19th century In 1865 a group of
shinty players met at the Clinton Arms (now renamed The Playwright) at the junction of Nottingham's Shakespeare Street and North Sherwood Street. J. S. Scrimshaw's proposal to play association football instead was agreed and Nottingham Forest Football Club was formed. It was agreed at the same meeting that the club would purchase twelve tasselled caps coloured '
Garibaldi Red' (named after the leader of the
Italian 'Redshirts' fighters). Thus the club's official colours were established. Matches were originally played at
Forest Racecourse, historically part of
Sherwood Forest and the presumed source of the word 'Forest' in the team's name. From 2019 to 2023, Nottingham Forest claimed to be the oldest remaining club in the
English Football League. In 2019, when
Notts County were relegated from the league,
Stoke City claimed to be the oldest remaining club, but football historian
Mark Metcalf stated that Stoke was formed in 1868, rather than the 1863 date on the club's badge, and therefore Forest was the oldest club. The EFL also stated that Nottingham Forest was the oldest. Forest's first ever official game was played against
Notts County taking place on 22 March 1866. On 23 April 1870, when the team played their first game in league play, the steward of the club was John Lymberry and
William Henry Revis scored the first goal. On that day, Revis also won the prize for kicking a football furthest with a kick of 161 feet 8 inches. In their early years Nottingham Forest were a
multi-sports club. As well as their roots in
bandy and shinty, Forest's
baseball club were
British champions in 1899. Forest's charitable approach helped clubs like
Liverpool,
Arsenal and
Brighton & Hove Albion to form. In 1886, Forest donated a set of football kits to help Arsenal establish themselves – the North London team still wear red. Forest also donated shirts to
Everton and helped secure a site to play on for Brighton. In 1878–79 season, Nottingham Forest entered into the
FA Cup for the first time. Forest beat Notts County 3–1 in the first round at Beeston Cricket Ground before eventually losing 2–1 to Old Etonians in the semi-final.
First half of 20th century Forest lost FA Cup semi-finals in 1900 and 1902. They finished fourth in the
1900–01 Football League followed with fifth place the season after. The club then started to slide down the table. Forest were relegated for the first time in 1905–06.
Grenville Morris had his first of five seasons as the club's highest scorer en route to becoming the all-time club highest goalscorer with 213 goals. Promotion as champions was immediate in 1906–07. The club was relegated a second time to the Second Division in 1911, and had to seek re-election in 1914 after finishing bottom of that tier; as the
First World War approached it was in serious financial trouble. The outbreak of the War, along with the benevolence of the committee members, prevented the club going under. In a turnaround from the first six seasons struggling back in the Second Division, Forest were promoted as champions in 1921–22. They survived each of the first two seasons back in the top flight by one position. In the third season after promotion they were relegated as the division's bottom club in 1924–25. They remained in the second tier until relegation in
1949 to the
Football League Third Division.
Re-emergence then decline (1950–1974) They were quickly promoted back two years later as champions, having scored a record 110 goals in the 1950–51 season. They regained First Division status in 1957. Club record appearance holder
Bobby McKinlay played in the final winning team captained by
Jack Burkitt. By this time, Forest had replaced Notts County as the biggest club in Nottingham.
Johnny Carey assembled a team including
Joe Baker and
Ian Storey-Moore that for a long spell went largely unchanged in challenging for the
1966–67 Football League title. They beat title rivals
Manchester United 4–1 at the City Ground on 1 October. The 3–0 win against
Aston Villa on 15 April had Forest second in the table, a point behind United. Injuries eventually took effect, meaning Forest had to settle for being League runners-up and losing in the FA Cup semi-final to
Dave Mackay's
Tottenham Hotspur. Clough brought
Jimmy Gordon to be his club trainer, as Gordon had been for him at Derby County and Leeds. Scottish centre-forward
Neil Martin scored the only goal in Clough's first game in charge, beating Tottenham Hotspur in an
FA Cup third round replay.
Ian Bowyer was already at Forest and had won domestic and European trophies with
Manchester City. Clough signed Scots duo
John McGovern and
John O'Hare in February, who both were part of Clough's Derby County
1971–72 Football League title win. He signed
Colin Barrett in March, initially on loan. Clough brought
John Robertson and
Martin O'Neill back into the fold after they had requested transfers under Brown. The young
Tony Woodcock was at Forest but was then unrated by Clough and was to be loaned to
Lincoln City. Forest were 13th in English football's second tier when Clough joined. They finished that season 16th. Forest signed
Frank Clark in July of that close season on a free transfer. The season after, Forest finished eighth in Clough's
1975–76 Football League first full season in charge.
Peter Taylor on 16 July 1976 rejoined Clough, becoming his assistant manager, as he had been when winning the league at Derby. Taylor berated
John Robertson for allowing himself to become overweight and disillusioned. He got Robertson on a diet and training regime that would help him become a European Cup winner. Taylor turned Woodcock from a reserve midfielder into a 42 cap England striker. In September 1976, he bought striker
Peter Withe to Forest for £43,000, selling him to
Newcastle United for £250,000 two years later. Withe was replaced in the starting team by
Garry Birtles who Taylor had scouted playing for non-league
Long Eaton United. Birtles also went on to represent England. In October 1976 Brian Clough acting on Peter Taylor's advice signed
Larry Lloyd for £60,000 after an initial loan period. Together, Clough and Taylor took Forest to new heights. The first trophy of the Clough and Taylor reign was the
1976–77 Anglo-Scottish Cup. Forest beat
Orient 5–1 on aggregate in the two-legged final played in December 1976. On 7 May 1977,
Jon Moore's own goal meant Forest in their last league game of the season beat
Millwall 1–0 at the City Ground. This kept Forest in the third promotion spot in the league table and dependent on
Bolton Wanderers dropping points in three games in hand in the fight for third place. On 14 May
Kenny Hibbitt's goal from his rehearsed free kick routine with
Willie Carr gave Wolves a 1–0 win at Bolton. Bolton's defeat reached the Forest team mid-air en route to an end of season break in
Mallorca. Forest started their return to the top league campaign with a 3–1 win at
Everton. Three further wins in league and cup followed without conceding a goal. Then came five early September goals conceded in losing 3–0 at
Arsenal and beating Wolves 3–2 at home.
Peter Shilton then signed for a record fee for a goalkeeper of £325,000. Taylor reasoned: "Shilton wins you matches." 20-year-old
John Middleton was first team goalkeeper pre-Shilton. Middleton later in the month went in part exchange with £25,000 to
Derby County for
Archie Gemmill transferring to Forest. Gemmill was another Scottish former 1972 Derby title winner. Forest lost only three of their first 16 league games, the last of which was at Leeds United on 19 November 1977. They lost only one further game all season, the 11 March FA Cup sixth round defeat at
West Bromwich Albion. This made Clough the third of four managers to win the
English league championship with two different clubs. Forest conceded just 24 goals in 42 league games.
Chris Woods chalked up two clean sheets in the final, covering Shilton's League Cup absence. McGovern missed the replay through injury, meaning Burns lifted the trophy as deputising captain. Robertson's penalty was the only goal of the game. Forest started season 1978–79 by beating
Ipswich Town 5–0 for an
FA Charity Shield record winning margin. 26-year-old Barrett suffered a serious leg injury ten days later against
Middlesbrough that ultimately ended his professional career two years later. On 9 December 1978, Liverpool ended Forest's 42 match unbeaten league run dating back to November the year before. The record stood until surpassed by
Arsenal in August 2004, a month before Clough's death.
Arsenal played
49 league games without defeat. In February 1979, Taylor authorised the English game's first £1 million transfer signing
Trevor Francis from
Birmingham City. In the European Cup semi-final first leg at home against
1. FC Köln, Forest were two goals behind after 20 minutes, then scored three to edge ahead before Köln equalised to start the German second leg ahead on the
away goals rule.
Ian Bowyer's goal in Germany put Forest through.
Günter Netzer asked afterwards, "Who is this McGovern? I have never heard of him, yet he ran the game." Forest beat
Malmö 1–0 in Munich's
Olympiastadion in the
1979 European Cup final; Francis, on his European debut, scored with a back post header from Robertson's cross. Forest beat
Southampton in the final 3–2 to retain the League Cup; Birtles scored twice, as did Woodcock once. Forest finished second in the
1978–79 Football League, eight points behind Liverpool. , Brian Clough and
John Robertson in 1980 Forest declined to play in the home and away
1979 Intercontinental Cup against Paraguay's
Club Olimpia. Forest beat
Barcelona 2–1 on aggregate in the
1979 European Super Cup in January and February 1980,
Charlie George scoring the only goal in the home first leg, while Burns scored an equaliser in the return in Spain. In the
1979–80 Football League Cup Forest reached a third successive final. A defensive mix up between Needham and Shilton let Wolves'
Andy Gray tap in to an empty net. Forest passed up numerous chances, losing 1–0. In the
1979–80 European Cup quarter-final, Forest won 3–1 at
Dinamo Berlin to overturn a 1–0 home defeat. In the semi-final, they beat
Ajax 2–1 on aggregate. They beat
Hamburg 1–0 in the
1980 European Cup final at Madrid's
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium to retain the trophy; after 20 minutes, Robertson scored, after exchanging passes with Birtles, and Forest then defended solidly. Forest finished fifth in the
1979–80 Football League. In the
1980–81 European Cup first round, Forest lost 2–0 on aggregate to 1–0 defeats home and away by CSKA Sofia. On 11 February 1981, Forest lost 1–0 in the
1980 Intercontinental Cup against Uruguayan side,
Nacional. The match was played for the first time at the neutral venue
National Stadium in
Tokyo before 62,000 fans. The league and European Cup winning squad was broken up to capitalise on player sale value. Clough and Taylor both later said this was a mistake. John McGovern and Peter Shilton transferred and Jimmy Gordon retired in the same close season. Anderlecht went unpunished until 1997, when UEFA banned the club from European competitions for one year. Guruceta Muro died in a car crash in 1987. Forest beat
Sheffield Wednesday on penalties in the
Football League Centenary Tournament final in April 1988 after drawing 0–0. Forest finished third in the league in 1988 and made the
1987–88 FA Cup semi-finals.
Stuart Pearce won the first of his five successive selections for the
PFA Team of the Year. On 18 January 1989, Clough joined the fray of a City Ground pitch invasion by hitting two of his own team's fans when on the pitch. The football authorities responded with a fine and touchline ban for Clough. The match, against QPR in the
League Cup, finished 5–2 to Forest. Forest beat Everton 4–3 after extra time in the 1989
Full Members' Cup final, then came back to beat Luton Town 3–1 in the
1989 Football League Cup final. This set Forest up for a unique treble of domestic cup wins, but tragedy struck a week after the League Cup win. Forest and Liverpool met for the second season in a row in the FA Cup semi-finals. The
Hillsborough disaster claimed the lives of 97 Liverpool fans. The match was abandoned after six minutes. When the emotional replay took place, Forest struggled as Liverpool won 3–1. Despite these trophy wins, and a third-place finish in the First Division, Forest were unable to compete in the
UEFA Cup, as English clubs were still banned from European competitions following the
Heysel Stadium Disaster.
Des Walker won the first of his four successive selections for the PFA Team of the Year.
Nigel Jemson scored as Forest beat
Oldham Athletic 1–0 to retain the League Cup in 1990. English clubs were re-admitted to Europe for the
following season, but only in limited numbers, and Forest's League Cup win again did not see them qualify. The only
UEFA Cup place that season went to league runners-up
Aston Villa. Brian Clough reached his only
FA Cup final in 1991 after countless replays and postponements in the third, fourth and fifth rounds. Up against
Tottenham Hotspur, Forest took the lead from a Pearce free kick, but Spurs equalised to take the game to extra-time, ultimately winning 2–1 after an own goal by Walker.
Roy Keane declared himself fit to play in the final and was selected in preference to
Steve Hodge; years later, Keane admitted he had not actually been fit to play, hence his insignificant role in the final. In the summer of 1991,
Millwall's league top scorer
Teddy Sheringham became Forest's record signing, for a fee of £2.1 million.
That season, Forest beat Southampton 3–2 after extra time in the Full Members' Cup final, but lost the
League Cup final 1–0 to Manchester United thanks to a
Brian McClair goal. This meant that Forest had played in seven domestic cup finals in five seasons, winning five of them. Forest finished eighth in the league that season to earn a place in the new
FA Premier League. Walker transferred to
Sampdoria during the summer of 1992. On 16 August 1992, Forest beat Liverpool 1–0 at home in the first-ever Premier League game to be televised live, with Sheringham scoring the only goal of the match. A week later, Sheringham moved to Tottenham. Forest's form slumped, and Brian Clough's 18-year managerial reign ended in May 1993 with Forest relegated from the inaugural
Premier League. The final game of that season was away at Ipswich. Forest lost 2–1 with Clough's son, Nigel, scoring the final goal of his father's reign. Forest finished third in
1994–95 and qualified for the
UEFA Cup – their first entry to European competition in the post-
Heysel era. Collymore then transferred in the 1995–96 close season to
Liverpool for a national record fee of £8.5million. Forest reached the
1995–96 UEFA Cup quarter-finals, the furthest an English team reached in UEFA competition that season. They finished ninth in the league. The
1996–97 season quickly became a relegation battle. Clark left the club in December.
Stuart Pearce and Dave Bassett (1997–1999) 34-year-old captain
Stuart Pearce was installed as player-manager on a temporary basis just before Christmas in 1996 and he inspired a brief upturn in the club's fortunes. However, in March 1997 he was replaced on a permanent basis by
Dave Bassett and left the club that summer after 12 years. Forest were unable to avoid relegation and finished the season in bottom place. They won promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt, being crowned Division One champions in 1997–98. Bassett was sacked in January 1999, with
Ron Atkinson replacing him.
Into the 21st century below the top-flight (1999–2012) Ron Atkinson was unable to prevent Forest from once again slipping back into Division One, and announced his retirement from football management when Forest's relegation was confirmed on 24 April 1999, with three weeks of the Premier League season still to play. Former England captain
David Platt succeeded Atkinson and spent approximately £12 million on players in the space of two seasons, including the Italian veterans
Moreno Mannini,
Salvatore Matrecano and
Gianluca Petrachi. However, Forest could only finish 14th in Platt's first season and 11th in his second. He departed in July 2001 to manage the
England U21 side and was succeeded by youth team manager
Paul Hart. Now faced with huge debts, which reduced Forest's ability to sign new players, they finished 16th in Hart's first season in charge. By December 2001, Forest were reported as losing over £100,000 every week, and their financial outlook was worsened by the collapse of
ITV Digital, which left Forest and many other Football League clubs in severe financial difficulties. Despite the off-field difficulties, Forest finished 2002–03 in sixth place and qualified for the
play-offs, where they lost to
Sheffield United in the semi-finals. A poor league run the following season, following the loss of several key players, led to the sacking of
Hart in February 2004 with Forest in danger of relegation. The decision was unpopular with certain quarters of the fanbase and Hart was described as a "scapegoat".
Joe Kinnear was subsequently appointed and led the club to a secure 14th place in the final league table. The 2004–05 season saw Forest drop into the relegation zone once more, leading to Kinnear's resignation in December 2004.
Mick Harford took temporary charge of Forest over Christmas, before
Gary Megson was appointed in the new year. Megson had already won two promotions to the Premier League with his previous club
West Bromwich Albion, having arrived at the club when they were in danger of going down to Division Two, but failed to stave off relegation as the club ended the season second from bottom in 23rd place, becoming the first European Cup-winners ever to fall into their domestic third division. In Forest's first season in the English third tier in 54 years, a 3–0 defeat at
Oldham Athletic in February 2006 led to the departure of Megson by "mutual consent" leaving the club mid-table only four points above the relegation zone.
Frank Barlow and
Ian McParland took temporary charge for the remainder of the 2005–06 season, engineering a six-match winning run and remaining unbeaten in ten games, the most notable result a 7–1 win over
Swindon Town. Forest took 28 points from a possible 39 under the two, narrowly missing out on a play-off place, as they finished in 7th place.
Colin Calderwood, previously of
Northampton Town, was appointed as Forest's new manager in May 2006. He was their 12th new manager to be appointed since the retirement of Brian Clough 13 years earlier, and went on to become Forest's longest-serving manager since Frank Clark. The Calderwood era was ultimately one of rebuilding, and included the club's first promotion in a decade. In his first season, he led the club to the play-offs, having squandered a 7-point lead at the top of
League One which had been amassed by November 2006. Forest eventually succumbed to a shock 5–4 aggregate defeat in the semi-finals against
Yeovil Town; they had taken a 2–0 lead in the first leg at
Huish Park, but were then beaten 5–2 on their own soil by the
Somerset club. Calderwood achieved automatic promotion in his second year at the club, following an impressive run which saw Forest win six out of their last seven games of the season, culminating in a dramatic final 3–2 win against
Yeovil Town at the
City Ground. Forest kept a league record of 24
clean sheets out of 46 games, proving to be the foundation for their return to the second tier of English football and leaving them just one more promotion away from a return to the Premier League. However, Calderwood's side struggled to adapt to life in the Championship in the
2008–09 campaign and having been unable to steer Forest out of the relegation zone, Calderwood was sacked following a
Boxing Day 4–2 defeat to the Championship's bottom club
Doncaster Rovers. Under the temporary stewardship of
John Pemberton, Forest finally climbed out of the relegation zone, having beaten
Norwich City 3–2.
Billy Davies, who had taken Forest's local rivals Derby County into the Premier League two seasons earlier, was confirmed as the new manager on 1 January 2009 and watched Pemberton's side beat
Manchester City 3–0 away in the FA Cup, prior to taking official charge. Under Davies, Forest stretched their unbeaten record in all competitions following Calderwood's sacking to six matches, including five wins. He also helped them avoid relegation as they finished 19th in the
Championship, securing survival with one game to go. Forest spent most of the
2009–10 campaign in a top-three position, putting together an unbeaten run of 19 league games, winning 12 home league games in a row (a club record for successive home wins in a single season), going unbeaten away from home from the beginning of the season until 30 January 2010 (a run spanning 13 games) whilst also claiming memorable home victories over local rivals Derby County and
Leicester City. The club finished third, missing out on automatic promotion, and in the two-legged play-off semi-final were beaten by
Blackpool, 2–1 away and 4–3 in the home leg, the club's first defeat at home since losing to the same opposition in September 2009. and other key members of the 2010 play-offs side The 2010–11 season saw Forest finish in sixth place in the Championship table with 75 points, putting them into a play-off campaign for the fourth time in the space of eight years. Promotion was yet again to elude Forest, as they were beaten over two legs by eventual play-off final winners
Swansea City. Having drawn the first leg 0–0 at the City Ground, they were eventually beaten 3–1 in the second leg. In June 2011,
Billy Davies had his contract terminated, and was replaced as manager by
Steve McClaren, who signed a three-year contract. Forest started the 2011–12 season with several poor results and after a 5–1 defeat away to
Burnley,
David Pleat and
Bill Beswick left the club's coaching setup. Less than a week later, following a home defeat to
Birmingham City, McClaren resigned, and chairman
Nigel Doughty announced that he intended to resign at the end of the season.
Nigel Doughty, owner and previous chairman of the club, died on 4 February 2012, having been involved with the club since the late 1990s, with many estimating his total contribution as being in the region of £100 million.
Al-Hasawi era (2012–2017) The Al-Hasawi family from Kuwait purchased the club in July 2012. They told the press that they had a long-term vision for the club based on a 3–5 year plan, and after interviewing several potential new managers, appointed
Sean O'Driscoll, formerly the manager at Doncaster Rovers and Crawley Town, as the manager on 19 July 2012. He was known for playing an attractive brand of passing football (which had taken Doncaster Rovers into the league's second tier for the first time since the 1950s) and what football fans would consider the Forest way. with his brother Abdulaziz Al-Hasawi holding a 20% share and his cousin Omar Al-Hasawi holding a 5% share. On 26 December 2012, O'Driscoll was sacked following a 4–2 victory over Leeds United, with the club stating their intentions of a change ahead of the January transfer window and hopes of appointing a manager with Premier League experience, eventually hiring
Alex McLeish. Chief executive Mark Arthur as well as scout Keith Burt and club ambassador Frank Clark were dismissed in January 2013. On 5 February 2013, Forest and McLeish parted company by mutual agreement after 40 days of cooperation. Forest supporters and pundits alike registered their concern for the state of the club, with journalist
Pat Murphy describing the situation as a "shambles". returned as manager in 2014. Two days after McLeish's departure, the club re-appointed Billy Davies as manager, having been sacked as the team's manager twenty months previously. His first match in charge was a draw, followed by a run of 10 undefeated games. In March 2014, the club terminated Davies's employment, following a 5–0 defeat by Derby County. After initially rejecting the job in March 2014, fans favourite
Stuart Pearce was named the man to replace Billy Davies, taking over from caretaker manager
Gary Brazil. He signed a two-year contract commencing on 1 July 2014. Pearce led Forest to an unbeaten start to the season but failed to keep up the form. He was sacked in February 2015 and replaced by another former Forest player,
Dougie Freedman. Another mid-table finish meant that Forest began the 2015–16 season still in the Championship and now in their 17th season away from the Premier League. On 13 March 2016, Freedman was sacked, following a 3–0 defeat at home to
Sheffield Wednesday, and
Paul Williams was then appointed as temporary manager. Former
Boulogne,
Valenciennes,
Real Sociedad, and
Rennes head coach
Philippe Montanier was appointed on a two-year contract on 27 June 2016 becoming the club's first manager from outside the British isles, but was sacked after fewer than seven months in charge.
Mark Warburton was named as the club's new manager on 14 March 2017. Forest narrowly avoided relegation on the final day of the 2016–17 season, where a 3–0 home victory against
Ipswich Town ensured their safety at the expense of
Blackburn Rovers.
Evangelos Marinakis and Premier League return (2017–present) On 18 May 2017,
Evangelos Marinakis completed his takeover of Nottingham Forest, bringing an end to Al-Hasawi's reign as Forest owner. Incumbent manager Mark Warburton was sacked on 31 December 2017 following a 1–0 home defeat to struggling
Sunderland, with a record of one win in seven. He was replaced by Spaniard
Aitor Karanka, who arrived on 8 January 2018, immediately after caretaker manager
Gary Brazil had masterminded a 4–2 home win over holders
Arsenal in the third round of the FA Cup. Karanka made 10 new signings during the January transfer window, and following a 17th-place finish, he made 14 new signings during the summer transfer window and the following season results improved. Despite a strong league position, Karanka left his position on 11 January 2019 after requesting to be released from his contract. He was replaced with former Republic of Ireland boss
Martin O'Neill four days later. O'Neill was sacked in June after reportedly falling out with some of the senior first team players, and was replaced with
Sabri Lamouchi on the same day. In Lamouchi's first season in charge, despite spending most of the season in the playoffs, Forest dropped to seventh place on the final day. On 6 October 2020, Lamouchi was sacked by the club following a poor start to the 2020–21 season. He was replaced by former Brighton manager
Chris Hughton. After an ultimately unsuccessful 11 months in charge, Hughton was sacked on 16 September 2021 after failing to win any of the club's opening seven games of the 2021–22 season. Forest chairman Nicholas Randall had initially promised that Forest planned to return to playing European football within five seasons, and yet poor transfers and a toxic club culture meant that Forest remained in the Championship four years into the Marinakis era. In the summer of 2021, structural changes were made at the club to try and correct the previous mistakes. Forest appointed Dane Murphy as Chief Executive, and
George Syrianos was brought in as head of recruitment to bring about a more analytics driven transfer policy. The Forest hierarchy committed to avoiding the "short-termism" of previous windows by no longer signing players for more than £18,000 a week and mostly targeting younger signings that could be sold for a profit. On 21 September 2021, Forest announced the appointment of
Steve Cooper as the club's new head coach. Cooper inspired a turnaround in form, arriving with the club in last place yet having them in 7th at Christmas, and all the way up in 4th by the end of the season, qualifying Forest for the playoffs for the first time since the 2010–11 season. In the
2022 Championship play-off semi-final, Forest defeated
Sheffield United on penalties to advance to the
final against
Huddersfield Town, who they beat 1–0 at
Wembley Stadium, and were promoted to the
Premier League for the first time since the
1998–99 season. Having entered the Premier League with a depleted squad after the promotion, in the leadup to the next season Forest signed 21 players for the first team squad. This was a British transfer record. The club record fee was also broken multiple times, and the last such occasion in the transfer window was when
Morgan Gibbs-White joined the club for £25 million with a potential to rise to £42 million subject to performance. during the
2022 EFL Championship play-off final On 7 October 2022, after five straight defeats, the club announced Cooper had signed a new three-year contract. Results improved temporarily, but in early April, after another poor run beset with injuries, Marinakis was forced to again say he had confidence in the manager. “We have all been disappointed with recent performances, and it is very clear that a lot of hard work needs to be done to address this urgently. Results and performances must improve immediately", he said in a statement. On 11 April 2023, with the club in the relegation zone, sporting director Filippo Giraldi was sacked after six months in the job. On 20 May 2023, Nottingham Forest sealed their Premier League status for the following season with a 1–0 home victory over
Arsenal, which also confirmed the title for
Manchester City. Forest collected 11 points from their last six games. On 19 December 2023, the club sacked Cooper; he was replaced by previous
Al-Ittihad manager
Nuno Espírito Santo. On 15 January 2024, Nottingham Forest was charged with breaching Premier League
profit and sustainability rules in their accounts for 2022–23. On 18 March 2024, the club was docked four points, pushing them into the relegation places, after an independent commission found Forest's 2022–23 losses breached the £61m threshold by £34.5m. The club appealed against the penalty, but their appeal was rejected. Nottingham Forest secured their survival in the Premier League for the 2023–24 season with a 2–1 victory over Burnley at
Turf Moor on 19 May 2024. Their overall score of 32 points in the league is the lowest for a team that avoided relegation. In the
2024–25 season, Nottingham Forest were in
UEFA Champions League spots for most of the campaign. However, a dip in form saw them miss out on qualification on the final day following a 1–0 home defeat to Chelsea. They finished 7th, enough to qualify for the
Conference League, the club's first involvement in European football for 30 years, However, they were promoted to the
Europa League following the demotion of
FA Cup winners
Crystal Palace for breaching multi-club ownership rules. Despite Espírito Santo's success and signing a new three-year deal in June, he was sacked on 9 September 2025 after a public deterioration of relations between him, Marinakis, and sporting director
Edu. Later that day,
Ange Postecoglou, who most recently led
Tottenham Hotspur to the
2024–25 Europa League title, was appointed to replace him. Postecoglou was sacked on 18 October 2025 after just eight games in 39 days - the second-shortest permanent managerial reign in Premier League history. He was replaced by
Sean Dyche, who had been let go by
Everton in January 2025. Dyche was sacked in February 2026 after 114 days in charge and replaced by
Vítor Pereira, making Forest the first Premier League club to have four different permanent managers during a single season. ==Club identity==