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
Nottingham Forest F.C. 1–8 Manchester United F.C. February on top of the Premier League by one point after beating Charlton Athletic 1–0 away, while then-league leaders Chelsea lost away to Arsenal by the same margin. Another 1–0 win over Derby County in mid-week extended United's lead to four points going into the weekend of 6 February 1999. Despite a 1–0 win away to Everton on 30 January – their first win since August 1998 – Nottingham Forest went into the weekend rooted to the bottom of the table, with just three wins to their name all season and only 16 points, 31 behind their opponents. Ron Atkinson