How is Lewis McGugan getting on ever since leaving Nottingham Forest? | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest are into their 14th consecutive season in the Championship this term since they managed to earn promotion out of League One during the 2007/08 campaign.

That 2007/08 campaign was the season that really saw Lewis McGugan establish himself as a crucial member of Nottingham Forest’s squad that he would continue to be until he left the club for Watford in the summer 0f 2013.

McGugan had first started to break into the side at Nottingham Forest during the 2006/07 season, with him making his debut coming off the bench against Gillingham in a Football League Trophy clash.

After some other appearances off the bench, he grabbed his first league goal against Huddersfield Town in a 5-1 win in March 2007.

By the end of the 2006/07 season, it was clear that McGugan was firmly now within the first-team squad at the City Ground.

During the 2007/08 promotion-winning campaign for Forest, the midfielder was in excellent form after missing the start of the season through an ankle injury.

The midfielder finished the 2007/08 season with seven goals in all competitions in his 36 appearances and that saw him play a huge role in helping the Reds secure promotion back into the second tier of English football.

McGugan largely had a positive impact for Nottingham Forest to help them establish themselves in the Championship in the 2008/09 season, with the midfielder scoring five times in 36 appearances, one of which was a stunning free-kick against QPR at the City Ground.

Forest made it into the play-offs in the 2009/10 season, but McGugan saw himself out of favour with Billy Davies for sections of the campaign and that limited him to just 18 league appearances.

However, McGugan re-established himself as a key player for the Reds the following year, with the midfielder enjoying his best-ever scoring season for the Reds with him firing home 13 goals in all competitions in his 45 appearances.

Across the next two seasons, McGugan remained a crucial member of the squad and he managed to fire home a further 13 goals in 72 appearances during that time.

Over the summer of 2013, McGugan’s contract situation at the City Ground became a major issue with the midfielder and Forest not being able to agree upon fresh terms that would have seen him commit his long-term future to the club.

That ultimately led him to make the move to Watford in the summer of 2013 and brought an end to his time at Nottingham Forest.

Speaking in a recent interview with the Dore on Tour YouTube channel, the midfielder confessed that he never actually wanted to leave the City Ground that summer.

During the 2013/14 season, McGugan was a crucial player for Watford and he swiftly established himself within their strongest starting line-up. The midfielder managed to register 11 goals in all competitions in 37 appearances for the Hornets that campaign.

However, the 2014/15 season saw McGugan fall out of favour at Watford and he made just six Championship appearances in the first few weeks of the campaign before making a loan move to Sheffield Wednesday.

McGugan scored three times in his 22 appearances for the Owls in the Championship during his loan spell with the club and that was enough to convince them to sign him on a permanent deal in the summer of 2015.

The midfielder was an important member of the squad at Hillsborough during their run to the play-offs in the 2015/16 season.

However, he was largely not a regular starter for the Owls and he made 17 appearances for them in all competitions and scored six goals in that time.

However, at the start of the 2016/17 season, Carlos Carvalhal informed McGugan that he was not going to be an important part of the Owls’ squad moving forwards and told him he was free to find a new club.

That was something the midfielder failed to do and after not making a single appearance that term he left the club in the summer of 2017.

It took McGugan a while to find himself a new club and he did not play again until joining Northampton Town on a short-term deal in October 2017. He would make 14 appearances for the club in which time he scored once before leaving in January 2018.

McGugan had unsuccessful trials with all three of St Mirren, Bradford City and Port Vale throughout the 2018/19 season but was never able to find a new home. He has since retired from the game without making another appearance.