Email:
toddstreet@optusnet.com.au
The NFSDU Newsletter was first produced in February 2000
as a three-page newsletter. Notable
items in the first issue included a discussion of the benefits of
integration with the Official Supporters Club in the United Kingdom, and a
look at the imminent launch of the original NFSDU web site (which had a
quite horrific red background). Our
total membership base was 47 Nottingham Forest supporters, with New South
Wales and Western Australia being the only states which had reached double
figures of membership. By the second issue the newsletter had expanded
considerably, with an increased focus on NFFC news, results and the current
league table. NFSDU officially
became a branch of the Official Nottingham Forest Supporters Club, and the
subsequent benefits of such affiliation were noted. A report was delivered on the first NSW
state-based meeting. We looked at
the upcoming June event. Forest
were 19th in Division One at the time and were 5 points out of
the relegation places. Forest
signed Colin Calderwood, and Carlos Merino was to leave to join Athletic
Bilbao. Our total membership base
comprised 70 Nottingham Forest supporters, with New South Wales, Victoria,
New Zealand, Queensland and Western Australia having reached double figure
membership. The third issue focused on providing information
regarding the Annual General Meeting, which was to have Paul Hart as guest
speaker, and also the Ian Wright Shirt Raffle. We looked at the tremendous growth of the membership of
NFSDU, which comprised 77 Nottingham Forest supporters. New South Wales continued to lead the
way with 21 Forest supporters. A
tender was announced to revamp the NFSDU Web Site. There was a special focus on the more
humorous quotes from one Mr Brian Clough.
Mark Crossley’s testimonial match was big news in this issue. Forest avoided relegation and finished
14th. The fourth issue of the newsletter saw the introduction
of a more professional layout. The
NFSDU Annual General Meeting was the major focus of the newsletter,
comprising almost half of the entire publication. The possibility of sponsoring Gareth Edds’ away kit was
discussed. The NFSDU Web Site was
re-launched in its current form, thanks to the excellent work of Steve
Bradbury, a member of NFSDU. Leigh
Duffy was responsible for the newly created second generation NFSDU logo, a
Forest logo included within a picture of Australia. Jeremy Moffat and Darren O’Brien joined
Albert Todd and Alistair Jones as state coordinators. Membership had risen to 95 Nottingham
Forest supporters. New South Wales
and Victoria were the largest centres of membership. David Prutton signed a four year
contract at Forest, and Gary Jones was signed on a free from Tranmere. The fifth issue saw the influence of the delights of
Microsoft Publisher 2000 for the first time. NFSDU celebrated its achievement of 100 members, with Ian
Sweeney and Emile Altmann joining in quick succession. We had reached 108 members by the time
of newsletter publication, with New South Wales, New Zealand and Victoria
having passed 20 members. The first
and only Newcastle NFSDU meeting was a flop, and the decision was made to
hold subsequent events in Sydney.
Our second raffle, in conjunction with the first year of our
sponsorship of the Gareth Edds away kit, was launched, with a full away kit
being the first prize, and a Nottingham Forest football signed by Gareth Edds
as second prize. A premium level of
NFSDU membership, known as the ‘Garibaldi Club’, was discussed. The New South Wales NFSDU Football Team
was formed. ‘Bringing the City
Ground to Australia’, an initiative to create a distinct Forest group of
supporters at particular NSL clubs, was also discussed. Finally, we looked at membership cards
and the facilities available for Forest supporters to follow Forest matches
in real-time over the internet.
Forest signed Ben Olsen, Robbie Blake and Eugen Bopp, missed out on
Sami Al-Jaber, and saw Gianluca Petrachi return to Perugia. Forest made a promising start to the new
season, lying 9th after 8 matches of the new Division One
season. Click here
to continue…
Ten Issues of The Newsletter
Issue Number 1: February
2000
Issue Number 2: April 2000
Issue Number 3: June 2000
Issue Number 4: August 2000
Issue Number 5: October 2000
