When Gareth Taylor walks out of the City Ground tunnel once again on Saturday he will take his place in the opposite dugout to one which was once home to three very different men who managed him.
Taylor joined Forest from Burnley in 2003 (somewhat reluctantly) with the intention of bolstering a squad which made the play-offs the season before.
Things never quite went to plan in the ex-striker's time at the club, as Paul Hart was sacked before being replaced by a less conventional character in Joe Kinnear.
The former head of the Crazy Gang failed and what sounds like a relative comedy club soon became a boot camp under Gary Megson.
Taylor did his best, scoring 19 goals in 90 games for the Reds, sometimes playing as a defender, during a stint in which they were ultimately relegated to League One in 2005, before his departure the following year.
Now he is set to return to Nottingham as manager of Manchester City Women, who will take on Forest Women in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday afternoon.
Despite an ultimately disappointing ending, Taylor enjoyed his time at the City Ground.
"I was 30 when I signed. I'd probably had the two best years of my career with Burnley. We were competing with Forest at the time and they bought me to the club in my prime years," he told Nottinghamshire Live.
"I really enjoyed it. It was a club I always fancied playing for, if you like. There's a huge tradition at Forest and really great support. It's a fantastic stadium.
"We had our difficulties. I had difficulties myself.
"I enjoyed playing for Paul but things changed pretty quickly.
"The hierarchy made some changes and we had instability for a while. There were various times where I thought we were going to do something, especially when I first signed.
"I remember my debut was back at Burnley and we won 3-0. I scored in the last 10 minutes playing upfront with Marlon Harewood.
"We had a diamond system in midfield it was total football. We had really good players and a really good team. I felt we had a chance of promotion to the Premier League and we nearly got relegated that season, incredibly.
"After that game we maybe started the season well but went on a poor run and Paul lost his job. I missed games and when I came back from a knee injury scored some important goals as we stayed up.
"We started the next season with the new manager in Joe Kinnear. There was fresh optimism and I think we drew our first four games. It was a difficult period and then Mick Harford was caretaker before Gary Megson came on board.
"They were all real different managers. Real contrasting styles. Paul Hart knew the players really well.
"He'd worked with the young players before. Joe was different. He was more light-hearted and created a good atmosphere and then Gary came in and it went from one extreme to the other.
"It's difficult for a new manager and I've seen that myself from my side of things now. You have to make changes and bring in personnel that can upset the apple cart a bit.
"His intentions were good but he ruffled feathers and created tension in the dressing room so it was a difficult time.
"We were relegated and obviously that's disappointing. It can happen to real big clubs like Forest, we've seen that with Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland, among others."
After leaving Forest he went on to play Tranmere, Crewe and Wrexham before joining the coaching staff in the Manchester City academy.
The 48-year-old became manager of the women's team in 2020, armed with experiences at Forest which helped shape him as a coach.
That includes the challenges of playing for Megson, who left Forest when they were mid-table in League One and had been knocked out of cup competitions by Macclesfield Town and Chester City.
"It definitely tailored me - good and bad. Gary's intentions were always to do well for the club. He'd done well at West Brom," he said, refusing to heavily criticise a man who made him captain.
"He came in and probably thought the place was a bit too comfy. His methods were different were what we were used to but you could see the intentions, it was just the method was different to what we had experienced.
"I look at relationships I had with players and coaches. It probably forms your persona and the way you are and how you act."
Forest go into the game as massive underdogs. City are giants of the Women's Super League and have a squad packed with England internationals and top talent from overseas, although they had a nightmare start to the season due to an injury crisis.
The Reds play in the third tier, but their players are students or professionals in other walks of life.
The expectation is for a comfortable City win, but Taylor is wary of taking victory for granted.
"We've got huge respect for Forest and any team we play against. They've been on a decent run with three wins," he said.
"When you play for or work for Manchester City there's an expectation to win. That's good because you have to get the small details right.
"The FA Cup was the first trophy I won here in this role so it's a great competition. It brings up games like this.
"We've had struggles this season with terrible injuries and a real short pre-season after the Olympics.
"We brought younger players into the squad and lost some experienced ones. It was a big transition and then we had eight or nine injuries to key players, some of whom are only just coming back.
"The team have been great and we're showing what we're about. We're still in the mix.
"In women's football there's a unity in the crowd. There's no segregation and a real family atmosphere.
"Everyone wants their team to do well, but we're hoping for a decent crowd. That always helps with the game and I'm sure everyone is looking forward to playing at the City Ground.
"I'm glad it's there, it makes it something special. I'm looking for to it personally. It will be nice to go back as a coach having played there."
Kick-off at the City Ground is at 1pm with tickets priced at £5 for adults, £3 concessions and £1 for children.
