# 2015–16 Nottingham Forest F.C. season

The 2015–16 season was Nottingham Forest's 150th season in existence and 8th consecutive season in the Championship since promotion in 2007–08. The club also participated in the FA Cup and the Football League Cup. On the 13 March 2016, manager Dougie Freedman was sacked after Forest lost five of his final six games in charge. Freedman was replaced by first team coach Paul Williams, who was appointed for the remainder of the season. The season covers the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016.

## First team squad

    As of 30 April 2016
| No. | Name | Nationality | Date of Birth (Age) | Previous Club | Joined First Team | Player Contracted Until |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| 1 | Dorus de Vries | NED | (1980-12-29) 29 December 1980 (age 44) | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2013 | 2017 |
| 26 | Dimitar Evtimov | BUL | (1993-09-07) 7 September 1993 (age 31) | Chavdar Etropole | 2011 | 2019 |
| Defenders |||||||
| 2 | Eric Lichaj | USA | (1988-11-17) 17 November 1988 (age 36) | Aston Villa | 2013 | 2018 |
| 3 | Bojan Jokić | SVN | (1986-05-17) 17 May 1986 (age 38) | Villarreal | 2016 | 2016 |
| 4 | Michael Mancienne | ENG | (1988-01-08) 8 January 1988 (age 37) | Hamburg | 2014 | 2017 |
| 5 | Matt Mills | ENG | (1986-07-14) 14 July 1986 (age 38) | Bolton Wanderers | 2015 | 2018 |
| 6 | Kelvin Wilson | ENG | (1985-09-03) 3 September 1985 (age 39) | Celtic | 2013 | 2016 |
| 13 | Danny Fox | SCO | (1986-05-29) 29 May 1986 (age 38) | Southampton | 2014 | 2017 |
| 25 | Jack Hobbs | ENG | (1988-08-18) 18 August 1988 (age 36) | Hull City | 2014 | 2018 |
| 31 | Daniel Pinillos | ESP | (1992-10-22) 22 October 1992 (age 32) | Córdoba | 2015 | 2017 |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 8 | Chris Cohen | ENG | (1987-03-05) 5 March 1987 (age 38) | Yeovil Town | 2007 | 2017 |
| 10 | Henri Lansbury | ENG | (1990-10-12) 12 October 1990 (age 34) | Arsenal | 2012 | 2017 |
| 11 | Andy Reid | IRE | (1982-07-29) 29 July 1982 (age 42) | Blackpool | 2011 | 2016 |
| 15 | Ryan Mendes | CPV | (1990-01-08) 8 January 1990 (age 35) | Lille | 2015 | 2016 |
| 22 | Gary Gardner | ENG | (1992-06-29) 29 June 1992 (age 32) | Aston Villa | 2015 | 2016 |
| 24 | David Vaughan | WAL | (1983-02-18) 18 February 1983 (age 42) | Sunderland | 2014 | 2017 |
| 32 | Robert Tesche | GER | (1987-05-27) 27 May 1987 (age 37) | Hamburg | 2014 | 2016 |
| 35 | Oliver Burke | SCO | (1997-04-07) 7 April 1997 (age 27) | Academy Product | 2015 | 2020 |
| 37 | Jorge Grant | ENG | (1994-09-26) 26 September 1994 (age 30) | Academy Product | 2013 | 2017 |
| 38 | Ben Osborn | ENG | (1994-08-05) 5 August 1994 (age 30) | Academy Product | 2012 | 2019 |
| Forwards |||||||
| 7 | Matty Fryatt | ENG | (1986-03-05) 5 March 1986 (age 39) | Hull City | 2014 | 2017 |
| 9 | Britt Assombalonga | DRC | (1992-12-06) 6 December 1992 (age 32) | Peterborough United | 2014 | 2019 |
| 17 | Nélson Oliveira | POR | (1991-08-08) 8 August 1991 (age 33) | Benfica | 2015 | 2016 |
| 18 | Federico Macheda | ITA | (1991-08-22) 22 August 1991 (age 33) | Cardiff City | 2016 | 2016 |
| 19 | Jamie Ward | NIR | (1986-05-12) 12 May 1986 (age 38) | Derby County | 2015 | 2019 |
| 23 | Dexter Blackstock | ATG | (1986-05-20) 20 May 1986 (age 38) | Queens Park Rangers | 2009 | 2017 |
| 29 | Chris O'Grady | ENG | (1986-01-25) 25 January 1986 (age 39) | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2015 | 2016 |

### New contracts

| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | Length of Contract | Player Contracted Until |
| 29 July 2015 | GK | BUL | Dimitar Evtimov | 4 Years | 2019 |
| 4 January 2016 | DF | SCO | Jordan Gabriel | Undisclosed | Undisclosed |
| 17 February 2016 | MF | ENG | Chris Cohen | 1 Year | 2017 |
| 17 February 2016 | MF | SCO | Oliver Burke | 4.5 Years | 2020 |
| 11 March 2016 | MF | WAL | David Vaughan | 1 Year | 2017 |
| 12 March 2016 | DF | USA | Eric Lichaj | 1 Year | 2018 |

## Player transfers
### Loans in

| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | From | Loan Expired |
| 20 August 2015 | MF | NED | Kyle Ebecilio | Twente | 1 February 2016 |
| 1 September 2015 | ST | ENG | Chris O'Grady | Brighton & Hove Albion | 30 June 2016 |
| 4 September 2015 | MF | CPV | Ryan Mendes | Lille | 30 June 2016 |
| 4 September 2015 | ST | POR | Nélson Oliveira | Benfica | 30 June 2016 |
| 10 September 2015 | MF | WAL | Jonny Williams | Crystal Palace | 16 January 2016 |
| 24 October 2015 | MF | ENG | Liam Trotter | Bolton Wanderers | 4 January 2016 |
| 8 January 2016 | DF | SVN | Bojan Jokić | Villarreal | 30 June 2016 |
| 8 January 2016 | MF | ENG | Gary Gardner | Aston Villa | 30 June 2016 |
| 15 March 2016 | ST | ITA | Federico Macheda | Cardiff City | 30 June 2016 |

### Loans out

| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | To | Loan Expired |
| 1 July 2015 | ST | NED | Lars Veldwijk | Zwolle | 30 June 2016 |
| 1 September 2015 | ST | ENG | Jamie Paterson | Huddersfield Town | 30 June 2016 |
| 22 January 2016 | MF | SCO | Chris Burke | Rotherham United | 30 June 2016 |
| 23 January 2016 | MF | LIT | Deimantas Petravičius | Stevenage | 21 February 2016 |
| 22 February 2016 | DF | ENG | Jack Kelly | Hemel Hempstead Town | 20 March 2016 |
| 24 March 2016 | ST | ENG | Tyler Walker | Burton Albion | 30 June 2016 |
* ↑ Please note that this section includes players in or out from date commencing 10 June 2015; the date that the UK Summer transfer window opened.
* ↑ Ebecilio's loan was originally agreed to expire on 30 June 2016, but his loan was terminated early by mutual consent.
* ↑ Reported by the BBC to be £7,000,000.

## Pre-season friendlies

On 3 June 2015 Nottingham Forest confirmed their pre-season friendlies and plans for a tour of Sweden.

## Competitions
### Championship
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 53 | 58 | −5 | 58 |
| 15 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 46 | 46 | 0 | 55 |
| 16 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 43 | 47 | −4 | 55 |
| 17 | Reading | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 52 | 59 | −7 | 52 |
| 18 | Bristol City | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 54 | 71 | −17 | 52 |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 8 May 2016. Source: Nottingham Forest

#### Results by matchday

| 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 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | L | W | D | D | L | W | W | L | D | L | L | D | D | L | L | W | L | W | W | D | D | W | D | D | D | D | W | W | D | W | L | L | L | L | W | L | D | L | L | L | L | D | D | W | D | W |
| Position | 24 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 |

#### Matches

On 17 June 2015, the fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced.

### Football League Cup
## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

    As of 9 May 2016
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Championship | Championship | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | NED | Dorus de Vries | 48 | 0 | 45 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | USA | Eric Lichaj | 46 | 1 | 43 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | SVN | Bojan Jokić | 21 | 0 | 19+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Michael Mancienne | 33 | 0 | 29+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Matt Mills | 42 | 5 | 42 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Kelvin Wilson | 17 | 0 | 11+3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | ST | ENG | Matty Fryatt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Chris Cohen | 17 | 1 | 11+4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | ST | COD | Britt Assombalonga | 4 | 1 | 0+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Henri Lansbury | 29 | 4 | 26+2 | 4 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | IRL | Andy Reid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | SCO | Danny Fox | 11 | 0 | 8+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | NED | Kyle Ebecilio | 5 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | ST | NED | Lars Veldwijk | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | CPV | Ryan Mendes | 32 | 2 | 26+6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | ST | POR | Nélson Oliveira | 29 | 9 | 24+4 | 9 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Michail Antonio | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 2 |
| 18 | ST | ITA | Federico Macheda | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Liam Trotter | 9 | 1 | 5+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | NIR | Jamie Ward | 34 | 3 | 20+11 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | WAL | Jonny Williams | 10 | 0 | 4+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | ST | ENG | Jamie Paterson | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Gary Gardner | 22 | 2 | 18+2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | ST | ATG | Dexter Blackstock | 32 | 4 | 12+17 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | WAL | David Vaughan | 37 | 1 | 31+4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Jack Hobbs | 23 | 0 | 18+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | GK | BUL | Dimitar Evtimov | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | SCO | Chris Burke | 10 | 0 | 7+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | ST | ENG | Chris O'Grady | 21 | 2 | 15+6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | ESP | Daniel Pinillos | 19 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | GER | Robert Tesche | 25 | 1 | 17+7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | ST | ENG | Tyler Walker | 15 | 1 | 5+9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 35 | MF | SCO | Oliver Burke | 21 | 2 | 6+12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 37 | MF | ENG | Jorge Grant | 11 | 0 | 2+8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | MF | ENG | Ben Osborn | 38 | 3 | 32+4 | 3 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | ST | BUL | Nikolay Todorov | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | DF | SCO | Alex Iacovitti | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | ST | EIR | Gerry McDonagh | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | DF | ENG | Joe Worrall | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | GK | ENG | Ross Durrant | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | MF | LTU | Deimantas Petravičius | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | FW | ENG | Ben Brereton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | DF | SCO | Jordan Gabriel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | MF | ENG | Toby Edser | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | GK | ENG | Jordan Wright | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* ↑ Players whose names are in italics spent time on loan at other clubs during the course of the season.
* ↑ Players whose names appear emboldened left the club on a permanent basis having appeared in a competitive fixture this season.
* ↑ An injury to Fryatt's Achilles tendon, sustained in March 2015, prevented him from playing this season.
* ↑ An injury to Reid's groin, sustained in October 2014, prevented him from playing this season.
Source: Nottingham Forest F.C.

### Goal scorers

    As of 9 May 2016
| Rank | No. | Position | Player | Championship | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | 17 | Striker | Nélson Oliveira | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 2 | 5 | Defender | Matt Mills | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | 10 | Midfielder | Henri Lansbury | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | 18 | Midfielder | Michail Antonio | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | 23 | Striker | Dexter Blackstock | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | 19 | Midfielder | Jamie Ward | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | 38 | Midfielder | Ben Osborn | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | 15 | Midfielder | Ryan Mendes | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | 22 | Midfielder | Gary Gardner | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | 29 | Striker | Chris O'Grady | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | 35 | Midfielder | Oliver Burke | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | 2 | Defender | Eric Lichaj | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | 8 | Midfielder | Chris Cohen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | 9 | Striker | Britt Assombalonga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | 18 | Midfielder | Liam Trotter | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | 24 | Midfielder | David Vaughan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | 32 | Midfielder | Robert Tesche | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | 34 | Striker | Tyler Walker | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| TOTAL | TOTAL | TOTAL | TOTAL | 43 | 1 | 3 | 47 |
Source: Nottingham Forest F.C.

### Disciplinary record

    As of 9 May 2016
| No. | Position | Player | Championship | Championship | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| 2 | Defender | Eric Lichaj | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| 5 | Defender | Matt Mills | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| 24 | Midfielder | David Vaughan | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| 4 | Defender | Michael Mancienne | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 15 | Midfielder | Ryan Mendes | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 10 | Midfielder | Henri Lansbury | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 17 | Striker | Nélson Oliveira | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 19 | Midfielder | Jamie Ward | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 23 | Striker | Dexter Blackstock | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 25 | Defender | Jack Hobbs | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | Defender | Bojan Jokić | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 22 | Midfielder | Gary Gardner | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 32 | Midfielder | Robert Tesche | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 38 | Midfielder | Ben Osborn | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1 | Goalkeeper | Dorus de Vries | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 37 | Midfielder | Jorge Grant | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | Defender | Danny Fox | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | Defender | Kelvin Wilson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | Midfielder | Chris Cohen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | Striker | Britt Assombalonga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | Midfielder | Jonny Williams | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | Midfielder | Chris Burke | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | Striker | Chris O'Grady | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 34 | Striker | Tyler Walker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| TOTAL | TOTAL | TOTAL | 89 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 93 | 6 |
Source: Nottingham Forest F.C.