Peter Shilton

Lore & Background

Shilton joined Nottingham Forest in September 1977 for £270,000. Forest had just been promoted to the First Division under Brian Clough. They won the League Cup in 1978 (though Shilton was cup-tied and did not play) and then won the League title in their first season back. Shilton made a crucial save in the clinching 0–0 draw against Coventry City. He won the PFA Players' Player of the Year award. Forest won the League Cup again in 1979 (Shilton played, defeating Southampton 3–2) and reached the European Cup final, where a Trevor Francis goal beat Malmö in Munich. Forest reached a third consecutive League Cup final in 1980 but lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers after a communication error between Shilton and David Needham. Forest then reached the European Cup final again in 1980, defeating SV Hamburg 1–0 in Madrid with a goal from John Robertson. Shilton left Forest in 1982.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at the City Ground hummed with a low, electric buzz that you could feel in your teeth. It was the second leg of the 1979 European Cup tie, and the away side had just equalised. The crowd — forty thousand strong, a sea of green and white — went quiet in that particular way that is worse than noise. Shilton stood in his box, hands on his hips, watching the opposition players regroup. He could hear the murmurs. He could hear the one voice, a young boy in the lower tier, whispering 'come on, Pete, come on.' He turned, looked up at the stands, and gave a single, almost imperceptible nod. Then he dropped into his stance, knees bent, eyes locked on the striker ten yards out. The ball was struck. Time seemed to thicken. His left hand came up — not a full save, not a parry, just a fingertip deflection that sent the ball wide by inches. The net did not ripple. The stadium detonated. He did not celebrate. He simply turned, clapped his hands twice, and called the line to shape up. The match was not over. It was never over until the whistle. That was the Shilton way.

Reader's Guide

Shilton's Nottingham Forest honours include two European Cups (1979, 1980), a European Super Cup, the First Division championship (1977–78), and the Football League Cup (1979). He did not play in the 1978 League Cup final due to being cup-tied. He never won the FA Cup.

Did You Know?

• Shilton made his Leicester City debut at age 16 in May 1966.
• He scored a goal for Leicester against Southampton in October 1967 from a clearance.
• Shilton was the world's most expensive goalkeeper when he joined Stoke City for £325,000 in 1974.
• He shares the record of 10 clean sheets in World Cup finals matches with Fabien Barthez.
• Shilton's 1,000th English league game came for Leyton Orient against Brighton & Hove Albion on 22 December 1996.