|
Lars Bohinen made his Nottingham Forest debut in the game that turned
their season around - a 3-0 win at Birmingham City in early November.
Coincedence or not, the Reds went on a 14 game unbeaten run after the
arrival of the Norwegian and climbed from sixteenth to seventh in the
League. Bohinen moved to Forest for a bargain fee of £450, 000, some
five months after he had caught the eye when scoring Norway's second
goal in a 2-0 World Cup qualifier win over England. Forest finished the
season as runners-up to Crystal Palace to book an immediate return to
the top-flight with Lars scoring his first goal for the club against
Palace at the City Ground.
Forest's return the top division was nothing
short of sensational with Bohinen's silky skills in the middle of the
park very much to the fore. The Reds finished in third place with the
Norwegian weighing in with six goals, including one in a 7-1 romp
against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. That superb achievement of a
third place finish meant a return to European competition for the
double European Cup winners with old foes Malmo their first opponents.
Bohinen did not play in the away game as Forest lost 2-1 but he returned
for the second leg as the Reds won 1-0 on a memorable night at the City
Ground.
That proved to be his only taste of European football with
Forest as, out of the blue, he moved on to Blackburn Rovers for a fee of
£700,000 in October 1995. Rovers had taken advantage of a clause in
his contract to land the midfielder for such a modest fee and to rub
salt into the wound he scored twice as Blackburn thrashed Forest 7-0 at
Ewood Park just weeks later. (David Scranage)
|