Gerry Forrest
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gerald Forrest | ||
| Date of birth | 21 January 1957 | ||
| Place of birth | , England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Full-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Billingham Town | |||
| South Bank | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1977–1985 | Rotherham United | 357 | (8) |
| 1985–1990 | Southampton | 115 | (0) |
| 1990–1991 | Rotherham United | 34 | (0) |
| 1991–1992 | Gateshead United | ||
| 1992 | Billingham Town | ||
| Teams managed | |||
| 1993 | Darlington (caretaker manager) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Gerald "Gerry" Forrest (born 21 January 1957) is an English retired footballer who played at full-back for Rotherham United and Southampton.
Born in , Forrest played his youth football with Billingham Town and was a member of the Stockton Youth Representative team in the mid-1970s.
He then joined South Bank of the Northern League from where he was invited to Rotherham United for a trial in February 1977. After making an impression on manager Jimmy McGuigan, Forrest was signed as a professional and went straight into Rotherham's first team at the start of the 1977–78 season, remaining an automatic choice for several years. In 1981, Rotherham were Third Division champions but after two seasons in the Second Division they dropped back down again.
Described as "an exceptionally skilful attacking right back", Forrest soon attracted attention from top clubs, with an offer of £200,000 from Sunderland being rejected. Eventually, Rotherham agreed to let him move on in December 1985 after Southampton of the First Division made an offer of £100,000, although Forrest was by now 28 years old.
At The Dell, Forrest soon justified manager Chris Nicholl's investment and made the step-up to top-flight football seamlessly. He was a cultured right back who was comfortable on the ball and strong in attack yet had great defensive abilities. He made his debut for "the Saints", when he took the place of Steve Baker in a 3–0 victory over Arsenal on 7 December 1985, retaining his place for the rest of the season.
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