Local Heroes: A Film about 3 lads from Nottingham Who Won it all with Forest

We review ‘Local Heroes: A Film about 3 local Nottingham lads who went on to win the English First Division and the European Cup, Twice!

I have to confess I have a slight soft spot for Nottingham Forest.

When I was a kid, the last few seasons of what was then known as the first division had teams like Forest, Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds as permanent fixtures alongside the usual suspects of Spurs, Man U, Liverpool and Everton.

The City Ground was one of those venues that was sort of romantic to me, a boy from just outside London who had been to most of the football stadiums in my area, but I’d never ventured North. Only a decade or so before I got into Football, Forest had climbed club football’s highest mountain, and conquered Europe, twice!

So when I got the chance, some 30 years later, to watch ‘Local Heroes’ and also record a podcast with Forest legend Viv Anderson, I was thrilled.

The Film: Local Heroes

The film itself tells the story of three boys from Nottingham, Viv Anderson, Tony Woodcock and Garry Birtles, who all played for Nottingham Forest in the late 70s and early 80s.

If you are familiar with this period in English football, you’ll know that the lads played under perhaps the most charismatic football manager of them all, Brian Clough.

There is not enough space on the internet to write about Mr Cloughs life and times, but suffice to say he achieved what no manager had done then, and is highly unlikely to ever achieve again.

Nottingham Forest were promoted to the English First Division in the 1976-77 season, and remarkably went on to win the Championship and the League Cup the following year.

Back in the day you only qualified for the European Cup as actual champions of your league, rather than being 4th. Something quite poetic about that really…. and actual tournament of Champions.

The following year, they won the European Cup and as holders qualified for the following year, and won it again!

This sort of thing is unrepeatable, to go from 2nd division to Kings of Europe in 3 years is the stuff of fairytales.

The Boys from Nottingham

The Film focuses on 3 players from that team who were all born and bred in Nottingham, and all went on to play for England. Indeed, Viv Anderson was the first black footballer to play for his country, and had to deal with some serious stuff during his career.

The film interviews the players both in their homes, in studio and on the streets of Nottingham where they grew up, and is a poignant look at what life was like growing up in 60s Great Britain.

There is a great deal of emotion, honesty and open hearted confession about the twisting fortunes of their lives both before and after football. A stark reminder that professional footballers, and all athletes, are human, and have their own stuff to deal with outside of running around after a ball.

Simpler Times

For me the film brought back memories of when football was about Saturday afternoons. Win or lose, life would go on until the next weekend when the next round of matches took place.

The 24 hour culture of global football now is suffocating and false, led by commercial intent and with no connection to fans, especially at the top end of the game.

I was reminded of my Father telling me about players from this era, muddy pitches, players that (like Garry) been carpet fitters or labourers or car salesman before getting their big break. A far cry from the groomed academy players of today.

I particularly liked the candid camera work, and the director John Warrington deserves great credit for keeping the feeling of ‘being in Nottingham’ running throughout the film.

It would have been easy to sanitise this by getting the boys on a golf course in Dubai or a stark studio somewhere and recording the thing in a condensed time frame. But it feels true, honest and revealing because he didn’t do that.

My Verdict on Local Heroes

I don’t want to give away too much about the actual substance of the film, so I will let you make your own mind up, but I can tell you that it took me on an emotional journey that I’m pleased to have been on.

It made me think about what sport meant to me, and what it might mean to my own children. The untethered joy of running around with friends, kicking a ball and making up rules based on the ‘pitch’ that is available, whether that be a backstreet, a field or an indoor court.

It also made me reflect on my own relationship with the football club I support. As a season ticket holder I have wrestled with whether to spend the huge sums required to keep my ticket, in this age of disconnection between fans and club.

Another reminder. All football clubs started out as just that. Clubs. A group of people getting together to organise football matches. They weren’t born as toys for Arab states or Russian oligarchs, they were just clubs for men, boys and women to enjoy a game of football as a group.

This film reminded me of what once was, and what things are now. I think I prefer the later.

The film, Local Heroes, is available now at Amazon on DVD and other digital outlets.

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