1994–95 Nottingham Forest F.C. season to succeed in life after Brian Clough as new manager Frank Clark guided them to an impressive third-place finish and UEFA Cup qualification, giving Forest their first European campaign of the post-Heysel era. Striker Stan Collymore was on target 22 times in the league and speculation that he would be on his way to another club proved correct at the end of the season when he sold to Liverpool for a national record fee of £8.4 million. The failure of Clark to buy a proven replacement cast significant doubt over whether Forest could mount a serious challenge for honours in
1996–97 Nottingham Forest F.C. season by Christmas, and their manager Frank Clark gone, with Stuart Pearce taking over as player-manager on a temporary basis. A good run of form in January saw Pearce receive the Manager of the Month award, but, by the time he stepped down to make way for Dave Bassett in March, Forest had endured another setback and were left needing a miracle to beat the drop. The acquisition of Dutch striker Pierre van Hooijdonk did little to change the club's fortunes, and they were relegated in bottom place. "Nottingham Forest's score comes first" 1996–97 Nottingham Forest F.C. season During the 1996–97