NOTTINGHAM FOREST THE 1970's

FOREST
It seemed as if the manager was vindicated,
when the players hit the ground running and
demolished Luton 4-0 in the seasons opener
at the City Ground. Tommy Jackson who
had replaced the injured John Robertson,
chipped in with two, one of them from six
yards out, after his shot somehow found
its way through the entire Luton team on
the goaline after an indirect free kick was
touched to him. McKenzie and Martin
completed the scoring. The manager also
preferred Cottam and Serella as his defensive
partnership, whilst O’Kane kept out Peter
Hindley at right back.
Another promising performance in the
second game, but no points after Lyall
made a bad mistake at Oxford, but this was
followed by another home win over Sheffield
Wednesday, 2-1 and a couple of goals for
McKenzie. John Galley was a surprise choice
in midfield, as Mackay shuffled the pack.
The away form, as it always seemed to be
at Forest, was causing concern. Another
year gone by without a win. Two different
approaches were taken in the next couple of
fixtures to remedy this. Firstly at Hull, the
manager packed the midfield, even bringing
back Hindley in to the team to break up play.
The result was a not unexpected 0-0 draw.
For the next game away at West Brom he
reverted to his more preferred attacking
style, which resulted in a 3-3 draw, this after
going two goals behind and then being 3-2
up, before having to settle for a point. Two
more for McKenzie, was he finally to become
the star his talents always promised?
Forests reward for this promising start
was fourth place and this was further
consolidated after another two McKenzie
goals were enough to defeat Swindon, in
what was considered by the manager to
be the worst display of the season. They
could even have gone second three days
later as they entertained a poor Preston
side managed by Bobby Charlton, but could
only draw 1-1 and as frustrations rose Neil
Martin was sent off for dissent in the 87th
minute.
Dave Mackay told the press he had instructed
all the coaches at the club to analyse the clubs
playing system to see where improvements
could be made.
The good start to the season had pleased
supporters but there was still concern about
the prospects of young players at the club.
This came to the fore after Alan Buckley was
sold to Walsall after starting only five games
for the first team. Alan went on to score over
two hundred League goals during his career.
‘Do the Reds hold young players back’ wrote
M Smith, Wollaton.
The club was again linked with Swindons left
back Rod Thomas, John Winfield remembers
the banter, ’I always sat at the front of the bus
and some of the lads thought it was funny
to keep shouting out Rod Thomas, as if he
was sat at the back with them, I told them
he would cost the club a lot of money and
wouldn’t improve the team a jot’. Another
link with the past was broken when Barry
Lyons, who had not regained his best form,
joined York City, initially on loan.
A couple of goalless away games followed,
including a loss to Bolton, after another
terrible back pass led to a goal, this time
Paul Richardson was the culprit, before the
team returned to winning ways with another
convincing 3-0 defeat of Millwall and the
now regular brace from McKenzie.
Eamon Dunphy wrote about this encounter
in his best selling book ‘Only a game’. ‘The
lads have got the needle with them, they
were doing nothing until Frankie (Saul)
got sent off and then suddenly they are
buzzing around taking the mickey. They had
looked a load of bottlers, we’ll stuff them on
Wednesday’.
He was referring to the fact that the two
clubs had been drawn to play each other in
the League Cup. As it turned out, he was
right, but not until a replay, after the first
game at the Den had ended 0-0, Millwall
winning 3-1 at the City Ground.
After the promising start to the season,
results and performances now began to slip
and worse still, Dave Mackay was about to
resign as manager and join Derby County.
Brian Cloughs relationship with Rams
chairman Sam Longson had been
deteriorating rapidly. Initially the two
had been close, but as Cloughs media
appearances grew and he became an ever
more controversial figure, the chairman
felt he had to rein him in and told Clough
that he had to get club permission before
doing any activity that might reflect in any
way on the club or its image. Of course
Clough reacted badly to this, he thought
that Longson was jealous and wasn’t slow
in reminded him that neither the club or
himself were anything until he had arrived.
Things came to a head during a heated
boardroom meeting that ended with Clough
and Taylor both offering their resignations,
never thinking they would be accepted, but
they were. Despite player and fan protests,
the Derby chairman stuck to his guns and
cast around for a manager big enough to fill
the boots of Brian Clough. He settled on
Dave Mackay, a former fans favourite. Forest
realized they couldn’t stand in his way and
after Mackay was offered the job, they agreed
to release him, but they were to receive no
compensation, because the manager was not
under contract.
Just as it seemed that the Reds had turned
their fortunes around, they were now forced
to look for not only a new manager, but also
a whole new backroom staff, as they too all
followed Mackay to Derby.
The image that Dave Mackay projected,
perhaps did not live up to the reality as
George Lyall explains. ’From the outside he
gives the impression of being a hard man, he
certainly was on the pitch, but as a manager
he was quieter, more considered, sometimes
I think he let players get away with things
he shouldn’t have, perhaps handing out a
few more bollockings was in order, but the
players certainly didn’t think the season
would collapse after he left. Dave loved
playing in the 5 a sides and even then you
could see what a quality player he must have
been’.
Duncan McKenzie recalls the effect he had
on him. ‘I was loaned out to Mansfield by
Dave, but after he had heard a few good
reports about where and how I was playing,
he came to see for himself. I then returned
to the Forest team and my role had changed.
86 NOTTINGHAM FOREST IN THE 1970s
NOTTINGHAM FOREST IN THE 1970s 87