# 1998–99 Nottingham Forest F.C. season

During the 1998–99 English football season, Nottingham Forest F.C. competed in the FA Premier League.

## Season summary

Nottingham Forest's campaign back in the Premiership got off to a fairly good start in the first three games in the season, losing narrowly 2-1 at Arsenal and winning the other two against Coventry City and at Southampton; however, it would be 19 games until their next victory and they went on a very poor run of only one win in 25 league games - in addition to two wins in 32 games - and winning their final three games did not matter as they were already relegated. Pierre Van Hooijdonk, top scorer in Forest's promotion-winning 1997-98 campaign, went AWOL before the start of the season following the sale of strike partner Kevin Campbell and it appeared that he would never play for the club again. He returned in October, but Forest were already deep in relegation trouble and it was too late to save manager Dave Bassett's job. Ron Atkinson made what appeared to be his final return to management, but was unable to save Forest from relegation in bottom place - the third time in seven years that they had endured this fate. With just 7 wins and 30 points all season, they had never really looked like beating the drop, due to embarrassing results like the 1-8 defeat at home to Manchester United. A win at Goodison Park was the highlight of Atkinson's ill-fated tenure, along with a three-match winning run at the end of the season, albeit after they had already been relegated, that at least saw them avoid going down with the lowest points total since the formation of the Premier League. This marked the first instance since the 1927-28 season that the winner of England's second tier finished bottom in their subsequent season in the top-flight.
When Atkinson's contract was not renewed, Brian Little, Glenn Hoddle and Roy Evans were just some of the many high profile names linked with the manager's job, but in the end it was 33-year-old former England captain David Platt who took on the role as player-manager.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 16 | Wimbledon | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 40 | 63 | −23 | 42 | |
| 17 | Southampton | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 37 | 64 | −27 | 41 | |
| 18 | Charlton Athletic (R) | 38 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 41 | 56 | −15 | 36 | Relegation to Football League First Division |
| 19 | Blackburn Rovers (R) | 38 | 7 | 14 | 17 | 38 | 52 | −14 | 35 | Relegation to Football League First Division |
| 20 | Nottingham Forest (R) | 38 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 35 | 69 | −34 | 30 | Relegation to Football League First Division |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: 1998-99 FA Premier League table

### 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 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | W | W | L | L | D | L | L | D | L | D | L | D | L | D | L | L | D | L | D | L | L | W | L | L | L | D | L | W | L | L | D | L | L | L | W | W | W |
| Position | 16 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 11 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |

## Results

Nottingham Forest's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### FA Premier League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 17 August 1998 | Arsenal | A | 1–2 | 38,064 | Thomas |
| 22 August 1998 | Coventry City | H | 1–0 | 22,546 | Stone |
| 29 August 1998 | Southampton | A | 2–1 | 14,942 | Darcheville, Stone |
| 8 September 1998 | Everton | H | 0–2 | 25,610 | |
| 12 September 1998 | Chelsea | A | 1–2 | 34,809 | Darcheville |
| 19 September 1998 | West Ham United | H | 0–0 | 26,463 | |
| 26 September 1998 | Newcastle United | A | 0–2 | 36,760 | |
| 3 October 1998 | Charlton Athletic | H | 0–1 | 22,661 | |
| 17 October 1998 | Leeds United | H | 1–1 | 23,911 | Stone |
| 24 October 1998 | Liverpool | A | 1–5 | 44,595 | Freedman |
| 1 November 1998 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–1 | 34,223 | Harewood |
| 7 November 1998 | Wimbledon | H | 0–1 | 21,362 | |
| 16 November 1998 | Derby County | H | 2–2 | 24,014 | Freedman, van Hooijdonk |
| 21 November 1998 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–2 | 35,832 | |
| 28 November 1998 | Aston Villa | H | 2–2 | 25,753 | Bart-Williams, Freedman |
| 7 December 1998 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 2–3 | 19,321 | Bonalair, van Hooijdonk |
| 12 December 1998 | Leicester City | A | 1–3 | 20,891 | van Hooijdonk |
| 19 December 1998 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–2 | 22,013 | Chettle (pen), Freedman |
| 26 December 1998 | Manchester United | A | 0–3 | 55,216 | |
| 28 December 1998 | Southampton | H | 1–1 | 23,456 | Chettle (pen) |
| 9 January 1999 | Coventry City | A | 0–4 | 17,172 | |
| 16 January 1999 | Arsenal | H | 0–1 | 26,021 | |
| 30 January 1999 | Everton | A | 1–0 | 34,175 | van Hooijdonk |
| 6 February 1999 | Manchester United | H | 1–8 | 30,025 | Rogers |
| 13 February 1999 | West Ham United | A | 1–2 | 25,458 | Hjelde |
| 20 February 1999 | Chelsea | H | 1–3 | 26,351 | van Hooijdonk |
| 27 February 1999 | Charlton Athletic | A | 0–0 | 20,007 | |
| 10 March 1999 | Newcastle United | H | 1–2 | 22,852 | Freedman |
| 13 March 1999 | Wimbledon | A | 3–1 | 12,149 | Rogers, Freedman, Shipperley |
| 20 March 1999 | Middlesbrough | H | 1–2 | 21,468 | Freedman |
| 3 April 1999 | Leeds United | A | 1–3 | 39,645 | Rogers |
| 5 April 1999 | Liverpool | H | 2–2 | 28,374 | Freedman, van Hooijdonk |
| 10 April 1999 | Derby County | A | 0–1 | 32,217 | |
| 17 April 1999 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–1 | 25,181 | |
| 24 April 1999 | Aston Villa | A | 0–2 | 34,492 | |
| 1 May 1999 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 2–0 | 20,480 | Porfírio, Rogers |
| 8 May 1999 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 2–1 | 24,565 | Freedman, Bart-Williams |
| 16 May 1999 | Leicester City | H | 1–0 | 25,353 | Bart-Williams |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 2 January 1999 | Portsmouth | H | 0–1 | 10,092 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 1st Leg | 15 September 1998 | Leyton Orient | A | 5–1 | 4,906 | Johnson, Freedman (2), Stone, Harewood |
| R2 2nd Leg | 22 September 1998 | Leyton Orient | H | 0–0 (won 5-1 on agg) | 6,382 | |
| R3 | 27 October 1998 | Cambridge United | H | 3–3 (won 4-3 on pens) | 9,192 | Freedman, Armstrong, Harewood |
| R4 | 11 November 1998 | Manchester United | A | 1–2 | 37,237 | Stone |

## First-team squad

    Squad at end of season
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 |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Dave Beasant (vice-captain) |
| 2 | DF | FRA | Matthieu Louis-Jean (on loan from Le Havre) |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Alan Rogers |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Nigel Quashie |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Steve Chettle (captain) |
| 6 | DF | NOR | Jon Olav Hjelde |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Neil Shipperley |
| 10 | MF | WAL | Andy Johnson |
| 11 | DF | ENG | Chris Bart-Williams |
| 12 | DF | SCO | Chris Doig |
| 13 | GK | WAL | Mark Crossley |
| 14 | FW | SCO | Dougie Freedman |
| 15 | DF | SCO | Richard Gough (on loan from San Jose Clash) |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Geoff Thomas |
| 17 | DF | FRA | Thierry Bonalair |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Ian Woan |
| 19 | FW | FRA | Jean-Claude Darcheville (on loan from Rennes) |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Carlton Palmer |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Des Lyttle |
| 23 | FW | FRA | Bernard Allou |
| 24 | DF | WAL | Christian Edwards |
| 25 | DF | SWE | Jesper Mattsson |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Steve Melton |
| 27 | FW | SCO | Andy Gray |
| 29 | FW | ENG | Marlon Harewood |
| 30 | MF | USA | John Harkes (on loan from D.C. United) |
| 31 | MF | POR | Hugo Porfírio (on loan from Benfica) |
| 32 | DF | NOR | Ståle Stensaas (on loan from Rangers) |
| 40 | FW | NED | Pierre van Hooijdonk |
| - | MF | IRL | John Burns |

### Left club during season

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 |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Steve Stone (to Aston Villa) |
| 8 | MF | SCO | Scot Gemmill (to Everton) |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Craig Armstrong (to Huddersfield Town) |
| 20 | MF | WAL | Glyn Hodges (to Scarborough) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Andy Dawson (to Scunthorpe United) |
| — | DF | ENG | Stuart Thom (to Oldham Athletic) |
| — | MF | ENG | Chris Allen (to Port Vale) |
| — | FW | ENG | Paul McGregor (to Preston North End) |

### Reserve 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 |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Steve Guinan |
| 28 | MF | SCO | Gareth Williams |
| 33 | GK | SUI | Marco Pascolo |
| 39 | GK | ENG | Mark Goodlad |
| — | DF | ENG | Lee Cowling |
| — | DF | ENG | Kevin Dawson |
| — | DF | CRO | Nikola Jerkan |
| — | DF | AUS | Gareth Edds |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Richard Cooper |
| — | MF | ENG | Richard Hodgson |
| — | MF | ENG | David Prutton |
| — | MF | ENG | Andy Todd |
| — | MF | IRL | Keith Foy |
| — | MF | ESP | Carlos Merino |
| — | FW | ENG | Robert Gill |
| — | FW | IRL | David Freeman |

## Statistics
### Appearances, goals and cards

    (Starting appearances + substitute appearances)
| No. | Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | Dave Beasant | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Matthieu Louis-Jean | 15+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 18+2 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 3 | DF | Alan Rogers | 34 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 38 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Nigel Quashie | 12+4 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14+5 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Steve Chettle | 32+2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 36+2 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
| 6 | DF | Jon-Olav Hjelde | 16+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19+1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Steve Stone | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 30 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Scot Gemmill | 18+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21+2 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Neil Shipperley | 12+8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13+8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Andy Johnson | 25+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 28+3 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Chris Bart-Williams | 20+4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 23+4 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | Chris Doig | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | Mark Crossley | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 13+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | Dougie Freedman | 20+11 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 25+11 | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Craig Armstrong | 20+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 24+2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Richard Gough | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 16 | MF | Geoff Thomas | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Thierry Bonalair | 24+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27+4 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| 18 | MF | Ian Woan | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | Jean-Claude Darcheville | 14+2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 15+4 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Glyn Hodges | 3+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Carlton Palmer | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 22 | DF | Des Lyttle | 5+5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 7+6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | Andy Dawson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | Bernard Allou | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | Christian Edwards | 7+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7+5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | Jesper Mattsson | 5+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | Steve Melton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | Andy Gray | 3+5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 5+7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | Marlon Harewood | 11+12 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+2 | 2 | 13+15 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | John Harkes | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | Hugo Porfirio | 3+6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+6 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | Ståle Stensaas | 6+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 40 | FW | Pierre Van Hooijdonk | 19+2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 19+3 | 6 | 5 | 1 |

### Starting 11

    Considering starts in all competitions
* GK: #1, Dave Beasant, 30
* RB: #17, Thierry Bonalair, 27
* CB: #15, Craig Armstrong, 24
* CB: #5, Steve Chettle, 36
* LB: #3, Alan Rogers, 38
* RM: #7, Steve Stone, 30
* CM: #11, Chris Bart-Williams, 23
* CM: #10, Andy Johnson, 28
* LM: #8, Scot Gemmill, 21
* CF: #14, Dougie Freedman, 25
* CF: #40, Pierre van Hooijdonk, 19

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| 1 August 1998 | FW | Dougie Freedman | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £950,000 |
| 21 August 1998 | MF | Nigel Quashie | Queens Park Rangers | £2,500,000 |
| 29 August 1998 | FW | Andy Gray | Leeds United | £200,000 |
| 21 September 1998 | FW | Neil Shipperley | Crystal Palace | £1,500,000 |
| 10 December 1998 | DF | Jesper Mattsson | Halmstad | £300,000 |
| 19 January 1999 | MF | Carlton Palmer | Southampton | £1,100,000 |

### Out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee |
| 6 June 1998 | MF | John Finnigan | Lincoln City | Free transfer |
| 29 July 1998 | FW | Kevin Campbell | Trabzonspor | £2,500,000 |
| 1 August 1998 | FW | Ian Thomas-Moore | Stockport County | £800,000 |
| 18 August 1998 | DF | Colin Cooper | Middlesbrough | £2,500,000 |
| 16 October 1998 | DF | Stuart Thom | Oldham Athletic | £45,000 |
| 20 February 1999 | DF | Craig Armstrong | Huddersfield Town | £750,000 |
| 5 March 1999 | MF | Chris Allen | Port Vale | Free transfer |
| 11 March 1999 | MF | Steve Stone | Aston Villa | £5,500,000 |
| 19 March 1999 | DF | Andy Dawson | Scunthorpe United | £50,000 |
| 25 March 1999 | MF | Scot Gemmill | Everton | Nominal |
    Transfers in: £6,550,000
    Transfers out: £12,145,000
    Total spending: £5,595,000

## Staff

| Position | Staff |
| Chairman | Nigel Wray (until 13 April) |
| Chairman | Eric Barnes (from 13 April) |
| Chief executive | Philip Soar |
| Director | Irving Scholar |
| First-team managers | Dave Bassett (until 5 January) |
| First-team managers | Ron Atkinson (from 11 January) |
| Assistant managers | Micky Adams (until 11 January) |
| Assistant managers | Peter Shreeves (from 11 January) |
| First-team Coach | Liam O'Kane |
| Goalkeeping coach | Mike Kelly |
| Reserve Team Coach | Ian McParland |
| Head Academy Coach | Nick Marshall |
| Physiotherapists | John Haselden |
| Physiotherapists | Gary Fleming |