COLIN Barrett used to paint the town red with Nottingham Forest. Now he paints houses in Southwell for a living.
When he retired through injury in 1981, Barrett went back to live in Southwell, where he works as a painter and decorator.
"I was killing time painting my house when a chap walked by and said that I could paint his if I liked," he said. "It took off from there and I've been doing it ever since."
Barrett started his career with Manchester City at the age of 17 on a wage of £14 a week. City had an experienced side that included the likes of Mike Summerbee, Colin Bell, Joe Corrigan, Glyn Pardoe and Francis Lee and Barrett made only 53 League appearances in six years.
He missed the FA Cup final when Ron Saunders dropped him and played in the semi-final the following season.
"I enjoyed my time at City but I was gutted not to play in the FA Cup final at Wembley and was desperate for first-team football," said Barrett.
"I was on the verge of joining QPR for £80,000. Malcolm Allison agreed a fee and I went down with my dad for talks with Gordon Lee, but it fell through.
"Then Brian Clough rang City and said he wanted to take me on loan for a month.
"I was only 22, but I said I wasn't interested in a loan deal, I wanted something permanent.
"Then Cloughie phoned me and said: 'I hear you don't want to come. You are in Manchester City's reserves but you can play in my first team. Come on loan, you might like me and I might like you. At least we will find out.'
"He wasn't taking 'no' for an answer and he told me to meet him outside Leek Town in an hour. I got in his Merc and he drove just down the road to a pub where we had lunch. He drove off and left me to walk back to my car and promised that if I went on loan for a month he would sign me. He told me to be at the City Ground at noon on Saturday before the game with Fulham.
"When I got to the ground he said 'Hello Colin, do you want a beer? It makes to play better, have a beer!
"I had a beer and made my debut in the 1-0 win.
"While I was on loan I continued to train at City and travelled down on Friday's or stayed at Alan Hill's guest house."
Barrett found life under Clough totally different to what he experienced at City. he added: "I got on well with him, but he did weird things sometimes.
"He certainly wouldn't get away with it today. But he was a great man-manager. The press loved him and I suppose the closest thing to him these days his Jose Mourinho.
"We did not train a great deal, with playing Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday. Sometimes we'd just have a walk along the banks of the Trent.
"They used to make us run through nettles, but we'd send the apprentices in first to flatten them down."
Barrett missed the start of the 1976-77 season through suspension and future England star Viv Anderson took his place. But he did manage to score twice as Forest won the Anglo Scottish Cup final.
"The following season I replaced the injured Frank Clark," said Barrett. "We played some superb football in the first half of that season and went on a great run.
"I remember Bob Wilson saying be
Barrett's Wembley jinx struck again. He missed the League Cup final against Liverpool with a stress fracture.
He finally made it to Wembley at the fourth attempt as Forest hammered Ipswich 5-0 in the Charity Shield but was then sidelined following a knee operation.
"Running out at Wembley was something special" he said.
"It was brilliant. I loved every second of it. I got to play there again against Southampton and also played in the European Cup, so I mustn't grumble."
