# 1981–82 Nottingham Forest F.C. season

The 1981–82 season was Nottingham Forest's 117th year in existence and fifth consecutive season in the First Division.

## Summary

In his eighth season as manager, Brian Clough appointed Alan Hill as new trainer after the departure of Jimmy Gordon in the previous season. Meanwhile forward Trevor Francis was transferred out to Manchester City being replacing by Norwich City striker Justin Fashanu. The team finished in a disappointing 12th spot with a defensive line (4th overall) not being helped by his offensive line in a mediocre season delivered by Fashanu, Wallace and Ward. The club was early eliminated in FA Cup on third round. Meanwhile, the squad reached the League Cup fifth round only to be defeated by Tottenham Hotspur after a 1–0 score.
After six seasons with the club, assistant Peter Taylor announced his appointment as new manager of Derby County. Also, goalkeeper Peter Shilton left the club by the end of the season to be transferred out to Southampton. Central back Dave Needham was transferred out to Canada, and Scottish midfielder John McGovern signed with Bolton Wanderers for the next campaign.

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ENG | Peter Shilton |
| — | GK | ENG | Steve Sutton |
| — | DF | ENG | Viv Anderson |
| — | DF | SCO | Willie Young |
| — | DF | ENG | Bryn Gunn |
| — | DF | ENG | Dave Needham |
| — | DF | NOR | Einar Jan Aas |
| — | DF | SCO | Kenny Burns |
| — | DF | ENG | Chris Fairclough |
| — | MF | ENG | Stuart Gray |
| — | MF | SCO | John McGovern (c) |
| — | MF | ENG | Mark Proctor |
| — | MF | ENG | Ian Bowyer |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | SCO | John Robertson |
| — | MF | FRG | Jürgen Röber |
| — | MF | ENG | Gary Mills |
| — | MF | SCO | Colin Walsh |
| — | MF | ENG | Calvin Plummer |
| — | MF | ENG | Steve Hodge |
| — | MF | ENG | Steve Kendal |
| — | MF | ENG | Neil Redfearn |
| — | FW | ENG | Justin Fashanu |
| — | FW | SCO | Ian Wallace |
| — | FW | ENG | Peter Ward |
| — | FW | ENG | Peter Davenport |
| — | FW | ENG | Trevor Francis |

### Transfers

In :
| Pos. | Name | from | Type |
| FW | Justin Fashanu | Norwich City | £875,000 |
| MF | Mark Proctor | Middlesbrough | £440,000 |
| MF | Jürgen Röber | Bayern München | |
Out :
| Pos. | Name | To | Type |
| FW | Trevor Francis | Manchester City | £735,000 |
| DF | Frank Gray | Leeds United | £300,000 |

#### Winter

In :
| Pos. | Name | from | Type |
| FW | Peter Davenport | Cammell Laird 1907 F.C. | Free |
| MF | Ian Bowyer | Sunderland | |
| DF | Willie Young | Arsenal | £50,000 |
Out :
| Pos. | Name | To | Type |
| DF | Kenny Burns | Leeds United | £400,000 |
| FW | Peter Ward | Seattle Sounders | loan |

#### Spring

In :
| Pos. | Name | from | Type |
Out :
| Pos. | Name | To | Type |
| FW | Justin Fashanu | Southampton | loan |

## Results
### Division One
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 10 | Manchester City | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 49 | 50 | −1 | 58 | |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 55 | 53 | +2 | 57 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 12 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 42 | 48 | −6 | 57 | |
| 13 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 43 | 52 | −9 | 52 | |
| 14 | Coventry City | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 56 | 62 | −6 | 50 | |
* ↑ Transferred in on 12 December 1981
* ↑ Aston Villa qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1981–82 European Cup winners.

#### Position by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | A | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | H | H | A |
| Result | W | D | L | D | W | W | W | L | D | W | D | W | D | L | W | L | L | W | W | L | D | L | L | D | W | D | W | D | D | D | W | L | L | W | L | L | D | L | L | L | W | W |
| Position | 6 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 |

#### Matches

* .- Source: https://www.11v11.com/teams/nottingham-forest/tab/matches/season/1982/

### League Cup
## Statistics
### Squad statistics

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Football League Division One | Football League Division One | FA Cup | FA Cup | Football League Cup | Football League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | ENG | Peter Shilton | 47 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Viv Anderson | 44 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Willie Young | 26 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | John McGovern | 34 | 0 | 26+4 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Bryn Gunn | 43 | 0 | 36+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Ian Bowyer | 24 | 1 | 23+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Mark Proctor | 43 | 3 | 35+2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| | MF | ENG | Stuart Gray | 38 | 2 | 32+1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | John Robertson | 42 | 3 | 36 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | Justin Fashanu | 36 | 4 | 31+1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| | FW | SCO | Ian Wallace | 34 | 12 | 28+1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| | GK | ENG | Steve Sutton | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | FRG | Jürgen Röber | 25 | 4 | 21+1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| | DF | ENG | Dave Needham | 21 | 3 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | Peter Ward | 18 | 5 | 14+1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | NOR | Einar Jan Aas | 17 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Gary Mills | 17 | 1 | 13+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Colin Walsh | 19 | 3 | 7+8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Calvin Plummer | 9 | 2 | 7+2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Kenny Burns | 8 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Peter Davenport | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Chris Fairclough | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Trevor Francis | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Steve Hodge | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Steve Kendal | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Neil Redfearn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* Source: https://www.11v11.com/teams/nottingham-forest/tab/players/season/1982/