May 1999. Boyzone are top of the UK charts, Lance Armstrong is winning the first of his tainted Tour de France titles and people are quietly soiling themselves about the Millennium bug.
Nottingham Forest ended their season with a 1-0 home win over Leicester. The Premier League was a different beast back then, populated by blokes called Brian and a successful Manchester United, but Forest still finished the 1998-99 campaign dead last.
Little did they know it would take 8414 days, 1182 games and 28 managers before they returned. But, courtesy of an own goal by Huddersfield defender Levi Colwill in Sunday’s play-off final, Forest are finally back in the top flight of English football.
Their achievement has been remarkable. When Steve Cooper, the doppelganger of Ned Schneebly, was appointed last September, Forest were rooted to the bottom of the Championship with one point from eight matches.
The celebration police will point out that Forest had 38 games to rectify their situation. But, by taking a side that was losing every week and lifting them 20 positions in a league that’s notoriously difficult to sustain form in, Cooper has surely been the manager of the season.
And a number of his players look set to grace the Premier League. Djed Spence has been christened the Bridgeford Cafu, Brennan Johnson has more tricks up his sleeve than Dynamo while goalkeeper Brice Samba looks a Barclays cult hero in the making.
But James Garner looks a cut above the rest and made the telling contributions during the 1-0 victory over Huddersfield at Wembley.
It was his cross that settled the game, dipping and bouncing until it unnerved the young Colwill into kneeing the ball past his own goalkeeper. Blessed with a delivery so efficient it puts the Royal Mail to shame, Garner has contributed eight assists to the Forest cause this year.
⭕ 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗗, 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧! ⭕
Forest are ahead at Wembley! It’s a nightmare moment for…
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