Nottingham derby
Encyclopedia
The Nottingham Derby is the name given to football
matches contested between Nottingham Forest
and Notts County
. Games between the two clubs are often referred to as Trentside Derbies because of Meadow Lane
and the City Ground
's proximity to the River Trent
.
The Nottingham Derby is not to be confused with The Nottinghamshire
derby between Notts County
& Mansfield Town
.
The first game contested between the two clubs was played in March 1866. It was Forest's first match as a football club and the result remains disputed. Some records claim that the game ended with 1-0 victory for Forest while others record a 0-0 draw.
The first competitive meeting in the FA Cup
came on November 16, 1878 and resulted in a 3-1 victory for Nottingham Forest. The first league game occurred on October 18, 1892 and resulted in a 3-1 victory for Notts County.
The biggest victory in derbies between the two clubs was 5-0, which was achieved by Forest on November 21, 1901 and again on October 10, 1953. County's biggest win was 4-1, which last occurred on February 12, 1953.
Nottingham
derbies were a fairly regular occurrence until the mid 1950s. Since then, games between the two clubs have become extremely rare with results between the clubs becoming more savoured by supporters, particularly those of Notts County
. Nowadays, the two sides rarely meet because they are in different divisions.
The last competitive Nottingham derby occurred on February 12, 1994 and resulted in a 2-1 victory for Notts County. Charlie Palmer
(or 'Sir' Charlie Palmer as he has been dubbed by Notts County fans) scored with just four minutes remaining and only ninety seconds after Forest had equalised.
The last Forest win was a few months prior, when Stan Collymore
scored late on at the City Ground
to secure victory for the Reds. Today, Forest and Notts County matches have occurred as pre-season matches at Meadow Lane. Forest won 2-1 on 30 July 2007 and 3-2 on 2 August 2008, but the final pre-season friendly to date occurred on 25 July 2009, resulting in a 2-1 for Notts County.
Today, rivalry is largely one-sided. Notts County fans see the supporters of Forest and the club in general as condescending and arrogant towards them. Furthermore, Notts fans have accused local media of being biased towards Forest, a claim that had some credibility after BBC Radio Nottingham
attempted to drop live coverage of their games in 2001 in favour of the Reds.
Forest fans consider Derby County
to be a more serious rival with matches between Derby and Forest being called the East Midlands derby
. Many Forest fans believe that Notts County supporters are 'bitter' and are jealous of their larger fanbase and more successful past.
Despite all this, relations between the fans is largely good natured and driven by the banter and gloating seen in most intra-city derby games. The fact that family members, friends, work colleagues and school mates support the respective sides means that even if rivalry is largely dormant, any Nottingham derby is taken incredibly seriously by both sets of supporters.
Forest fans like to taunt Notts County as 'our little brothers' in reference to the sheer gulf in support and success between the two clubs and often refer to Notts fans as 'the Bitters' or 'Sadpies', in reference to often one-sided nature of the rivalry. Meadow Lane
is often called 'Legoland
'.
The rivalry however is friendly, when Notts County went into administration Forest staff, fans and players donated generously to help their 'little brothers'.
But despite this, a 'friendly' match between the two sides in July 2007 at Notts County's Meadow Lane ground was marred by fighting on the pitch involving both sets of supporters after the final whistle.
The trouble led to arrests several months later and criminal convictions and bans for those involved.
For their part, Notts County supporters refer to Forest as 'the F word', a tongue-in-cheek suggestion that the word 'Forest' is ineffable or as Florist. Many Notts fans also avoid wearing red
('the bad colour') and refer to the City Ground
as the 'Shitty Ground'.
As in the Manchester derby
, an element of territorial technicality may come into play, since Meadow Lane is within the boundary of Nottingham city, while the City Ground, despite its name, lies beyond the city boundary at the Trent in West Bridgford
(though this boundary is rather strangely drawn).
. The two sides have contested games in a number of other competitions including the Nottinghamshire
County Cup (contested between the two Nottingham sides and Mansfield Town
) and the Anglo-Italian Cup
. The results and statistics from those games are not included below.
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
matches contested between Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
and Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...
. Games between the two clubs are often referred to as Trentside Derbies because of Meadow Lane
Meadow Lane
Not to be confused with The Meadow, home of Southern Football League Premier Division football team Chesham UnitedThe Meadow Lane Stadium is a football stadium in Nottingham, England...
and the City Ground
City Ground
The City Ground is a football stadium in the West Bridgford area of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898, and has a capacity of 30,602 ....
's proximity to the River Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
.
The Nottingham Derby is not to be confused with The Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
derby between Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...
& Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town F.C.
Mansfield Town Football Club is an English football club from the former mining town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The club was formed in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans and changed its name to Mansfield Wesley in 1906 before settling on Mansfield Town in 1910...
History
The two clubs are amongst the oldest football clubs in the World. County were formed in 1862 and are the oldest professional association football club in the world. Forest were formed three years later by a group of men playing the now largely unknown sport of BandyBandy
Bandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.The rules of the game have many similarities to those of association football: the game is played on a rectangle of ice the same size as a football field. Each team has 11 players,...
.
The first game contested between the two clubs was played in March 1866. It was Forest's first match as a football club and the result remains disputed. Some records claim that the game ended with 1-0 victory for Forest while others record a 0-0 draw.
The first competitive meeting in the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
came on November 16, 1878 and resulted in a 3-1 victory for Nottingham Forest. The first league game occurred on October 18, 1892 and resulted in a 3-1 victory for Notts County.
The biggest victory in derbies between the two clubs was 5-0, which was achieved by Forest on November 21, 1901 and again on October 10, 1953. County's biggest win was 4-1, which last occurred on February 12, 1953.
Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
derbies were a fairly regular occurrence until the mid 1950s. Since then, games between the two clubs have become extremely rare with results between the clubs becoming more savoured by supporters, particularly those of Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...
. Nowadays, the two sides rarely meet because they are in different divisions.
The last competitive Nottingham derby occurred on February 12, 1994 and resulted in a 2-1 victory for Notts County. Charlie Palmer
Charlie Palmer (footballer)
Charlie Palmer was a professional footballer who played in the 1980s and 90s for a variety of clubs in England at right back and latterly centre back....
(or 'Sir' Charlie Palmer as he has been dubbed by Notts County fans) scored with just four minutes remaining and only ninety seconds after Forest had equalised.
The last Forest win was a few months prior, when Stan Collymore
Stan Collymore
Stanley Victor "Stan" Collymore is an English football pundit and former footballer, who played from 1990 until 2001. He held the British transfer record when he moved from Nottingham Forest to Liverpool for £8.5 million in 1995 and was capped three times at senior level by the England...
scored late on at the City Ground
City Ground
The City Ground is a football stadium in the West Bridgford area of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898, and has a capacity of 30,602 ....
to secure victory for the Reds. Today, Forest and Notts County matches have occurred as pre-season matches at Meadow Lane. Forest won 2-1 on 30 July 2007 and 3-2 on 2 August 2008, but the final pre-season friendly to date occurred on 25 July 2009, resulting in a 2-1 for Notts County.
Today, rivalry is largely one-sided. Notts County fans see the supporters of Forest and the club in general as condescending and arrogant towards them. Furthermore, Notts fans have accused local media of being biased towards Forest, a claim that had some credibility after BBC Radio Nottingham
BBC Radio Nottingham
BBC Radio Nottingham is a BBC Local Radio station serving the English county of Nottinghamshire. It broadcasts on FM, AM, and digital DAB radio from studios located on London Road in Nottingham city centre.-Transmission frequences:...
attempted to drop live coverage of their games in 2001 in favour of the Reds.
Forest fans consider Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
to be a more serious rival with matches between Derby and Forest being called the East Midlands derby
East Midlands derby
This article is only about games featuring Nottingham Forest and Derby County. For games with either of those clubs against Leicester City, see Leicester City F.C. and Nottingham Forest F.C. rivalry or Derby County F.C. and Leicester City F.C. rivalry....
. Many Forest fans believe that Notts County supporters are 'bitter' and are jealous of their larger fanbase and more successful past.
Despite all this, relations between the fans is largely good natured and driven by the banter and gloating seen in most intra-city derby games. The fact that family members, friends, work colleagues and school mates support the respective sides means that even if rivalry is largely dormant, any Nottingham derby is taken incredibly seriously by both sets of supporters.
Forest fans like to taunt Notts County as 'our little brothers' in reference to the sheer gulf in support and success between the two clubs and often refer to Notts fans as 'the Bitters' or 'Sadpies', in reference to often one-sided nature of the rivalry. Meadow Lane
Meadow Lane
Not to be confused with The Meadow, home of Southern Football League Premier Division football team Chesham UnitedThe Meadow Lane Stadium is a football stadium in Nottingham, England...
is often called 'Legoland
Legoland
Legoland is a chain of Lego-themed theme parks. They are not fully owned by Lego Group itself; rather they are owned and operated by the British theme park company Merlin Entertainment.The chain currently consists of:* Legoland Billund...
'.
The rivalry however is friendly, when Notts County went into administration Forest staff, fans and players donated generously to help their 'little brothers'.
But despite this, a 'friendly' match between the two sides in July 2007 at Notts County's Meadow Lane ground was marred by fighting on the pitch involving both sets of supporters after the final whistle.
The trouble led to arrests several months later and criminal convictions and bans for those involved.
For their part, Notts County supporters refer to Forest as 'the F word', a tongue-in-cheek suggestion that the word 'Forest' is ineffable or as Florist. Many Notts fans also avoid wearing red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
('the bad colour') and refer to the City Ground
City Ground
The City Ground is a football stadium in the West Bridgford area of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898, and has a capacity of 30,602 ....
as the 'Shitty Ground'.
As in the Manchester derby
Manchester derby
The Manchester derby is the name given to football matches between Manchester City and Manchester United. The local derby centres on the City of Manchester and Greater Manchester with approximately four miles separating the clubs with City based in east Manchester at the City of Manchester Stadium...
, an element of territorial technicality may come into play, since Meadow Lane is within the boundary of Nottingham city, while the City Ground, despite its name, lies beyond the city boundary at the Trent in West Bridgford
West Bridgford
West Bridgford is a town in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, England. It lies immediately south of the city of Nottingham, delimited by the River Trent; this proximity means that it forms a continuous urban area with Nottingham, effectively makes West Bridgford a suburb of the city, and...
(though this boundary is rather strangely drawn).
Statistics
The two clubs have met a total of 94 times in the League, FA Cup and League CupFootball League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
. The two sides have contested games in a number of other competitions including the Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
County Cup (contested between the two Nottingham sides and Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town F.C.
Mansfield Town Football Club is an English football club from the former mining town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The club was formed in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans and changed its name to Mansfield Wesley in 1906 before settling on Mansfield Town in 1910...
) and the Anglo-Italian Cup
Anglo-Italian Cup
The Anglo-Italian Cup is a defunct European football competition that was played intermittently between 1970 and 1996 between clubs from England and Italy. Founded by Gigi Peronace in 1970, following the success of the Anglo-Italian League Cup, it was played as a professional tournament until 1973...
. The results and statistics from those games are not included below.
| County wins | Draws | Forest wins | |
|---|---|---|---|
| League | 28 | 23 | 35 |
| FA Cup | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| League Cup | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 30 | 24 | 40 |
Notts County in the league at home
| Date | Venue | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 October 1892 | Trent Bridge | First Division | |
| 9 October 1897 | Trent Bridge | First Division | |
| 8 October 1898 | Trent Bridge | First Division | |
| 11 November 1899 | Trent Bridge | First Division | |
| 26 December 1900 | Trent Bridge | First Division | |
| 16 November 1901 | Trent Bridge | First Division | |
| 26 December 1902 | Trent Bridge | First Division | |
| 28 November 1903 | Trent Bridge | First Division | |
| 25 March 1905 | Trent Bridge | First Division | |
| 4 November 1905 | Trent Bridge | First Division | |
| 4 April 1908 | Trent Bridge | First Division | |
| 21 November 1908 | Trent Bridge | First Division | |
| 8 January 1910 | Trent Bridge | First Division | |
| 3 September 1910 | Meadow Lane | First Division | |
| 25 December 1913 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 18 September 1920 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 5 November 1923 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 22 September 1923 | Meadow Lane | First Division | |
| 20 September 1924 | Meadow Lane | First Division | |
| 18 September 1926 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 22 February 1928 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 20 October 1928 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 4 January 1930 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 13 February 1932 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 8 October 1932 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 17 February 1934 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 29 September 1934 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 22 April 1950 | Meadow Lane | Third Division (South) | |
| 15 September 1951 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 30 August 1952 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 27 February 1954 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 12 February 1955 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 11 February 1956 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 20 October 1956 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 26 December 1974 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 25 March 1975 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 13 April 1976 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 9 April 1977 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
| 12 April 1982 | Meadow Lane | First Division | |
| 4 December 1982 | Meadow Lane | First Division | |
| 31 March 1984 | Meadow Lane | First Division | |
| 24 August 1991 | Meadow Lane | First Division | |
| 12 February 1994 | Meadow Lane | Second Division | |
Nottingham Forest in the league at home
| Date | Venue | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 February 1893 | Trent Bridge | First Division | |
| 4 September 1897 | Trent Bridge | First Division | |
| 4 February 1899 | City Ground | First Division | |
| 17 March 1900 | City Ground | First Division | |
| 24 November 1900 | City Ground | First Division | |
| 26 December 1901 | City Ground | First Division | |
| 15 November 1902 | City Ground | First Division | |
| 26 December 1903 | City Ground | First Division | |
| 26 November 1904 | City Ground | First Division | |
| 26 December 1905 | City Ground | First Division | |
| 7 December 1907 | City Ground | First Division | |
| 27 March 1909 | City Ground | First Division | |
| 4 September 1909 | City Ground | First Division | |
| 26 December 1910 | City Ground | First Division | |
| 31 December 1913 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 11 September 1920 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 14 November 1921 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 29 September 1923 | City Ground | First Division | |
| 24 January 1925 | City Ground | First Division | |
| 5 February 1927 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 17 September 1927 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 2 March 1929 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 7 September 1929 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 3 October 1931 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 18 February 1933 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 7 October 1934 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 9 February 1935 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 3 December 1949 | City Ground | Third Division (South) | |
| 10 October 1953 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 3 January 1953 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 10 October 1953 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 25 September 1954 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 1 October 1955 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 1 May 1957 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 3 March 1974 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 28 December 1974 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 30 August 1975 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 8 March 1977 | City Ground | Second Division | |
| 23 January 1982 | City Ground | First Division | |
| 23 April 1983 | City Ground | First Division | |
| 16 October 1983 | City Ground | First Division | |
| 11 January 1992 | City Ground | First Division | |
| 30 October 1993 | City Ground | Second Division | |
Results in Cup matches
| Date | Venue | Matches | Competition | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | |||
| 16 November 1878 | Trent Bridge | Notts County | Nottingham Forest | FA Cup FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's... |
|
| 8 November 1879 | Trent Bridge | Nottingham Forest | Notts County | FA Cup FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's... |
|
| 1 December 1883 | Trent Bridge | Notts County | Nottingham Forest | FA Cup FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's... |
|
| 26 November 1887 | Trent Bridge | Nottingham Forest | Notts County | FA Cup FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's... |
|
| 24 February 1894 | Trent Bridge | Nottingham Forest | Notts County | FA Cup FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's... |
|
| 3 March 1893 | Trent Bridge | Notts County | Nottingham Forest | FA Cup FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's... |
|
| 1 January 1978 | City Ground | Nottingham Forest | Notts County | League Cup Football League Cup The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis... |
|
| 8 August 2011 | City Ground | Nottingham Forest | 4-3 pens |
Notts County | League Cup Football League Cup The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis... |