The last time Nottingham Forest came this close to promotion, they’d only been out of the Premier League for 12 years.
The word ‘only’ is doing a lot of heavy lifting here of course but, with just days to go until Steve Cooper’s side face off with Huddersfield Town at Wembley – promotion and a place in the top-flight the prize – Forest’s absence from the Promised Land stands at nearly a quarter of a century.
Thanks to Brice Samba’s wobbly-legged, penalty shoot-out heroics at the City Ground, Forest’s ‘class of 22’ have already gone one step further than the team who suffered semi-final heartbreak against Swansea City a decade ago.
Nottingham Forest’s last play-off side
Lee Camp
Still going strong at the age of 37, there was very little Lee Camp could do to stop Leon Britton opening the scoring at the Liberty Stadium on that May day in 2011, the midfielder’s long-range rocket soaring into the top corner.
The journeyman shot-stopper may still enjoy one last Hollywood twist in his long career. Appropriately enough given the identity of their owners, with Wrexham dreaming of promotion back to the EFL.
Brendan Moloney
A graduate from Nottingham Forest’s iconic Nigel Doughty academy, Moloney was perhaps the player most negatively affected by the departure of Billy Davis in 2011. Successors Steve McClaren and Steve Cotterill obviously didn’t rate him as highly as the motor-mouthed Davis, the right-back falling out of favour.
Moloney, who once joined Yeovil Town in a swap deal involving Luke Ayling, retired in 29 after a series of injuries. He is now focusing on his burgeoning coaching career.
Luke Chambers
Like Camp, Chambers continues to laugh defiantly in the face of Father Time.
At 36, the battle-scarred centre-back remains an EFL stalwart, albeit down in the fourth-tier with Colchester United. Chambers, a former Ipswich Town captain, played nearly 50 games in 2021/22, a remarkable achievement given his age.
Wes Morgan
Perhaps the most unlikely Premier League-winning captain in the competition’s history, Morgan joined an elite group containing the likes of John Terry, Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane during Leicester City’s ‘500-1’ success story in 2016.
Morgan retired last year after getting his mitts on another piece of silverware, beating Chelsea in the FA Cup final.
Chris Gunter
No player in the history of the Welsh national team has earned as many caps as versatile full-back Gunter. At the age of 32, and having been released by League One outfit Charlton Athletic, it remains to be seen whether he will add to his 107 appearances during the Qatar World Cup.
Gunter was, however, included in Robert Page’s Wales squad for the upcoming Nations League clashes.
Lewis McGugan
Oh what could have been. Once one of the most exciting young talents in the whole of the Football League, McGugan was a player with the world at his feet and a penchant for wondergoals. His vast potential would never be realised, however. After a spell at Watford, Carlos Carvalhal froze him him out of the first-team picture at Sheffield Wednesday.
Retiring from professional football before his 30th birthday, McGugan is now the assistant coach at eighth-tier Loughborough Dynamo.
Guy Moussi
The popular midfielder left the two-time European champions eight years ago. But he still has a place in his heart for Nottingham Forest, if Moussi’s Twitter activity is anything to go by.
The 37-year-old now works for a business selling blood flow devices all across the world. A venture that has seen him work hand-in-hand with some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
Chris Cohen
Like McGugan and Moloney, Cohen suffered with injuries throughout much of his career. But a relentless string of fitness problems didn’t keep a good man down. Nottingham forestForest’s two-time Player of the Year soldiered on until he could go no more.
Cohen is now a first-team coach at another side who reached the play-offs in 2021/22 – Luton Town.
David McGoldrick
One of just three players in this list still playing EFL football a decade on, McGoldrick was leading the line for a Sheffield United side pushing for Europe as recently as 2020. That Bramall Lane fairytale story would descend into a nightmare reminiscent of the Brothers Grimm at their most twisted.
A thigh issue kept McGoldrick on the sidelines as Sheffield United suffered penalty shoot-out heartbreak at the home of his old employers.
Nathan Tyson
40-year-old Tyson recently dropped into non-league in an attempt to prolong a career that began before the Millennium. He’s been limited to just three appearances for Alfreton Town so far, however, thanks to a serious injury he suffered shortly after joining.
Tyson played some of the best football of his career at Nottingham Forest. He helped shake the sleeping giants from their League One slumber in 2008.
- How Rangers’ XI could look in 22/23, including 5 new signings
- How West Ham’s XI could look in 22/23 with 4 new signings
Marcus Tudgay
A one-time Derby County youngster who played on both sides of the East Midlands divide, Tudgay was last seen at Allenton United. According to his LinkedIn, that former strike is now looking for a new challenge outside of the professional game.
Tudgay also boasts the rather unique achievement of being the only player in this team to appear on an episode of Homes Under the Hammer.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
