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1 January, 2009

Davies appointed for survival fight

On this day in 2009 Forest appoint Billy Davies as manager during a Championship relegation fight.

Manager legacies

Manager appointment
Billy Davies, former Nottingham Forest manager, pictured in 2006.
Billy Davies, former Nottingham Forest manager, pictured in 2006. Image: TuborgLight / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Nottingham Forest turned to Billy Davies at a tense point in the Championship season, appointing him on a three-and-a-half-year contract.

Forest were struggling near the bottom of the table after Colin Calderwood’s departure, and the appointment carried a clear short-term demand: keep the club in the division. Davies arrived with Championship experience and a recent promotion on his CV from Derby County, Forest’s East Midlands rival.

Billy Davies, former Nottingham Forest manager, pictured in 2006.
Billy Davies, former Nottingham Forest manager, pictured in 2006. Image: TuborgLight / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Caretaker John Pemberton remained in charge for the FA Cup victory at Manchester City, with Davies due to begin work properly afterwards. That gave the appointment an unusual feel, announced before one of the club’s most memorable cup shocks of the modern era.

Davies did steady Forest. His first spell took the club away from relegation trouble and then into successive Championship play-off campaigns, even if promotion remained out of reach. The appointment became one of the more significant managerial resets of Forest’s long period outside the Premier League.

Life at Forest with Billy Davies

Sources

The Guardian; Transfermarkt

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Notts County 0–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 3–0 Blackburn
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Vitória SC 1–1 Nottingham Forest
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Portimonense 1–2 Nottingham Forest Sporting CP 4–1 Nottingham Forest
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Udinese 1–0 Nottingham Forest Barcelona 1–0 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 2–1 Bayer Leverkusen
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Nottingham Forest 2–0 Stade Brestois 29
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Leeds
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Nottingham Forest 0–2 Leeds
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Liverpool 2–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 0–0 Tottenham
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Aston Villa 1–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Coventry
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Crystal Palace 14:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 16:30 Arsenal
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Ipswich 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Brentford 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 17:30 Manchester City
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Bournemouth 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 20:00 Chelsea
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Hull City 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brighton
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Sunderland 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Everton
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Manchester United 16:30 Nottingham Forest
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Newcastle 19:30 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Fulham
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Nottingham Forest 19:30 Hull City
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Manchester City 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Bournemouth
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Chelsea 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brentford
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Fulham 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Manchester United
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Everton 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 20:00 Newcastle
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Tottenham 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Aston Villa
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Leeds 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Liverpool
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Sunderland
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Brighton 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Crystal Palace
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Arsenal 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Ipswich
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Coventry 16:00 Nottingham Forest
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