Leeds United man reveals reason for personal Nottingham Forest gesture which left friends in tears
Leeds United forward Patrick Bamford emerged from the tunnel at the City Ground on Sunday afternoon with a bouquet of flowers paying tribute to former Nottingham Forest owner Nigel Doughty
The 29-year-old began his career at Forest as a schoolboy, before joining Chelsea as a teenager, pulling on the garibaldi red just twice at the very beginning of his days as a professional footballer. As Leeds walked out alongside their Premier League counterparts on Sunday, February 5, Bamford was seen holding a bouquet of flowers in honour of ex-Forest owner Nigel Doughty, who passed away on February 4, 2012.
Doughty’s son Michael is a close personal friend of Bamford’s and business partner at Hylo Athletics, a sustainable footwear company. A former professional footballer himself, Doughty tweeted at full-time: “Arrived at @NFFC today the day after the big man's 11 year anniversary to experience one of greatest bits of friendship I've ever felt. Safe to say there wasn't a dry eye in my family. Thank you mate @Patrick_Bamford for remembering and marking it in the most thoughtful way.”
At full-time, Bamford discussed his planned floral gesture that caught the Doughty family by surprise: “It was one of those things. I actually thought that Forest as a club would do something, considering it was his anniversary yesterday.
"But obviously he is a really close family friend of mine and I know Michael and Helen were here watching today so that was kind of more for the support for them. But also, I think if it wasn't for him, then Forest might not be where they are today so I think everyone owes a lot to him at this club."