Deep into the Forest by Daniel Taylor

by Daniel Taylor

Ever since his addiction began with a 1-1 draw against Coventry City at the age of seven, Guardian sportswriter Daniel Taylor has been both blessed and cursed to be a Nottingham Forest fan. Deep into the Forest is the story of his quest to track down those legendary figures who defined the club’s history and gather their first-hand accounts about the most exhilarating highs and the most excruciating lows, from the European Cups and Wembley triumphs to the relegations, cup shocks and controversies. In the most colourful book ever written about the club, we learn about the long-running feud between Kenny Burns and Trevor Francis, how Forest were cheated out of a European final by a ‘dodgy’ referee and how Brian Clough once punched Stuart Pearce in the dressing room. From the ‘glory years’ Garry Birtles, John Robertson, Viv Anderson and Larry Lloyd recall those magical days when unheralded, unfashionable Forest won the European Cup twice and could rightly claim to be the greatest football team in the world. Nigel Clough lifts the lid on what it was really like being the manager’s son, the fiercely secretive Des Walker breaks the habit of a lifetime to offer his own personal insight and Pearce explains why a part of him will always hate Derby County and Liverpool. Add to that the stories of Ian Storey-Moore, Archie Gemmill, John McGovern, Roy Keane and Neil Webb and Deep into the Forest is the ultimate read for supporters of a club that has inspired so many emotions.

Paperback

First published March 1, 2005

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Daniel Taylor is a British journalist and author. He was the chief football writer for The Guardian and The Observer from 2012 to 2019, having joined the newspaper in 2000; in October 2019, he joined The Athletic. In March 2017 he won news reporter of the year and sports journalist of the year at The Press Awards for his series of stories about the United Kingdom football sexual abuse scandal.

Reviews

[Mahlon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of interviews with various Nottingham Forest legends. Taylor's subjects are a good mix of the European cup stars of 79-80 and Clough's second great team of the late 80s – early 90s. A must read for any Forest fan!

[Nick Upton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliantly compiled with some great stories, both glorious and sad at times. Reads like it was edited and grammatically assessed by a slice of gammon though, which is the only reason I refuse to give this 5 stars. Reading about the likes of Pearce, Clough (both Brian and Nigel), Storey-Moore and Des Walker makes me feel glad I didn't choose to support the older brothers across the Trent.