When Nottingham Forest were promoted to the Premiership in 1994, Dutch international Bryan Roy arrived at the City Ground and immediately forged an impressive partnership with Stan Collymore, one which helped the club defy the odds and end the season in third.
Nearly three decades on, and with Forest preparing for a renewed assault on the Premier League, Tom Hopkinson got the two friends together for a look back and ahead.
STAN, YOU’D JUST WON PROMOTION IN 1994, SO IT WAS EXCITING ANYWAY, BUT HOW MUCH DID BRYAN’S ARRIVAL ADD TO THE SENSE OF ANTICIPATION?
SC: Bryan is the only player I played with whereby a manager called me and asked my opinion. I remember as clear as day Frank Clark ringing up and saying, ‘You’re not going to believe this, there’s a chance we can get Bryan Roy…’ It was at a time when Italian football was what Premier League football is now — King of the Castle — with all the great players going there instead of England and Spain. And I obviously knew that, before Foggia, Bryan had played for Ajax and won the UEFA Cup. So I was incredibly excited. For any newly-promoted club, if you can get in one player who excites the supporters and players you have a chance, and Bryan did that.
BR: I didn’t know Frank had done that, but I’m happy he did because me and Stan had a great partnership on and off the pitch. The moment I came into that Forest dressing-room, all the lads were great. It was the best dressing-room I’ve been in — Ajax, Foggia, Hertha BC. A dressing-room in England is something different. Yes, you joke and take the p*ss, but it’s always with respect. And when something is not right, they tell you. That was the most important thing and that’s why that first season was so great. It can only be like that when the dressing-room is right and humble and respectful.
SC: It’s funny, when I went to Liverpool there were lots of things going on — Neil Ruddock cutting Robbie Fowler’s tie and all those stories. But there was none of that at Forest. It was a dressing-room that had been moulded by Brian Clough, who was a disciplinarian, and when I think about that dressing-room I think of Woany [Ian Woan], Scot Gemmill, really good lads…
BR: ‘Big Norm…’ [laughing]
SC: Yes, Mark Crossley — Big Norm! Really good lads. Everyone was friendly, polite, and wanted to do well. There were big characters at Liverpool and lots of crazy things going on with the young lads, but that didn’t happen at Forest.
BR: I came from a very disciplined background at Ajax and Brian Clough was also a legend there. So now I see where the humility and discipline came from. It’s also the mentality of the East Midlands — normal, humble, easy going. No one fell out, we were a tight group. People did small things but never crazy things.
HAD YOU EVER COME ACROSS A CHARACTER LIKE 'BIG NORM', BRYAN?
BR: He’s a lovely lad. When I saw Mark the first time in training, I thought, ‘Is he taking the p*ss? How big is he? It’s impossible he’s Premier League level’. Then in training and through each game, I never saw a goalkeeper of his size as quick as him. He was unbelievable and so important for us.
DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST TRAINING SESSION TOGETHER?
SC: I remember how sharp Bryan was. Actually, we played a PFA game in China five or six years ago and he still has the quickest feet I’ve seen. He can move the ball off a line very quickly and go past people very quickly. The season before Bryan joined, when we were in the Championship, we played 4-5-1. But Frank knew we probably wouldn’t score enough goals with only one up top. We were the fittest team in the Premier League thanks to Pete Edwards, our fitness coach, and we moved the ball very quickly. So I played furthest up and Bryan did all of his work around me, and it worked very, very well. We went to Old Trafford and beat Manchester United comfortably, we went to Sheffield Wednesday and beat them 7-1, they had a good team then. We beat Tottenham away 4-1.
I'd missed the first game of the 1994 season, Ipswich away, and Bryan scored an absolute worldie. He did a little step-over and curled it into the top corner. I was watching Match of the Day that night, and I thought, ‘Absolutely fantastic. I want to play with this fella’.
BR: I was very disappointed Stan wasn’t playing — the first game is so important with a new team. I remember the pitch was great, which was a big advantage for me, and I luckily had a good strike and it went in…
SC: It wasn’t lucky, Bryan, a little step-over and a bullet strike…
BR: Thank you, Stan [laughing]. I felt good with the pace of the Premier League. The ground in England is harder than in Europe, and because I was light it was easy for me to move. I thought, ‘We’re going to have some success here’.
YOU WENT 14 GAMES UNBEATEN IN ALL COMPETITIONS AT THE START OF THAT SEASON, AND 13 UNBEATEN IN THE LEAGUE AT THE END. DID YOU EVER THINK YOU MIGHT WIN THE TITLE?
SC: No, I don’t think there was ever any expectation of winning the title. We started the season well so confidence was high and we had a very good front pairing that created all sorts of problems for opposition teams. But we also knew we’d just been promoted and we were always humble enough to think, ‘Look, we’re in the conversation but Manchester United are the team to beat, Blackburn are spending money and Liverpool are reinventing themselves’. Then you had clubs like Aston Villa who were competitive, Leeds, Newcastle became more competitive. So I never thought we’d win the league but I thought there was a really good chance of us getting into Europe and that’s what happened. The thought now of Bournemouth, Fulham or Nottingham Forest, the three promoted teams, finishing third, it won’t happen, we know it won’t. So that’s how good we were. But you tell me, Bryan, did you think we could win the title?
BR: We were never thinking about it but you had a spell of injuries and I had a spell of injuries and, maybe if that hadn’t happened, we might have come close. But it was never in our minds with all the teams Stan mentioned. It was still early in the Premier League and we were in the midst of it coming from the Championship. No way would that happen again but I hope the manager has some money to spend.
SC: It has been a difficult 20 or so years for Forest — that’s incredible for a club of that size not to be in the top division. They have Dean Henderson on loan from Manchester United, Taiwo Awoniyi from Union Berlin, Neco Williams from Liverpool, they have signed six players, and what I’d like to see now, similarly to what they did when they brought in Bryan, is them bring in someone with pedigree, Premier League pedigree if they can. The signings they have made are promising but there are no guarantees and now I want them to make a signing that says to the fans, ‘We mean business’.
WHAT ARE YOUR IMPRESSIONS OF STEVE COOPER?
SC: Very good. He’s a very good technical coach. Like a Brendan Rodgers, really. The FA Cup run last season showed they are a very good technical team. He’s quite quiet but the Forest fans have taken to him. The similarities with Frank Clark, they are both quite quiet characters. They are both very humble and if they can get their message across in just 10 words, they won’t use any more. Like Frank, Steve realised Nottingham Forest is a big club and the only way to get a big club back to where they belong is by having a set of principles, values and being humble. I like him a lot, he has done very well and turned a club that was struggling in the Championship into a modern, proactive football team.
BR: It’s good to hear Steve Cooper has Frank Clark’s humility. It’s very important if Forest are going to rise again that Steve Cooper is not there for himself. There are a lot of coaches who are big characters and only care about themselves. I’m happy Forest has a humble coach and I wish him all the best.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE THIS FOREST SQUAD?
SC: Be positive. And give yourself in that first game against Newcastle something to take into the rest of the season. My first game was against Manchester United, and I remember being really excited to have a go against Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister and Peter Schmeichel. I did well and it gave me confidence.
BR: Stan’s right. Yes, Forest have been away for 20-plus years but it is a big club, two European Cups, champions of England. So put your chest forwards and say, ‘No one is going to win here at the City Ground’. Never be insecure. Bluff it if you have to. Put your chest forwards and be positive.
WHO WILL BE THE TALISMAN THIS SEASON?
SC: I don’t think they will rely on one player. People will look at Dean Henderson and Taiwo Awoniyi and think, ‘These are the guys who will make a difference’. But the thing which got Forest from the foot of the Championship to promotion wasn’t one player. People look back at the 94-95 season and say, ‘Bryan Roy and Stan Collymore’, or, ‘Stuart Pearce’. But in the end it was about Lars Bohinen, Alf Inge Haaland, Steve Chettle, Mark Crossley. We were all as important as each other. Lars that season was sensational, Steve Stone…
BR: Steve was unbelievable. And Woany…
SC: I’m hoping such as Jack Colback will want to be a part of being in the limelight again. But for Forest, there is nobody in that team who individually will keep them in the Premier League.
