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.
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