# 1980–81 Nottingham Forest F.C. season

The 1980–81 season was Nottingham Forest's 116th year in existence and fourth consecutive season in the First Division.

## Summary

In May, the board appointed Geoffrey McPherson as the club's new chairman, replacing Stuart Dryden. On 30 May McPherson negotiated a new three-year new contract for Clough and Taylor after they won the European Cup Final. The club reinforced the squad, with forward Ian Wallace signing from Coventry City for £1.25 million and Swiss player Raimondo Ponte signing from Grasshopper Club Zürich, to boost an ageing midfield. On 15 October, the club sold Garry Birtles to Manchester United for £1.25 million, prompting the arrival of forward Peter Ward from Brighton & Hove Albion. In spite of these new arrivals, during the season the team dropped to mid-table, and by spring the midfield was weakened after the departures of Martin O'Neill, Raimondo Ponte, Ian Bowyer and defender Larry Lloyd. Forward Trevor Francis suffered an injury that sidelined him until December. Forest finished the season in 7th place, missing out on qualification for the following season's UEFA Cup after a draw 1–1 with Coventry City on the final day, with Southampton taking the European berth on goal difference.
Forest's defence of the European Cup ended in the first round following a 2–0 aggregate defeat to Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia. In the League Cup the team was eliminated in the fourth round by Watford. The club lost the European Super Cup on away goals to Valencia CF. In February, the team lost the Intercontinental Cup 1–0 to Nacional in Tokyo. Finally, in the FA Cup the team was knocked out at the quarter-final stage following a replay with Ipswich Town. Also, after seven seasons Scottish trainer Jimmy Gordon announced his retirement.

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ENG | Peter Shilton |
| — | GK | ENG | Steve Sutton |
| — | GK | ENG | Lee Smelt |
| — | DF | ENG | Viv Anderson |
| — | DF | ENG | Larry Lloyd |
| — | DF | SCO | Kenny Burns |
| — | DF | SCO | Frank Gray |
| — | DF | ENG | Bryn Gunn |
| — | DF | ENG | David Needham |
| — | DF | NOR | Einar Aas |
| — | DF | ENG | Stephen Kendal |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Stuart Gray |
| — | MF | SCO | Colin Walsh |
| — | MF | NIR | Martin O'Neill |
| — | MF | SCO | John McGovern (c) |
| — | MF | SCO | John Robertson |
| — | MF | ENG | Ian Bowyer |
| — | MF | ENG | Gary Mills |
| — | MF | SUI | Raimondo Ponte |
| — | FW | ENG | Trevor Francis |
| — | FW | ENG | Peter Ward |
| — | FW | ENG | Garry Birtles |
| — | FW | ENG | Ian Wallace |

### Transfers

In :
| Pos. | Name | from | Type |
| FW | Ian Wallace | Coventry City | £1,250,000 |
| MF | Raimondo Ponte | Grasshopper Club Zürich | |
| MF | Stuart Gray | Youth system | |
| DF | Stephen Kendal | | |
| GK | Lee Smelt | | |
Out :
| Pos. | Name | To | Type |
| FW | John O'Hare | | Retired |
| FW | Charlie George | Southampton | loan ended |
| GK | Lee Smelt | Peterborough United | |
| GK | Jimmy Montgomery | | retired |

#### Autumn

In :
| Pos. | Name | from | Type |
| FW | Peter Ward | Brighton & Hove Albion | |
Out :
| Pos. | Name | To | Type |
| FW | Garry Birtles | Manchester United | £1,250,000 |

#### Winter

In :
| Pos. | Name | from | Type |
Out :
| Pos. | Name | To |
| MF | Martin O'Neill | Norwich City |
| MF | Ian Bowyer | Sunderland |
| DF | Larry Lloyd | Wigan Athletic |

#### Spring

In :
| Pos. | Name | from | Type |
| DF | Einar Aas | Bayern München | |
Out :
| Pos. | Name | To | Type |
| MF | Raimondo Ponte | SC Bastia | |

## Competitions

A list of Nottingham Forest's matches in the 1980–81 season.

### First Division
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 5 | Liverpool | 42 | 17 | 17 | 8 | 62 | 42 | +20 | 51 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 6 | Southampton | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 76 | 56 | +20 | 50 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 7 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 19 | 12 | 11 | 62 | 44 | +18 | 50 | |
| 8 | Manchester United | 42 | 15 | 18 | 9 | 51 | 36 | +15 | 48 | |
| 9 | Leeds United | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 39 | 47 | −8 | 44 | |
* ↑ Transferred in on 16 August 1980
* ↑ Transferred in on 16 August 1980
* ↑ Transferred in on 1 October 1980
* ↑ Transferred out on 15 October 1980
* ↑ Transferred out on 22 February 1981
* ↑ Transferred out on 15 January 1981
* ↑ Transferred out on 11 February 1981
* ↑ Transferred in on 4 April 1981
* ↑ Transferred out on 28 March 1981
* ↑ Liverpool qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1980–81 European Cup winners.

#### Results 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 | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | W | D | W | D | W | W | L | L | D | W | W | W | D | W | D | L | L | L | D | W | L | W | W | D | L | W | D | W | W | D | W | W | D | L | W | L | D | L | W | W | D |
| Position | 18 | 14 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 7 |

#### Matches
### Intercontinental Cup
## Statistics
### Players statistics

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Football League Division One | Football League Division One | Football League Cup | Football League Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup | European Cup | European Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | ENG | Shilton | 51 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Anderson | 41 | 1 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Burns | 39 | 5 | 30 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Gunn | 32 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Gray | 52 | 4 | 40 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Mills | 29 | 7 | 19+4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Walsh | 19 | 5 | 14+1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | McGovern | 34 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Robertson | 50 | 9 | 38 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Francis | 24 | 11 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Wallace | 46 | 13 | 37 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| | GK | ENG | Sutton | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | NIR | O'Neill | 28 | 3 | 18+3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Bowyer | 25 | 3 | 17+2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Lloyd | 23 | 0 | 17+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Needham | 23 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Gray | 17 | 0 | 13+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | MF | SUI | Ponte | 23 | 7 | 11+6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Ward | 15 | 2 | 10+4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Birtles | 14 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | NOR | Einar Aas | 6 | 1 | 5+1 | 1 |
| | GK | ENG | Smelt | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | O'Hare | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Kendal |
* Source: https://www.11v11.com/teams/nottingham-forest/tab/players/season/1981/