Could Nottingham Forest leave the City Ground? European Cup winner Peter Shilton battles between ‘wrench’ & ‘necessity’ emotions as Reds try to keep pace with Premier League rivals

Doors were first opened at an iconic stadium on the banks of the River Trent back in September 1898. Fans will continue to flock through the turnstiles ahead of a 130-year anniversary, but for how much longer will that be the case?

Further renovation work has been mooted for some time now - with the Main Stand, which is named in honour of Brian Clough’s former right-hand man Peter Taylor - in need of a serious facelift. Positive progress down that construction path has been difficult to establish.

There are a number of reasons for that, but it is impossible to ignore the fact that while Forest have become caught up in endless reels of red tape, Premier League rivals - such as Liverpool, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Fulham and Leeds - have raced through green lights and got the builders in.

Ambitious plans on Trentside look spectacular, but will that dream vision ever become reality? The latest reports suggest that it might, with Mace - who worked on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - seemingly on board. If more hurdles are hit, though, then an unwelcome change of scenery may have to be considered.

Relocating would be challenging - in sporting and emotional senses - but Forest have to keep pace with domestic foes and find more ways of boosting the coffers. Owner Evangelos Marinakis will not allow a historic institution in the English game to stand still.

Quizzed on whether Forest, having got a taste of European football last season, will have their sights set on becoming regular challengers for top-seven finishes, legendary former Reds goalkeeper Shilton - speaking in association with Lynx Fine Fragrance and their ‘The Official Makeup’ campaign - told GOAL: “I would think that's the ambition of any club. It's great that you see Brentford and Bournemouth holding their own in the Premier League because it's money, money, money now. They seem to be able to find little gems and sometimes sell them on, and they're surviving.

“I think Forest, I think the chairman will be ambitious. I've heard talk that they may be looking for a new stadium, which from my point of view and I think a lot of older people that remember the glory years, leaving the City Ground would be a wrench. So many memories and that there. But then you've got the new generation coming through that want comfort and the clubs need bigger revenues.

“If you've got a stadium of 60,000, it's better than a stadium of 30,000 because you probably fill it every week as well. I can see both sides of the argument and I think the chairman at Forest won't lack in ambition, that's for sure. I think he really wants the club to be up there and he's got ambitions to improve the club in every respect.”

Shilton - who won the First Division title and two European Cups during his time at the City Ground - added on the relocation debate and why it will continue to divide opinion between heart and head: “There's always the right time. I think Forest were trying to improve the ground, weren't they? And then they got held up because of some technicality with one of the stands.

“It all takes money and you need the space and the right place. To compete with the real money clubs, the Man Utd's, the Man City's, Arsenal - they've always been a big club, but they've kind of got back into that status of being a big club - you've got to be ambitious. It's not easy, but it sometimes is a necessity.”

It order for collective targets to be hit, Forest need to ensure that the services of prized assets on the field are retained. A British record deal for Elliot Anderson has been agreed with Manchester City, but fellow England international Morgan Gibbs-White remains very part of long-term thinking.

Asked about the importance of building around key pillars, while investing wisely across transfers windows of the present and future, Shilton said: “You don't want to lose your best players, but I think Brentford and Bournemouth have survived because they've got players for reasonable money and then develop them for a year or two and then suddenly sell them on for really big money.

“I don't think Forest can turn down over £100 million for a player. Look at Liverpool last season, [Alexander] Isak didn't really do much. I'm not saying he's not a good player, but it doesn't always come off. I think they have to look at it.”

Anderson is currently on World Cup duty with the Three Lions. He will not be back at the City Ground next season, but his exploits have served as a source of inspiration to others and there remains hope that Forest’s class of 2026 can continue to dream of bringing the kind of glory days back that Shilton once experienced under the tutelage of Clough and Taylor.

Shilton, the man on the wrong end of the most disputed moment in football history, has finally drawn a line under it all. In an extraordinary act of reconciliation powered by Lynx Fine Fragrance, Shilton shook hands with a mascot embodying the infamous moment from the 1986 FIFA World Cup. The moment, dubbed ‘The Official Makeup’, marks the first time Shilton has publicly let bygones be bygones over football’s longest standing controversy.

The Official Makeup took place on the football field of Chelmsford FC, close to Peter’s hometown, and men’s fragrance brand Lynx flew in their Argentinian mascot, who features in the brand’s sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup 2026, all the way to Chelmsford for the historic makeup. Full time: Shilton x Lynx 1, Grudges 0.