In memory of John Robertson: 3 goals of the Nottingham legend in the finals

Nottingham Forest of the 1970s and 1980s was, for me, a soccer-loving junior high school student at the time, a footballing phenomenon comparable to, say, Manchester City of today. It’s just that, unlike today’s soccer-obsessed youth, we didn’t have the opportunity to watch the weekly battles in the English championship, and the availability of European Cup matches was limited for us by duels between Soviet teams. Until now, until the time (actually, before the late perestroika), even the finals of continental club tournaments were not shown on Soviet TV, unless Soviet teams were playing there. Under such conditions, the team of Robin Hood’s compatriots was surrounded by a halo of mysterious strength. Two Champions Cups in a row, won by Nottingham at the turn of the decade (and, I will tell you, probably tactically the most revolutionary decades in football history, because by and large the total revolution at that time determined the path of development of world football for decades to come), is a sign that that team also joined the exuberance of the era.

Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine “John Robertson defined an era and inspired generations at Nottingham Forest”, these are the apt words of the popular English club in response to the tragic news of the death of its former forward at the age of 72. Among the variety of Robertson’s goals, I would like to speak about his goals in the finals of three different competitions, which, in the end, ended victoriously for the “foresters”.

1. 22.03.1978. English League Cup final. Replay. “Nottingham Forest” – “Liverpool” – 1:0 (Robertson, 54, from the penalty)

The first final game in front of 100,000 spectators at Wembley ended goalless, and in the replay in Manchester at Old Trafford, everything was decided by a penalty kick at the beginning of the 2nd half. Liverpool defender Phil Thompson fouled Nottingham’s John O’Hara and unsuccessfully tried to prove to referee Pat Partridge that the foul was outside the penalty area. By then a 44-year-old farmer (a civilian occupation off the football field) and future president of the Football League Referees and Linesmen’s Association, Partridge was relentless. The episode is quite controversial. It was from there that the expression “professional foul” gained popularity, which later transformed into “foul of the last hope”, and later into “loss of a clear goal-scoring opportunity”. Be that as it may, Robertson hit the bottom right corner of the goal from the goalkeeper of “Liverpool” Ray Clemens. However, some handicap of the football field in the goal area may have played in favor of the Scottish forward “Forest”, because the ball treacherously bounced literally on the goal line, and the Liverpudlian goalkeeper could not react quickly to it.

2. 12.08.1978. England Super Cup. “Nottingham Forest” – “Ipswich” – 5:0 (Robertson, 87)

In that game, Brian Clough’s team thoroughly outplayed the team led by Bobby Robson. In other words, the champion of England proved his superiority over the winner of the Cup. A crowd of 68,000 fans at Wembley saw a flurry of goals for the Foresters, and the end of the match was scored by the Scottish striker from Nottingham after an individual pass and a great long-range strike. Well, Ipswich goalkeeper Paul Cooper had another chance to get the ball out of his net that day. The hero of the match was Martin O’Neill, who scored a double, but Robertson’s contribution, although not decisive, was very effective.

3. 28.05.1980. Champions Cup. “Nottingham Forest” – “Hamburg” – 1:0 (Robertson, 21)

In the middle of the 1st half, John, maybe not too powerfully, but accurately hit the goal of the Hamburgers, being about a meter from the line of the penalty area. I would also like to mention such a selfless goal assist performed by Harry Bertles, who was able to throw the ball to his teammate while falling. The goalkeeper of “Hamburg” Rudi Kargus (made, by the way, a wonderful career as an artist after hanging his boots on a nail) was powerless to save his team from a goal. So, in the Madrid final of the main club competition of the Old World, the goal of the Scottish scorer “Forest” brought Brian Clough’s wards the Champions Cup. I would like to add that last year the Nottingham team won this prestigious trophy for the second time in a row.

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Brian Clough and John Robertson… The topic of the relationship between these two strong personalities is extensive, and the influence of an outstanding coach on the development of the talent of an outstanding forward deserves a separate large material. “Until he took charge of Forest, no one was particularly interested in … Robertson,” says Duncan Hamilton, author of the book “No Kisses, No Kisses.” And this well-known journalist, the author of a permanent column in the Nottingham Evening Post, does not hide his delight at the fact that Clough manages to “make the ordinary extraordinary.” Hamilton (by the way, laureate of the prestigious William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2007 book award) has a certain right in general, but specifically with regard to Robertson, one can reasonably argue what is there. Be that as it may, Clough made Robertson indispensable in his tactical scheme. And the Scotsman thanked Brian for his conscientious work on the football field.

“Give him a yard of grass”, “He was an artist!”, “Picasso of our game” – with such banners dedicated to Robertson, Forest fans came to Saturday’s game against Manchester City. And the thunderous ovation in honor of John is a tribute to his extraordinary talent. Nowadays, it is not so difficult to find a retro football shirt of “Nottingham” from 1980 – the period of dominance of “foresters” in European club football – on relevant websites. I am sure that there is one in the collections of devoted “Forest” fans, no matter what age they are. I personally associate Robertson with that T-shirt. The current owner of Nottingham Forest, the Greek tycoon Evangelos Marinakis, called Robertson “a worthy big club legend in every sense of the word”. Unlike some of the other claims of the Greek rich-too-rich, there’s no arguing with that. Bright memory of the great attacker!

Oleksiy RYZHKOV