1992–93 Nottingham Forest F.C. season

During the 1992–93 English football season, Nottingham Forest competed in the inaugural season of the FA Premier League.

Nottingham Forest

1992–93 season
Chairman	Fred Reacher
Manager	Brian Clough
Stadium	City Ground
FA Premier League	22nd (relegated)
FA Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	Fifth round
Top goalscorer	League: N Clough (10) All: N Clough (12)
Average home league attendance	21,910
Home colours Away colours Third colours

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.

Final league table

Main article: 1992–93 FA Premier League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
18	Southampton	42	13	11	18	54	61	−7	50
19	Oldham Athletic	42	13	10	19	63	74	−11	49
20	Crystal Palace (R)	42	11	16	15	48	61	−13	49	Relegation to Football League First Division
21	Middlesbrough (R)	42	11	11	20	54	75	−21	44
22	Nottingham Forest (R)	42	10	10	22	41	62	−21	40

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated

Results

Nottingham Forest's score comes first

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

FA Premier League

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
16 August 1992	Liverpool	H	1–0	20,038	Sheringham
19 August 1992	Sheffield Wednesday	A	0–2	29,623
22 August 1992	Oldham Athletic	A	3–5	11,632	Pearce (pen), Bannister (2)
29 August 1992	Manchester United	H	0–2	19,694
31 August 1992	Norwich City	A	1–3	14,104	N Clough
5 September 1992	Blackburn Rovers	A	1–4	16,180	Bannister
12 September 1992	Sheffield Wednesday	H	1–2	19,420	Bannister
21 September 1992	Coventry City	H	1–1	17,553	N Clough
26 September 1992	Chelsea	A	0–0	19,760
3 October 1992	Manchester City	A	2–2	22,571	McKinnon, Pearce
17 October 1992	Arsenal	H	0–1	24,862
21 October 1992	Middlesbrough	H	1–0	17,846	Black
24 October 1992	Sheffield United	A	0–0	19,152
31 October 1992	Ipswich Town	H	0–1	21,411
7 November 1992	Everton	H	0–1	20,941
21 November 1992	Crystal Palace	A	1–1	15,330	Bannister
28 November 1992	Southampton	H	1–2	19,942	N Clough
5 December 1992	Leeds United	A	4–1	29,364	N Clough, Keane (2), Black
12 December 1992	Aston Villa	A	1–2	29,015	Keane
20 December 1992	Wimbledon	H	1–1	19,326	N Clough
28 December 1992	Tottenham Hotspur	A	1–2	32,118	Gemmill
9 January 1993	Coventry City	A	1–0	15,264	Woan
16 January 1993	Chelsea	H	3–0	23,249	Bannister (2), Örlygsson
27 January 1993	Manchester United	A	0–2	36,085
30 January 1993	Oldham Athletic	H	2–0	21,240	Woan (2)
6 February 1993	Liverpool	A	0–0	40,463
20 February 1993	Middlesbrough	A	2–1	15,639	N Clough, Stone
24 February 1993	Queens Park Rangers	H	1–0	22,436	Crosby
27 February 1993	Manchester City	H	0–2	25,956
3 March 1993	Crystal Palace	H	1–1	20,603	Keane
13 March 1993	Everton	A	0–3	21,271
17 March 1993	Norwich City	H	0–3	20,799
21 March 1993	Leeds United	H	1–1	25,148	N Clough
24 March 1993	Southampton	A	2–1	18,005	N Clough, Keane
4 April 1993	Aston Villa	H	0–1	26,742
7 April 1993	Blackburn Rovers	H	1–3	20,467	N Clough (pen)
10 April 1993	Queens Park Rangers	A	3–4	16,782	Black, Bannister (2)
12 April 1993	Tottenham Hotspur	H	2–1	25,682	Black, Rosario
17 April 1993	Wimbledon	A	0–1	9,358
21 April 1993	Arsenal	A	1–1	19,024	Keane
1 May 1993	Sheffield United	H	0–2	26,752
8 May 1993	Ipswich Town	A	1–2	22,093	N Clough (pen)

FA Cup

Main article: 1992–93 FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	3 January 1993	Southampton	H	2–1	13,592	Keane, Webb
R4	23 January 1993	Middlesbrough	H	1–1	22,296	Webb
R4R	3 February 1993	Middlesbrough	A	3–0	20,514	Bannister, N Clough, Woan
R5	13 February 1993	Arsenal	A	0–2	27,591

League Cup

Main article: 1992–93 Football League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R2 First Leg	23 September 1992	Stockport County	A	3–2	7,964	Örlygsson, N Clough, Bannister
R2 Second Leg	7 October 1992	Stockport County	H	2–1 (won 5–3 on agg)	15,573	Black, Gannon (own goal)
R3	28 October 1992	Crewe Alexandra	A	1–0	7,042	Örlygsson
R4	2 December 1992	Tottenham Hotspur	H	2–0	22,312	Keane, Woan
QF	12 January 1993	Arsenal	A	0–2	25,600

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season

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	WAL	Mark Crossley
—	GK	WAL	Andy Marriott
—	DF	ENG	Gary Charles
—	DF	ENG	Steve Chettle
—	DF	ENG	Brian Laws
—	DF	ENG	Stuart Pearce (captain)
—	DF	ENG	Carl Tiler
—	DF	ENG	Brett Williams
—	MF	NIR	Kingsley Black
—	MF	ENG	Gary Crosby
—	MF	SCO	Scot Gemmill

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	SCO	Ray McKinnon
—	MF	IRL	Roy Keane
—	MF	ISL	Þorvaldur Örlygsson
—	MF	ENG	Steve Stone
—	MF	ENG	Neil Webb
—	MF	ENG	Ian Woan
—	FW	ENG	Gary Bannister
—	FW	ENG	Nigel Clough
—	FW	SCO	Lee Glover
—	FW	ENG	Robert Rosario

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	SCO	Terry Wilson (to Dunfermline Athletic)

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	FW	ENG	Teddy Sheringham (to Tottenham Hotspur)

Reserve 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
—	DF	ENG	Craig Armstrong
—	DF	ENG	Steve Blatherwick
—	DF	ENG	Gary Bowyer
—	DF	ENG	Chris Hope
—	MF	ENG	Bobby Howe
—	MF	ENG	Ian Kilford

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	ENG	Tony Loughlan
—	MF	ENG	Lee Marshall
—	MF	ENG	Justin Walker
—	FW	ENG	Steve Guinan
—	FW	ENG	Paul McGregor

Statistics

Starting 11

Considering appearances in all competitions

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	MS	Notes
	GK		Mark Crossley	38
	RB		Brian Laws	33
	CB		Steve Chettle	31
	CB		Carl Tiler	38
	LB		Stuart Pearce	24
	RM		Kingsley Black	20	Gary Crosby has 20 starts
	CM		Roy Keane	41
	CM		Scot Gemmill	34
	LM		Ian Woan	28
	CF		Gary Bannister	27
	CF		Nigel Clough	43