Alan Rogers

Signed in 1997 by Dave Basset, Rogers had to fill the boots of Stuart Pearce who left the club that summer. In Forest’s promotion campaign he proved that he could always go in hard with his tackles and was also a very useful attacking player, his pace being his main asset. Alan was Player of the Season in the Reds' brief Premiership spell, producing a great run of form after a slow start.

When Ron Atkinson took the helm for the last three months of the 1998/99 season, Rogers found himself in a new midfield role, which he continued in the First Division under David Platt with much success, finishing the year as joint top-scorer with Dougie Freedman.

Alan’s 2000/01 season started well with four goals, but it was cut short by injury in November forcing him to sit out the remainder. His absence was a key factor in Forest’s missing out on the play-offs.

The following season Alan left the club as the board cut the wage bill. As one of the highest earners, the club were keen to sell him to former manager Dave Basset who was now in charge of Premiership strugglers Leicester City. He joined the Foxes for just £300,000 as he only had a year left on his contract.

Rogers helped Leicester regain promotion, but was forced out of the team for City's 2003/04 Premier League season. In February 2004 he returned to help Forest's survival bid, signed by Joe Kinnear on an initial one-month loan which was later extended to the end of the season.

Some doubted whether Alan would want to come back to the City Ground - when he returned with the Foxes he was given a torrent of abuse from the home crowd and was the subject of an infamous incident involving chocolate bars. However, he was given a warm welcome back this time and played a crucial part in helping the Reds avoid the drop.

Rogers has filled the left-back spot which had been a problem since the sale of Jim Brennan the previous summer and Kinnear was keen to sign him permanently. Alan was also keen and, when his contract ran out at Leicester, he joined the Reds on a three-year contract, saying: "I couldn’t be happier. When I came back to the club on loan in February, I was hoping that it might lead to something permanent."

Tank always seems to struggle with fitness at the beginning of a season and can appear lazy; however, once he gets into his stride he has often proved one of Forest’s most useful players. His pace and power in attack helped him create and score many goals in his first spell with Forest and he will hope to recreate this under Kinnear. His talent earned him an England ‘B’ cap during his early years as a player.

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