Former Nottingham Forest midfielder Carlton Palmer says the club was in “a complete mess” when he moved to the City Ground.
Palmer signed for the Reds from Southampton in January 1999, joining a team battling to stay in the top tier.
In addition to Forest’s struggles on the pitch, there was also the issue of Pierre van Hooijdonk.
Unhappy at some of the decisions taken after helping secure promotion from the First Division the previous season, the Dutchman infamously went on strike in an attempt to force a transfer, having been denied a move away.
Palmer says his teammate’s actions “ruined the whole football club” and left him feeling he had made “the worst decision” of his career.
“I went into a bad situation there,” he told the ‘Quickly Kevin; will he score?’ podcast, as he recalled his switch from the Saints.
He added: “I felt I let Dave Jones (Southampton boss at the time) down a little bit and I went into a situation which is the worst I’ve ever come across in football. It was horrible.
“It was just horrible.
“The place was a complete mess.
“Van Hooijdonk is somebody I don’t like now. I don’t like him as a person. I don’t like his character. He’s got this arrogance about him and he ruined the whole football club, really, just by the way he acted.
“It created a major problem - bad feeling within the dressing room, bad feeling within the club, bad feeling with the supporters.
“It was the worst decision I’ve made to go there and I couldn’t get out of there quick enough.”
