‘Thirty signings, who gives a f*ck, the Reds are staying up!’ Those were the words belted out from the away section at Selhurst Park as Nottingham Forest played out there final game of the 2022-23 season against Crystal Palace.
It was party time, Premier League safety had already be secured thanks to a dramatic 1-0 win at the City Ground against an Arsenal side that had led the title race for most of the season.
Simon Bristow of OurGloriousBanners was there – as he was both home and away for the entirety of this rollercoaster season – photographing the highs and lows and capturing the emotions of the passionate Forest fans from the terraces, during their first season back in the Premier League since 1999.
The two-time European champions didn’t disappoint. An almost entirely new squad of signings had the sceptics doubting Forest would be able to gel quick enough – and would surely loose any relegation battle they’d find themselves and be back down in the Championship in no time.
Steve Cooper had other ideas. Constantly questioned by those outside the club regarding his ability to lead and manage at this level – he excelled in doing so, backed by the club and the Forest fans who were never in doubt that he was the right man to continue to take Forest forward.
Simon’s photographs from the 2022-23 season come together in his second Nottingham Forest photo book, Risen: Freed From Desire 2 – a documentation of Forest fans shot on film, from the terraces.
Here, in his own words – Simon talks about the book and what he recalls from the season, with a selection of his favourite shots.
“Risen: Freed From Desire 2 is a photographic account from the stands that covers the rollercoaster story of our Premier League survival.
“I never thought I’d do a first book, let alone a second, but the response the first time around was really amazing and given our return to the Premier League ended in such epic fashion, it felt like it was worth doing this all over again. Once again the response from fans has been brilliant and it’s helped to raise a huge amount of money for some very worthwhile causes.
“The story of the 2022/23 season was definitely one of many highs and lows but, I hope, the book also captures the story of the positivity that emanated from us Forest fans during the campaign. The photos are often blurry, often painful, but they also capture the euphoric highs we experienced, especially the home win vs. Arsenal that kept us up and a truly incredible day out at Crystal Palace on the final day of the season when all that pressure and fear of relegation had ended. ‘Thirty signings’, as those on the terraces sang that day, ‘who gives a f*ck, the Reds are staying up’.”
You can pick up a copy of Risen: Freed From Desire in either of the Nottingham branches of Waterstone’s or for online sales contact Simon directly via Instagram.
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