Position: Winger Born: Hammersmith, 30 September 1971 Signed from: Leicester City (LOAN), February - May 2004 and then permanently June 2004
Debut: 14 February 2004 vs Walsall Sold to: Released 9 May 2005.
Veteran right-sided utility player - generally an industrious winger, though he'll do you a reasonable job at right back - signed on Joe Kinnear's first day at the club to bolster a team that was in free fall. Since we hadn't scored in open play in over 9 games, Imps' goal after 15 seconds of his debut must count as one of the most immediate impacts in Forest history, but in truth he wasn't brought here for his goals.
He gave us some sadly-lacking industry on the right of midfield, some powerful running and a never-say-die attitude, and was instrumental in turning that horrible 2003-04 season round; we lost only 2 of the 17 games after his arrival. We were therefore delighted when he opted to join us permanently later the same summer.
We ought to have known - with his contract secured, the industrious Impey seemed to disappear, to be replaced by the "Limpy Impey" of QPR legend. By the end of the season he was on loan at Millwall, and Forest were relegated.
Back to ... The Players : 2003-2004 : 2004 - 2005
Position: Forward Born: Halifax Signed from: Manchester United, July, 1995
Debut: 27 November 1995 vs Manchester United Sold to: Released, May 1997
Oh how excited we were when we signed this guy from United - he had been one of their great youth team which produced the likes of Giggs, Beckham and Scholes, so he had to be worth a look, didn't he?
Oh how we sighed when he turned out to be complete crap.
Back to ... The Players : 1995 - 1996
Position: Midfield Born: Belfast Signed from: Everton, October 1970
Debut: 17 October 1970 vs Coventry City Sold to: Manchester United, February 1975
Northern Irish international midfield player or full back who never seemed to be quite as good as he ought to have been. His pedigree was sound, he came from and went to good clubs, and he continued to win international caps throughout his time at Forest. But my abiding memory of him is of frustration - as a young boy I felt that players with those statistics should be better than Jacko was. This is almost certainly unfair - I am writing this after a gap of over 30 years, and my expectations were probably utterly unrealistic - none the less, his statistics of under 90 appearances in 5 seasons are not hugely impressive, so maybe I was right.
His periods in the first team were sporadic - a dozen games here and there, and often in assorted positions. He might have been injury prone (perhaps someone out there can remember and can remind me), but equally he was probably something of a utility player.
It is noticeable that he was one of the first men out of the door when Brian Clough arrived.
Back to ... The Players : 1970 - 1971 : 1971 - 1972 : 1972 - 1973 : 1973 - 1974 : 1974 - 1975
Position: Midfield Born: Southwark, 3 January 1980 Signed from: Gillingham, May 2004
Debut: 11 August 2004 vs Ipswich Town Sold to: -
An wide player with extreme pace signed during Joe Kinnear's first close season, James looked to have a touch of the Franz Carrs about him; pace to burn, lots of skill, sometimes questionable end product.
Alas, though he was, indeed, exceedingl;y quick, there didn't seem to be much more to him - though, to be fair, he didn't get very many chances to shine.
Gary Megson placed him on the transfer list in May 2005.
Back to ... The Players : 2004 - 2005
Position: Forward Born: Huyton Signed from: Preston North End, March 1988
Debut: 26 December 1989 vs Luton Town Sold to: Sheffield Wednesday, September 1991
Another talented player who never quite seemed to fulfill the potential he showed. Jemmo replaced Lee Chapman, and he kind of operated in fits and starts - 3 goals in consecutive games in January 1990, 9 goals in the opening 14 games of 1990-91, but away from these scoring sprees relatively long barren periods. It is difficult to say whether he would have benefited from a longer run in the team, or whether Clough realised that he was good but not quite good enough and that was why he didn't get the longer run. His most famous goal for us must have been the winner at Wembley in the 1990 League Cup.
Jemmo moved on to a nomadic but generally successful career all over the place - and at least had the sense of humour to react happily to the "Who ate all the pies?" songs on his return to the City Ground.
Close - but no cigar.
Back to ... The Players : 1989 - 1990 : 1990 - 1991 : 1991 - 1992
Position: Midfield Born: Nottingham, 18 February 1983 Signed from: Academy, July 2000
Debut: 6 January 2001 vs Wolverhampton Wanderers Sold to: Newcastle United, February 2002 (£5M)
One of the youngest, and probably the best, of the exceptional products of Paul Hart's Academy products to break into the first team, JJ made his debut in the FA Cup 3rd Round whilst still 17 (having been recalled from England's Under-17s to cover for the sick David Prutton. Though far from the finished article, he showed some serious promise, hitting the bar after less than 30 seconds.
At that stage it was still impossible to pin down where exactly he would play at first team level. Not because he was of doubtful quality - far from it - but because like many teenagers he was still developing physically; the 2000 version (lanky, slight, tall for his age) could become a brick shithouse by 2004 - who knew? What is sure is that he is stunningly quick (appearing to eat up the ground with a languid stride), a good passer, strong in the tackle and a regular goalscorer.
He reminded me of a raw version of Kieron Dyer, which was ironic, because that is precisely the comparison that Newcastle were obviously making as they signed JJ for £5M half way through the 2001-2002 season. From the evidence of his 32 games in the Garibaldi red, the Magpies have got themselves a bargain - a silky running, hard tackling, audacious, skllful and committed footballer of the very highest quality; the fact that they were happy to pay £5M for someone who was still a teenager tells its own story. Before his first full season for Newcastle was over, he found himself in the full England team and looked not remotely out of place.
Possibly his finest minute in Forest colours came early in the 2001-02 season during a tight tense home game vs Bradford City. Both sides were going for it in front of a full house in an evening match, but neither looked likely to break the deadlock until, with 10 minutes to go, JJ picked the ball up in front of what looked like a wall of Bantam defenders. A drop of the shoulder, two step-overs, a feint and a dummy later and he was on the other side of this bemused wall, quietly slipping the ball under the advancing keeper. Pure class.
He will undoubtedly play for his country for many years, fitness permitting, and all Forest fans wish him well, if through the slightly gritted teeth involved in watching the frustrating but inevitable sale of one of our prize assets to balance our dreadful financial situation. Only the knowledge that JJ's sale enabled the Academy - or even the club - to continue to exist, and that there were other exceptional talents coming through behind him, tempered the sense of depair at being forced to sell him so young.
Bon voyage, JJ. Shame we couldn't have seen you for a couple more season in the red & white.
Back to ... The Players : 2000 - 2001 : 2001 - 2002
Position: Defender Born: Sinj, Croatia Signed from: Oviedo, July 1996
Debut: 17 August 1996 vs Coventry City Sold to: Released, May 1999
A Croatian international, Jerkan clearly had talent - but he only ever really showed it before he came to Nottingham and after he left. Personally, I was left with the sneaking feeling that we might perhaps have persevered with him a bit longer, but he was with us at a turbulent time when we were changing managers like it was going out of fashion and were staring relegation in the face.
His single most positive contribution to our cause was riling Ian Wright sufficiently during Stuart Pearce's first game as player-manager to generate the red mists which got Wright sent off, allowing us to win 2-1. Probably not enough of a recommendation, I guess.
Back to ... The Players : 1996 - 1997
Position: Midfield Born: Aberdeen, 13 December 1970 Signed from: Bradford City, July 2002
Debut: 14 August 2002 vs Preston North End Sold to: Released, 9 May 2005.
Scottish International attacking midfield player who was the first proper signing in about 18 months when he arrived on a free during the Summer of 2002. He was, on the face of it, exactly what we needed in midfield at the time, bringing experience (he was 31), a bag-full of goals (he routinely got into double figures in a season at his previous clubs) and drive. Given the fact that he came to us as a result of Bradford City's dire financial problems, it made a nice change to benefit from dogy finances, rather than suffer from them.
In the event his first season was disappointing, despite scoring on his debut. Jess clearly had skill, an eye for a pass and (especially) excellent finishing ability - but he also tended to disappear from games too often, when what we needed was someone to stamp his authority on a game. Inevitably, this being Forest, some of the crowd turned against him quickly, but many refused to write him off, and he had a brief new lease of life with the arrival of Joe Kinnear.
However, Kinnear wasn't much longer for us, Jess spent much of the time injured, and Forest were relegated; Jess was one of 12 players whose contracts were not renewed by Gary Megson as the 2004-05 season ended.
Back to ... The Players : 2002 - 2003 : 2003 - 2004 : 2004 - 2005
Position: Forward Born: Trinidad, 30 October 1976 Signed from: Columbus Crew, November 1999
Debut: 24 November 1999 vs Portsmouth Sold to: Birmingham City, February 2002
David Platt spent a considerable period chasing this guy in the early part of 1999-2000, and the fans were getting restless. It was obvious to the most casual of supporters that we were crying out for a striker, and the rumblings were getting loud as the transfer dragged on and on.
For a while it looked as though Platt was right to wait - Stern was a decent player and a fair bargain given the crazy state of the transfer market at the time. Unfortunately he arrived at Forest knackered at the end of a long MLS season, and at a time when we were not exactly generating loads of chances. Even so, in his early games he showed many flashes of obvious class - but unfortunately succeeded merely in peppering the woodwork rather than the net. He then got injured, missed 3 months and came back (in desperate times in April 2000) when quite clearly only about 30% fit. Even in that sluggish state he looked a cut above most of our other strikers.
2000-2001 was a disaster for Stern; he picked up another injury playing for Trinidad & Tobago in pre-season, and we didn't see him for months as recovery and then gaining physical fitness appeared to drag on and on and on. Eventually he did return, but clearly he was still less than 80% fit, and confidence was nowhere to be seen as he ceased making the runs to get himself into position, stopped his trademark snap shooting from distance, and generally looked a very pale shadow of the player we'd seen when he arrived. Not only was his own confidence shot, but clearly the manager's confidence in him was dented, and the fans agreed - they'd deny it, of course, when he was scoring, but many of the anti-Platt persuasion were heard citing Stern as yet another failure in the transfer market.
On the face of it, a Stern John / David Johnson partnership ought to have been very bad news indeed for First Division defenders; instead they were a damp squib. Not that Stern didn't keep his side of the bargain, scoring 14 goals in 21 starts and generally looking the player we thoght we'd bought in the fist place. However, Johnson's wretched form meant that, as a partnership, they never took off together.
By the end of January Stern was moved on to Birmingham City, where he continued to score goals at a respectable rate without setting the world on fire. Alas we never saw what he could have achieved in tandem with the fully functioning Johnson that appeared the season after he'd gone.
In the end he never quite lived up to his initial promise while he was at Forest. He is a decent player, but not the full-on goal machine that we wanted and his reputation suggested.
Back to ... The Players : 1999 - 2000 : 2000 - 2001 : 2001 - 2002
Position: Midfield Born: Bristol, 2 May 1974 Signed from: Norwich City, July 1997
Debut: 9 August 1997 vs Port Vale Sold to: West Bromwich Albion, September 2001
Hmmm. Difficult one, this. Johnno is undoubtedly talented, he was popular with the fans, he certainly tries hard. By the time he left Forest, however, his commitment (not to mention his opinion of his own abilities) had long overtaken his talent as a footballer.
When Johnno was signed from Norwich he came into an increasingly confident and settled side, and his box-to-box running and especially his ability to get beyond the strikers on dangerous runs into the box were a major asset. He was called up for Wales (he is from Bristol, but must have gone to Cardiff on holiday once, or something) and the world seemed to be his oyster.
The 1998-99 season, however, was a step backwards; the entire Forest side was patently not good enough pretty much from the outset, so it was hard for anyone to shine very much. Then he was injured for the start of 99-00.
When he did come back he certainly improved matters - at least when things had settled. The trouble is he seemed to have become carried away with the all-action 110% commitment style at the expense of any subtlety, and especially at the expense of those dangerous sorties into the box. In my eyes, at least, this made him a lesser player than he was, though the Trent End didn't sound as though they agreed with me.
2000-01 again saw him injured for much of the time, and there emerged a growing suspicion that he was not quite as good as he at first appeared. Given fitness and an adjustment in attitude, he could still have reproduced his early promise... The alternative was what actually happened; he became a less talented Paul Ince (too much snarl and not enough football) - the poor man's Robby Savage.
Paul Hart's arrival seemed to throw him completely - he seemed to resent having to compete for places with teenagers (though they all looked to be more talented footballers even then), and there were strong rumours that his drinking club culture didn't fit in at all with the new regime.
For whatever reason, anyway, he threw his toys out of the pram before the very first game under Hart, refusing to sit on the substitutes' bench. He moved on to the Baggies, for a nominal fee, not much mourned by the fans.
My own memory of Johnson is encapsulated up by the perfect description of a friend of mine; "that man has the first touch of a chicken in wellingtons".
Back to ... The Players : 1997 - 1998 : 1998 - 1999 : 1999 - 2000 : 2000 - 2001 : 2001 - 2002
Position: Winger Born: Lisburn, 18 November 1978 Signed from: Blackburn Rovers (LOAN), January 1998
Debut: 31 January 1998 vs Oxford United
Damien came to us on a month's loan during the Bassett promotion season to fill in on the right for the injured Steve Stone. He looked quick and dangerous, and the fans would have liked us to get him permanently. Blackburn were not selling for any price.
Back to ... The Players : 1997- 1998
David Johnson
Position: Centre Forward Born: Kingston, Jamaica, 15 August 1976 Signed from: Ipswich Town, January 2001 (£3,000,000)
Debut: 13 January 2001 vs Crystal Palace Sold to: Sheffield United (LOAN) 10 March 2005
After several weeks of an ever-lengthening injury crisis, continued sluggish form from Stern John and an apparently endless series of misses from the (at the time) exasperating Marlon Harewood, Forest somehow still managed to enter 2001 hanging onto the edge of the Play-Off Zone. It had been apparent to all for weeks, however, that we couldn't rely on the midfield to score all of our goals for ever - but there was the minor stumbling block of the club having no money because of the imminent Scholar-Markham Court Case.
So it was a major boost to everyone's morale when, out of the blue, the club managed to find some additional finance from somewhere and sign DJ. Johnson's 22 goals had been a giant contribution to Ipswich Town's promotion push in 1999-2000 and it was less than a year since figures like £6M had been routinely bandied about. Johnson, however, lost his place to Marcus Stewart at Ipswich, and was fed up with languishing on the bench.
However, the man who had been bought to boost that season's run towards the play-offs simply failed to show up for about 18 months. He didn't look entirely fit, he was (to be fair to him) getting some pretty abject service (he is only about 5'7", yet we went through a period of hoofing it up the middle for him to lose in the air), and in particular he appeared to miss playing off a target man like, say, Jamie Scowcroft. All the same, there were signs of an understanding developing between him and Stern John as the season drew to its anti-climactic close.
Which made the 2001-02 season all the more of a mystery; he was quite simply abject. There were persistent rumours of injury, but he still seemed to make the team sheet each week, and each week he played the same - promising movement, zero end product. It didn't take the fans long to notice and, though he still had his defenders who remained convinced that he would soon settle into a 25 goals a season man, most of us wondered how he'd ever scored any goals for Ipswich at all, given his apparent inability to hit the proverbial cow's arse with a banjo. On top of that, of course, he was on a high salary, which was simply not worth paying if he wasn't doing the business. He went off to Wednesday on loan (where he scored a few), and then on a longer loan to Burnley, where he scored a few but not enough (they missed out on the play-offs by a single goal). Luckily for us, in view of what followed, Burnley couldn't raise the money to buy him outright.
Somehow over the summer of 2002, then, Johnno took a long hard look at himself. On his return for pre-season training he had a 'clear the air' meeting with Paul Hart, and from the very start of the season he looked a different player; sharp, pacy and intelligent (though, briefly, with a nightmare of a 70s perm that made him look like a refugee from Earth Wind & Fire). The difference was illustrated after only 4 minutes of our second home game (he having already scored in the first one). The ball was worked through the middle and arrived at DJ's feet on the edge of the box, and from the moment it arrived he never looked like missing. Where the previous season-and-a-half would have seen him take a couple of touches and make a hash of it, now he simply looked up, picked his spot and rifled the ball unerringly into the far corner.
The Ipswich version was well-and-truly back; Johnno finished the season with 29 goals from 45 starts (which compares pretty favourably with the 5 he'd scored in his first 45!). He also laid on a fair number of the 21 goals scored by his partner, Marlon Harewood. Alas, it was not quite enough - Forest lost narrowly in the Play-Off semis, Johhno cementing his popularity with the fans by leaving the pitch in floods of tears, apparently inconsolable.
The following season started well and included a memorable goal against Norwich City when, as the keeper (Green) surveyed his options after a Forest attack had petered out, Johnno sneaked up behind him, waited for him to put the ball down and calmly walked it around him into the net. Alas things went horribly wrong ain the very next game when he broke his leg badly in the most innocous of challenges. He was out for 6 months, during which time Forest missed him very badly, even seriously flirting with relegation and changing the manager.
By the time Johnno returned, to thunderous acclaim, in truth Forest were already safe, but he helped cement the good feel to the end of 2003-04 by scoring 5 goals in 4 games on his return.
The following season - disaster; the sluggish version we'd seen in DJ's early time in Nottingham was well and truly back! What had happened in the close season wasn't clear, but Johnno looked a stone heavier (especially round the arse region), sluggish and out of sorts; symptomatic, in fact, of many of his colleagues. There were flashes, notably in a two-goal performance at West Ham (though we still lost...) but generally Johnson looked a spent force. There were persistent rumours of dodgy knees - but we've heard that before, too, and his hasn't stopped him from performing.
He certainly didn't appear to take to the Gary Megson regime - there was a public falling out pretty early on - and it was no surpise that DJ was placed on the transfer list in May 2005. Alas, given his dismal season, it was no great surprise when no-one came in for him either.
Top bloke, hugely popular... but in truth, he has produced one outstanding season and 4 pretty darn average ones. The truth is that he is probably a player who needs to be loved by his managers - only one of ours has managed that, and we've seen what happens when he's unhappy.
Back to ... The Players : 2000 - 2001 : 2001 - 2002 : 2002 - 2003 : 2003 - 2004 : 2004 - 2005
Position: Defender Born: Gosport Signed from: Bournemouth, August 1974
Debut: 17 August 1974 vs Bristol City Sold to: Norwich City, September 1975
Central defender signed in the dark days of Allan Brown. He was OK, but definitely lower division clogger material. Clough came in and kept him for the rest of that season, but then quietly got rid and we never saw him again.
Back to ... The Players : 1974 - 1975
Position: Midfield / Forward / Defender Born: Chester, 10 May 1975 Signed from: Tranmere Rovers, July 2000
Debut: 12 August 2000 vs West Bromwich Albion Sold to: Tranmere Rovers, August 2002
Utility player (he played up front, in midfield and at the back for Tranmere) who was David Platt's sole signing in the summer of 2000. Jonah rapidly became a figure of derision from the fans - he was tall but only average in the air, ungainly and above all spectacularly slow - watching him get a 5-yard start on Henning Berg (that well-known speedster!) against Blackburn, yet still be caught within 15 yards as though he was wearing old fashioned diving boots, would have been comic had it not been so sad.
None the less, he was not the complete and utter donkey that many would have you believe; in certain games - usually the physical ones where we needed a certain presence in the centre (preferably on a pudding of a pitch where everyone else descends to Jonah's speed!), he did a good job for us as a combative midfield player with rather more skill than his gangly frame might suggest. Even Paul Hart recognised that, praising his professional attitude and even playing him once or twice in static roles when injuries forced a change - he even scored a goal (albeit against the division's whipping boys, Stockport County). Sure, he was no Hoddle or Maradona and we were not going to sell him for megabucks to Barca, but that is not the point. He was a squad utility player who can hold the ball up well, mix it with some of the division's more robust midfielders, and pass the ball well going forward.
And, lest we forget, he was a free transfer. To coin a phrase, he did exactly what it says on the tin.
Back to ... The Players : 2000 - 2001 : 2001 - 2002
Position: Midfield Born: Cork, 10 August 1971 Signed from: Cobh Ramblers, May 1990
Debut: 28 August 1990 vs Liverpool Sold to: Manchester United, July 1993
Brian Clough's final legacy to football - Keane is now so well known after the odd mildly successful season with Manchester United that many people outside Nottingham have conveniently forgotten the fact that it was Forest who discovered him.
Even when Clough first thrust Keane into the first team as a teenager, it was obvious that he was something special - basically, he has the lot. Great tackler, good in the air, tireless worker, crisp passer and no mean finisher. His only defect is his temperament, which needless to say is indulged at Old Trafford in a way which would be inconceivable to an old school manager like Cloughie - it is impossible to imagine a Clough-managed Keane chasing a ref half way round the City Ground, snarling at him for having the temerity to give a clear penalty! But then that's Man United for you.
Keane helped Forest to reach the FA Cup final in his first season, but thereafter the team was gradually in decline - 2 seasons later we were abjectly relegated. During that season Keane showed his versatility by giving some consumate displays in central defence.
Unfortunately, he soured his inevitable departure from the City Ground with some stupid shirt-kissing antics and professions of love for the club which he clearly had no intention of sticking to in the days before he left. The fans believed him (well, they wanted to, didn't they?), but in fact Keane couldn't pack his bags fast enough. That performance, coupled with the fact that he is the sort of player that all opposition fans love to hate, means that he always gets a frosty reception when he returns to Nottingham.
There is simply no denying, however, that he is a truly great player. He played less than 3 seasons for us and left when he was under 22, but he still got twice as many votes as his nearest rival to get into the Centenary All-Time Greatest Forest side alongside Martin O'Neill and Archie Gemmill.
Back to ... The Players : 1990 - 1991 : 1991 - 1992 : 1992 - 1993
Position: Defender Born: Birtley Signed from: Apprentice, July 1981
Debut: 10 April 1982 vs Wolverhampton Wanderers Sold to: Chesterfield, December 1982
A single appearance at the back deputising for the injured Viv Anderson in April 1982. Then the delights of Chesterfield.
Back to ... The Players : 1981 - 1982
Position: Midfield Born: Bristol Signed from: Apprentice, August 1991
Debut: 26 September 1993 vs Bolton Wanderers Sold to: Wigan Athletic, July 1994
Another player who made but a single appearance as a young professional, but this time he made something of himself since. Wiganwere not a bad side even in the early 1990s, and Kilford, still only in his twenties, made something of a name for himself as a cultured midfield player in the lower leagues.
Back to ... The Players : 1993 - 1994
Position: Forward Born: Dulwich, 26 April 1980 Signed from: Gillingham, November 2003
Debut: 29 November 2003 vs West Bromwich Albion Sold to: Watford, 12 July 2005 (6-month loan with a view to buy)
Forward signed to replace his namesake Harewood. He arrived with an exciting reputation (both on and off the pitch - he had a spell inside whilst at Gillingham!).
He hardly pulled up any trees in his first season, and the jury remained firmly out - he doesn't do himself any favours with his body language when things aren't going well. On the other hand, he clearly has a lot of ability, and he wouldn't have been be the first player to take a while to settle at Forest, as his strike partner David Johnson will be able to tell him. Occasionally we glimpsed his undoubted ability - a sublime curled goal against West Ham, for instance - but all too often he looked mardy, slow and petulant.
What is certain is that attitude counts for a lot in the Gary Megson regime - and strangely enough Marlon2's didn't seem to be cutting it. It was no surprise to anyone when he was sent to Leeds on loan shortly after the acquisition of Scott Dobie and then put on the transfer list in May 2005. At the time of writing there don't seem to be legions of managers battering down the gates of the City Ground to get to him.
Without a shadow of a doubt we should have stuck with the other one.
Back to ... The Players : 2003 - 2004 : 2004 - 2005