NOTTINGHAM FOREST HISTORY
13 October, 2001

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.

Records and statistics

Club record set or broken
Former Forest player Craig Westcarr, pictured 2002.
Former Forest player Craig Westcarr, pictured 2002. Image: Holdenbuckley / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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.

Former Forest player Craig Westcarr, pictured 2002.
Former Forest player Craig Westcarr, pictured 2002. Image: Holdenbuckley / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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

Explore more Nottingham Forest history

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OCTOBER
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Notts County 0–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 3–0 Blackburn
26
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31
Portimonense 1–2 Nottingham Forest Sporting CP 4–1 Nottingham Forest
8
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Nottingham Forest 2–1 Bayer Leverkusen
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Nottingham Forest 2–0 Stade Brestois 29
22
Nottingham Forest 0–1 Leeds
25
Nottingham Forest 0–2 Leeds
29
Liverpool 2–2 Nottingham Forest
5
Nottingham Forest 0–0 Tottenham
12
Aston Villa 1–2 Nottingham Forest
19
Nottingham Forest 0–1 Coventry
11
Crystal Palace 14:00 Nottingham Forest
18
Nottingham Forest 16:30 Arsenal
23
Ipswich 20:00 Nottingham Forest
31
Brentford 15:00 Nottingham Forest
7
Nottingham Forest 17:30 Manchester City
21
Bournemouth 15:00 Nottingham Forest
27
Nottingham Forest 20:00 Chelsea
2
Hull City 20:00 Nottingham Forest
5
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brighton
12
Sunderland 15:00 Nottingham Forest
19
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Everton
27
Manchester United 16:30 Nottingham Forest
30
Newcastle 19:30 Nottingham Forest
2
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Fulham
5
Nottingham Forest 19:30 Hull City
16
Manchester City 15:00 Nottingham Forest
23
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Bournemouth
30
Chelsea 15:00 Nottingham Forest
6
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brentford
10
Fulham 20:00 Nottingham Forest
20
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Manchester United
27
Everton 15:00 Nottingham Forest
3
Nottingham Forest 20:00 Newcastle
13
Tottenham 15:00 Nottingham Forest
20
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Aston Villa
10
Leeds 15:00 Nottingham Forest
17
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Liverpool
24
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Sunderland
1
Brighton 15:00 Nottingham Forest
8
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Crystal Palace
15
Arsenal 15:00 Nottingham Forest
23
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Ipswich
30
Coventry 16:00 Nottingham Forest