Westcarr is youngest league player
On this day in Nottingham Forest history in 2001 Craig Westcarr becomes Forest’s youngest league player in a win over Burnley.
Craig Westcarr’s debut turned a narrow First Division win over Burnley into a small but lasting club-record moment.
Forest won 1–0 at the City Ground, with Chris Bart-Williams scoring the only goal. The match itself was tight and useful, but the wider memory came late on when Westcarr came on for David Johnson and became Forest’s youngest league player.
At 16, Westcarr stepped into senior football at an age when most academy players were still far from the first team. For a home-grown Nottingham player, the moment carried a particular local appeal: a young forward getting his first taste of league football in front of the City Ground crowd.
The record gave the afternoon a place in Forest history beyond the scoreline. Westcarr made further first-team appearances, though his Forest career did not become a long breakthrough spell, and he later left the club after the 2004–05 season.
The Burnley win mattered for the points, but Westcarr’s introduction is why the match still stands out in the records.
Sources
Nottingham Forest official records; ESPN; The City Ground
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Craig Westcarr’s debut turned a narrow First Division win over Burnley into a small but lasting club-record moment. Forest won 1–0 at the City…


