Spend any time at Nottingham Forest ’s Nigel Doughty Academy and you need to be prepared for one thing: handshakes. A lot of them. Forest believe they have one of the most innovative academies in England, one at the forefront of data research and in which they have invested millions of pounds to provide the next generation with a Premier League -quality environment to learn and grow.
Advertisement Amid all that, old-fashioned values remain, which is why the under-18 squad are instructed that, whenever they see a visitor at the training ground, they should offer a handshake and a friendly greeting. On the day The Athletic visits, training is paused briefly for a drinks break, during which a queue of players quickly forms by the side of the pitch to offer handshakes, fist bumps and to ask, “How are you?” You briefly feel like visiting royalty. That desire to develop decent people has long been a tradition at Forest: Ryan Yates , Brennan Johnson and Joe Worrall emerged as humble, grounded characters under Gary Brazil, the much respected former academy director who left last year .
GO DEEPER The boys from Brazil: Forest’s academy sees the end of an era There is another tradition that stretches back to October 1941. That was the last time a Forest matchday squad did not include at least one player who had been a youth-team player — more than 4,000 games and roughly 850 young players ago. It is a remarkable record, chief among the selling points when Forest convince paren.