1 January 2008 - A Sound In The Forest

On 1 January 2008, Nottingham Forest hosted Huddersfield Town in a League One match that delivered controversy before the opening whistle.

Several clubs across the UK started their matches that day with a moment of silence for Motherwell captain Phil O'Donnell, who collapsed during a match three days earlier and died. Forest manager Colin Calderwood, a former teammate of O'Donnell's, elected not to join them, however, saying "The fact that it was a boy in Scotland, does that make it any different to a boy in Colombia?"

Forest proceeded to win the match, 2-1, and subsequently earned promotion to the Championship for the 2008-09 season.

Calderwood later had cause to regret his comments. In October 2010, he became manager of Hibernian less than a month before Motherwell were scheduled to visit. Before that match, played on 13 November, the Motherwell supporters demanded an apology from Calderwood. He duly obliged, saying "It's something that has caused offense and for that I can only apologize."

29 December 2007 - The Death of Phil O'Donnell

On 29 December 2007, 35-year old Motherwell midfielder and captain Phil O'Donnell collapsed during the second half of a Scottish Premier League match against Dundee United. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The cause was later determined to be left ventricular failure.

O'Donnell had started his professional career with Motherwell in 1990 and claimed a Scottish Cup winner's medal in his first season. He continued to impress, winning the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year Award in 1992 and 1994. In 1994, he transferred to Celtic for a fee of £1.75 million, which remains the highest fee ever earned by a Motherwell player.

He earned another Scottish Cup medal and won a league title with Celtic, but his time in Glasgow was plagued by injuries and he left the club in 1999. After an uneventful time at Sheffield Wednesday, where he made only 20 appearances in four seasons, he returned to Motherwell in 2004.

Motherwell were enjoying a successful season in 2007-08. Going into the match on 29 December, they were sitting third in the table, which is where they would finish the season.

O'Donnell was just about to be substituted before he collapsed. His nephew, David Clarkson, was also playing for Motherwell that day and had to be substituted himself after seeing his uncle taken away in an ambulance.

After O'Donnell's death, supporters around the world paid tribute, some by leaving mementos, including scarves and shirts, at Motherwell's Fir Park ground.