What to do with the pile of vintage Nottingham Forest programmes that came into my possession several years ago? At first, standard protocol was observed for uncategorised piles of paper. The 21 City Ground programmes, spanning 50 years from September 1963 to November 2012, were packed away in a dark cupboard, ignored and unread. But finally taking the time to study them has paid dividends: a rich seam of history leaps off the pages in clear, elegant black-and-white type.
Forest’s presence in the top-flight’s upper echelons evoked the club’s halcyon days and plenty has been written about the Brian Clough-Peter Taylor era. Less attention has focused on Clough’s often entertaining programme notes during his 18-year tenure – while the editions outside Clough’s time are a fascinating way of charting Forest’s trajectory, as well as how profoundly football and wider society have changed.
