Lewis McGugan

Lewis Shay McGugan (born 25 October 1988) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

A player with excellent natural stamina, technical skills and mental attributes, he represented England at under-17 and under-19 levels.

He came through the youth-team at Nottingham Forest to make his first-team debut at the age of 17 in October 2006, and secured a regular place in the starting line-up by the end of the 2006–07 season.

He made his debut for the club eight days before his 18th birthday on 17 October 2006, coming on as a 69th-minute substitute for Kris Commons in a 2–1 win at Gillingham in the Football League Trophy.

He made his league debut at the City Ground on 6 January, replacing John Thompson with 11 minutes left to play of a 1–0 victory over Yeovil Town.

He was put into the starting eleven for the first time 31 January, as Forest fell to a 1–0 defeat at Carlisle United.

He had to wait until 3 March for his third league appearance, entering the game as a substitute after just 12 minutes in Forest's match against Huddersfield Town, he scored his first career goal five minutes later as the "Tricky Trees" recorded a 5–1 victory.

The 2006–07 season would still prove a highly successful one for an 18-year old McGugan though, as he finished the campaign as a member of the starting eleven, claiming two goals in 18 appearances.

He helped Forest to secure automatic promotion out of League One at the end of the 2007–08 season and went on to establish himself as a Championship player the following season, despite struggling with his weight and fitness.

McGugan missed the start of the 2007–08 campaign due to an ankle injury that required surgery.

He scored his first league goal of the season with a 20-yard strike in Forest's 2–2 draw with Northampton Town.

He scored his fourth goal of the season, in the second minute of stoppage time, in the New Year's Day 2–1 home win over Huddersfield a goal; the strike would win him the club's goal of the season for the second year running.

Manager Colin Calderwood went on to say that "he's a young player with a wonderful future ahead of him."

McGugan signed a new three-and-a-half year deal in February.

He did not score again until April, but then scored three goals in Forest's last four matches of the season, including a free-kick against Yeovil Town in the "Reds" 3–2 win on the last day of the campaign, which saw Forest promoted into the Championship as runners-up of League One.

He missed two months at the start of the 2008–09 season with a thigh injury sustained in a 3–1 defeat at Swansea City on 16 August.

He scored his first goal in the Championship with a "fine free-kick" in a 2–1 defeat at Queens Park Rangers on 18 October.

On 2 November, he was sent off for a rash tackle in a 1–1 draw at East Midlands rivals Derby County.

He found first-team opportunities limited in the 2009–10 campaign due to injury and the form of other players.

The following season he re-established himself in the starting eleven, finishing as the club's top scorer with a total of 13 goals in 45 appearances.

He was voted the 16th best player outside the Premier League in January 2009.

However two months later new manager Billy Davies dropped him from the starting eleven after feeling McGugan was unfit and overweight.

Despite being complimented by Davies for his much improved fitness, McGugan found himself on the bench in the first half of the 2009–10 season, with Paul McKenna, Guy Moussi and Radosław Majewski all being preferred ahead of him.

He also missed six weeks after sustaining a fractured cheekbone in a defeat to Watford.

He was limited to just six league starts over the campaign, and though Forest qualified for the play-offs, McGugan made only a cameo appearance in the semi-final defeat to Blackpool.

Again on the bench at the start of the 2010–11 season, his marked his first start with a brace in a 2–1 victory at Preston North End on 14 September.

He claimed another brace 11 days later, in a 3–1 win over Swansea that was Forest's first home win of the campaign.

After this he also went on to score in a 3–1 defeat away at Barnsley on 16 October and a 1–0 home win over Middlesbrough three days later.

This left him as the club's top-scorer despite only starting seven matches; teammate Chris Cohen said that "Lewis has made himself more versatile this season and has been fantastic so far. If it wasn't for his goals at the moment we'd be in a lot of trouble".

On 23 October, McGugan continued his fine goal-scoring form with a "superb long-range free-kick" against Ipswich Town; this would later be voted as the Championship Goal of the Season.

However he lost form the next season, only rediscovering his form at the end of the 2012–13 campaign.

He joined Watford on a free transfer in July 2013, but fell out of the first-team by the end of the 2013–14 season.

He enjoyed two loan spells at Sheffield Wednesday the following season, and joined the club on a permanent basis in July 2015.

However he was dropped by the end of the 2015–16 season and was dropped from the first-team entirely for the 2016–17 campaign.

He signed a three-month contract with Northampton Town in October 2017.

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Born in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, McGugan was a product of Nottingham Forest's youth system.

According to Jason Hellewell, he was very good.

Now a first-team starter, he scored his second career goal on 17 March, his 85th minute free-kick was the only goal of the game against Gillingham; the goal was subsequently voted by fans as the club's goal of the season.

Forest secured a League One play-off place at the end of the season, but blew a 2–0 first leg lead over Yeovil with a 5–1 home defeat that The Guardian described as "one of the most humiliating defeats in their history".