Derby County and Nottingham Forest - A History

Article by e-Derby Correspondent Matt Elliott

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Derby County and Nottingham Forest have a rich history of rivalry, which dates back to 1892, in the days when footballs were made of concrete and transfer fees were three figure sums.

When the subject of football's fiercest local derbies comes up, it is usually Liverpool, Manchester, North London and Glasgow that dominate the conversation, yet the East Midlands derby can be as bitter as any of them.

Of course the very term 'local derby' comes from the town of that name - after the keenly fought street football matches played between different districts of Derby in the distant past.

Once football became organised in the later nineteenth century, this partisan spirit soon spread to the games between two of England's oldest league clubs.

The A52 derby has had many fiery encounters, which began back in 1898, when forest won the FA Cup 3-1. Yet what makes this derby more special is the fact both clubs are linked through the genius of Brain Clough.

The rivalry between the teams started to escalate when Clough appeared at Forest a few years after leading Derby to the first division title. The drama started with the signing of former Derby players in order to build his new side that would go on to become two time European Champions.

In 1982, when Peter Taylor came out of retirement to manage Derby, Taylor being Clough's long time assistant and best friend. The following January saw Derby and Forest drawn against each other in the FA Cup, with Derby coming out as 2-0 winners. Yet it was the failure of the two managers to shake hands at the end of the match that started the ancient grudge, turning it into the rivalry that it is now.

After this match and the signing of Forest winger John Robertson to Derby, the pair never spoke again and Clough famously declared, “We pass each other on the A52 going to work on most days of the week. But if his car broke down and I saw him thumbing a lift, I wouldn’t pick him up, I’d run him over.”

The bad blood between the former friends made the following meetings between the clubs much more spirited affairs and now when the two clubs meet they contest The Brain Clough Trophy in honour of Clough, as he had succeeded in transforming both clubs from Second Division also-rans into the Champions of England.

The East Midlands derby, more recently, has not been portrayed in a manner befitting the late Brain Clough. In 2009 a selection of Forest fans tried to shame Don Corleone by throwing a sheep’s head through a pub in Derbyshire and keeping to the aerial theme the following season Derby fans had a plane fly over the city ground with a banner reading “we only had 10 men”.

There was then the time Forest manager Billy Davies (ex Derby boss) accused Nigel Clough (former forest player and son of Brian) of a cowardly assault during a pitchside melee at The Ipro Stadium. There has been enough altercations and bad blood to fill an episode of Jeremy Kyle.

There has also been, in recent times, a few players deciding to trade the tree for the ram and vice-versa. Lifelong Forest fan Kris Commons refused to sign a new contract at the City Ground and joined Derby, becoming a hero for one area of the Midlands and Judas to another. Robbie Earnshaw then went in the opposite direction and scored numerous goals against his previous employers. Then there was Nathan Tyson, who took great pleasure in waving the Forest flag in front of the travelling Derby support, this sparking another pitch side brawl. He then signed for Derby 2 years later.

The last meeting between the two sides led to the dismissal of Nigel Clough and for him to be replaced by Steve McClaren, the former Forest manager and since has seen the Rams surge to 3rd place in the Championship with Forest in 5th, which could eventually see the two teams face each other in the playoffs at the end of the season.