2 hours ago
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Frank Clark, manager
We beat Malmö in the first round, which brought back good memories of beating them to win the [1978‑79] European Cup. We were 2-0 down at half-time against Bayern in the second leg of the quarter-final, 4-1 on aggregate, and I looked at the players and decided that if we were going to go out we may as well go out in a blaze of glory.
We played the best available team every game. Looking back, it backfired a little bit at the end of the league season because in the last half a dozen games the lads ran out of steam. Against Lyon in the first leg, it was 0-0 after about 70 minutes and I replaced Andrea Silenzi and Bryan Roy with Bobby Howe and Paul McGregor. We got a penalty, which Stuart Pearce saw saved, but Paul lashed in the rebound. I went to the press conference and got hammered for taking off two internationals and putting two kids on. We’d won, but sometimes you can’t win.
About 10 of us are planning to go to Utrecht for the last league‑phase game. We have a group that meets every Thursday in West Bridgford: Colin Barrett, John Robertson, Garry Birtles, John O’Hare, Ian Storey-Moore … Steve Cooper and his staff used to pop in; Sean Dyche sometimes comes … Ian Woan, Paul Hart. Eighteen months ago, getting back into Europe was just not on the horizon for Forest. The atmosphere at the City Ground will be incredible.
Ian Woan, midfielder
When you’ve got two stars above your badge, that lets people know there’s European history. It wasn’t a weight: this was where this club belonged. Our captain, Stuart Pearce, was extremely proud of being English and representing England. Incredible person, brilliant leader. In the tunnel he’d say: “We’re English, we’re here to dominate, we don’t bow down.” We had foreign players but that was his war cry and it always made the hairs on the back of the neck stand up.
I think the European run was the highlight of my playing career. Flying back from Malmö, I was thinking: “I really want more of this.” We had a chartered plane, which was unheard of then, and the club sold the rest of the seats to fans to break even. For Auxerre, because it was such a small airport, the captain came over the speakers and said: “It’s going to be a sharp landing because this runway can’t take this size of jet.” What?! We pulled up and we all had to get ladders down off the plane.
I did a feature for the Forest programme and they wanted me to get photos. I ended up in the cockpit and the pilot goes: “Just move this dial, you’ll feel one click.” And the whole plane moved gently to the left. I’ve got a picture of me sitting in the pilot’s seat at 35,000ft with a captain’s hat on and I’m shifting one of the dials … I doubt aviation laws allow that now.
It was an incredible experience. Even the suits. Paul Smith’s a Nottingham lad, so he kitted us out. They came to us to get measured up – usually you’d go to Burton’s and grab a suit off the rack. I was buzzing because I hadn’t been in the league that long: “A sweet Paul Smith suit, that’ll do.” I’ve still got it somewhere.
Paul McGregor, striker
My winning goal against Lyon was my arrival and I woke the next morning to my mum screaming: “Oh my God, come downstairs.” Dad had gone out to get all the newspapers and I was on the back page of every one: “the Lyon tamer”. Insane, everything I’d dreamed about. That day I played half a game for the reserves to keep my fitness up – it couldn’t have been less glamorous. Two days later I made my home debut against Manchester United and scored against Peter Schmeichel.
All I wanted to do was be a footballer but I also happened to be in a band and loved making music. At the time my band Merc’s first gig was at Rock City; the front row was basically loads of teenage girls – and Forest’s first team. I was on stage having it. Kevin Campbell was going mad, Tommy Wright, Woany, all the boys. Scot Gemmill did a DJ set beforehand under the guise of the Bloodclaat Rasta of the Wicked Bitches. Heady times.
I was earning about £450 a week, living with my parents, and there was a piece in the paper that the Class of ’92 – Beckham, Scholes, the Neville brothers – had been given £2,000 a week. When I was in the youth team, we used to play against them quite often. I put the paper on Frank’s desk and said: “Boss, I think I deserve the same,” and he was brilliant: “I do, too, son.” As I walked out I said: “And can I have a car?” So I got two grand a week and a convertible blue Renault RSi. Beautiful thing, 16 valves.
I used to get called the Britpop footballer and I ran away from that for years, but ironically I’ve built a band around that character called the Upper Body. At a recent show we did Mull of Kintyre and I wore a GPS vest – which was being live-streamed – my Bowie Heroes leather jacket, my old Forest trackie bottoms, moulded boots and shin pads. And I oiled up in full deep heat. We had smelling salts, strappings. I tried getting a physio’s bench. I’m 50, I’m not going to be the new Fontaines DC, but I can go and have a load of fun with it.
Mark Crossley, goalkeeper
I look back on the Bayern game and think: “What’s a big lad from Barnsley doing on the same pitch as them?” Jürgen Klinsmann, Oliver Kahn, Lothar Matthäus, Jean-Pierre Papin, Mehmet Scholl, Christian Ziege … all of these top internationals. We battered them for half an hour at the City Ground but couldn’t score and then I made a simple mistake from a Ziege free‑kick and we got beat 5-1. I swapped shirts with Kahn after both games … I think I was in awe of him.
Being the underdogs all the time was what made it all the sweeter. We were better than what people thought – and we were better than what we thought. We never got above ourselves. We had no superstars, every one of us just worked our nuts off. If you’ve got a good manager and a great captain like Stuart Pearce, you’re halfway there.
The Forest team now is quite similar. Last season they were happy to soak up pressure, get the ball forward to a big striker as an outlet, and Matz Sels didn’t take chances. But the main thing was the work-rate and the pace in wide areas, like we had. We were all best mates and would socialise together. Frank Clark would get his guitar out now and again on the coach or if we were having a drink. He kept it to himself but we knew he could play.
We were sat having breakfast on the day of the Auxerre game and Alan Hill, who was Cloughie’s assistant and became Frank’s assistant, had a discussion about whether to show me this article in a French newspaper that, translated, read: “The weak link is their fat and slow goalkeeper.” Pinning it up was a stroke of genius. I just wish I kept hold of the paper and slid it under the Auxerre dressing‑room door after we went through in the second leg. I probably would’ve signed it: “From the fat, slow goalkeeper.”
Jason Lee, striker
We were on the crest of a wave after finishing third in the Premier League, which for a promoted team is unheard of, but we had some changes as a result of Stan Collymore moving to Liverpool. Frank was very astute in the way we played: one striker, a No 10, often Bryan Roy, and packed the midfield. It was quite revolutionary then because teams predominantly played 4-4-2.
There is an iconic picture from the Auxerre game of my hand over Sabri Lamouchi’s head after a skirmish in front of Mark’s goal. When Sabri became Forest manager [in 2019], myself and Frank ribbed him a little bit because we had that one-upmanship over him. We went through 1-0 but it was backs-to-the-wall.
I delayed one of our flights back from an away game because I couldn’t do a urine sample. Everybody had to wait that night to get on the plane. I was so dehydrated – I’d lose on average six pounds a game, so you’ve got to replace that. I wasn’t a hero when I turned up, as you can imagine. Everyone just wants to get home.
There is nostalgia and it’s always good to reminisce and catch up with the boys. We had a nice reunion a couple of years ago.
Steve Stone, midfielder
After the Bayern away game, I swapped shirts with Jürgen Klinsmann. “Steve, can I swap?” he asked. My first thought was: “Oh my God, he knows my name.” We stayed overnight in Munich and wanted to go out because our families had flown over, but Frank wouldn’t let us. So all our partners went out until 3am and we were tucked up in bed, which, looking back, was the right thing to do. I gave Klinsmann’s shirt to my uncle John who travelled from Rome for the game.
I remember the plane in Auxerre because we all had to clamber aboard because the stairs weren’t adequate. The chair, Fred Reacher, had to be pushed up from behind and some of the older guys had to get wedged up. A lot of football is passing ships in the night, but we all have this unspoken bond where you look at each other and go: “Yeah, that was good.”
When I see Des Lyttle we just laugh because we treasure those great moments. It felt like everyone was talking about Forest being back in Europe after the Brian Clough era. The whole city was vibrant, a bit like it is now, because it has been 30 years.
