By Martin Walker
In the fourth of our seven-part series, we take a closer look at
some of our pre-season opposition - today, Nottingham
Forest…
Roy Keane will return to his former club Nottingham Forest when
Sunderland take on the newly-promoted club in a pre-season friendly
on Wednesday July 30.
Did you know…
● Forest were founded in 1865 by a group of shinty (field
hockey) players shortly after their neighbours Notts County
(thought to be the world's oldest surviving professional
football club), in 1862.
● The club's committee decided that Forest's
colours should be Garibaldi Red, named after the Italian patriot
who headed the redshirts party.
● Forest take their name from the Forest Recreation Ground
just north of the city centre, which is where the team first
played, and is now the site of the annual Nottingham Goose
Fair.
● The City Ground, which currently holds just over 30,000,
has been Forest's home for the last 110 years. They moved there
from the Town Ground in 1898.
● The club is often referred to simply as Forest - their
fans dislike the club being referred to as Notts Forest because
Notts is the correct abbreviation of Nottinghamshire (hence Notts
County), but not of Nottingham itself.
● Forest's relegation to English football's third
tier in 2005 made them the first European Cup-winning club ever to
fall into its country's third division. They returned to the
Championship after winning promotion from League One last
season.
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