It may be an exaggeration to say that Nottingham Forest’s path to conquering Europe began with Fulham but Brian Clough’s first league game in charge was against them. In all competitions, it was his second match at the helm. His fourth was also against Fulham. So were his eighth, ninth and 11th. After a marathon FA Cup tie, the Forest team of 1975 may have known Fulham better than the class of 2022 know each other.
When Fulham visit the City Ground on Friday, strangers will have had 13 days to learn their teammates’ names and Steve Cooper 13 to try and arrow in on his strongest side. An impromptu break still brought another arrival, with Serge Aurier becoming Forest’s 22nd new signing after the transfer window closed. If that overhaul has made Forest a punchline, there is an argument a summer exodus made it necessary and that they have failed to fully explain that. Whatever the necessity, they ended the summer with a bigger net spend than Serie A, La Liga, Ligue Un and the Bundesliga combined.
