The Executive Stand.
The East Stand. Then the Exec Stand. Now the Brian Clough Stand. Still glamorous.
(Jürgen Röber in front of the then Executive Stand. 1980. Pic: Bob Thomas)
It is difficult to articulate how impressive the Brian Clough Stand (then Executive Stand) was back in the day. It towered over almost everything surrounding it, acting as a guardian of the City Ground – a sentinel on duty – reminding everyone that this was the home of Nottingham Forest and Nottingham Forest meant business. The conquerors of Europe were here to stay.
It emerged from the ashes of the old East Stand, itself constructed in 1957 at a cost of £40,000 and officially opened on 12 October for the visit of the ‘Busby Babes’, the runaway champions of the previous two seasons. The numbered bench seats accommodated 2,500 fans.
Then Brian Clough came along and under the watchful eye of the East Stand, Forest saw off Cologne, Ajax and Liverpool. Demand to see the double European champions soared. The team deserved something more fitting. So work began on the then monolithic development, with construction completed in October 1980. Its sophistication and poshness were emphasised by its title: the Executive Stand.
According to Philip Soar in his excellent book, The Official History of Nottingham Forest, it was to hold almost exactly 10,000 with 36 boxes and was only the fourth new cantilever stand to be built in the country. Yet perhaps its most striking feature was the iconic white lettering. Now commonplace, this was revolutionary at the time, spawning a whole host of imitations.
It wasn’t cheap. At an estimated cost of £2.5million, signings like Trevor Francis were not going to happen again soon. In addition, money was squandered on new signings that didn’t work out, and the bank manager was getting itchy.
So Clough cut his cloth accordingly and developed a whole new batch of youngsters that brought more silverware to the club over the next ten years, at a fraction of the cost of the Executive Stand.
It would take until 1999 to be appropriately renamed the Brian Clough Stand, still towering over most other things, still dominating the landscape, still monolithic. Brian was invited back on Sunday 19 September for a game against Wolves to be honoured with the unveiling of a bust of him in the main entrance to the ground and the official renaming.
It has stood the test of time well. Sure, the sun glares unremittingly into the eyes of those in the lower tier and the concourse is particularly narrow. But the view from the upper tier is magnificent, taking in Trent Bridge and the sweeping river, meandering through the city, in its own sweet time.
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Only Murders In The Building (Disney +)
Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez play characters who share an obsession with true crime podcasts and when a murder happens in their swanky New York building, they bond in their attempts to solve the mystery murder. All silly, good fun. Starts strong. Sags a little. Finishes strong.
If you do not know me, I am the author of ‘Reds and Rams: The History of the East Midlands Derby’ and ‘The History Boys: Thirty Iconic Forest Goals’ (both available in the Forest club shop). I have written pieces for Mundial magazine, Football Weekends magazine and edited two award-nominated fanzines.
If you do know me, I’m truly sorry.
