Seven questions on tomorrow’s opponents dating back to the sixties, I’ll post the answers on here over the weekend.
60s. Starting his working life as a miner, he first came to footballing attention while representing a Yorkshire town with a cake named after at non league level, His performances persuaded a club from a city with a reputation for a different industry than mining to sign him and he started a long career, played mainly in a now obsolete position, by making just short of a hundred league appearances for them. He moved to London next to play for a club on the brink of something big before heading north again to sign for Forest where his combination of strong tackling and a mild manner saw him recognised as something of a gentleman. He was in a winning Forest team at Ninian Park during this decade and, again, fell just short of a hundred league appearances before departing to play in stripes for a second time at the club he is probably remembered best for playing for these days. His last move saw him take a player manager’s job for east midland blues and there were four further stints as a manager after he stopped playing – the longest of which was with a Yorkshire mining town, while there were two jobs in red rose territory and a last one at a club with a ground name that would have been very familiar to him. He played once for England at under 23 level and a couple of times for a representative side long since disbanded, but can you name him?
70s. He won European honours with Forest, but six years earlier he was in their starting line up in front of around 10,000 at Ninian Park, who?
80s. Who started this decade by picking up a European Cup winning medal and saw his daughter win the Ashes a quarter of a century later?
90s. Wait till carer rearranges this centreback’s career?
00s. They contributed nothing between them in terms of goals during their short spells at Forest in the same season, but struck up a much more productive partnership elsewhere during an on/off/on relationship over four years – who?
10s. Which three members of Forest teams beaten by City in 2015 have already played in the same Premier League fixture this season?
20s. Middle Eastern tradesman between the sticks at Forest?
Answers.
60s. Jim Iley was a left half who was spotted by Sheffield United while playing for Pontefract Collieries and signed for them in 1953 as an eighteen year old. Four years later, he moved to Spurs, but had signed for Forest by the time they won their double in 60/61. He was in the Forest side which won 3-1 at Ninian Park in September 1960 and came to be known as “Gentleman Jim” by their supporters. Iley’s next move took him to Newcastle where he stayed for seven years, notching up over two hundred and thirty league appearances, before he was appointed Peterborough’s Player manager in 1969. He spent five years as Barnsley’s manager and this, along with four years at Bury sandwiched a shorter stint at Blackburn – his last job was at Exeter. Iley also played twice for Football League select sides.
70s. Ian Bowyer was in both the Forest starting eleven for their 1979 European Cup win over Malmo and their December 1973 visit to City for a 1-1 draw watched by 10,339.
80s. Bryn Gunn won a European Cup winning medal for his substitute’s appearance in Forest’s 1980 win over Hamburg – in 2005, his daughter Jenny was in the England women’s team that beat Australia to win the Ashes.
90s. Carl Tiler.
00s. Steve McPhail and Michael Chopra played a combined total of twenty three times during loan spells at Forest in their 03/04 relegation season and didn’t score a goal between them.
10s. Karl Darlow, Jamaal Lascelles and Michail Antonio were all in Forest sides beaten 2-1 at the City Ground by us during 2015. Last Saturday, the first two named were in the Newcastle team which won 2-0 at Antonio’s West Ham.
20s. Jordan Smith.
