Nottingham Forest have missed two major things this season - the City Ground faithful, and a potent goalscorer in the final third.

The Reds look to be all but safe from relegation from the Championship, with Chris Hughton's side showing signs of improvement over the last few months.

But Hughton's side are still lacking that consistent quality in the final third, being held to a goalless draw against Bristol City at the weekend.

Lewis Grabban became the first player in over 16 years to score 20 goals in a league campaign last season, but injuries have been problematic this term.

Lyle Taylor is their leading goalscorer with five goals in all competitions, but he is behind Grabban and Glenn Murray in the pecking order which tells a big story.

But looking at the strikers Forest have had over the years, we take a look at the 10 best forwards to pull on a Garibaldi shirt since 2000...

In August 2012, Billy Sharp moved on loan to Forest from Southampton for the 2012/13 campaign, reuniting with Sean O'Driscoll.

Sharp would go on to hit the ground running at the City Ground, ending the season as Forest's top goalscorer with 11 goals in 40 games for the Reds and chipping in with five assists.

Sharp would later have loan spells with Reading and Leeds United, before finding his feet for Sheffield United, spearheading them from League One to the Premier League.

He gave Forest some great moments during that 2012/13 campaign and scored some vital goals.

John was on fire for Forest in the 2001/02 campaign as the Reds finished 16th in the First Division under Paul Hart.

John, the former Trinidad and Tobago international, scored 14 goals in 26 appearances that year, before financial difficulties meant that Forest had to sell him to Birmingham City.

The striker scored a lot of goals in not too many appearances for the Reds, and if he had stayed for longer, it would have been interesting to see how many goals he scored.

He later had spells with Birmingham, Coventry City, Sunderland, Southampton and Crystal Palace, before ending his career back in Trinidad at Central FC.

Blackstock moved from Queens Park Rangers to Forest in March 2009, impressing on loan before earning a permanent move to the City Ground.

Blackstock scored 12 goals in 39 league appearances for Forest as they reached the play-offs in 2009/10, forming a solid strike partnership with Robbie Earnshaw.

Blackstock would end up spending seven years at the City Ground, scoring 44 goals in 187 appearances for the Reds during that time.

The towering forward later joined Rotherham United before retiring from the game, and was instrumental in their bid for promotion via the play-offs in 09/10.

Agogo sadly passed away in August 2019, and will always be remembered for the goals he scored as Forest won promotion from League One.

Agogo moved to Forest from Bristol Rovers in 2006 and took a while to settle at the City Ground, scoring seven goals in his first season at the City Ground.

But the next season, Forest returned to the Championship under Colin Calderwood, with Agogo spearheading them to automatic promotion.

He scored 13 goals in 35 league appearances to help Forest go up, before moving to Egypt to join Zamalek the following summer.

Holt was a frequent goalscorer in League Two for Rochdale, scoring 33 goals in 77 appearances for the club before moving to the City Ground.

In 2006/07, he scored 18 goals in 47 appearances across all competitions despite being a substitute for much of the campaign, and he was awarded their Player of the Season award.

Holt failed to kick on and he eventually dropped back down to League Two with Shrewsbury Town, but his goal record in the 06/07 season shouldn't be forgotten about.

Harewood came through the ranks at Forest and made his debut for the club in 1998 before moving on loan to Finland.

He scored 11 goals in 28 games in 2001/02, but Harewood's best season in a Forest shirt came in 2002/03 where he scored 20 goals in 44 matches.

In 2003/04, he scored 12 goals in 19 games before sealing a move to West Ham United, and his partnership with David Johnson was one of the deadliest Forest fans have seen in many a year.

In fairness to Assombalonga, he would have been higher up on this list had injuries stayed away.

Forest smashed their record transfer fee to lure Assombalonga away from Peterborough United in 2014, scoring 15 goals in 29 league matches in his first season at the City Ground.

Injuries then occurred and he spent a lot of time on the sidelines, scoring 30 goals in 69 games for the Reds in all competitions before leaving for Middlesbrough in 2016.

What a player Johnson was for Forest.

The striker joined the Reds from Ipswich in 2001, before going on to have five good years at the City Ground.

In 2002/03, he scored a remarkable 25 goals in 42 league appearances for the Reds, which is a tally that no striker has been able to match for a long time.

After loan spells with Sheffield Wednesday, Burnley and Sheffield United, he left the City Ground in 2006 and would have a spell with non-league side Hucknall Town.

Forest's current number seven comes in at number two on this list.

It has been a poor season by Grabban's standards due to injuries, but his goal record in a Garibaldi shirt shouldn't be overlooked.

Grabban scored 17 goals in all competitions in 2018/19 following his move from Bournemouth.

Last season, he became the first player since Johnson and Harewood to score 20 goals in a league campaign, spearheading them to within touching distance of the play-offs.

We have gone with Robbie Earnshaw as the best striker Forest have had since 2000.

Earnshaw scored some memorable goals for the Reds, after moving from arch rivals Derby County in 2008.

He would spend three excellent years at the City Ground, scoring 43 goals in 110 appearances for the Reds in all competitions.

He scored 17 goals in 2008/09, scoring another 17 goals in 2009/10 which was the season they were defeated in the play-offs by Blackpool.

He later joined Cardiff City in 2011.