New grounds for optimism

When I first heard the news about our proposed new 'super stadium', my reaction was one of horror. There has been speculation for years that the Club were thinking of upping sticks, but I didn't want to believe it. I love everything about the City Ground. It is steeped in history and is in a superb setting. We would have to be mad to give all that up, wouldn't we?

Well, the more I think about it, the more I am coming round to the idea. Yes, it will be an utter wrench to leave the City Ground behind, but Forest fans are accused of living in the past enough as it is, and we have to think about our future now, and we have to get with the times. This new stadium, if it actually goes ahead, will not only hopefully give Forest a much needed jolt in the arm, but it will bring huge benefits to Nottingham as a city, and as a result will hopefully put Forest back on the football map.

It has been suggested that the ground will be ready in 2014 – which seems quite a long way away, but it isn't really when you think about how quickly this decade seems to be flying by. Premiership football is our ultimate aim of course, but I personally just want us back in the Championship for now, and if they are still floating around in the lower Leagues then, it will be awful to be playing in a stadium that is one third full. In fact, I can never see us pulling in over 40,000 people, even against teams like Man United, so there will be an awful lot of empty seats whatever happens.

They want the stadium to have a capacity of 50,000 so they can be considered as a potential venue if England get to host the 2018 World Cup, and also host pop concerts, which will be good for Nottingham, I'm sure, but I don't like the idea of Forest playing in a stadium that will only ever be half-full at best.

I was worried about being able to get to Clifton easily from the train station, but I hear they are building a new station called Parkway near the new ground, so it shouldn't be a problem. I shall really miss the walk up Trent Bridge and the quick glance over the other side of the river at the City Ground, though. But it does make business sense for us to move, as it could herald an exciting new era for Forest what with new investors possibly being attracted to the Club, and players wanting to sign for us so they can play in a big arena.

Seven years is a long time, though, and given the yo-yo nature of this club over the past 15 years or so, who knows where we will be by then. The most pressing matter is of course getting out of the hell hole that is League One. If they can find £50 million to build us a stadium befitting of a Premiership side, then they better start concentrating on building a team that is worthy of gracing its turf.

Play-off failure will only spur Forest on

Former England manager, and turnip-lookalike Graham Taylor has been spouting his mouth off to the press about various football matters, and somehow managed to get on to the topic of Forest's promotion prospects next season.

He reckons that Forest's dismal failure in the play-offs last season will result in a massive hangover for the Club, and that we will still be suffering from it when the new campaign kicks off.

He is right to an extent. Many clubs do have a poor season having failed in the play-offs the year before. But I don't think this will happen to Forest. I think the signing of Neil Lennon will put paid to that. And as there are still a few more players to come in, the team will be very different from last year's one anyway.

It was a lot different in 2003 when we lost to Sheffield United. We had just had an excellent season with exciting, fast-flowing football, and then we sold several of our key players from that team in the summer, and they were replaced by far inferior people. But 2006/07 was a different story. While we were at the top end of the table all season, our football was for the most part rubbish, and in the end we got what we deserved – nothing. Four years ago, the players will have felt very demoralised at having to start again after putting in so much effort.

I don't think our current lot have the right to feel aggrieved that they missed out, though, and they will hopefully acknowledge that they will have to do a lot better next season if their dreams of promotion are to be realised.

So no, I don't think Forest will suffer from a play-off hangover at all. I am feeling pretty upbeat about the new season, even if a lot of fans are still reeling from the play-off defeat. While I was absolutely heartbroken at the time, I have got over it now. The dust has settled, and I am no longer hurting. It's time to move on and look forward to another nine months of roller coaster emotions, and hopefully there will be far more ups than downs this time around.

Crowe's a no-go

The fixture list came out today. Our first game is against Bournemouth at home. I'm quite happy with that as I always want to go to the first game, and I wouldn't have been very happy if it was at some ground hundreds of miles away.

It's imperative that we win that first game, because the fixtures in August don't get any easier after that. Leeds United come to the City Ground two weeks later, and that is sandwiched in between two tricky looking away trips to Swansea City and newly promoted Bristol Rovers.

Still, it's probably best to get the tough games out of the way first, and I am not going to take any notice if we make a flying start again this year, as look what happened last time. We didn't get promoted, did we? Perhaps it will be best to be a slow-burner like Bristol City were.

Guess who we have on the last day? Yep, Yeovil. I'd like to think that we will have been promoted by then, and will pick up the League One title – and on that same day condemn Yeovil to relegation. That would really make up for what happened this season, but things like that don't seem to happen to Forest. Their fairy tales always have a bad ending.

I thought I was going to be writing about signing Jason Crowe, but would you believe it, he's signed a new contract with Northampton! He was supposed to be a dead cert, at least according to the Nottingham Evening Post, but he would rather play in front of 5,000 people than 18,000. Are Forest really that unattractive these days that they can't even tempt players away from the likes of Northampton? Oh well, it's his loss.

It looks like it's back to the drawing board then in the search for a new right back. Some of the fans reckon Brendan Moloney is good enough, but even if he is, we still need at least two players who can play there in the squad. Calderwood better make that a priority before anything else.

Lennon signing will appease fans

It's official! Neil Lennon is a Forest player, and I have to say well done to the Club for showing a little bit of ambition for once.

I am sure the capture of Lennon will appease a few people who might have otherwise chosen not to renew their season ticket. He may be almost 36, but age is just a number, and he is quite capable of being just as good as somebody ten years younger.

The football world seems a bit shocked that Forest have managed to sign him. We even had the main headline on the football page on teletext today! Newly promoted Sunderland were also after him, as were several Championship clubs, so Forest have pulled off a bit of a coup, taking into account their lowly League position.

Lennon says that it's all down to Colin Calderwood that he has decided to join. I don't understand where all this praise for Calderwood is coming from, though. But you cannot deny his transfer dealings have all been very good so far. It's just a shame that he has no idea how to get the best out of them.

I would hope that Calderwood can bring himself to take the captain's armband away from Breckin and give it to Lennon instead. It would be great to have a captain in midfield, as we are crying out for leadership in that area, and Lennon would do a very good job, just as he did at Celtic. If Calderwood has any sense at all, that's what he will do, and if rumours are correct that he's had a bit of a set-to with Breckin, then the decision will be very easy for him.

Colin to take a Gamble on young goalies?

I don't know what to think about Calderwood's plans to put his faith in the young goalkeepers we already have, rather than invest in somebody new to challenge Paul Smith for the Number One jersey.

I don't know anything about the credentials of Paddy Gamble, Shane Redmond and Dale Roberts, as I only really follow the first team, but from what I have learned from the fans on the forum, they are all capable of making the step up to first team football.

My worry, though, is that if Smith gets injured, one of that trio will find themselves thrust into the first team spotlight with no experience behind him, and I don't think I need to spell out just how important a solid and reliable goalkeeper with plenty of experience is to a team, whether they are riding high at the top of the table, or are struggling at the other end. Just look at how many points Smith saved us last year.

Smith could also get sent off in a game, and we'd only have a rookie to come on and replace him. That would put enormous pressure on the defence. Just look how nervous the back four looked whenever Barry Roche was playing.

I think we must sign another goalkeeper with experience, and I think I know just the person. How about Mark Crossley? He absolutely adores Forest, and would jump at the chance to return to the City Ground. He turns 38 in a few days' time, so he has plenty of life left in him yet. The only thing that would put him off is the prospect of only being a substitute, but just coming back to Forest would more than make up for that. He's at a loose end having just been released by Fulham, and if you ask me Forest would be mad not to get him before somebody else does.

Two months to go, and still no new players

I know the new season is still two months away (nine weeks to be precise), but I am getting a little bit panicky about our complete lack of transfer activity. I understand that players have to have holidays - after all they have such tough lives - but Forest really do have to get a move on and sign some new ones, to replace those they released a couple of weeks ago.

Whether Kris Commons ends up signing a new deal or not, we are in dire need of new midfielders, particularly of the wide variety.
There's been plenty of speculation recently about Neil Lennon coming to the Club in a player/coach capacity, but I don't know if anything will come of it. I certainly wouldn't be adverse to the idea, but his age worries me. He's 35, and I would prefer Forest to build for the future than build their side around past-it players desperate to hang on to their youth. But on the other hand Lennon is not just any old player. He's a very good player with a wealth of experience, and if he was good enough for Celtic last year, then I'm sure he still has a lot to offer in League One despite his advancing years.
In fact, if he were to come here, I wouldn't be surprised if he was handed the captain's armband, given that he was skipper at Parkhead and would make a far better leader than Ian Breckin.

David Prutton has apparently been offered a new permanent deal, but to be honest I am not bothered if he stays or goes. He didn't make much of an impression during his loan spell last season. In fact my one abiding image is of his completely unnecessary tackle that led to his dismissal against Yeovil, which left us with nine men in extra time after Alan Wright limped off with an injury. If he spent more time concentrating on his football than trying to look like Jesus, I would be more enthusiastic about keeping him, but I don't think he is hungry enough. He even admitted as much in an interview a few months ago when he said he realised there were more things in life than football. He was good when he was here the first time around, but times move on, and I think a younger hungrier player from the youth team deserves to be given a chance instead.

Midfield is not the only area where we need strengthening, though.
We will have to sign a new reserve goalkeeper to replace the outgoing Rune Pedersen. I am assuming that Paul Smith is happy to stay another season, but he deserves to be playing at a higher level. He was at times last season truly magnificent, even if some Forest fans didn't always appreciate him.

It looks like Colin Calderwood already has a replacement lined up for John Curtis - his former club Northampton's Jason Crowe, a 28-year-old full-back, who allegedly can defend as well as attack – neither of which Curtis was very good at. It's rumoured that he is on the verge of signing on a free transfer. Northampton's fans would be sorry to see him go, but then every team has its stars, but that doesn't mean they will replicate their success elsewhere. Still anybody is better than Curtis, and I always like to give new players a chance before writing them off.