FOREST OR COUNTY?

The Vitality Balloon hovering over the Test Match shows great views of the Trent bridge cricket ground and the City ground, the home of Nottingham Forest Football Club. The footy pitch is looking good, ready the new season tomorrow.

The City Ground has not always been Forest's home ground. Founded on the 15th May 1865, the club emerged from a Bandy (sort of ice hockey game) and Shinty (Irish hockey??) club. The first official match was against Notts County in 1866. The club played at the Castle Ground and were regarded as the first team to wear shinguards (outside their socks) in 1874 and for the match between them and Sheffield Norfolk (after the Park) in 1878 to be controlled by a referee's whistle.

The club used the Racecourse ground and the Meadows around the end of the 1870s, also Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, the Parkside Ground and Gregory Ground between 1873-1885.

Between 1890-5, the club played on the Town Ground, where in 1891, in a representative match between the North and South, the first crossbar and nets were used in an official game.

Forest joined the Football Alliance (a league) in 1889 and the Football League in 1890 and then played on the City Ground in 1898.

Originally known as the Nottingham Football Club, Notts County is the older of the two clubs, forming in 1862, being older than the Football Association and all professional clubs in the Football League today. Notts is used with reference to the county name (Nottinghamshire).

Their original pitch was at Park Hollow in the castle grounds and by 1864 the club played “outside opposition” so looked for a bigger venue. This was chosen to be the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, which was all very well until clashes with cricket matches disrupted their fixture card. The club also played at the Gentlemen of Nottinghamshire Cricket ground at Beeston between 1877-80.

In 1883, the club played at the Castle Ground (till 1894), another ground mainly used for cricket or shared with Nottingham Forest at the Town Ground (1895-6). They then shared at the City Ground between 1899-1909. It was not until 1910 that the County moved to Meadow Lane.

During the Second World War when Meadow Lane was bombed and also at other times when the Trent has flooded, County has had to share with Forest at the City Ground.

Notts County of course has the honour of letting Juventus, when the Italian giant was being founded, use their black and white strip which was regarded as being “both aggressive and powerful”.