Forest Close Out With a Win

And so the curtain falls on another season and one which most of us would sooner forget. However it will be one that lives long in the memory because just so much happened.

The end of season pieces will come in time as we reflect, but Forest sent the fans home with a glimmer of hope as a good second performance saw Portsmouth off. That being said some of the key players if not all the key players may well not be present next season. Again that’s another article for another day.

For now, we look at a game that sums up the season. Started so frustratingly, didn't look like we'd get anything, before late on finishing the job. 2 close range efforts for Dexter Blackstock won the day. Summing up Portsmouth’s poor defending at times, to be honest.

Portsmouth now they were relegated dropped the likes of Greg Halford. So in part a weakened team. Their fans had turned up in force though and remained in good spirits all game. It’s all you can do in their situation, potentially watching their club for the very last time. Hats off you Pompey fans, you were marvellous.

Guedioura as always was a power house in midfield, and when he was withdrawn, and it can only have been a move for the fans and bench to show their appreciation, it was a standing ovation all round. For a man that so much signifies the regeneration of a team destined for the drop. Kudos to Cotterill for getting him in. The man will always be a hero at City Ground, even if he never wears Red again.

And as for other players maybe appearing for the last time, Lynch looked strong as always along side Chambers, who has become the lesser of the two lights in defence. McCleary often so dangerous, perhaps has put too much weight on his shoulders, people expect fireworks every time. Even Paul Anderson went on a run and beat people. The first time I have seen this in quite a long while.

All in all, was a game enjoyable because of it being a win, but it still lacked a lot of class and showed we weren’t the best of ides in the division. It almost sums up the season, starting poorly but finishing with just enough. Not enough for what we wanted though. But we survived which was key.

Both goals as said we rather tame close efforts, but it summed up that we got in behind them twice. Although the second was from a corner, a rarity that we scored from one of those. The first was after we got in behind the defence and the ball was centred for Blackstock. Excellent work in the right wing channel was most of our chances came from.

The defence was largely quiet; Pompey did create some chances but few and far between. The midfield controlled the game, although it did require tweaking to get the goals.

So 2011/12 is over. Lets quickly move on

The Ownership Question

The Ownership Question



With the latest update appearing on twitter that nothing appears to happening from yet another "in the know" internet sleuth, the tongues again are set wagging about what is set to be happening Trent Side.

Make no mistake the confusion is mainly lying in the fact that people are constantly making stuff up to look like they were there first. Anyone who would be in the know would be sworn to silence or simply would stoop so low as to feed tit bits of information on the internet.

So those that crave attention from everyone falling over themselves to speculate on the information they unique source that can't be revealed, start to evolve stories. It must be an Arab, because there was a Halal meal ordered in the board restaurant. (This is actual real logic followed on another site. Hang on, they ordered burgers, Americans love burgers right? Maybe it’s Americans.

They become so desperate for any sign to mean anything that they see reasoning where there is none. Whatever happened to just waiting? Everyone feels we have a right to know, well at the end of the day we don't. We feel we do, but we don't get to have any say.

And the problem with the likes of Twitter and Facebook is that these now spread like wildfire. The forums often run with it. I've seen some forums who will literally believe anything said on Twitter. Now Twitter is a great tool at times, but just look how often there’s a rumour of a famous death goes round, and you see that all it takes is one silly rumour snowballs.

Everyone wants to believe.




With the new media people feel they have ownership of news too, being able to report or spread. So it's easy for rumour to become gospel quickly. Some more unscrupulous sites exploit this. All you have to do is realise that the way spammers entice you in with a title or theme that looks amazing, the same with Forest news, "we know who the new owners are" that’s right, before its ever been reported so you click, I myself do, to see what’s being reported. Some are more reliable than others though, as 24-7 law says, if the Mirror reports it, it usually isn't true.

I don't have any information on the new owners; I won't tease you with reports of it being said consortium from wherever. There are fanciful reports of it being a Billionaire, which frankly is unlikely. The first question you'd ever have to ask is why they would buy the club. Other than being a fan there is little point, unless they are seeking to build us up in the Premier League to then sell. To profiteer.

Many will say OK, if that’s what they want it involves them making investment and wanting to further us for profits. True, but is also implies no real connection to the profit. Players would be sold and cheaper loan alternatives who do a job but with no long term link bought in. Additionally, if and when it all starts to go wrong, they again don't have a connection so would be liable to jump ship.

We will be sold, and we will have new owners and I have written repeatedly before, beware of strangers baring gifts. To be honest I would query why anyone would take this mess on, other than simple love for the club. Just remember Irving Scholar and Nigel Wray. That lesson should speak volumes just within our semi recent past about what new owners can do.

Complete Merlin 96 Sticker Set

Well I think it's complete. Trawling the net after the feature we did so long ago, can't find if there was an Ian Woan sticker, you'd expect so. The rest seems complete.Click to enlarge. I hope to get some more of these as I nearly have found all of 1989 set and 1993.

Forest Fail to Crash the Party

Well Forest failed to go to Reading and ruin their big celebration, but it wasn't for the want of trying. The equivalent of hanging out in the kitchen all night at the party, being awkward until Reading scored in the 81st minute and the party could then get in full swing.

To be fair, with Coventry failing to win, meaning we were staying up regardless it made everything rather pointless, so fair play and congratulations to the Royals. I like Reading, and the fact they have stormed through late this season makes it all better. Well done Reading, again.

But we clung on for so long, and according to Robbie Savage on Five Live he couldn't understand why we are way down the table this season. Particularly impressive seemed Guedioura and Elokobi.

Leigertwood, Blackstock's Antigun team mate scored with a volley from a free kick from the wing, which as usual Forest failed to deal with. Like a blast from the season past.

And Elokobi was notable as he nearly scored an over head kick which would surely grab a lot of headlines, a big burley defender doing the near impossible. SO much so Guedioura was tweeting at Elokobi about it yesterday.

There were many chances for both teams throughout the game, and Reading had a goal ruled out by Roberts in the first half The battle of the 33's was one of the main halftime talking points for Radio 5, Savage and Pougatch both pointing to it being an entertaining battle nonetheless.

Forest had been close through good efforts from Blackstock and Guedioura, Guedioura with a trademark long range pile driver that the keeper took two efforts to get hold of.

Forest also nearly equalised late on when Tudgays header was cleared off the line, which would have given Forest a deserved share of the points. Readings win was perhaps somewhat harsh, but in the circumstances you can't really begrudge it.

And it could be a lesson of how to do things. Reading sold two key players and invested a minimal amount of that cash in the team and till had a side capable of leading at the top. Lessons that can be learnt.

Tangerines Hold Forest

A 0-0 that is not dull is somewhat of a rarity, but this one of them. Proven by the fact the crowd hadn’t emptied out early and that the fans didn't boo in the way that large swathes like to do when we don’t win regardless of how we played.

Moussi and McCleary were of course missing, seeing Anderson come into the team after a lay off, which may be part injury, part exile following his tussle with Tudgay. This meant Guedioura took the more defensive covering midfield role. McGugan and Majewski played in roles that tried to push on more.



If anyone deserved to win this game it was surely Forest who had the better chances. The clear one was Dexter Blackstock's header from a Cunningham cross, Cunningham who for me was man of the match, getting a lot of rewards for his runs down the left.

There were other close efforts for Cunningham himself and for Majewski. Blackstock early on had gotten clear and blazed wide and high.

It was pleasing to see that the corner routines from the previous game that were failures were removed and instead a new one that looked better, with a near post ball that Anderson flicked on or headed at goal. Anderson may have been targeted as he would be one of the last people you’d expect to be a target man at a corner.

Blackpool though remained a threat. It was always one of those sides you'd fancy to bomb up the other team and look dangerous. However the rarely directly threatened. I also have to say about Blackpool is that I have never seen such wrapped up subs warming up at half time. Huge coats, woolly hats and gloves. It wasn't THAT cold. Taylor Fletcher should have done better with a half volley effort. Ince had always looked tricky and dangerous.

So we didn't win, but with results as it were a draw has bought us to the brink of survival. It would take a hugely monumental set of results from Coventry to get out of jail on this one.



We go to Reading on Tuesday in a game even if we were near the top I'd fear. We are one of the top form teams in the division, but Reading are on fire, with super sub Le Fondre a man to fear even if the likes of Roberts don’t work out.

All in all, entertaining, but still lacking that vital punch. Blackpool of course are up there, and we have taken 4 points off them this season. That’s commendable.

He'll Eat You Alive

You might strike him down and he become stronger, but he'll eat you alive

Thankyou Nagash once again off the forum. George Elokobi with top off, as a Jedi. Awesome.

Transfer Gossip

Well the gossip and rumour mongering about signings for next season has begun, which laughable as Forest always leave their business to the last minute. Anyway, we have been linked with a few players so before today’s big game with Blackpool we will do a brief roundup of the names being mentioned.


Marian Kello

Goalkeeper who was with hearts but negotiated his release from contract last week. Now he is being linked with a free move to Forest amongst other clubs. Capped three times by Slovakia. He was player of the season last year and has been shut out at Hearts after he turned down a move to Austria Vienna. I don’t see this as likely, he wouldn't be a first choice keeper, and we already have Camp, unless Camp is being sold, which may be possible after his form this year at times. Additionally Celtic are interested and obviously they would be more a lure than us.



Brian Woodall

Forest were rumoured to have offered £250,000 for him, which for one is funny as where the hell has that money come from. He hasn't exactly been prolific in League Two this season and we already have a million and one strikers, but this one seems so random that it would maybe have something in it.



Adlene Guedioura

Well, he has dropped vague rumours he would like to extend his stay, but it may be just a case of hedging his bets. Wolves look likely for the drop and he would be perfect for them next year in the Championship. They may well not want to sell. Of course we would love to sign him but the costs may be prohibitive unless we do get taken over by some millionaire as Vital keep desperately trying to suggest (for hits)

Easter Weekend RoundUp

Well I always knew this weekend would shape our future either way of staying up going down. It certainly seems to have played out that way.

Saturday first of course and I was in positive mood for this game, though my colleague for the game (the forums Mr Geo Challenge) less o. Mind you still put money on a decent Forest win, and even money on a Blackstock hat trick.

Should have guessed early on this wasn't going to pan out that way. One of THOSE days where you dominate the game and fail to get anything. I am sure most of us are now aware that we lost to a penalty, and that penalty was almost pretty much all the City offered in terms of an attacking threat in the game. Journeyman Stead is a dangerous striker, and Wood who was also playing scored twice against us for Birmingham back when Schteve was in charge.

Anyway, how we can play the better football and still loose is an art Forest have mastered (and more recently my Arsenal team on Football Manager (31 shots to an opponent’s 2 and I lose?)Anyway FM asides aside, the states clearly show we were far far far better. 60% of possession. 19 shots to their 3, with 8 on target to their one. Yes their one, that sole goal was their only effort to be on target and even then Camp nearly saved it.

And there we go, Camp. Whose fault it was. He perhaps should have turned the cross that hit the bar in the first place over the bar. Then when he started chasing after it he lunged feet first at Jon Stead. Now it was the most stonewall penalty you will care to see. There were no doubts about it. Camp, as I say got his hands to the penalty but not enough to stop it going past him.



We had a number of good efforts but as seems all too often we met a keeper on inspired form who saved everything we chucked at him. The best was turning over a Lynch header, but also saved well from Tudgay, Chambers and a Reid free kick.

A mention about those corners. We twice had corner routines ruled as offside. Now the ball wasn't being played forward when touched the other second man so why was it offside? My gripe is we tried it a second time when we knew the linesman didn’t like this routine. A minor gripe. The referee also tended to be inconsistent. Not playing advantages when he should, very annoying, and ordering Blackstock after treatment, despite not having any treatment.

All in all, very frustrating. Why though some booed at full time. We dominated that game. We were the better team. People were calling for changes, but the thing was we were playing better and playing the better stuff, so shy change that? People often seem to want to change for change sakes.

With a quick turnaround it helped us to try and get this out of our system. We knew we played well, so do the same again and it should all come good. And it did. Again we started brightly and dominated playing the betters stuff. But as always with Forest this merely serves to make me more nervous, playing well but not leading, as all too often this season the goals gone the other way and counted against us.



Dexter though has a couple of times managed to get the goal which rests the nerves. And yesterday was no different. McCleary's run and cross and a good touch from Dexter and a good finish off the bar to see us in front.

It wasn't so much a case of holding on that time as it could have been that we would have started going for a second until he red card. Now Radio Nottingham immediately claimed it was never a Red ( I Missed the game due to work commitments) having watched it again on TV from that position it certainly looks like potentially a two footed lunge. However the club said they are appealing and the ref immediately said he may well look at it so let’s see.

Should we be missing G-Mac in the next few games it may well be somewhat a problem missing our most influential player who holds all the creative flair in the squad right now. That said McGugan looked bright again and might be able to be implemented on the right wing to be able to assist the teaming that role.

We should be safe. There are enough points and matches for it to be caught, but the likelihoods are slimmer and slimmer. We are creeping back up to the clubs like Barnsley and Peterborough and now above Millwall for now. Things look rosier. For us to be relegated now would turn quite amazing turns of events.

For now I remain cautious and don’t mean to celebrate survival yet. Let’s hope that’s coming up in the next few games.

Financial Fair Play Delayed?

One of the cornerstones of the last 2-3years of Nigel Doughty’s chairmanship before his untimely death was his belief in and determination to keep Forest in line with Financial Fair Play. His unwillingness to make large signings or dump a lot of money on wages like some of the promotion chasing brethren some say held us back from being promoted.

Financial Fair Play was meant to be introduced next season. Clubs, like in League One had caps of how much money they could spend of their turnover, i.e. 60%. This was stop clubs building up crippling wages which would bring them financial ruin as they chased promotion. It has been called a ticking time bomb, the financial mismanagement of some of these clubs, and to be honest it isn’t too far removed from what should have happened post ITV Digital Collapse.

However, the full details and signing off of this has not been ratified despite there being a deadline in the recent past and clubs won't meet again till the summer, far too late to be able to ring anything like this into play before the next season.

So it seems what was to be Doughty’s great lasting legacy of a club on sound footing may have been to no avail. Not that this is going to be scrapped, more postponed. There were opponents, notably those clubs who want to spend a lot to get promoted, i.e. West Ham. And it would stop clubs like Cardiff or Leicester from spending vast wages (Bellamy last season anyone, and as for Leicester’s wage bill)

The problem or so Ian Herbert writing in the Independent points out is that this all would become null and void should a team be promoted. Therein the Premier League they ramifications and penalties wouldn't be enforced and the club would escape. It's almost rewarding financial tomfoolery. Those who don’t get promoted would pay the double penalty of then falling foul of FFP. Until now.

And how would they be punished, well point dockings or denying promotion the next season would be likely. What could end up happen though is that some clubs take the NFL route of trying to fix wages and salaries to get round this, to effectively lower spend on wages with front loaded bonuses, or huge end of season benefits.

So all the efforts to bring the club to be fighting a fair fight and not just spunking cash up the wall chasing the dream, it seems has all, for now, been in vain.
Make no mistake, it is coming, but we’re just a little ahead of schedule. However if it is postponed it may make us a more viable option to buy as there is still a year to splash the cash.

Majestic Majewski Fires Forest to Brink of Survival.

Forest have given themselves a huge shot in the arm towards survival this season with a wonderful hat trick from Radoslaw Majewski. The previously much maligned Majewski that is, and I as much as anyone has been a harsh critic of the Polish midfielder.
It seems now that Steve Cotterill has now found a suitable role for Majewski and will be looking to utilise him in this role effectively. This free role behind the striker but free from many of the normal midfield responsibilities plays to the strengths of Radi. He is not and will never been an effective midfield partner due to his lightweight nature and can’t tackle very well at all, when he tries.

Pushing him into a role which leaves Blackstock alone up front can be frustrating formation as it leaves the striker often exiled on his own up front. This is however why it is mostly used away, and it means we got bodies back. But then it works best when you have McCleary and Guedioura in the midfield as well, as these players initial thought upon gaining possession is to charge forward and counter attack at speed. The perfect away game style. Reidy too is there to support in an attacking context. It leaves the likes of Moussi to play their defensive midfielder role without having to have much in the way of thought to supporting the more attacking aspects.

Not quite in the Deschamps water carrier role, but more a de Jong type destroyer, not without his attacking responsibilities mind. Finally the midfield has balance and shape it lacked before. Greening couldn't play these roles effectively and McGugan can’t seem to motivate himself to play the Radi role, (which he was clearly earmarked for, hence the no.10 shirt) which Cotterill had tried him in earlier. Neither Radi nor McGugan make effective wide men, as it’s not their position. McCleary and Reid are wingers through and through so they can play it well. Even last year when we played well we had Anderson on one wing and often had to use Cohen on the other. Cohen would play this role in a Gudeioura role, although maybe not as effectively.



It came to bare wonderfully at Selhurst Park, where we ran out winners against Palace in a game up which that point looked finely balanced. Majewski was able to roam around and that’s why his goals came from all 3 sides. His first from the left wing, where he cut inside and lashed home, his second a centrally curved shot and his third came from the right hand side. This alone illustrates the new freedom this has given him and how he can now play. Before hand playing in a midfield duo in the middle simple didn't get the best from him as his defensive side had to be included so you lost an effective body in the middle which invited the opposition on.
Consider as well that oppositions have been focussing on stopping McCleary has he was the form man and it freed up even more space for the rest of the midfield and in particular Majewski.

Now with him freed up and Guedioura and Moussi playing the deeper role it allows more freedom. It is very much a style de rigeur at the moment. Using amore advance midfielder as support with attacking wide men, not too dissimilar from many of the top sides in Europe. It took time for us to get the right bodies to play it. Blackstock, the perfect foil to hold the ball up, in a way Tudgay and Miller haven’t been able, and certainly not Derbyshire. It has also bought the best out McCleary encouraged to rampage forward more and not worry as much with covering his full back as now we have two deeper sitting midfielders to cover that role. Reidy has been given more freedom too.

So all those who have suggested that it shows Cotterill was wrong. Well no, it illustrates the fact that as he said, he had a disjointed squad. He couldn’t play players where he wanted to play. When Gunter gets put on the right, we lose some of that verve we have with G-Mac in the team. The final piece in this puzzle was getting Majewski fit and driven and having a fully fit Blackstock back. This has all happened perfectly on schedule to bring us to the brink of survival and has shown that yes, we do have a good enough squad.

There were and are still lapses that stop us being a very good team. The defence still not off and allow other teams to attack. Thankfully this was mostly after we had the lead at Palace but they still had chances at 0-0 that might have seen a different result. Many had discussed removing Radi at half time apparently, putting on a more recognised striker. The problem with a sole striker is that the onus on him to win possession from long punts means more often than not the ball starts coming back, with the packed midfield though, there are more bodies to win in and cut passes out and starts the attack from there. A second striker to help win the ball doesn’t allow for that. Both systems have benefits and away from home this is proving perfect. Now we need to work at home too or another system to do so on Saturday and all but secure survival against Bristol City. Either that or home fans recognise that we don’t HAVE to play 4-4-2. Footballs evolved, so do the fans perceptions.