 88' Robertson 83' (pen.)		40' Mabbutt	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 26,732 Referee: K Walmsley

Quarterfinals

7 March 1981	Nottingham Forest	3–3	Ipswich Town	Nottingham
	Francis 24' Walsh 41' Robertson 51' (pen.)		14' Mariner 23' (o.g.)Anderson (o.g) 83' Thijssen	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 34,796

10 March 1981 Replay	Ipswich Town	1–0	Nottingham Forest	Ipswich
	Mühren 67'			Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 31,060

European Cup

Round of 32

17 September 1980 1	CSKA Sofia	1–0	Nottingham Forest	Sofia
	Yonchev 70'	Report		Stadium: Natsionalen Stadion Vasil Levski Attendance: 60,000 Referee: Luigi Agnolin

1 October 1980 2	Nottingham Forest	0–1	CSKA Sofia	Nottingham
		Report	Kerimov 33'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 25,818 Referee: Walter Horstmann

European Super Cup

25 November 1980 1	Nottingham Forest	2–1	Valencia	Nottingham
	Bowyer 57', 89'	Report	Darío Felman 47'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 12,463 Referee: Alexis Ponnet

17 December 1980 2	Valencia	1–0 (2a-2 agg.)	Nottingham Forest	Valencia
	Fernando Morena 51'	Report		Stadium: Estadi Luis Casanova Attendance: 29,038 Referee: Franz Wöhrer

Intercontinental Cup

11 February 1981	Nacional	1–0	Nottingham Forest	Tokyo
	Victorino 10'	Report		Stadium: National Stadium Attendance: 62,000 Referee: Abraham Klein

Statistics

Players statistics

^[b]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Football League Division One		Football League Cup		FA Cup		European Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	ENG	Shilton	51	0	40	0	3	0	6	0	2	0
	DF	ENG	Anderson	41	1	31	0	3	1	5	0	2	0
	DF	SCO	Burns	39	5	30	5	3	0	5	0	1	0
	DF	ENG	Gunn	32	0	26	0	1	0	5	0
	DF	SCO	Gray	52	4	40	3	4	1	6	0	2	0
	MF	ENG	Mills	29	7	19+4	5	3	2	1	0	2	0
	MF	SCO	Walsh	19	5	14+1	4	0	0	4	1	0	0
	MF	SCO	McGovern	34	0	27	0	2	0	3	0	2	0
	MF	SCO	Robertson	50	9	38	6	4	1	6	2	2	0
	FW	ENG	Francis	24	11	18	6	0	0	6	5	0	0
	FW	ENG	Wallace	46	13	37	11	2	1	5	1	2	0
	GK	ENG	Sutton	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	NIR	O'Neill	28	3	18+3	3	3	0	2	0	2	0
	MF	ENG	Bowyer	25	3	17+2	3	3	0	1	0	2	0
	DF	ENG	Lloyd	23	0	17+1	0	2	0	2	0	1	0
	DF	ENG	Needham	23	0	17	0	3	0	1	0	2	0
	MF	ENG	Gray	17	0	13+1	0	0	0	3	0
	MF	SUI	Ponte	23	7	11+6	3	3	3	3	1	0	0
	FW	ENG	Ward	15	2	10+4	2	0	0	1	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Birtles	14	9	9	6	3	3	0	0	2	0
	DF	NOR	Einar Aas	6	1	5+1	1
	GK	ENG	Smelt	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	SCO	O'Hare	1	0	0	0	1	0
	DF	ENG	Kendal

Source: https://www.11v11.com/teams/nottingham-forest/tab/players/season/1981/

Notes

^ Match re-scheduled from 13 January 1981
^ The statistics for the following players are for their time during 1980–81 season playing for Nottingham Forest. Any stats from a different club during 1979–80 are not included. Includes all competitive matches.

References

^ "Today 30.5 Nottingham Soccer". 30 May 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
^ "Coventry City | Club | History | History | Hall of Fame". 22 July 2012. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
^ Football League career stats at Neil Brown
^ Mullan, Sean (27 June 2015). "Manchester United's transfer 'firsts'". Manchester United. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
^ Horner, Matthew (2009). He Shot, He Scored: The Official Biography of Peter Ward. ebookpartnership.com. ISBN 9780956276902.
^ "1977-1978". Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
^ Smales, Ken (1991). Forest – The First 125 Years. Nottingham: Temple Printing. ISBN 978-1870010092.
^ Attaway, Pete (2010). Nottingham Forest: Brian Clough and His Legacy - A Complete Record 1975 - 2010. Southend-on-Sea: Desert Island Book. ISBN 978-1905328833.

[6] Transferred in on 16 August 1980

[7] Transferred in on 16 August 1980

[8] Transferred in on 1 October 1980

[9] Transferred out on 15 October 1980

[10] Transferred out on 22 February 1981

[11] Transferred out on 15 January 1981

[12] Transferred out on 11 February 1981

[13] Transferred in on 4 April 1981

[14] Transferred out on 28 March 1981

[table_note_res_EC1RC0.76483372960465-18] Liverpool qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1980–81 European Cup winners.

[19] Match re-scheduled from 13 January 1981

[20] The statistics for the following players are for their time during 1980–81 season playing for Nottingham Forest. Any stats from a different club during 1979–80 are not included. Includes all competitive matches.

[1] "Today 30.5 Nottingham Soccer". 30 May 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2021.

[2] "Coventry City | Club | History | History | Hall of Fame". 22 July 2012. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2015.

[3] Football League career stats at Neil Brown

[4] Mullan, Sean (27 June 2015). "Manchester United's transfer 'firsts'". Manchester United. Retrieved 27 March 2018.

[5] Horner, Matthew (2009). He Shot, He Scored: The Official Biography of Peter Ward. ebookpartnership.com. ISBN 9780956276902.

[15] "1977-1978". Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2019.

[16] Smales, Ken (1991). Forest – The First 125 Years. Nottingham: Temple Printing. ISBN 978-1870010092.

[17] Attaway, Pete (2010). Nottingham Forest: Brian Clough and His Legacy - A Complete Record 1975 - 2010. Southend-on-Sea: Desert Island Book. ISBN 978-1905328833.

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