As Forest excelled on the pitch, obviously more and more fans attended matches at The City Ground and all over the country and abroad. This of course meant the hooligan element also increased. Virtually every team in the whole country had one and still does.
The majority of fans behave. Banter and shouting is always going to happen at football matches between rival fans. It's part and parcel of the game. The hooligan 'element' as they call it hasn't really gone away in twenty years, I believe it just went out of fashion.
The difference between hooligans and fans is that the latter actually want to go to the game. Hooligans travel and associate themselves with one team for the sole intention of fighting with rival hooligans.
They aren't bothered if they miss the game because they've been arrested. You cannot call yourself a 'fan' of a football club if you travel all that way and don't care if you miss the game through fighting.
In my opinion, if people want to fight then so be it. That's their choice and it's going to happen whether the police, club or fans want it to. What they can't or shouldn't be called though is actual 'fans' of a certain football club.
How much money must come out of Nottingham Forest's pocket to pay for police officers on match days? There seems to be more police officers nowadays than actual stewards!
There were 141 Nottingham Forest 'fans' arrested last season. Only Manchester United, Sunderland and Saturday's opponents Cardiff City fared worse. Seven people were arrested on Saturday following a fight between Forest and Cardiff 'fans' on Collin Street near the Broadmarsh Bus Centre.
Is hooliganism coming back into English football? Did it ever go away? I suppose we will we see over the course of time......especially in October when Turkey play England in the Euro 2004 Qualifier.