Q – How long have you been following Forest and what was your first game?
First game was against Man Utd. In 1966, we won and it was so full (nearly 42,000) that my feet couldn`t touch the floor on the way out of the Trent End.
Q – What are your most memorable moments as a Forest fan? Good and Bad.
Winning the league at Coventry, on the way out our convoy of coaches was applauded by people coming out of their houses, we all had tears in our eyes. All other cups are great but winning the League is still the prize as far as I`m concerned.
Bad must have been at Hillsborough when they laid all the bodies out in front of us, and the FA cup loss against Spurs, that was a long journey back up the M1.
Q – Since you have been following Forest, what would your best eleven be? And who is your all time favourite player?
Shilton, Anderson, Hennessey, Walker, Psycho, O`Neil, Keane, Archie Gemmill, Storey-Moore, Collymore, Robertson.
I can`t choose between Ian Storey-Moore and Psycho, so both of them. Storey-Moore was my favourite for a long time, he could shoot equally with both feet and I think I`ve only ever seen Stan the Man do that. Then along came Psycho and who could not include him!
Q – What would you say is the best goal you have seen Forest score?
Ian Storey-Moore`s against Arsenal in 1971. All the press were there at the tunnel to photo Alan Ball who had just moved to Arsenal and they totally ignored the Forest players, but Storey-Moore picked the ball up in the Trent End half and went on a run past several players, even Alan Ball, and hammered it in at the Bridgford End. Stuffed it up them! I hope my memory serves me well and I`m pleased that an early interviewee stated the same goal.
Q – Best and worst away ground visited?
Best was San Siro, before they put a roof on.
Worst was Oxford City in the old 2nd Division in the ’70`s when I should have been 3 miles away at Oxford Utd, still made it for kick off though! Seriously I`m not sure as Wembley has always been a pig to get in and out, we must have tried 4 different routes to get to the ground, any pub you could get in was full and difficult to get served, a drink in the ground took a week`s wages and the toilets were always 3 inch deep on the floor: apart from that I don`t think I took much notice of the other league grounds as we were there only for the Reds, a win, a good day out and a slurp.
Q – What are your thoughts on the proposed new stadium?
I`d like to see the Main Stand rebuilt, the concept of a brand new ground with other sporting facilities sounds good and I can understand the vision, but it`s not just nostalgia that tells me that you can`t beat the location on the side of the Trent. I know we don`t own the CG and space is limited but a fair sized new Main Stand should be explored before we uproot and go to ‘no man`s land`.
Q- Which player(s) would you like to see us sign this summer(realistically)?
All the loanees and the new ones that BD is pushing for, I`ve no personal preferences so I`ll trust his judgement.
Q – All seater stadia. Good thing, or a bad thing?
It was great standing up but we had no choice back then and sometimes I couldn`t see, and woe betide if you wanted a leak in a full crowd, I`ve watered the East Stand (as it was then), so sitting down it has to be.
Q – What are your thoughts on how Forest did last season and how did it compare to your expectations?
I thought we would end up mid-table, so it was worse than expected, but we survived and that is all that matters: we would have been down with Calderwood.
Q – What are your expectations for next season in the Championship?
Now I would expect at least a mid position this season.
Q – What League position will Forest occupy at the end of the 2009/10 season?
Anywhere between 7 – 10.
Q – What’s your opinion of Billy Davies and what he’s done at NFFC, since arriving in January?
I think he`s the man for us. When others griped about his Derby background I couldn`t understand it as his record spoke for itself. He`s much more animated on the bench than Calderwood was and that is what I like to see. You cannot fault the policy of round pegs in round holes and I was pleased when BD stated this was his intention, that is where players get to know where each other belong on the pitch and where they should be, and then they begin to gel, that is exactly what Cloughie did when we won the League.
Q – Where do you sit/stand at the City Ground?
I used to be a season ticket holder in the Upper Trent until my family arrived, now I pick the matches when someone looks after my kids. If I do drag the kids down (they`re not interested) it is in the Family bit in the Main Stand on kids for a quid day or a fiver. There`s no point in paying over the odds for my daughter to sit in an expensive seat and colour in a book as she did for the whole of the 2nd half against Southampton!
Q – Name the celebrity you would most like to bang.
Her that plays Sacagawea in the film ‘Night at The Museum`, don`t know her name as I never see the credits, but Robin Williams was a lucky man.
Thanks again to Jim for taking the time out to answer the questions. If you would like to take part in the Fan Interviews, then send your answers to forest@vitalfootball.co.uk. You can find a list of the Q’s HERE. Next up…it’s David Poole!
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