Forest. Return to Forest His second spell at Forest included a spell at centre-half. However, he still proved himself to be a competent goalscorer, particularly with 15 league goals in the 1983–84 season and 14 in the 1986–87 season, the last of which he was joint top goalscorer alongside midfield star Neil Webb and up-and-coming striker Nigel Clough. However, Forest manager Brian Clough allowed Birtles to part from the club on a free transfer in June 1987. Notts County and Grimsby Town He spent 18 months with Notts County, during which he appeared in almost every league game. Birtles ended his career with Grimsby Town. They won two successive promotions during his time there, and by the end of his career he had accumulated more than 400 professional league appearances. International career During the final months of his first spell at Nottingham Forest, when he was still reputed as one of the English league's finest strikers, he was capped three times at senior level for England. His first cap came on 13 May 1980 in a 3–1 friendly win over Argentina. His last came on 15 October that year in a 2–1 defeat against Romania in a 1982 World Cup qualifier. Career statistics Honours Nottingham Forest League Cup: 1978–79 European Cup: 1978–79, 1979–80 European Super Cup: 1979 Grimsby Town Lincolnshire Senior Cup: 1989–90 Individual Nottingham Forest Player of the Year: 1978–79 Bravo Award: 1979 Supporters Player of the Year: 1989–90 References External links Englandstats.com profile 1956 births Living people Footballers from Nottingham English footballers England international footballers UEFA Euro 1980 players England under-21 international footballers England B international footballers English Football League players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Gresley F.C. managers Long Eaton United F.C. players English association football commentators English television presenters Association football forwards English football managers UEFA Champions League winning players People from Long Eaton Footballers from Derbyshire