Paul Taylor: It is hard to believe a year has passed since Nottingham Forest lost their biggest fan, Nigel Doughty

IT is hard to believe a year has passed since news filtered through that Nottingham Forest had lost one of their biggest fans.

In both size and deed, Nigel Doughty stood tall when it came to backing the club he had supported from childhood.

While Doughty may have shied away from the public spotlight, he was never more at home than when surrounded by his fellow fans.

Striding down Blackpool sea front prior to a game, Doughty stood out in his smart, bespoke suit. But he stopped to speak to each and every Forest fan who wanted to share a word.

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There are probably a few now who, given the opportunity, would thank him for the efforts he made to put Forest back on the map.

The club never quite achieved his dream of a return to Premier League football during his tenure.

But that was hardly through a lack of effort, with his investment in the club over a period of more than a decade likely to be somewhere close to £100m.

Perhaps, as they reported for training yesterday, on the anniversary of Doughty's death, those members of the first-team squad who were around under his time as owner and chairman, might have spared a moment's thought for the man whose name the academy building now bears.

Whatever the future holds, it should not be forgotten that, if not for the efforts of one man, there might not have been a Forest at all.