Nottingham Forest Owner, Nigel Doughty RIP

[Macmoish]

Sympathies obviously to his family, which hits straight home

GUARDIAN

Nottingham Forest owner Nigel Doughty found dead at home
• Doughty was found in the gym of his house
• Ed Miliband pays tribute to 'kind, generous man'

The Nottingham Forest owner Nigel Doughty, who stepped down as chairman in October after a decade in the role, has been found dead at his home in Lincolnshire.

Doughty, who was 54, was discovered in the gym at his home in Skillington on Saturday. Nottingham Forest said in a brief statement: "It is with enormous sadness that we announce the death of the club's owner Nigel Doughty. The club would like to appeal for the privacy of Mr Doughty's family to be observed at this sad time."

A life-long Forest fan, Doughty saved the club from administration when he bought it for £11m in 1999, and invested almost £100m of his personal fortune in the club.

The businessman's time as chairman ended after the sacking of the former England manager Steve McClaren. Doughty was replaced in the role by Frank Clark.

The Labour leader Ed Miliband paid tribute to Doughty, who was a high-profile party supporter.

Miliband said: "I am shocked and saddened … I was with him only a week ago and he was full of life, enthusiasm and vigour.

"Nigel was a kind, generous man with a deep desire to make the world a better place. My heart goes out to his wife Lucy and his children. We mourn his death deeply and will sorely miss him."

www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/feb/04/nottingham-forest-nigel-doughty

[RoryTheRanger]

RIP.

Nigel's son Michael Doughty of course is a youth player here at QPR.

[Macmoish]

Yes indeed

ESPN

Forest owner dies aged 54

Nottingham Forest owner Nigel Doughty has been found dead at his home. He was 54.

Nigel Doughty invested £100 million of his fortune into Forest
• Clark takes over from Doughty

The club said Doughty was found in the gym at his Lincolnshire house.

"It is with enormous sadness that Nottingham Forest announce the death of the club's owner Nigel Doughty," a statement read. "Mr Doughty, who was 54, was found dead earlier today in his gym at his home in Skillington, Lincolnshire.

"The club would like to appeal for the privacy of Mr Doughty's family to be observed at this sad time.

"The club will be making no further comment."

Lifelong Forest fan Doughty stepped down as chairman in October after a decade in the job following the sacking of former England manager Steve McClaren.

He was replaced in the role by former Forest player and manager Frank Clark.

Doughty, who saved the Reds from administration when he bought the club for £11 million in 1999, invested almost £100 million of his personal fortune in the club.

As a Forest fan, his dream was to guide the club back into the Premier League. During his ten years at the City Ground, the club won promotion back to the Championship in 2008, three years after their relegation.

Under manager Billy Davies, the Reds reached the play-offs in each of the last two seasons.

Forest forward Matt Derbyshire said on Twitter: "I can't believe the sad news, my thoughts go out to his family."

Forward Garath McCleary praised Doughty for the work he did. "He has done so much for Forest, which was not always best appreciated," he said. "My thoughts are with his family."

Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "I am shocked and saddened to hear of Nigel Doughty's death. I was with him only a week ago and he was full of life, enthusiasm and vigour.

"He was a kind, generous man with a deep desire to make the world a better place. My heart goes out to his wife Lucy and his children. We mourn his death deeply and will sorely miss him."

Doughty had led a Small Business Taskforce that made recommendations to Labour late last year which are to be considered as part of the party's policy-making process.

soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1017733/nottingham-forest-owner-nigel-doughty-found-dead?campaign=rss&source=soccernet&cc=5901

[mikehunt]

heart attack?
feel so sorry for his son,.

[Macmoish]

Nice Derby County Statement. Reminds me of the shock when David Bulstrode died (NOT the same circumstances of course)

Derby County Football Club Statement

Posted on: Sat 04 Feb 2012

Derby County was this afternoon saddened to learn of the death of Nottingham Forest owner Nigel Doughty.

The 54 year old had been owner of the City Ground club since 1999, saving them from administration at the time, and invested a substantial amount of his personal wealth into the club.

Derby County Chief Executive Tom Glick said: "It is extremely sad to learn of the passing of Nigel Doughty and the deepest condolences of everyone connected with Derby County Football Club go to his family and friends at this very difficult time.

"I had the pleasure of Nigel's company on various occasions over the course of the last four years and his love and passion for Nottingham Forest shone through every single time."

Derby County manager Nigel Clough said: "We are shocked and saddened to learn of this news and our hearts go out to the family of Nigel Doughty.

"There was absolutely no doubting his commitment and passion for Nottingham Forest throughout his time as owner and he will be deeply missed."

Sunday's East Midlands derby between Derby County and Nottingham Forest at Pride Park Stadium in the npower Championship (12:15pm kick-off) is scheduled to go ahead as planned.

In tribute to Nigel Doughty, players from both sides will wear black armbands for the game.

[Macmoish]

Beautiful Mark Bircham Tweet

marcbircham Marc Bircham
Nigel was a Fantastic man who did everything for the club he loved and we as a club will do everything we can to help Mike fulfill his .....

We will help Mike fulfill his outstanding potential #nigeldoughtyrip

[Jon Doeman]

Feb 5, 2012 8:46:43 GMT Macmoish said:

Beautiful Mark Bircham Tweet

marcbircham Marc Bircham
Nigel was a Fantastic man who did everything for the club he loved and we as a club will do everything we can to help Mike fulfill his .....

We will help Mike fulfill his outstanding potential #nigeldoughtyrip

Nice one Birch.
My condolences as well.

[Macmoish]

Game itself now been cancelled because of snow

Derby Official Site - Derby Game Postponed
Posted on: Sun 05 Feb 2012

Nottingham Forest's Championship meeting with Derby at Pride Park, scheduled to kick-off at 12.15pm, has been postponed on safety grounds after heavy overnight snow.

Although the playing surface is fine, the wintry conditions have made the areas surrounding the stadium treacherous.

A new date for the game has yet to be finalised.

[Macmoish]

GUARDIAN/STUART JAMES

Nigel Doughty left plans to take care of Nottingham Forest's debts
• Forest owner was owed £75.6m by Championship club
• Doughty was committed to investing a further £23m

Nottingham Forest are having to come to terms with the owner Nigel Doughty's sudden death, which has left everyone connected with the club in shock.

In the circumstances it feels insensitive to speculate on what the financial implications are for the club that Doughty devoted so much time to, yet questions are being asked because of the level of his support. Doughty bought Forest in 1999 for £11m and, according to the last set of accounts, was owed £75.6m by the club, comprising £64.2m of cash plus £11.4m of accumulated interest. His detractors – and there were many of them towards the end of his time as chairman – often overlooked the size of his investment.

It is understood that Doughty made provision to ensure the club's debts are met for the next two and a half years when he decided to step down as chairman in October amid growing supporter unrest and after admitting that he made a mistake when he appointed Steve McClaren as manager that summer. Doughty's backing meant that he would invest a further £23m between now and the end of the 2013-14 season. The wider issue of what happens regarding the £75.6m that Doughty is owed will only become clear when details of his beneficiaries are revealed.

Doughty, 54, was found dead at his home in Lincolnshire on Saturday, 24 hours before Forest were due at Derby County. The match was postponed due to the weather. He was a staunch supporter of the Labour party as well as being a lifelong Forest fan. He leaves a wife and four children, including Michael, a promising footballer with Queens Park Rangers who is on loan at Crawley Town. Doughty is believed to have died from natural causes.

"He was a thoroughly decent man," said David Pleat, who worked for Doughty in a consultant role at Forest. "He had a passion for the club and he ran the club properly. He was a generous, kind and humble man. I have met so many people in football and Nigel, with all his wealth, had real humility. I never saw him angry, and if he lost a football match, he lost it with dignity. He loved Forest; it was his pride. And he was determined to get it back to the promised land."

www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/feb/05/nigel-doughty-nottingham-forest?newsfeed=true

[Macmoish]

QPR Official Site

NIGEL DOUGHTY R.I.P
Posted on: Mon 06 Feb 2012

R's Youth Development Manager Steve Gallen has paid an emotional tribute to Nottingham Forest owner Nigel Doughty, who died suddenly on Saturday.

Doughty's son Michael, 19, is a First Year Pro at QPR and has been with the Club for five years.

Gallen told http://www.qpr.co.uk: "This is terribly sad news. I have read Nigel being described as a gentle giant and that's exactly what he was.

"This is a massive shock and we all feel desperately upset for Michael. I have spoken with him and told him that we as a Club are here to support him in whatever way we can."

Doughty took a keen interest in his son's blossoming football career and despite his hectic schedule would often turn up to watch his son play for the QPR Youth Team.

"Whenever he could get along to a game that Michael was involved in, he would be there," Gallen said.

"I remember last season we were at Gillingham and there was Nigel, stood on his own on the far side watching. He was so supportive of Michael's football. Unbelievably.

"He loved watching Michael and seeing him develop.

"What really stood out for me was the way he supported him. He was never judgemental. Never critical. Just so supportive."

And while his son has gone on to earn a professional contract with QPR, Nigel remained a close supporter of the Club's youth set-up.

"When a player leaves the Centre of Excellence, it is easy for them or their parents to move on and forget about it. But that wasn't Nigel," Gallen said.

"When we beat Huddersfield Town and Everton in the FA Youth Cup this season he sent me a text to congratulate me and the team.

"Even though he was in America, the Dominican Republic or wherever, he looked out for our results and sent a text. And Michael's not even in the Youth Team anymore. That just shows the class of the man.

"Even though Nigel was the Chairman of Nottingham Forest - and he was a big, big fan of that Club - I feel we at QPR have lost a real friend."

Queens Park Rangers Football Club would like to express its deep sadness at this news and offer the family of Nigel Doughty their condolences at this hugely difficult time.

www.qpr.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10373~2601949,00.html

[bp]

So sad.

A really nice man to know.

A lovely man.

So awfully unfair.

[klr]

Those are some really nice words from Steve Gallen.