OPINION: It's been a rollercoaster year for Nottingham Forest fans

Derby County vs Nottingham Forest - Nottingham Forest Head Coach Mark Warburton - Pic By James WilliamsonDerby County vs Nottingham Forest - Nottingham Forest Head Coach Mark Warburton - Pic By James Williamson
Derby County vs Nottingham Forest - Nottingham Forest Head Coach Mark Warburton - Pic By James Williamson
Nottingham Forest have had a rollercoaster of a 2017, going from battling at the bottom to pushing the teams at top.

2017 started with Nottingham Forest just two points above the drop zone, losing their first game of the year 1-0 to Barnsley.

In January, after a goalless draw with fellow strugglers Birmingham City, the long-awaited sacking of Phillipe Montanier came.

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The Frenchman was in charge for 30 games at the City Ground, winning 9 and losing 15 as his Forest side slumped towards the bottom half of the table.

After a good interim spell from Gary Brazil, Mark Warburton took over as the new manager of Nottingham Forest.

Warburton’s first game in charge saw him take on Derby County. A 94th minute equaliser from Daniel Pinillos claimed Warburton’s first point in charge at the City Ground.

Wins over high-flying Huddersfield Town and Reading helped push Forest away from the relegation zone, but it would still come down to the last game of the season.

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Forest started the day one place above the relegation zone by goal difference. A win as good as or better than Blackburn’s would see them stay up.

It started to look a bit hairy for Forest early on, with Blackburn quickly going two goals up. But an excellent penalty from Britt Assombalonga put Forest ahead, and more importantly out of the relegation zone, just before the break.

Second half goals from Chris Cohen and Assombalonga ensured that Forest would be playing in the Championship again in the 2017/18 season.

Going into the new season, Forest fans were given a massive boost as it was announced that Fawaz Al-Hasawi had finally sold Nottingham Forest to Greek investor Evangelos Marinakis.

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This ended Al-Hasawi’s five-year reign at the club which saw him appoint nine managers.

The transfer window gave Forest fans positives and negatives, with Warburton bringing in 13 new players, but also losing top goal scorer and final day hero Assombalonga for a club record departure of £17 million.

Forest started the new season well, winning their first three games of the season. In November, Nottingham Forest climbed to as high as seventh but have since fallen way towards mid table.

And that slump continued leading to the sacking of boss Mark Warburton on New Years Eve.

The Nottingham Forest fans will be hoping that the new manager can steady the ship and lay a platform for a push up the table.

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