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Few moves in recent history have caused quite so much consternation as the one that saw Kris Commons move from Nottingham Forest to arch-rivals Derby County in the summer of 2008.

Out of contract at the end of the campaign that saw Forest promoted to the Championship, Commons penned a deal at the other end of the Brian Clough Way which even now, is still sung about on the City Ground terraces.

Commons had gone from being something of a local hero and widely tipped to be the next Andy Reid, before his departure.

Much speculation passed around at the time as to why Commons left the club, but nine years on, the former Red has explained in his own words how he ended up at Pride Park.

“No, not one bit. That wasn’t ideal,” he said when quizzed about how it was taken by Reds fans.

“I was going through a lot of personal problems and I was desperate to stay with Forest, desperate,” admitted the Kirkby-born star in an interview with BBC Scotland’s Sportsound.

“I was born and raised in Nottinghamshire and I wanted to play for them for as many years as I possibly could.

“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.’

“I played the last game of the season (against Yeovil) not really knowing really where I was going to go and there were two clubs that came in for me and one of them wasn’t Forest.”

“I had to make up a decision that didn’t go down well with the Forest faithful but I felt like I’d been pushed into a corner where I couldn’t get out of.”

Almost a decade since Commons made the move, the 33-year-old has lifted the lid on his very first return to Trentside wearing the black and white of the Rams, in what turned out to be a rip-roaring FA Cup tie in 2009.

(Image: Getty)

As football often does, it created one of those memorable occasions that will live long in the memory and for those in Red, it still leaves a bitter taste, though for Commons, its a game he’ll never forget for the right reasons.

Forest led Nigel Clough’s Derby 2-0 thanks to goals from Chris Cohen and a Nathan Tyson penalty in the opening 14 minutes, before Rob Hulse and Paul Green pulled the game level.

“We end up winning the game 3-2 and I scored the winner," laughed Commons.

(Image: Getty)

“I got pelters, I’d been at Forest for three years and all my best pals were there."

It was left to Commons to slot the deflected winner into Paul Smith’s net with just under 15 minutes to go, and as he explains, it was quite an emotional moment.

Watch highlights from the Forest vs Derby game in the video below

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“I went mental,” he said.

“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.

“But no, a cigarette lighter, I thought, right, OK, they clearly don’t like me.”

(Image: Getty)

Commons then left Derby in 2011 moving to Celtic where he was until this summer, seeing his contract expire after an injury-ravaged 12 months.

He underwent back surgery last week, though he hopes to still have a career in the game once he’s made a full recovery.

“I still feel I have got unfinished business playing, but the doubt for me is can I get to the level where I’m going to be the Kris Commons everyone knows?” he added.