in just over a season before departing early in the 1976/77 season. Nottingham Forest Brian Clough joined Nottingham Forest as manager in January 1975. In the summer of 1976 he was joined by Peter Taylor, who had been his assistant at Derby County in winning the 1971-72 Football League. From Taylor's arrival Forest immediately went into upswing. Forest signed the 25-year-old Withe to make his debut for the club on 25 September 1976. He scored on his debut in a 5–1 Football League Division Two home win v Carlisle United with strike partner John O'Hare also scoring. Withe was given a new strike partner on 3 November 1976 in an Anglo-Scottish Cup 2–0 win at Ayr United. Tony Woodcock was recalled to the first team, bringing speed and anticipation to the front two to complement Withe's height, strength and power. Withe and Woodcock both scored at Ayr. Withe ended the season as the club top scorer with 19 goals and Woodcock second with 17 and Forest's Player of the Year despite his November seasonal debut. Forest's first trophy of the Clough and Taylor regime was in December that season beating Orient over two legs in the Anglo-Scottish Cup final. Withe played in the 1–1 first leg away draw on 13 December 1976 but then spent two weeks out the side missing the 4–0 second leg win. Forest won promotion at the end of the season to the top tier from finishing third in Division Two. Withe and Woodcock won the 1977-78 Football League First Division and 1977-78 Football League Cup with Forest. They ended the season as Forest's joint top scorers with 19 goals each. Withe scored in the 1978 FA Charity Shield 5–0 win against Ipswich Town on 12 August 1978. After playing in the 1–1 league home draw the week after against Tottenham Hotspur, Forest agreed to sell him for £225,000 just before his 27th birthday at the end of that month. Withe scored 39 goals in 99 competitive first team games for Forest. This included 28 goals in 75 league games. His place in the next three games was given to league debutant Steve Elliott; all of them ended goalless. The number 9 jersey was then given to 22-year-old Garry Birtles who promptly became a regular first choice, winning the European Cup with Forest in this season and the following one. Newcastle United Withe joined Newcastle United