‘We hate Nottingham Forest, we hate Everton too, we hate Man United, but Liverpool, we love you.’
There’s a catchy little chant that’s echoed round the terraces since the late 1960s! Supporters could substitute different names, of course, but that version had particular bite for Forest and Liverpool fans in the late 70s. Last Saturday’s match between the two teams – neither of whom are firing on all cylinders at the moment – produced, nevertheless, a full-blooded battle.
Forest’s 1-0 victory inevitably tickled the memory cells in me and recollections of previous City Ground encounters against the visitors from Merseyside.
I don’t go back to 1895 but fixture lists do and a 3-0 home victory is logged against Liverpool in a First Division fixture. For the record, that’s exactly thirty years after the club’s formation at a meeting in the Clinton Arms on Shakespeare Street (I knew they’d be touched by poetry somehow!) when club colours were decided with the purchase of a dozen ‘Garibaldi red’ tasselled caps. Anyhow, that win set the tone for a decent record for Forest when the two sides met in Nottingham.
Fast-forward, though, and things, unsurprisingly, really warm-up in rivalry-terms in the 70s. Liverpool are the dominant side in England and, towards the end of the decade, across the continent as two-time winners of the European Cup. Their meeting with Forest – newly promoted back into the First Division – at the City Ground in 1977 ends in a 1-1 draw. The gauntlet has been thrown down by the Clough-Taylor team, especially when Forest win the League Cup final against Liverpool after a replay at Old Trafford. The following season’s league fixture in Nottingham also ends in stalemate but, by this time, Forest are league champions.
The rivalry is now full-blown. That chant takes on extra resonance for Liverpool fans. Everton, as local rivals, are always going to be on their ‘hate’ list. Manchester United, as a nearby city with a dominant club, is also an obvious candidate for acrimony. Forest, though, have seemingly come from nowhere. They’ve taken the league crown and they’re about to go one better. Good enough reason to ‘hate’ (as used in football parlance) these Reds.
In the 1978-79 season, Forest, famously, supplant Liverpool as European Champions. In the process, they meet the current holders en-route. When Forest take a 2-0 lead for the second leg to Anfield Road and earn a 0-0 draw, it’s clear that they are the new force in football. It also adds to the impressive record being garnered at the City Ground against Liverpool. Nottingham becomes Liverpool’s nemesis!
For one reason or another, I miss the league fixtures until the April game at Forest in 1981. Confidence still flows through the city like the Trent: inexorably. It’ll be a close-fought game but Liverpool will be put to the sword again. Such is the feeling in our family. Such is the level of confidence! We all have tickets – including now-regular-attender Mum – and then, days before, I’m stricken-down with tonsillitis. Come match-day, I’m still bed-ridden, raging temperature and all, so watch my parents set off to meet friends in a pub. I drink pints of water, take my penicillin and feel sorry for myself. I try walking around the house, the garden. I reason I might be fine: short walk to bus stop, sit, short wobbly-walk to the ground and then a seat. My ticket sits on the kitchen table and beckons.
‘You look like death warmed-up,’ says my mum, after she’s got over the shock of my appearance next to her. Dad offers a sniff from his whisky flask which I decline. I’m light-headed enough. The City Ground is in full-song to the final whistle. It’s a 0-0 draw and that’s about all I remember. By evening, I’m back in bed but these were times not to be missed. Impressive results followed when Liverpool came to town. And even since the advent of the Premiership, in 1992, Forest remain undefeated in the league at home to their once-mighty rivals.
So, a home game against Liverpool is a cue for opening the floodgates of memories, mostly happy. Even last year’s closely-fought FA Cup loss was a match to remember as chances fell to both teams and Forest were not outplayed. Nor were they this past week. That was a timely victory, given the Reds’ struggles for a home win of any sort. Whether or not it proves to be one of those proverbial ‘turning points’ is another matter. ‘Take each game as it comes,’ as they say.
*Article provided by Stephen Parker (Nottingham Forest Correspondent).
*Main image @NFFC Scott McKenna tussles with Mo Salah during Saturday’s victory.
