Through the seasons before us..

Nottingham Forest - 1
Swindon Town - 0

If tuesday night’s game at Elland Road was an advert for the kind of frenetic and exciting game encapsulated by a great atmosphere can occur in League One, this one was something approximating the opposite.  The day started for me wandering down the steps next to Lady Bay Bridge fearing it was too much for one Forest fan to take, but rather than jumping off the bridge, they appeared to be abseiling.

Before the game had even started the topic of conversation was very much focused around Nathan Tyson, and how a goal would do his confidence the world of good.  One wag casually remarked that he’d probably score today and promptly get injured and be out for a few weeks - how depressingly prophetic that remark appears to have been, as we await the results of a scan on his troublesome hamstring on Monday.

It was the visitors who started more positively, forcing two early corners - but never actually threatening the goal.  Tys got a block in on their goalkeeper’s clearance, but he was able to grab hold of the ball as it ricocheted off the Forest striker so we weren’t able to capitalise on the opportunity.

Agogo perhaps could’ve got to a deflected Cohen shot if he was quicker on his toes, but the keeper was out quite quickly to smother the ball.  Shortly after this Tyson was felled when past the last man, but heading towards the corner flag resulting in a booking for Ifill despite rather hopeful claims for a red card from some of the Forest fans.  Commons struck the resulting freekick which was blocked.

Wes was ordered off the pitch shortly after this, after his second elbow-to-the-face from Swindon’s fat lad up front - Billy Paynter.  The referee of course didnt notice the cause of the cut on his head, and Wes was gone for a good ten minutes before returning looking like Mr Bump with a big bandage on his head - reminiscent of Stan Collymore all those years ago!

Despite still only having ten men, Forest still threatened with Tyson bursting forward some distance before crossing towards Commons, but the effort was deflected behind for a corner.  The next action of note was a freekick for Forest just outside the D, McGugan struck it into the wall, but the rebound fell back to him to strike beautifully towards the goal - but alas not far enough from the ‘keeper who made a decent save.  I counted that as our first shot on target - it was 40 minutes on the clock.

The referee scandalously not only gave a foul, but booked Wes “Mr Bump” Morgan for a tremendous tackle on Blair Sturrock, the resulting freekick yielded Swindon’s only shot on target in the whole game - and it was a tame one that Smithy didn’t really have to work too hard to prevent going in.  I imagine Terry the Kitman was rubbing his hands with glee at the prospect of getting away without washing Smith’s kit until then!

The first five minutes of the second half really passed without meaningful incident, and the atmosphere was certainly lacking - but that was about to change.  Matt Lockwood played a great throughball to Tyson who accelerated easily past his man before beating Brezovan at his near post.  As he squared up to shoot I was getting ready for ranting about him playing across the goalline to Agogo or Commons who were steaming in, but thankfully the Tyson-of-old had returned and it was in the net - a cracking finish!

Tyson was almost on target again immediately after - as we entered perhaps the only ten minute spell in the game that could be classified as entertaining.  His effort was from around the 25 yard mark and was marginally over the bar.  McGugan was next on the effort stakes, he did brilliantly to cut inside his man to make space for a shot, but he scooped it over the bar and into the Swindon fans with his left foot from around 12 yards.

Swindon half-threatened occasionally during this spell, but didn’t ever have any end product.  Cohen almost got on the end of a McGugan throughball but for a last-gap interception.  Tyson worked well again to burst down the left and play a delicious cross to Agogo who conspired to hit the ball wide from inside 6 yard box, which was rather a disappointment for our International megastar!

It transpired the linesman couldn’t keep up, or he didn’t know the offside flag, as he gave a number of highly dubious decisions against both Tyson and Agogo - and then didn’t flag when Junior was a mile offside and had stopped his run as a result.  Tyson was soon limping as our pre-match prophet had predicted, and was withdrawn to a good round of applause for Arron Davies.  Agogo too was withdrawn for Emile Sinclair.

The game continued to basically be an exhibition of poor-passing between two poor sides before McGugan - who has just signed a new deal ’til 2011 (that was the supposedly exciting exclusive in today’s programme!) - was substituted for James Perch.  Forest characteristically sat back as the officials produced four minutes of stoppage time from somewhere.

Swindon did push forward, but with no real idea nor purpose, Sinclair did get forward well and tried to hold up the ball a bit - but he does seem quite lightweight still and not as quick as I remembered from previous appearances.  The game basically fizzled out with Swindon hopefully hoofing the ball forward, and Forest defending stoutly - before the final whistle ended the boredom!

A good three points, and cheered too by both other local sides winning to hopefully ease their relegation fears.  The result of the day has to be Barnsley who beat the dirty Scousers in the FA Cup - that got the second biggest cheer of the afternoon at the City Ground, so a big well done to them!  The magic of the FA Cup is alive and well, it seems!

Speaking of the FA Cup, sitting watching the Manchester United vs. Arsenal game on BBC1 is quite depressing, it’s currently 4-0 to the home side - how many of us can remember a time when a trip to Old Trafford once held no fear for us?  One of the many reminders of how low we have sunk as we laboured to beat a very poor Swindon team 1-0, whilst only looking marginally better than them.

Still, a win is a win, and this became our game in hand on Doncaster as their game with Leeds was postponed due to their - brand new - pitch being frozen.  Presumably the budget for the new ground didn’t include under-soil heating?  If we can somehow end our awayday blues at Carlisle on Tuesday then I think our season will be reignited - apparantly Hoskins should be back for this, Tyson is unlikely to be fit for it.

For now, I’ll just depress myself with watching United stroke the ball around their Old Trafford pitch with aplomb - although I’m enjoying the “You’re going out with the Scousers!” chanting being directed at the poor Arsenal fans who are busy emptying the away end.

Check out this email I picked up from a lady organising quite an interesting event, the best bit - it’s one I’m sure at the forefront of many football fans (particularly after the Premiershit tried to add their nonsensical international tour concept recently!), and it’s free… if that’s not enough to tempt you, former Reds manager Frank Clark will be there!  Details below:

Nottingham Forest fans are being offered the chance to have their say over the future of our national game.

The Speakers’ Corner Trust, supported by Forest, are staging a debate, The Future of Football, at Nottingham Council House next Friday (7.30pm) … and Reds supporters can join in the debate.

Among the topics likely to be up for discussion on the night will be:

What’s right and what’s wrong with football?

Do the fans get what they’re paying for? Are the authorities selling the game out?

What will it take for England to win again?

What changes would make football a better experience?

Is there too much money in football?

Are foreign owners good for the English game?

Do overseas players improve the entertainment value or keep home-grown talent down?

Is diving gamesmanship or cheating?

Do players set a good example?

Should we trust the referee or do we need touchline technology?

And why does no-one ever listen to the fans?

Airing their views will be a panel of experts, including former Forest player and boss Frank Clark, but above all else the organisers want to hear from supporters.

Admission is free but places are limited and admission is by ticket only so please apply as soon as possible by email to lynn.richards@nottinghamcity.gov.uk or phone Lynn on (0115) 915 4190.

So there you go, we all like to have a good old moan about the state of the game - here’s a rare opportunity to have our moaning listened to by people who might actually do something about it… well, come on, you never know, they might!

Even if it doesn’t, at least we’ll be able to book a slot on Speaker’s Corner in the future and have a good ol’ fashioned rant about it!

I’m amazed it’s taken me this long to succumb to the charms of the BBC online League One predictor.  That said, it’s getting late and I’m about ready to hit the hay, so I only predicted until the end of March.  Admittedly, such things are meaningless - if I were any good at predicting football scores I’d be a rich man! 

There’s the usual considerations to factor in - there will be the freak results that none of us predict, like Millwall actually winning a game, or Swansea losing - but I’ve tried to apply what limited knowledge I have and have come up with a surprisingly pleasing league table.  Obviously I’ve built in the necessary improvement in away form, which - resultswise at least - is yet to materialise.

So if you click the link above, you’ll be able to have a bash at it yourself - I think it’s quite interesting to see what you all come up with.  In my scenario, with five or six games to play, Swansea are runaway Champions, but the battle for automatic is still very much open - with us and Donny fighting it out - but the playoffs are open too with Walsall and Orient just sitting outside.

What does your league table look like?

Leeds United - 1
Nottingham Forest - 1

I was set to declare February 12th as Julian Bennett day, after he not only scored but cleared one off the line this evening at Elland Road.  Alas a harsh penalty gave Leeds an equaliser from the spot, in a hotly contested game in which Forest can feel rightly disappointed not to have won.  That said, a couple of handball decisions weren’t given against us, so maybe there’s a hint of sour grapes.

Driving home from work with the radio on, Robin Chipperfield went through the teams and announced Forest starting with a back five, which had me howling with derision - much to the consternation of my fellow commuters, wondering quite why somebody was headbutting his steering wheel repeatedly.  However, credit where it’s due, Smoulderwood’s tactics so nearly delivered that win.

In many ways a draw was predictable, Leeds have struggled to win anywhere lately - and our away performances of late do not bear revisiting.  Tonight was not one of those, tonight was a spirited performance from the Reds who created a plethora of chances which will leave us all wishing that Nathan Tyson in particular had a bit more confidence and composure at the moment.

The first half proved to be a high-tempo but scrappy affair, both sides clearly feeling the pressure of the fixture and making unforced errors aplenty.  The first chance of note fell to Commons from range, the familiar “why is he shooting from there?” comment aired on the radio, the ball falling kindly for Will Hoskins who teed Kris up for a second bite, but he could only blast wide from the edge of the area.

Howson drew first blood for the home side, a powerful drive from long range which didn’t present Smithy with too many problems as it was straight at him.  At the other end, Forest forced a corner which Commons whipped in onto the head of Ian Breckin who headed just over.  At the other end the dangerous Kenton whipped a ball across the face of goal, where Leeds protested a handball from Chambers which was waved on by the referee.

Leeds almost had us foxed with a quickly taken short corner (which should have been a goalkick, hence the slow reaction), the ball eventually ending up with Bradley Johnson who brought an excellent save from Paul Smith to concede another corner as Leeds did apply the pressure in a good spell.

Tyson spurned possibly the chance of the game, a poor clearance was powerfully headed forward by Julian Bennett towards the striker who put himself clear one on one with the ‘keeper - but alas he lacked composure and dragged his shot wide of the post.  The last chance of the half fell to Leeds when Hughes crossed it in and Johnson put the ball wide.

The second half started quickly too, and Forest were very much in the ascendency early doors.  Commons hit a shot from the edge of the box which was well saved by the ‘keeper.  Tyson again missed a golden chance when a Breckin ball over the top was latched onto, but his first touch made the chance awkward for him, and again failed to hit the target with only the ‘keeper to beat - this time with his right foot.

Tyson almost made amends seconds later with a tremendous break down the right, where he whipped in a wicked cross towards striker-partner Will Hoskins, who was agonisingly close to connecting after gambling in the box.  Shortly after this another penalty appeal from the home side, the ball did appear to strike Hoskins’ arm, but only as it was down his side, the referee rightly turned down the appeal made by the Leeds players surrounding the him baying for a penalty.

This perceived misjustice did spur a revival from the home side, the corner from the penalty-that-never-was found Sheehan in space, whose shot was deflected for another corner.  However Forest still had attacking in mind - Chambers rightly looked gutted to have missed a free header from a mere 6 yards out, the ball ending up wide of the post.

Smoulderwood oddly elected to make early substitutions at this point, Sammy Clingan introduced for Lewis McGugan - who picked up a knock during the game in transpires, and Grant Holt for Will Hoskins, presumably due to a lack of match fitness.  Lewis can’t have been feeling too bad, as he was visibly disappointed to be withdrawn from the action.

Commons had another shot from range, striking the ball powerfully along the ground - the Leeds ‘keeper spilled it almost into the path of Tyson, but was able to gather the ball at the second attempt, before entering into a spot of theatrics with some contact he imagined between himself and the Forest striker. 

The goal came next, a throw-in found Commons who whipped in a delicious cross which found Julian Bennett on the penalty spot, who unleashed a powerful header into the top corner of the ‘net right infront of the Forest fans, causing the inevitable delirium that such events generally do - so that’s two in two for Benno, what a pity he’s suspended at the weekend.

Forest reassuring didn’t just sit on it, either - Holt combined well with Tyson who attempted to lob Ankergen but the ‘keeper did tremendously well to get his fingertips to it to prevent the ball crossing the line - that would have done us and Tys the world of good, if anyone really needs a goal, it’s him.

Leeds almost equalised through Peter Sweeney, who had Smith well beaten however Bennett threw himself in a super-human fashion to clear with his head - spurring Forest and their fans alike to continue to press forward to dominate the match.  In response Leeds pushed forward with late substitutions to bolster their attack and pumped balls into the box at every opportunity.

The inevitable negative substitution happened now, James Perch coming on for Kris Commons - this is one area I will criticise the manager, Perchy had nothing to do with the goal we were soon to concede, but things were going well for us, and a move like that - and taking off our only remaining creative player - sends out a message to the side that we’re gonna defend.  To do it as we were defending a corner is just plain daft.

The equaliser, as we know, came from the penalty spot - it was a case of third-time lucky for dubious penalty claims for the home side.  Kandol went to ground easily supposedly aided by Wes Morgan, the decision was disputed by the Reds players - which is always a pointless endeavour - Jermaine Beckford slotted the ball neatly into the net, sending Smith the wrong way.

It was always going to be a tense finish, and both sides had opportunities to nick the points, but ultimately the game finished in a draw - meaning Leeds run without a win goes on, as does our quest for a win on our travels.  Naturally losing a lead to a late goal, particularly a questionable penalty (although of course, I’ve yet to see the incident) is absolutely gutting.

On the positive side, we created chances - lots of them.  We spurned them too, certainly tonight dropping points is as much down to our own lack of composure infront of goal as much as a supposed injustice at the end - we had the chances to have put the game beyond doubt before then.  We should also remember there were two potential handballs that weren’t given - deliberate or not, we’ve all seen them given.

And let’s also remember a good save from Smith, and a super-human goal-line clearance from goalscorer Julian Bennett.  The travelling Forest fans made plenty of noise throughout the game, and they responded warmly to the team and manager alike - and that reaction is my barometer for this.  Ask me this morning if I’d take a draw, and I would have - naturally I’m gutted we didn’t manage the win after having the better of the game, but there’s plenty of silver lining on this cloud.

So, since I’ve been ready to lay into Smoulders of late, he does deserve some credit tonight.  The five at the back seemed to do the trick to deal with the aerial assault Leeds pushed onto us, the initial substitutions were like-for-like (ish) and apparently prompted by injury and fitness - the only issue I have is the final change, but if the travelling fans can forgive him this, then I will too.

So perhaps we weren’t really robbed by Leeds at all - we must show more composure with our chances, if we had a dodgy penalty at the death would be irrelevant.  So I have that peculiar mixture of pleasure and disappointment - and I’ll tell you what, I’ve not felt that excited, tense and downright terrified whilst listening to a Forest away day for a long time.  Well done the Reds, keep that up and the results will come.

There’s no denying that this was amongst the first fixtures I looked for when they came out, and it’s proven to be a pretty cataclysmic encounter in the making.  Our hosts are without a win in five, we couldn’t win away from the City Ground if we were playing against eleven jelly babies, and the pressure is on the boss who has all but burned his bridges with the fans.

Leeds of course began the season on negative points, and early doors were spurred on by what they perceived as a misjustice to make short work of getting into the black and surging towards the top end of the table.  But since losing Poyet to Tottenham it seems Wise realised he was out of his depth, and he promptly jumped ship to help Keegan further make a mess of Newcastle.

Gary McAllister is the new man at the helm for the Yorkshiremen, and has so far lead the side to a defeat at home to Tranmere, and a draw away at Northampton - which is heartening from our point of view.  Given that Leeds haven’t won in five, and Forest haven’t won on their travels in five games - it has a draw written over it, really, doesn’t it?

We’re unlikely to be able to welcome Junior Agogo back, although there is a possibility that he’ll have returned from the African Cup of Nations in time in time.  We’re likely to have an unchanged lineup from the side that limped to victory against Millwall on saturday, whilst Leeds may be stronger with the return of Richardson and Kilkenny from injury.

I do think it’s fair to say the pressure is on Leeds more than us, since our expectations on our travels are generally pretty low!  Leeds had a much speculated about press-release this evening, which many followers thought would be an announcement about the Football League giving them some points back; it turns out they have a new kit manufacturer!

We need to watch out for dangerous striker Jermaine Beckford, of course - we know only too well from our encounter earlier in the season that he is a threat upfront for Leeds.  We also need to ensure we keep playing for the full 90 minutes, whilst it’s been a while, Leeds do specialise in late goals - that said, Wise could be credited for this to a point as he’d chuck late attacking subs on to help this process if the result wasn’t going their way.

All in all, I can’t say I’m massively looking forward to this - we owe them one for their daylight robbery at the City Ground, but how often do we claim what we’re metaphorically ‘owed’ in situations like this?  The pressure is on both sides, and perhaps the vociferous 2,800 Forest fans heading up the M1 might be able to shove Smoulderwood’s comments where the sun don’t shine and be the 12th man for the travelling Reds.

No predictions from me, it will either be a rip-roarer of a game or (more likely) a tense exchange between two sides terrified of losing.  If Forest approach this game with the right mentality (and formation) then we could profit from taking the game to them, whether our uber-cautious manager will instigate such a mentality in the side remains to be seen…

Courtesy of Stress and Pie - this made me chuckle away a good portion of my lunch break, much to the consternation of my colleagues when I tried to explain it!  Worked wonders for lightening my mood, then making me feel annoyed again because it’s probably not all that far removed from what really happens!  Still, enjoy!

The Mexican stand-off between Smoulderwood and the fans looks set to rumble on, after the manager decided to criticise the support levels in his post-match comments at the weekend.  Whilst I do have some sympathy with his sentiments, I do think he’s unwise to ruffle feathers any more than he need to right now, with many supporters teetering on the brink of whether they want to back his tenure or not.

“What I found surprising was the real lack of appetite and apathy of the fans when we didn’t score in the first 20 minutes, it was minimal support to the team and can’t happen.  We’re sitting with a promotion run going and they should be urging the team on.”

So whilst he’s talking a lot of sense, it’s an ill-advised move for him to be critical of fans who have never been particularly famed for generating a cauldron of noise.  Brian Clough criticised it, and he was within his right to, he was producing wonderful football and delivering silverware.  Smoulderwood is delivering neither, despite having what most fans agree is a squad capable of producing the goods at this level.

If you want vocal backing, Smoulders, then you need to send the team out to attack from the off - but you will never get the kind of vocal backing you get away from home (which is odd, as generally the performances are worse away from home!).  While you’re at it, you might want to consider lobbying the powers-that-be to move the away fans from the loudest bit of the ground - put a bit of unreserved seating down in the Lower Bridgford for supporters who want to chant - you’ll notice the difference.

So I do have some sympathy with him, it infuriates me when there is booing at half time, I often wish we could have more atmosphere at home matches, I wish that our fans came up with more imaginative chants - but the fact is, a combination of dour football, the wider contribution of all-seater stadia and ridiculously draconian stewarding and general malaise makes this unlikely.

However underpinning all that, it’s generally a bad idea for a manager to bad-mouth his fans when they turn up in their thousands at this level of football - to generally watch a standard of play that is below the capabilities of our resources and players.  If you want to do something realistic to help the fans back the team, Smoulds, then have a word with the security teams who patrol the fans - I’ve known people banned for 3 games for the heinous crime of standing up and singing a song to back the team.

You can tell a lot from a reaction, as football is by it’s very nature a cycle.  When you follow a team for a while you get a whiff of how certain reactions can result in certain things playing out.  I haven’t written much about the ‘protest’ that was planned for after the Millwall game, because it wasn’t particularly apparent what the protest was for!

Clearly one of the protestors thought it a wonderful idea to pass the story on to The Mirror, who asked Smoulderwood what he thought about it (so I guess they at least figured the protest was against the manager), and he came out with the classic line, almost verbatim, that Kinnear used back in the day when his job was on line.

“I’m not worried about what a few fans using the internet who don’t come to games think”, he said.  Very reminiscent of Kinnear’s “Internet morons” tirade which, after uttering, within days he found himself unemployed, and I believe he is still without a job in football to this day!

What worries me about this is, being an almost stalker-like reader of some of the Forest forums that I can access without requiring a login, my summary of those fans who are the least supportive of Smoulders are the fans who go to MOST of the games.  After all, it is away from the City Ground that we find ourselves - whilst not exactly good - not exactly a shambles either.

So if the manager seriously thinks the dissenting voices against him, given that Mark Arthur has also piled on a bit of pressure to, are solely remote supporters united only by an internet connection and an inability to get to the games, then he’s sorely sorely mistaken. 

Three points against Millwall certainly helps matters, but the quality of performance means the result merely papers over the tactical cracks - as we prepare for our biggest away game of the season at Leeds.  They are on a poor run of results, their confidence is low, and yet - because we are SO bad away from home, none of us feel confident we can capitalise.

So be careful Smoulds, you need to choose your words much more cautiously.  I remember being surprised when we acquired Smoulds that Northampton fans seemed happy to have lost him, even though he’d delivered promotion - I can kind of see where they’re coming from now.  Their mocking chants of “we’re not boring any more!” speaks volumes.

Nottingham Forest - 2
Millwall - 0

Forest continued their excellent form at home in terms of results.  The performance wasn’t particularly brilliant, but two goals from corners was enough to get the three points against a particularly poor visiting Millwall side.  Indeed, checking my email upon getting back (thanks, mate!), I was amused to receive the below picture of a chap catching up on 40 winks during the first half!  If you encounter amusing sights you decide to photograph at matches, please feel free to email them to me!

The Millwall fans were a bit of a disappointment too, normally they’re good for a spot of amusement, but the ragtag bunch who turned up today seemed to alternate between three songs (’No one likes us.. *YAWN!*, the ’special’ roar, and derogatory things about Brian Clough, which frankly used to piss me off - but now just makes me pity them, since none of the Forest fans could think of anything approximating legend status for Millwall to retaliate with).

The roar is worthy of comment, though - it’s one of the few chants Joey Deacon of Blue Peter fame could manage, although I like to think that our chums from Millwall are perhaps more cultured than we give them credit for, and it is inspired by Sir Harry Secombe’s performance as Mr Bumble in classic musical Oliver!  Perhaps not.  It was amusing when the Forest fans imitated it, though.

So anyway, to the game.  We started well - and the lively looking Will Hoskins nearly got a dream start to his debut, a through ball from McGugan gave him a chance to connect after an instinctive run into the box, but Millwall ‘keeper Rhys Evans was able to just get a slight touch on it to take it wide.

The game was pretty anonymous for much of the first half, sadly - and when the likes of Tyson et al did make a foray forward, it seemed that their first touch wasn’t quite right, or the final pass was poor.  Lewis had a good effort with his left foot, with nothing on aside from a shot from range he made life uncomfortable for the diving ‘keeper.

The remainder of the half played out in a fairly boring manner, Smith had had nothing at all to do, but Forest had been largely disjointed and looked low on confidence - certainly not aided by an increasingly impatient home crowd who greeted the half time whistle with boos - which was slightly harsh, I thought.

Early in the second half the ‘Calderwood out’ chanting was starting to gain some momentum around the ground, but was quelled quite emphatically after Commons whipped in a corner which Julian Bennett almost flew to connect with, almost pirouetting in midair to power a header goalwards which Evans could only push into his own goal.

Forest’s tails were up, Tyson chipped the ball to Commons whose snap-shot from the edge of the box brought a save from Evans, giving the reds another corner.  Commons again took it, and Morgan headed goalward but was blocked, a bit of a melee took place before the ball fell to Chambers who was able to sweep the ball into the net from around 12 yards out.

Millwall all but wilted, and it was great to see Hoskins get the better of numerous defenders to cross the ball in, which I’m sure was handled, but the referee was having none of it.  Hoskins perhaps should have sealed a decent debut with a goal after this, brilliantly getting himself free of the last man but dragging his shot wide.

He was taken off, having taken a slight knock, to a standing ovation from the home fans - with Grant Holt coming on to a smattering of booing, which is disappointing from ’support’ers, particularly since he almost glanced in a Sammy Clingan free kick with his first touch of the game.

Shortly after this Commons whipped in a dangerous cross which almost went in on its’ own, forcing Evans into a save, he was withdrawn after this for James Perch, it was good to see Commons back in the side and his corners alone had provided us with our two goals.  Perch was again in a midfield role, and as we’ve seen recently, looked very low on confidence.

Davies was introduced shortly after for McGugan, who also enjoyed a deserved ovation from the home supporters.  Davies was soon involved down the right and a cross towards Grant Holt saw the ball end up just over.  He spoiled this by picking up his fifth booking with a petulant foul with literally seconds left on the clock - both he and Bennett are now out for the Swindon game.

All in all a necessary three points, not a sparkling performance but some positives were evident.  Hoskins looked composed and quality, it was good to see Commons back in the fold and McGugan too returned with a vengeance.  The tactics and formation were still wrong, and hamstring some of our better players (including Hoskins) - you have the personnel to play 4-4-2, Smoulds - the formation they all grew up playing, why not try it you beligerant bugger?

As it is, the result spared the club a ‘protest’ in the carpark.  The pretend journalist in me would’ve been quite intrigued to see it - the last protest I can remember was against Kinnear, and whilst was noble in sentiment, twenty odd people shouting in a carpark is never going to have too much dignity - it’s true to say that history shows us that when the fans do turn, managers don’t have long to sort it out.

After last week’s disappointment, is that too weak a word?  Let’s call it a shambles.  After last week’s shambles, the pressure is on Smoulders and the boys to deliver a boost to our bid for promotion, and there’s a decent amount of good news to give Forest fans good cheer in the build-up for this pretty crucial game.

Of course, there’s the well-publicised loan signing of Will Hoskins from Watford, giving us a different dimension in the striking department.  As Smoulderwood has more options on the striker front it leaves many of us hoping that he sees this as a good reason to actually play two of them, in a striking position - well, you never know! 

Other good news is that McGugan has recovered from a slight injury, and Commons has declared himself available again after personal issues kept him out of contention last week.  This is a big boost to our midfield, which struggled in Bournemouth (understatement!), with very little shape or creativity.

Millwall actually only seem to have Harris on their books to play (and score!) against us.  The forward has been out the side since we drew 2-2 with them at The New Den not all that long ago, but is back in contention to return to his old stomping ground where our defence will need to be on its toes to prevent him continuing his record of scoring against us.

All in all, I’m almost excited about going to a match for the first time in a long time.  Almost.  I’m certainly looking forward to seeing Hoskins in action in a Forest shirt, and as ever at least partially live in hope that perhaps finally we’ll see a decent performance that can restore a bit of faith in a realistic promotion bid.