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For any aspiring young goalkeeper there couldn't possibly be any better
tutor than Peter Shilton. Steve Sutton had the good fortune to start his
Nottingham Forest career when the legendary 'Shilts' was at the very
peak of his powers at the City Ground. The England 'keeper was renowned
for his hard work on the training ground and enormous appetite for the
game, but this meant that Steve would have to be very patient for his
first-team opportunity. England's finest was loath to miss any game and
young Sutton had to make do with just a single appearance in each of
Shilton's last two seasons at the club. His League debut came in a 1-1
draw at Norwich City in October 1980 whilst the following season he came
into the team for one of the biggest games of the season - Liverpool at
Anfield. It was not a happy day for Forest as the Reds of Merseyside
triumphed 2-0 and Steve, naturally enough, returned to the sidelines for
the remaining four games of Forest's season.
Shilton departed to
Southampton in the summer of 1982 and Forest boss Brian Clough denied
speculation that he was interested in signing Arsenal veteran Pat
Jennings, preferring instead to voice his confidence in young Steve. If
Sutton thought that meant he was guaranteed the number one jersey for
the forthcoming campaign he should have known better and, true to form,
the unpredictable Clough brought Hans Van Breukelen to the City Ground a
matter of weeks later for a fee of £200, 000. It was the Dutchman who
got the nod as Clough's number one, although Steve did play seventeen of
the forty-two League games, albeit because of an injury Van Breukelen
sustained in mid-season. (David Scranage)
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Steve Sutton pictured in goalkeeping action for Forst on 1st. October 1988.
Photo Stuart Franklin. © G.H.
(Part 2) 1983 - 1990
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Steve Sutton had to remain patient for his time to come as Brian
Clough's undisputed number 1 at Nottingham Forest as, with the departure
of Hans Van Breukelen, in came another Dutchman in the shape of Hans
Segers. Steve finally established himself as Clough's first choice in
the 1985-86 season, playing all but one of the last thirty-two League
games of the campaign. His form over the next few years was nothing
short of a revelation and many respected observers felt him unfortunate
to miss out on a call-up to the full England squad. He played no small
part in Forest's great success in the late 1980s in an exciting team
that boasted the likes of Stuart Pearce, Des Walker, Nigel Clough and
Neil Webb.
Such was the youth of the Forest team in that period that
Steve, along with Lee Chapman, was the senior citizen. Sutton was a
member of the Forest team that won silverware for the first time in
eight long years, with a 3-1 win over Luton Town in the 1989 Littlewoods
Cup final. Just weeks later he was back again as the Reds added the
Simod Cup with victory over Everton. The emergence of youngster Mark
Crossley threatened Steve's position in the Forest goal, however, and
the 1989-90 season proved to be his last as first choice. He was a
member of the side that retained the Littlewoods Cup, with victory over
Oldham Athletic, but that was to be his last memorable moment with the
City Ground club. There were rumours of a falling out with Clough over a
contract and, despite finally signing a new deal, Steve would never
play another game for the Reds, despite the fact that he didn't actually
leave the club until March 1992. (David Scranage)
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LEAGUE APPEARANCES.
1979–1992 Nottingham Forest 199 (0)
1981 Mansfield Town (loan) 8 (0)
1985 Derby County (loan) 14 (0)
1991 Coventry City (loan) 1 (0)
1991–1992 Luton Town (loan) 14 (0)
1992–1996 Derby County 61 (0)
1996 Reading (loan) 2 (0)
1996–1997 Birmingham City 6 (0)
1997 Notts County 0 (0)
1997–1998 Grantham Town 27 (0)