During the 1992–93 English football season, Nottingham Forest competed in the inaugural season of the FA Premier League.
Season summary The previous season, Forest had finished 8th and started the new season fairly well with an opening-day 1–0 win over Liverpool in Sky Sports' first-ever 'Super Sunday' match on 16 August 1992 which saw their first-ever live goal scored by Teddy Sheringham. However, after the sale of key players Sheringham and Des Walker, Forest struggled thereafter and after the promising display against Liverpool on the opening day, they went on the receiving end of six successive defeats - during which they leaked 18 goals - which would set the tone for a long season ahead of them. They were virtually never out of the relegation zone after their 2–0 home defeat to eventual champions Manchester United on 29 August 1992 and since the opening day, they won just two of their next 21 games before the new year, leaving them in bottom place, six points from safety.
However, their form after the new year exceptionally improved with a run of five wins in the next seven league games, cumulating in a 1–0 win over Queens Park Rangers on 24 February 1993, briefly lifting them out of the relegation zone on goal difference, during a very tight relegation dogfight at the time with only seven points separating second-bottom Middlesbrough and 12th-placed Chelsea. However, a 2–0 defeat to Manchester City and a 1–1 draw with relegation rivals Crystal Palace in their next two home games saw them sucked back into the bottom-three and after that, they could not keep up the momentum needed for survival, winning just two of the next ten games, leaving them needing to win their final two games in order to stand any chance of avoiding relegation. They were ultimately relegated in bottom place with their fate being confirmed on 1 May 1993 in a 2–0 home defeat to Sheffield United - among other results going against them - which also saw the Blades effectively secure their survival at the expense of Middlesbrough. Brian Clough retired at the end of the season, leaving Frank Clark to try and take Forest back to the Premier League.
During the off-season, young Irish midfielder Roy Keane - who was named in the PFA Team of the Year - was sold to Manchester United. He would play a major role in Manchester United's dominance of English football over the next decade.
Squad Squad at end of season
Transfers In Pos. Name from TypeMF Ray McKinnon Dundee United £750,000FW Gary Bannister West Bromwich Albion Out Pos. Name To TypeFW Teddy Sheringham Tottenham Hotspur £2,100,000DF Des Walker Sampdoria £1,500,000DF Terry Wilson Dunfermline Athletic F.C. MF Tommy Gaynor Millwall F.C. DF Darren Wassall Derby County DF Chris Hope Kettering Town MF Alan Mahood Greenock Morton
Winter In Pos. Name from TypeMF Neil Webb Manchester United £800,000FW Robert Rosario Coventry City £450,000 Out Pos. Name To TypeDF Brett Williams Stoke City loan
Competitions FA Premier League
League Table
Nottingham Forest's score comes first
Position by round
Matches
FA Cup
+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersR33 January 1993 SouthamptonH2–113,592Keane, WebbR423 January 1993 MiddlesbroughH1–122,296WebbR4R3 February 1993 MiddlesbroughA3–020,514Bannister, N Clough, WoanR513 February 1993 ArsenalA0–227,591
League Cup
+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersR2 First Leg 23 September 1992 Stockport CountyA3–27,964Örlygsson, N Clough, BannisterR2 Second Leg 7 October 1992 Stockport CountyH2–1 (won 5–3 on agg)15,573Black, Gannon (own goal)R328 October 1992 Crewe AlexandraA1–07,042ÖrlygssonR42 December 1992 Tottenham HotspurH2–022,312Keane, WoanQF12 January 1993 ArsenalA0–225,600
Reserve squad
Statistics Squad statistics
References