Left Brian: John Robertson, John McGovern and a Kenny Burns Night Supper

From John McPherson, who scored the last goal in our 3-1 demolition of Derby in the 1898 Cup Final, onwards, there have been numerous Scottish players and managers in the history of NFFC. If I were to pick just a few as guests for a fantasy Burns Night Supper, it might look something like this:

Kenny Burns would be the obvious choice to address the haggis; perhaps in the manner of his slightly unhinged post-match rants during the Fawaz era. Looking like a caricature of a snaggle-toothed Scotsman striking terror at Bannockburn, Burns took out Souness at Anfield and made Kevin Keegan fear to cross the halfway line in Madrid. He was a man who knew exactly where the line was and how to straddle it. Perhaps Kris Commons could also wangle an invite to give him someone to kick?

Archie Gemmill has the decorum to be an excellent master of ceremonies. As a player he was a pocket dynamo, full of energy, pace and ferocious tackles. He couldn’t pass for Highland toffee but could shoot, most notably his end-to-end goal v Arsenal in the title season. He also scored the greatest Scotland goal of all time in the 78 World Cup, jinking past three Dutch defenders before curling it past the keeper. This was later immortalised in the cult nineties film and book Trainspotting.

Joe ‘Zigger Zagger’ Baker would be the first name on the teamsheet because every supper needs a storyteller. As the King of the Trent End, he was one of the most gallus of them all. Joe was born in Liverpool to Scottish parents but moved back up the road when he was six weeks old. The rules back then meant he was only eligible for the country of his birth, thus he was a proud Scotsman, who ended up playing for England. He did this just eight times (scoring three goals), including a game at Hampden where he was castigated as a ‘Sassenach’. Under modern rules of international qualification, Baker would have racked up an impressive tally of Scotland caps. Someone would also have tracked down a Scottish granny for the equally mercurial Duncan McKenzie. How different Forest history might have been had Baker not got badly injured in the 1967 FA Cup Quarter Final. Prior to that game, Forest had lost just once in 28 games; after it they lost three of the last six league games, the FA Cup semi-final and any chance of the league title. 

Jim Baxter would be a canny choice to provide the victuals. A centre half who was signed for £100k as an ego trip by Forest chairman Tony Wood. Still revered today by Scotland and Rangers fans, by the time he came to Forest he was more interested in necking half pints of Bacardi and coke in the TBI. He regularly puked his way through training and once nearly drowned in the team bath. After only a handful of glimpses of his former genius, Baxter left Forest after a year on a free.

John McGovern needs no introduction. Alongside all the booze, you need a water carrier and who better than our legendary European Cup winning skipper. A player once described as resembling a horse running through treacle, Kermit is the type of organised chap who would write his name on his record sleeves (which would turn up in secondhand shops for decades). It’s fair to say that the water carrier role is treated with a little more respect these days and McGovern is better appreciated now than he was while playing.

John O’Hare needs no invitation since “he’s here, he’s there, he’s everywhere” already. Largely a bit part player after promotion, O’Hare still managed to score the winner in the 1978 League Cup Final and come on as a sub in Madrid. This, interspersed with forty games on loan to Dallas Tornadoes, adds up to quite a lot of air miles.

Stewart Imlach became the first player capped for Scotland while playing for Forest in 1958. It was this left winger who passed to Roy Dwight for the opening goal of the 1959 Cup Final, perhaps indignantly inspired by Prince Philip’s exclamation of “Another bloody Scot!” during the prematch introductions. But then this was an era in which the Cup Final brass band were paid more than the players. Bobby McKinlay was another of our five Scots in that final and the cultured centre-half went on to be our record appearance-maker.

Billy Davies is our most memorable Scottish manager, with two spells in charge of Forest in the last twenty years. A wee man with the appropriate initials of WMD (William McIntosh Davies) he turned into a bit of a weapon and caused mass destruction in his second stint. During his first, many agreed with Fawaz Al-Hasawi’s later description of him as “a gift from God”, but soon we wished we’d kept the receipt.

John Robertson is acknowledged by most fans as Forest’s greatest player of all time. He was born in Uddingston, the home of Tunnock’s Teacakes. He went from living out of a chip pan to making and scoring winning goals in European Cup finals. A wizard, who used his wand of a left foot to ping over pinpoint crosses with the accuracy of an open-heart surgeon, while using his right for thirty-yard screamers and infallible penalties. John passed away on Christmas Day 2025, having suffered from Parkinson’s disease for several years. We wouldn't have those two stars on our badge without him. Gone, but never forgotten, the club have since announced that Bridgford Stand will be renamed 'The John Robertson Stand' in his honour. 

Please note: Our January print issue went to press before John Robertson passed away. This online article was corrected afterwards to reflect the sad news.