FOREST, FOSSE AND BEST

I watched Nottingham Forest demolish Leicester City in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup yesterday. It's a wonderful competition-especially for the neutral and the successful "underdog".

Forest: In 1865 a group of SHINTY players met at the Clinton Arms on Nottingham's Shakespeare Street. J. S. Scrimshaw's proposal to play football instead of shinty, was agreed and Nottingham Forest Football Club was formed. It was agreed at the same meeting that the club would purchase twelve tasselled caps coloured "Garibaldi" Red' (named after the leader of the Italian Red Shirts (freedom fighters). Thus the club's official colours were established. Forest's first ever official game was played against Notts County taking place on 22 March 1866. Forest won their first FA Cup tie in 1878/9 beating rivals Notts County away 1-3. Forest then beat the Sheffield Club 2-0 and the Old Harrovians 2-0 (away), then Oxford University 2-1 and then lost to the Old Etonians in the semi-final, 2-1 on a neutral ground. The OEs won the Final.

Leicester Fosse FC: founded in 1884, joined the Midland League in 1891, and were elected to Divsion Two of the Football League in 1894 after finishing second. Leicester's first ever Football League game was a 4–3 defeat at Grimsby Town with a first League win the following week, against Rotherham Utd at Filbert Street. The same season also saw the club's largest win to date, a 13–0 victory over Notts Olympic in an FA Cup qualifying game.

In 1907-08, Leicester City finished as Second Division runners-up, gaining promotion to the First Division, the highest level of English football. However, the club were relegated after a single season which included the club's record defeat, a 12–0 loss against Nottingham Forest! After the First World War, Leicester was given "city status" and so Leicester Fosse became Leicester City.

and for your education....

On February 7th, 1970, George Best gave a masterclass performance when he scored 6 goals in an FA Cup Fifth Round match at the County Ground home of Northampton Town. Manchester United won the match 8-2. Northampton's goalkeeper, Kim Book, later said 'not even the Berlin Wall could have stopped Best that day' while Ray Fairfax, Bests' marker, said 'the closest I got to him was when we shook hands after the game.'