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- 24/25 Season Preview 20 in 20 - Nottingham Forest
24/25 Season Preview 20 in 20 - Nottingham Forest
6 of 20 - Forest/The Reds
nick lochner
July 31, 2024
The 2024/25 Season kicks off Friday August 16 when Fulham travel to Man United.
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2023/24 Finish - 17th Place |
Sleeping giants. NF is a medium sized club in the midlands who have won cups and been generally good and very consistent having spent 57 seasons in the top league, 58 in level 2 and only 5 in level 3. However, it was a long dry spell for The Reds prior to the last two seasons having been out of the PL since 1999. The fan base is great, and home matches at City Ground are considered one of the best game day experiences you can have. If things start to click, this club has the chance to contend for Top 10 year in and year out.
The Right Down Year. Only ONE time (1998) in the history of the PL (which started in 1992) have all three recently promoted teams gone straight back down to the Championship. That happened for a second time last season with Burnley, Luton Town and Sheffield United - and all three deserved to go back down. That was good news for Forest who finished one spot above relegation finishing with just 32 points. They did endure a Financial Fair Play point deduction of 4. Most other years and Forest would be preparing for another season in The Championship.
Fan Favorite. Forest started the season with Steve Cooper as manager, a fan favorite, but ownership made a decision to replace him in December with Nuno Espirito Santo. Nuno did not get any more out of the team than Cooper, but he does now have experience with the club heading into this season. Will be interesting when Forest and Leicester City play each other as Cooper was recently hired by the Foxes.
Lots to be done. Forest is an odds-on relegation contender, and they will need to see some improvement from their returning players and get a lift from a relatively quiet transfer window. Will Nuno be around the full season? Will they be active in the transfer window? Will they make the moves throughout the season to improve? They will need to if they want to stick in the EPL.
The Club
Located in West Bridgeford suburb of Nottingham (East Midlands) City Ground, 30,000 capacity Rough estimates $160M Annual Revenue $70M Player Payroll (14th in PL)  History on the Pitch
OwnershipEvangelos Marinakis earned a his $3B+ in Shipping and is the Founder of Capital Maritime & Trading, Greece. Also owns Greek club Olympiacos. In 2018, Marinakis was charged with drug trafficking as one of his ships was found with over 2 tons of heroin worth $70M. NFFC Chairman, Nicholas Randall wrote an open letter to supporters reaffirming his support of Marinakis. In 2021 it was determined there was no evidence implicating Marinakis. | Sponsorship
 Home Shirt Biggest Rival - Millwall
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The Culture
Forest has won titles (but not since the 1970s), have a big fanbase, and great tradition. It's just been out of the spotlight stuck in The Championship. Much of the personality of the club is tied to Brian Clough, “the spiky, provocative and great self-aggrandizer” whose personality put a mark on English Football. Clough brought a brash style for close to 20 years, with success. Forest fans definitely have a “preferred-style” of play - to play beautiful soccer - described by Clough as “aiming for utopia”. Current manager Steve Cooper’s team plays this way, out of the back with precision passing and quick build ups.
The fans have been unwavering and hope this third season back in the PL is not a launching pad. This slogan on a 40-yard banner hung by supporters on the first level grandstand sums up a Forest fan - “Nottingham Forest. No matter what. We’ll be behind you. And will never stop.”
Garibaldi RedAt the founding of the club in 1865, the decision was made to honor Giuseppe Garibaldi, an Italian general who led the Red Coats Freedom Fighters in battle and was populate in England at the time. Forest was the first club to officially wear red. Arsenal’s red kits are a result of Forest who donated red kits to them at the founding of their club. Supporters You May Recognize
   Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem | SongMade famous by Paul McCartney and Wings, the song was released in 1977 and adopted by Forest fans in 1978 when they won the top league title. “City Ground, Oh mist rolling in from the Trent, My desire is always to be here, Oh City Ground. Far have I travelled and much have I seen Goodison, Anfield are places I've been. Maine Road, Old Trafford still echo to the sound, Of the boys in the red from the City Ground.”  Game Day Pub Guide Tent Bridge Inn |
Fan Sites
According to the AI tool COPILOT - here is an image of a Forest fan at City Ground, based on Wiki’s description of a Forest Supporter.
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Official Twitter@NFFC High Follows on Twitter @NFFC_Live (21k) @NFFCNA (3k) @Forest_Review (22k) @Official_NFSC (6k) @ForestWatch_ (9k) |
The Team
The Gaffer
 Nuno ODDS
| Roster NotesFull Roster click link Projected to finish 17th Americans on the team (as of July 28)
Interested in playing Fantasy Soccer? Here are the basics. Typical teams have a budget of $100M and 15 players - $6.7M per player.
Goalkeeper
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City Ground
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