It’s the phrase that arguably annoys fans of Nottingham Forest the most, when the Reds are referred to as ‘Notts’ – simply mention that to them and you’re likely to be on the wrong end of a tongue lashing at the very least.
Much to their annoyance, former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher has often referred to the Reds as Notts, but opted to apologise on Thursday morning when using the annoying term once more.
Speaking on Thursday’s Football Show on Sky Sports, the ex-Liverpool defender was reminiscing about Forest’s 1-0 over Hamburg to secure their second successive European Cup triumph on what was the 40th anniversary whilst praising the ‘special’ job legendary boss Brian Clough did.
“The biggest thing I always feel when you talk about Notts Forest, I mean, Nottingham Forest, I apologise to Forest fans, they don’t like that – Nottingham Forest, is the that they’ve won more European Cups than League titles.
“That’s never going to be beaten really, it’s a quirk of the times. What they did was so special,” he said.
“To win two European Cups on the bounce, we realise how difficult that is in this day and age with the Champions League.
“It took so long, I think Real Madrid were one of the first teams to do it, and for Forest to have that accolade is something special."
The conversation turned to the Reds being one of England's best ever sides, something Carragher and his Sky colleague Gary Neville spoke about recently.
“It does," Carragher said when asked about naming Forest in the top five best English teams of all time.
“It’s the success in the League Cup as well, it was really, really special at that time.
“Cloughie couldn’t quite get his hands on the FA Cup, it just shows how important the European Cup is really.
“It elevates you as a club, as a team.
“To win them back-to-back, that’s what elevated them up there. They’d obviously won one league title, plenty of Manchester United or Liverpool teams have won numerous league titles, but it just shows how important the European Cup is.
“We shouldn’t forget the unbeaten records, you think about the Arsenal invincibles, there was talk of Liverpool going and winning a certain amount of games this season, whenever these records are up for grabs, it’s always Notts Forest who are there at the top.”
Again, Carragher let slip the word Notts, and was chastised by host David Jones.
“Oh, sorry,” Carragher quipped when Jones reminded him it was Nottingham Forest.
“I was brought up on calling them Notts Forest.”
