Garry Birtles

Garry Birtles (born 27 July 1956 in Nottingham) is an English former football player who played as a forward in the Football League between the 1970s and 1990s. He is best known for his time at Nottingham Forest, during which he won the 1979 and 1980 European Cup Finals. He was also capped by England.

Career

Birtles was signed by Nottingham Forest from non-league Long Eaton United for £2,000. He made his Forest debut as a winger in March 1977 in the old Second Division, against Hull City. From that point on he disappeared from first team contention, not making his second appearance until September 1978. Peter Withe had been sold to Newcastle and "prodigy" Steve Elliott failed to make the grade, allowing Birtles an unexpected chance which he grasped, scoring his first goal for the club in his third match, in the European Cup against Liverpool. Birtles kept his place for the rest of the season, capping his success with a fantastic display in the 3-2 win over Southampton in the 1979 League Cup Final (scoring 2 goals) and a 1979 European Cup winner's medal via the 1-0 victory over Malmö of Sweden in Munich's Olympic Stadium, with another winners medal following in the European Cup 1979-80 against Hamburger SV.

More success and three England caps followed, then in 1980, he transferred to Manchester United for a fee of £1.25 million, where he scored a disappointing 12 goals before returning to Nottingham Forest in a cut-price transfer. His initial run of only one goal in 32 games, was followed by 11 goals in his next 32, but this return to form was not enough.

His second spell at Forest included a spell at centre-half. After a successful 1986-87 in which Birtles formed an effective strike partnership with Nigel Clough, Forest manager Brian Clough allowed Birtles to part from the club on a free transfer.

After a stint with Notts County, Birtles ended his career with Grimsby Town, helping them to two successive promotions up until 1991, by which time he had accumulated more than 400 professional league appearances.

He now co-commentates on Sky Sports, and previously co-commentated on Nottingham Forest matches on local radio. He also writes a weekly column for Nottingham's local newspaper The Nottingham Evening Post.

Honours

As a player

Nottingham Forest

• First Division
  • Winner (1): 1977–1978
• League Cup
  • Winner (1): 1979
  • Runner-up (1): 1980
• European Cup
  • Winner (2): 1978–79, 1979–80
• UEFA Super Cup
  • Winner (1): 1979

Grimsby Town

• Fourth Division
  • Runner-up: 1989–90
• Supporters Player of the Year: 1990

External links

• Garry Birtles career stats at Soccerbase
• Englandstats.com profile

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