Suddenly the World Seems Right Again

Another Saturday, Another win. I forgot this feeling, but its back with a bam, and I hope it’s not a temporary thing.


A month ago I’d have resigned myself to another limp defeat, concede a soft goal and just collapse, but there is new steel, new belief and new determination with Forest. Those dark days of 3 or 4 weeks ago, where we really questioned everything seem a distant memory (and more on that later).

On paper it looks like we were helped out by the red card to Yann Kormangant. My only other memory of him is his laughably bad penalty in Leicester’s playoff shoot out defeat of a few years ago. Now there’s a ridiculous silly red card too. Kicking out at Halford stretched a team further that was already on the rack. Now they were at breaking point.

And who else to be the one to make that break through than renaissance man Radoslaw Majewski, a man who also seems to love playing in South London. Well he was the one to put us in front, and could and should have had more.

In fact we could have many more than the 2 we did get. Of course Lansbury scored again, with his goals being like buses, waiting ages for one, only for two to appear. But also with Henderson hitting a post, and Ward going close with a clever flick.

Again, as I said after the previous game you could make the point that goals for the strikers are a mere trickle at the moment, but as long as the midfield are at the party we are fine. When you have the craft, guile and quality we have in that position goals will come. Reid carving out chances for others, Majewski making his name with goals, Guedioura’s constant long range risk, and Lansbury now popping up too, it means the likes of McGugan and Gillett have their work cut out to get near the team. Indeed Davies seems to prefer Greening to Gillett, who really has become the forgotten man.

Charlton fans have been quite forthcoming with their praise of us on the likes of Twitter in the last 48 hours or so, not only the tams performances but also the numbers we took with us, and now there is a much retweeted picture comparing our support, filling the away end, with the rather feeble Derby support as a comparison. By the light of the picture that was a Saturday fixture too, so there’s no excuse. But the away support seem quite robust right now, I myself have only made one away game this year, but we do seem to be taking large numbers everywhere.

With results elsewhere again going our way, namely Middlesbrough ongoing capitulation of their promotion chances, we now as close to promotion as we did on Boxing Day. Even in Billy’s day we always had shaky Januarys, so perhaps the dream is on. If we were to string together 2-3 more wins, it would look completely in the realms of possibility that we could make the playoffs. I’d argue at the moment we could take anyone on in this division.

The real test of course of will come when we do suffer a defeat or two, and how Billy picks these players back, or brings someone else in to the fold to cover for injury or suspension. Hutchinson is rumoured to be back after a lengthy lay off. Additionally it has been discussed the possibility of looking at the loan market once again, despite already having Hutchinson, Jara, Ward, Sharp and Ayala on loan. The chances of getting all 5 of them fit and in the team look remote (especially considering Ayala and Hutchinson’s recent injury record)

But overall things are suddenly looking peachy again. Onwards and upwards Forest, onwards and upwards.

Classy Forest Good Start Continues

I have never in all my years of attending Forest known something that is going round the ground right now. That is a feeling of optimism and a wealth of good feeling going round the ground. Borne in part out of a 2/3 day period before the game where we signed Lansbury, Coppinger and Sharp it has more than put down a marker of what we are looking to do.

The fans before this game all seemed happy, optimistic, enthused. All words I haven't used in this manner on this website, but that I haven’t ever remembered before, maybe save for when we were destroying Norwich 4-1 in the first game of the 97/98 season. Campbell and van Hooijdonk and all that swagger, and even then it was because we were playing well, not just the off field stuff.

And it’s this off field "stuff" that is optimistic. Clever, non-flashy signings. We have spent less in 11 players than Blackburn has in one in Jordan Rhodes. Right now not one looks like a bad signing, or a squad filler. Each has their role. The players we have signed are all winners. They have a great number of promotions between then, whether League One or the Championship. That's a winning mentality right there.

And it showed, oh how did it show. In the first half especially we played football that was sublime. The main case in point is one of course the TV has picked up, the move which lead to Guedioura hitting the bar from around 10 yards. If that had been finished then close goal of the season now. I say that but McGugan's goals last week wants to argue.

And there’s another name there. McGugan. That constant figure of frustration. Obvious ability and not always performing. Well these signings have forced him to up his game, because frankly if he’s doesn't, well there’s now Lansbury and Coppinger as well as Majewski to push him, and that’s not mentioning the returning Cohen. An absolute wealth of options.



What we did see though was see Harding out of the team due to the birth of his child the night before and a reshuffle seeing Halford at left back and Hutchinson at right. The now familiar midfield anchor of Gillett allowing the other 3 midfielders, in this case Guedioura, Reid and McGugan to get forward at will.

It’s a vital few months for those positions. Majewski may well have to push on or be pushed out. We have options creatively now. Quite what Findley, Tudgay, Derbyshire and Greening are thinking, (other than taking solace in inflated wage packets) is anyone’s guess. They aren’t going to get a look in, and on past form neither should they. That's the old days. Relegation battling days.

All this said about swashbuckling passing football, the goal was pure power, luck and a calculated risk. There is always the chance when a free-kick is whipped in at such an angle as McGugan took it that if no-one touches it, the ball will fly in. It's happened for Cohen a couple of times, and also McGugan. So it's no surprise when he powers it across and it nestles in the back of the net. It looks better than what it is. The aim is that someone puts it in, but that if that doesn’t happen, the very real chance of a deflection or what happened, it flies right on in.

The second half wasn’t as good, but we still scored a quality second, when Blackstock flicked intelligently to Hutchinson on his first start to finish. 2 minutes prior to this my friend sat with me had said Hutchinson never seem to want to pass the halfway line, as he hardly made the runs we see from Moloney or Halford. Then he pops up and does that. But anyone who say MOTD2 last night knows that marauding Right backs aren't all that with the illustration of gaps left by Glen Johnson charging up field. All full back needs to remember that back part of that positional title. That said Hutchinson finished with aplomb and we had the safer 2 goal cushion

And that was good a job, because we needed it. Charlton, well they occasionally threatened, but not that much, but they got their goal when a Fuller header rebounded off the post, hit the back of Lee Camps legs and went over the line. They did have a few chances in the game, but ironically a Camp OG is what they got. And save for a brief penalty scare when the ball hit Ayala's hand, but in such a manner as to not be an obvious handball we were safe,

Chris Powell, who I always have time for as I think he talks a good game said it best after the game, he conceded there was no way his team should have got anything out of it, that Forest were the better team and deserved their win. Charlton fans, mostly on Twitter were also respectful and paid their dues to what on the day is a better team.

The only problem with this enthusiasm is that it's playing with my emotions. I am not used to this with Forest. It’s usually cautious optimism, followed by crippling deflation. This for now (taps wood) feels different/. Hail the Kuwaiti revolution.