Nigel Doughty, the owner of Nottingham Forest, was discovered dead at his house.
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Doughty was discovered at his home gym.
Ed Miliband pays homage to the ‘kind, kind guy’
Nigel Doughty, the owner of Nottingham Forest who stood down as chairman in October after a decade in the position, was discovered dead at his house in Lincolnshire.
Doughty, 54, was discovered in the gym at his Skillington home on Saturday. He died of natural causes, according to authorities, and there were no unusual circumstances. “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of the club’s owner Nigel Doughty,” Nottingham Forest stated in a statement. The club would want to request that Mr Doughty’s family’s privacy be respected at this difficult time.”
Doughty, a lifelong Forest supporter, saved the club from administration when he spent £11 million to buy ownership in 1999 and invested over £100 million of his money in the team. Forest earned promotion back to the Championship under his leadership in 2008, three years after being relegated, and under manager Billy Davies has made the playoffs in each of the last two years.
The businessman’s tenure as chairman ended with the resignation of former England manager Steve McClaren, who had only been in command for 112 days. Former Forest manager Frank Clark succeeded Doughty, who stated choosing McClaren was his choice and it was “a very poor one.”
Labour leader Ed Miliband paid homage to Doughty, a prominent party member who donated at least £3.5 million to the party over the previous seven years. Late last year, he also headed a Small Business Taskforce, which made suggestions to Labour that would be examined as part of the party’s policy-making process.
Miliband said: “I am shocked and saddened … I was with him only a week ago and he was full of life, enthusiasm and vigour. Nigel was a kind, generous man with a deep desire to make the world a better place. My heart goes out to his wife Lucy and his children. We mourn his death deeply and will sorely miss him.”
Gordon Brown said: ‘Nigel Doughty will be remembered as a gentle giant, a good soft spoken man with a deep commitment to public service.”
Forest’s players also paid tribute. The forward Matt Derbyshire wrote on Twitter: “I can’t believe the sad news, my thoughts go out to his family,” while Garath McCleary said: “He has done so much for Forest, which was not always best appreciated. My thoughts are with his family.”
Greg Clarke, the chairman of the Football League, said: “I’m hugely saddened to hear of Nigel’s death. He has made an enormous contribution to Nottingham Forest and the Football League and will be greatly missed by us all.”
The England cricketer Stuart Broad – a Forest fan – tweeted: “Very sad Nigel Doughty has died. Lovely man and did a huge amount for Forest. RIP”
When he resigned the chairmanship, Doughty reassured fans he planned to continue to provide financial backing for Forest which he said needed £12m annually to survive. Doughty said: “It has been my club for 50 years … I have said on a number of occasions I have always been happy to support the club on a financial basis.”
Forest, struggling in 23rd place in the Championship, are due to play at Derby County on Sunday.
