NOTTINGHAM FOREST THE 1970's

fee, so you had to wait for the club to make
the first move’.
As the clubs position worsened so did
the behavior of the fans. Violence erupted
in the Cup game away at Millwall and the
following game against Leicester City, before
culminating in a day of trouble at home
to Tottenham. The Evening Post reported
that Forest fans had gone on the rampage
attacking Spurs fans and coaches in the
Cattle Market car park, there were also
several stabbings.
Inside the ground there were further
demonstrations against the board and
manager in front of the Main Stand.
Chairman Jack Levy told the press that he
had to persuade Matt Gillies not to resign
after the Leicester defeat, here was a man
who was clearly in touch with the fan base.
Ian Moore told the Football Post that he had
patched up his differences with the Club
after a clear the air meeting, but he was
worried that his reputation might have been
harmed.
The players had been taken to
Bournemouth for a few days before the
Tottenham home game, this was a typical
Forest ruse from years gone by, they had to
try something to get a change. They were not
joined by John Winfield who explains why.
‘I had lost my place to Tommy Gemmell and
the manager told me I wasn’t going to be
part of his plans. Burnley came in with an
offer for me and we agreed terms and I was
to wait for the paperwork to be completed. I
thought it was a done deal and began saying
my goodbyes, but the phone never rang and
then I picked up the papers and saw that
they had signed Keith Newton from Everton
and nothing ever was said and I just went
back to training at Forest. I had always had
an up and down relationship with the fans,
eventually I thought I had won them over,
but during that relegation season there was a
lot of blame thrown around’.
Due to an injury to Gemmell, John was
brought back for the away defeat to Derby, as
the Reds were totally outclassed, although he
did leave his mark on Kevin Hector as brutal
challenge provoked a free for all amongst
the players. This game turned out be the
last time that Ian Moore pulled on the red
shirt of Nottingham Forest, finally calling
time on his career at the City Ground, but
his transfer virtually ensured that the clubs
stay in the top flight was over.
The transfer or non transfer of Ian
Moore to Derby has gone down in folklore,
so I think that there is only one person who
can absolutely give the definitive story, over
to Ian.
‘ The club had finally given the go ahead
for my transfer and Liverpool, Everton,
Arsenal, Man Utd and of course Derby
came in for me. It eventually narrowed
down to a race between Man Utd and Derby
with United the favourites. I went off to
Old Trafford to discuss terms, which were
quickly agreed, but word came through that
the two clubs couldn’t agree a fee, so the deal
was off. Brian Clough got wind of this and
he immediately arranged a meeting at the
Walton Hotel on the Friday. Matt Gillies
and Ken Smales went down with me but
they disappeared sharpish before Cloughie
appeared. You must appreciate I had never
before negotiated a deal like this, I was
on my own. Brian Clough swaggered in,
everything was going to great, just sign this
contract and we will fill the details in later.
He then said he was off to the City Ground to
get Ken Smales to complete the paperwork,
whilst I should remain where I was until he
returned. Unknown to me, Forest had now
got cold feet about the deal, as fans had got
wind of where I was going and they refused
to complete the deal. When Brian returned
he acted as if everything had gone through
and he took me away to the Railway Hotel
in Derby where the team often stayed before
games. He was attempting to cocoon me
away and force Forests hand. The next day,
all the papers were full of deal off stories, but
again Brian assured me everything was OK
and I would be presented to the crowd as a
Derby player that afternoon. Now I know
I can be accused of naivety, rightly so, but
who was I to believe? Looking back now
it is embarrassing to look at those pictures.
After the game I was again taken back to
the Railway Hotel to spend the night, before
the next day, everybody realized the game
was up and I went back home to Bingham.
On Monday I received a call from Matt
Busby saying Forest had agreed terms and
we should get together to conclude a deal,
which we did’.
It was not an incident that reflected well
on all parties. Forest reported Brian Clough
to the League and he was fined and warned
over future behavior, whilst Forest in turn
received a cheque for £180,000 rather than
the £200,000 they had agreed with Derby.
As for the relationship between Ian Moore
and Brian Clough let Ian finish the story,
’He never forgave me, he blamed me for not
standing my ground, whereas he basically
hung me out to dry, he thought he could get
away with any old stunt. If he ever had to
acknowledge me, it used to include a word
beginning with B and ending in D’.
By selling Ian Moore the club had
virtually resigned itself to relegation.
During the negotiations with Manchester
United they had tried to persuade one of
their players to move the other way, but to
no avail and when you look at the paucity
of their squad you were only likely to get a
lightweight anyway, so transfer deadline day
passed with no additions, what Forest had
was what they had to go with.
Bad luck continued to dog the Reds,
in the away encounter at West Brom, Barry
Lyons recalls the referee telling the players
he was going to abandon the match, but after
Albion scored just on half time, he reneged
on that and the second half was completed
in farcical conditions.
Life after Moore began with a 2-0 home
defeat to Ipswich in front of only 9,000 fans.
The mood wasn’t helped when the stadium
announcer informed everyone that Ian had
scored on his debut. In another terrible
statistic the only Forest player apart from Ian
Moore to score in 1972 was Paul Richardson.
Ronnie Rees who had left Forest to return to
Wales with Swansea was quoted in an article
saying that it was like being at a holiday
camp and that there was no discipline, a far
KEEPERS UNDER
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58 NOTTINGHAM FOREST IN THE 1970s
NOTTINGHAM FOREST IN THE 1970s 59