Position: Central Defender. Born: Moss, Norway. Signed from: Bayern Munich, March 1981.
Debut: 28 March 1981 vs Norwich City Sold to: Released, July 1983.
A tall, talented Norwegian international, Aas (correctly pronounced "Orse", but the poor man never stood a realistic chance of that happening!) was signed by Brian Clough at the end of the 80-81 season in an attempt to replace the ageing Burns / Lloyd / Needham defensive combination that had stood Forest so well for the previous 3 years. In the few games that he did play, Aas looked a class act (modern readers should think more at the Sami Hyppia rather than the Jon Olav Hjelde end of the Scandinavian Central Defender Scale!). He was, however, badly injured in November of 1981 and never played for Forest (or anyone else) again. A great shame - he could have been a Des Walker 3 years ahead of the real thing.
Back to ... The Players : 1980-1981 : 1981-1982
Position: Midfield / Winger. Born: Oxford. Signed from: Oxford United, July 1985.
Debut: 3 March 1996 vs Sheffield Wednesday Sold to: Port Vale, March 1998.
Extremely quick, but something of a headless chicken, Allen was a winger who never really fulfilled his potential. This was principally because he was more than a little lightweight in the tackle and had an uncanny ability to pick out his mother-in-law in Row Z with a cross. Signed by Frank Clark after the departure of Collymore and Bohinen, it was hardly fair to expect him to replace either - but that was what the fans wanted.
Back to ... The Players : 1995 - 1996 : 1996 - 1997 : 1997 - 1998
Position: Midfield / Forward. Born: Cocody, France. Signed from: Grampus 8, March 1999.
Debut: 5 April 1999 vs Liverpool Sold to: Released, May 2001
One of several panic signings by the Large Orange Manager that was Ron Atkinson, Allou did at least differentiate himself from most of BFR's efforts by being potentially a half-decent player. The French Under-21 winger came on a Bosman from Paris St-Germain via Grampus 8, and is a skillful winger with a more than adequate shot. He also possessed the best goal celebration of any of his Forest contemporaries - a somersaulting number which put Peter Beagrie to shame.
Although highly popular with the fans (in the way the tricky skillful players always are), Allou failed to impress any of the coaching staff sufficiently to play more than a handful of games - though he cemented his popularity with the Trent End early in the hideous 99-00 season by scoring a brilliant goal against Mansfield in the Worthington Cup. There were persistent rumours of a bad attitude (doesn't like the cold, sulky - that sort of thing), and for whatever reason he hardly set the world alight in the reserves. David Platt made it pretty clear that Allou didn't feature in his plans, and he was duly let bought out of his (suspiciously long, Ron) contract in the summer of 2001.
Back to... The Players : 1998-1999 : 1999-2000
Position: Right back. Born: Nottingham. Signed from: Apprentice, August 1974.
Debut: 21 September 1974 vs Sheffield Wednesday Sold to: Arsenal, August 1984.
If Forest are ever to have a better right back than Viv, then he is going to have to be quite some player. Tall and rangy, he was universally known as "Spider" because of his long legs, which enabled him to win the ball cleanly in ever more unlikely situations. He was also quick, good in the air and no slouch when going forward - he scored a fantastic goal in the home demolition of AEK Athens during the first European Cup run, for instance.
A Nottingham lad, Viv signed professional forms and made his debut in 1974, when he was 18. By 1976 he had cemented his place in the promotion team, and 2 years later his consistent excellence for Forest's Championship winning side meant that he fully deserved the honour of being the first black player to win a full England cap.
After well over 400 games for Forest and a part in all of the great triumphs of his era, he left Forest for Arsenal in 1984. Eventually he became Alex Ferguson's first signing at Manchester United, before a series of injuries led to a free transfer to Sheffield Wednesday, where he finished his playing career. Needless to say, in the modern "Football only started with the Premiership" era, he is routinely referred to as "the ex-Arsenal & Man United full back", despite the fact that he actually won almost all of his honours playing for his home town club.
Viv briefly managed Barnsley, but his managerial career was mostly as Bryan Robson's no 2 at Boro. Given the fact that he is only 5 years older than Dave Beasant, who was actually playing until 2003, time would appear to be on his side if he ever wishes to branch out on his own again.
Truly one of the all-time great Forest players - a mere 96% of fans voted him into Forest's All-Time Greatest XI in 1997. One wonders quite what the other 4% were playing at!
Back to... The Players : 1974 - 1975 : 1975 - 1976 : 1976-1977 : 1977-1978 : 1978-1979 : 1979-1980 : 1980-1981 : 1981-1982 : 1982-1983 : 1983-1984
Position: Defender. Born: Nottingham. Signed from: Apprentice, August 1986.
Debut: 8 October 1986 vs Brighton & Hove Albion Sold to: Peterborough United, May 1988.
Defender who made a single substitute appearance for Forest, and that in the League Cup, before departing for Peterborough in May 1988, never to be heard of again.
Back to ... The Players : 1986 - 1987
Position: Defender. Born: South Shields. Signed from: Apprentice, June 1992.
Debut: 13 August 1997 vs Doncaster Rovers Sold to: Huddersfield Town, February 1999.
Opinions are very divided on the subject of "Spuggy" (after a character in Grange Hill, apparently).
A versatile defender who looked equally happy at full back or in the middle, many of us thought his sale to Huddersfield in February 1999 was yet another clue to the inadequacy of the Orange Atkinson fellow as a manager. It is not, after all, as though Forest have been overwhelmed with high quality full backs since his departure.
On the other hand, the Terriers' fans couldn't wait to see the back of him either, and he has drifted in a gentle downwards direction ever since, so maybe BFR saw something that the fans had missed. Currently plying his trade at Cheltenham Town.
Back to ... The Players : 1997 - 1998 : 1998 - 1999