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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
Sport
Matt Davies

Clough vs Taylor and the origins of Nottingham Forest's bitter rivalry with Derby County

Nottingham Forest and Derby County might be separated by a stretch of the A52 but in a football sense, right now they are worlds apart.

Forest are back in the Premier League for the first time this century, although they face a real battle to stay there. Derby are stuck in League One and while fans will be relieved to still have a club to support, Forest can tell them from experience they face a real battle to get back to the Championship.

When the rivalry is renewed, it will be as fierce as ever with a new book by Reds fan and author David Marples explaining how the divisions were drawn over a century ago off the pitch before before being stoked at various points in the almost 150 years which have followed.

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"It was fascinating researching it," he said when discussing Reds & Rams: A story of the East Midlands derby on the latest Garibaldi Red podcast. "It wasn't just a Brian Clough thing.

"In the Victorian era Derby had the mills, the industry and were self styled underdogs. Nottingham was the home of the rebel, it had the Lace Market and was a little more urban compared to rural Derby.

"You can already see the differences between the cities. There's a cultural and historical difference. It goes back to 1892 arguably when Forest joined the Football League.

"Forest beat Derby 3-2 in October 1892 at their Racecourse Ground as it was then. Steve Bloomer scored for Derby and he went on to score countless hat-tricks against Forest.

"From the early days the rivalry was there. In 1895 two brothers, Frank and Fred Forman, stoked the rivalry when they left Derby for Forest to play first team football. There were accusations by Frank in the local press of broken promises. He warned players not to sign for Derby.

"Prior to Brian Clough (managing both clubs) there was a period where they didn't play each other much. They were in different leagues. Clough made Derby incredibly successful.

"Then we've seen a motorway of players going between the clubs. Since that time the rivalry was resurrected with a passion.

"Perhaps the most fierce game was an FA Cup tie in 1983 when Peter Taylor went to Derby having said he was retired. Derby beat Forest 2-0 in part thanks to an Archie Gemmill goal.

"On the day I believe there was rancour behind the scenes. There was a story that Brian wouldn't acknowledge Peter Taylor after the game. He dropped players because he thought they'd go easy on Derby.

"We then have a constant thread with Nigel Clough. Only now do we see a minor break in relationships between the two."

The question of the future of the East Midlands derby and in particular Derby County was a hotly debated one in the last year with some Forest supporters wanting their arch rivals to go bust among crippling financial problems.

For Marples that would have been a shame as he welcomes a break in hostilities, although he hopes they resume eventually.

"It was a huge discussion. Do you want Derby to go out of business? I don't really want any club to go out of business. Part of the joy of having a local derby is having them around so you can beat them once in a while. Otherwise the rivalry doesn't really exist.

"The pain of losing is counterbalanced by the job of beating them. Every club defines themselves by their rival as much as how they see themselves. I think it's nice the derby is off the table for a while.

"For 14 years they've been intensely locked together. I didn't expect the two clubs to leave the scene as they did last season with Derby hurtling through the trapdoor as Forest climbed the steps to heaven as it were."

You can listen to the full podcast here or watch it here. Reds & Rams: A story of the East Midlands derby is out on Monday.

Will you miss Forest vs Derby games this season? Have your say in the comments section below

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