Even 2017 comments unlikely to draw much Nottingham Forest sympathy after controversial Derby County switch: View | OneFootball

The forward joined the Rams in 2008 after four years with Forest - and he's one man who can't expect sympathy from the Reds' fans.

Kris Commons' 2008 switch from Nottingham Forest to Derby County will perhaps be one of the most controversial East Midlands rivalry moments in history but there was a deeper reasoning behind his move.

Commons spent four years at the City Ground after joining from Stoke City, making 156 appearances in red, scoring 35 goals and assisting 23 times. His best times with Forest came in the third tier, following the club's relegation in 2005.

Promotion on the final day of the 2007/08 season looked to be only the start of Commons' meteoric rise for the Reds. Nevertheless, after a successful season, in which he scored nine goals (including a hat-trick against Cheltenham Town), he soon moved on to pastures new.

QPR and Derby were both involved in a battle for the free agent, before he made his decision to stay in the area and play Championship football with the Rams after their torrid Premier League campaign, in which they broke the record for lowest points accrued.

Kris Commons' controversial move to Derby County

The Mansfield-born forward had grown up as a Forest supporter, and had become a key player for his boyhood club over his four seasons, but family matters came first in his decision to join Derby.

Speaking to BBC Scotland's Sportsound , Commons explained the moment when he realised that his time at the City Ground was up: “I was going through a lot of personal problems and I was desperate to stay with Forest, desperate.

“They took me into the office and said, ‘listen, we can’t offer you a new contract just yet, you need to hang on, you need to hang on’ and I said, ‘I’ve got clubs that want to sign me, you’re not giving me any sort of security here that you want me to stay'.

With his family still in the local area, Commons decided to stay nearby to support them, and became a part of the rebuild following the Rams' relegation.

Nottingham Forest fans will be split over Kris Commons

At the time of his move, not much was known behind the decision. To those on the outside, it looked as though supporters had been abandoned and betrayed by one of their own.

It took until 2017 for Commons to explain his decision, but his celebrations against the Reds following his winner in the FA Cup for Derby in 2009 will still live on in their minds.

The ex-Celtic star scored the third and final goal of the Rams' comeback from two goals down at the City Ground in a fourth round replay.

After the game, he told BBC Scotland's Sportsound (via Derbyshire Live) that he had been subject to great abuse throughout the game: “I was taking a corner in the second half and I had a Zippo (cigarette lighter) thrown at my head and I thought, 'do you know what, that’s too close for comfort'.

“If it had been a Mars bar, I’d probably have picked it up.

Commons went on to make 97 appearances in all competitions in black-and-white, scoring 24 goals and assisting his teammates 27 times.

He left Derby in 2011, with the Rams unable to match the contract offer put to him by Celtic, and he moved to Scotland with the best wishes of the Pride Park faithful.

Time has been kind to Commons, yet there will always be supporters of Forest who will fail to forgive him as he made the switch across the A52.

The two teams may still be a division apart, but the rivalry hasn't died down and is unlikely to in the social media era.

This is probably why Forest fans will remain split regarding Commons, who enjoyed some bright moments at Pride Park.

Leaving on a free transfer to join Derby from Forest, the fact it was a direct switch wouldn't have helped the player to remain in the Forest fans' good books.