The words ‘passionate’ and ‘loyal’ don’t really do Nottingham Forest supporter Stuart Astill justice. On Monday he missed his first game in 40 years.
By Declan Whooley
We’re not sure anyone could beat his staggering record. In 1973 he missed a game at the City Ground as he was an usher at a wedding. Since then the club have played 2,534 matches and Astill attended every single one of those, but that run came to an end this week.
He has travelled near and far to watch his beloved side play and in that time he has seen Forest top-flight champions for the only time in the history, win the European Cup twice and also witnessed relegation.
A foot infection ruled him out of Monday’s fixture with Burnley at Turf Moor and ended his unbelievable sequence of games.
“I knew my run would end at some point, but I didn’t expect it to be now,” he told The Mirror.
“It was unusual listening to the game on the radio.”
In fact since 1956, he has only missed two games of football. If ever there was a man that deserved at least one season following his team in the Premier League, then surely it is Stuart Astill.
