Abandonment was annoying, but totally understandable

I don't think I'll forget last night in a hurry. It might have only been a second round League Cup match, but it was one of the most dramatic matches I've ever been to in my life, and it all happened away from the pitch.

As soon as the tannoy announced that the second half had been delayed by 15 minutes, alarm bells started ringing. I feared that something must have happened in the dressing rooms, and as it transpired, something very bad had. My first thoughts were was it one of the Forest players? When I found out it was Leicester, I will admit that I was relieved. Anyone would be the same with their own families, and Forest are like my extended family. But then all my thoughts turned to the Leicester player, later revealed to be Clive Clarke, a player who we actually were reportedly interested in signing from Stoke a few years ago. There were scenes of terrible panic in the tunnel area, as the Leicester players waited outside their changing room while Clarke was resuscitated for heart failure.

Thankfully, by the time the ambulance took him to the Queens Medical Centre, he was conscious and sitting up, but understandably the match had to be abandoned as there was no way that the Leicester players, and maybe even the Forest players could have continued.

It was dreadfully annoying for the game to be abandoned after a brilliant first half from Forest in which we took a 1-0 lead through Junior Agogo. My dad and I had wasted a two-hour car journey from Bedford, but I'm not going to moan about it too much. A footballer, a human being, very nearly died last night, and despite what a moronic minority think, it was absolutely the right decision to call the game off.

I'm not, however, going to forget Forest's great first half display. We totally dominated the game and made Leicester look rubbish. We looked like the Championship side, who had just won 4-1 at home. We passed the ball around superbly, the defence was watertight, and heck, we even scored a goal, although it will obviously be wiped out now. Doh!

I was really impressed with Luke Chambers, both defensively and as an attacking player. To say he was playing out of position at right back, he did a very good job there. He was excellent on Saturday against Leeds, and his crossing is very good. Maybe he can play at right back after all. He certainly does a better job than John Curtis ever did. But his best position is still as a centre back, even though it doesn't look like Colin Calderwood has plans to play him there what with Kelvin Wilson and Wes Morgan forming a good understanding there, and Ian Breckin (damn it), returning from injury soon.

If Breckin gets back in the team, it will be criminal. We've only conceded two goals in five matches this season, and I'm pretty sure Breckin not playing has something to do with it. It really would be silly to bring him back. Wilson and Morgan are doing a good job right now, so if it a'int broke, don't fix it.

Kris Commons also had a good game, and about time, too. But then, it was a cup match. He always raises his game in the knock-out competitions. I just wish he did it in every match, because when Commons is on fire, the whole team seems to be. But whether that's because Forest are playing well, or despite it, I'm not sure. Perhaps he just needs to be part of an exciting attacking team. Maybe I've been a bit too harsh on him?

The match will be replayed in three weeks' time on the 18th September. No doubt Leicester will win now. That's the way these things usually work out, isn't it? So, instead of bemoaning the fact that we were denied the chance to dump our East Midlands rivals out of the League Cup, let's enjoy our 45-minute display and hope that Forest carry on where they left off when they travel to Bristol Rovers on Saturday.

Conceding late on is becoming a horrible habit

One of the most sickening things I have experienced in my life is watching 3,000+ away fans at the City Ground go beserk when they have scored an important late goal. Forest have a nasty habit of conceding late on, just when you think things are going well and the journey home will be a pleasant one.

If Leeds were going to win, then I would sooner they had been the ones who dominated and had the match sewn up long before the final whistle. But to do it just a minute from the time was absolutely heart-wrenching, especially after we had outplayed them in the second half following a poor first 45 minutes.

That said, I certainly didn't lose any sleep over it, like I did after the match against Yeovil. Now that was devastating. At least, we're only three matches into the season, and our promotion chances have not been dealt a death blow.
But, the sooner we get off the starting blocks the better, because sooner or later the table is going to start taking shape, and we could be in danger of losing sight of the chasing pack. It was only our excellent start to last season that kept us in the top three for most of the campaign after all.

The first half was dreadful against Leeds. The defence got caught out time and time again, and the midfield was in no-man's land. But after the break, they were excellent. We created chances, we looked good on the wings, and Leeds never got a sniff...until the back four switched off in the 89th minute that is, and Leeds snatched all three points which they didn't really deserve at all.

I can't help but blame Colin Calderwood for making two substitutions. I was disappointed to see Junior Agogo go off for Nathan Tyson. Agogo looked very sharp up front, and looked capable of scoring, but Tyson didn't do very much at all. And although Kris Commons had for most of the afternoon been completely anonymous, he was just starting to play a bit better when he was replaced by Felix Bastians. We could have done with Commons on the pitch in injury time just in case there was a free-kick.

Overall, although obviously gutted by the result, I was very encouraged by our performance in the second half. It's just a shame they never seem to be able to play well over 90 minutes. What is it that Calderwood says to them at half time that he doesn't before the match? Is it that he doesn't do his pre-match homework on the opposition? If this is the case, he should not be manager of Nottingham Forest Football Club, or any other team for that matter.

Clueless Calderwood should be chopped

On the face of it, a point and a clean sheet at Swansea City is a decent result, especially after being outplayed in the first half.

But Swansea City are not Manchester United or Chelsea. Forest are the big boys in League One, and they are the ones who should be dominating teams. Why should places like Swansea be such scary places to go? Why? This has to stop. We have got to start stamping our authority in matches like these, instead of being steamrollered. We deserve better than this.

The fact that Colin Calderwood was booed off the pitch yesterday even though we had just got a decent point, suggests that his days are numbered. I just cannot see him turning into a good manager at all. Sure he came here with a good reputation, having got Northampton promoted, but that is not the full story. Most Cobblers fans were actually happy to get shot of him, even though he had got them into League One! What does that tell you?

We've just drawn our third consecutive game 0-0, so at least we've tightened up defensively, but Paul Smith still had plenty of saves to make, despite the side having seven defensive players. Yes, seven. No wonder we're not creating anything! Just take a look at our right side. Brendan Moloney, a right back, is currently playing right wing in midfield, and Luke Chambers, a central defender, is playing right back. Chambers had a bit of a 'mare there against Swansea, but that's Calderwood's fault for playing him in the wrong position. It's hardly surprising that we are struggling to score goals when our right wing has two defensive players trying to do an attacking job there.

The left side of midfield is not much better at the moment. Kris Commons has been very poor since the season started. He looks like he's been having second thoughts about staying. I don't think he is bothered. Mind you, he rarely ever is. He doesn't bomb up and down the left wing or deliver teasing crosses much at all. All he is good for is coming up with a goal out of nothing. He is not much of a team player at all. It's all about him, as exemplified by the amount of goals he scores from long-distance.

I don't think that warrants a first team place, personally. In fact, I think it would give him a much-needed jolt if he was dropped for a few games, because his attitude stinks. I had to laugh when he wrote in his blog that he had decided to put in 110% effort for Forest, after sitting with the fans and realising how important it was. He should be doing that every game anyway!

When Matt Lockwood signed, we all thought that he and Commons would forge a great attacking partnership, but last week against Bournemouth, we saw precious little sign of that, as ruddy Calderwood was too obsessed with keeping a clean sheet to let Lockwood attack.

I was all for giving Calderwood a chance this season, but I've changed my mind. I really don't see things improving at all, even when we have a fully fit squad to choose from. I just find him so boring. I never listen to his interviews. He just drones on and on and on, and says the same thing every week. I just cannot see how somebody like him can motivate the players. If a manager has charisma, I think you're three-quarters of the way there, but Calderwood, while being a nice enough human being, just isn't cut out for management, at least not at a big club like Forest, where there is a huge amount of expectation.

If the fans continue to get on his back, and they will if things don't drastically change soon, I cannot see him wanting to stay. He's not arrogant like Megson. He will walk, no mistake, and that will save Doughty a bob or two, which I'm pretty sure is what is holding him back from sacking him.

The first season in League One was always going to be about acclimatising, so the fans were willing to put up with a second term. It looked as though we were heading for the Championship at one point last season where we had a comfortable seven-point lead. But we missed out in the end after that awful play-off game...the less said about that the better. Only a glut of promising signings in the summer persuaded 10,000 people to renew their season tickets for a third year in League One, but I am not so sure that they would come rushing back for a fourth season if we fail to get promotion again. We simply have to get promoted this time, but on the evidence of our lacklustre pre-season and first three games, things are going to have to change pretty quickly if we are going to be third time lucky.

Cups don't count when promotion is the name of the game

I was expecting us to get knocked out of the League Cup last night at Chester, such is Forest's track record in recent years of losing to lower League sides. So I am quite surprised, although not exactly relieved, that we are in the next round and have a chance of being drawn against a Premiership club.

To be honest, I couldn't care less about the cup competitions any more. I haven't done for years, actually. Mainly because we've had more urgent matters to deal with, like trying to get promotion or escape relegation, but it's not just that. Forest never do very well anyway, and if they were to get to the semi-finals or even the final, they'd only lose and leave us all nursing broken hearts.

Perhaps, when (or if) Forest ever get back in the top flight, the FA Cup and League Cup will become more important to us as we obviously have no chance of winning the title, but for now, the only thing that matters is getting Forest back in the Championship and staying there.

Even though we still haven't managed to score a goal this season yet, at least we have proven ourselves adept at taking penalties (if you forget Grant Holt's miss late on).
The last penalty shoot-out that we won was against Tranmere four years ago in the same competition.

We didn't look like scoring until Junior Agogo came on as a substitute, but Colin Calderwood insists that he is not fit enough to start yet, so for the moment we are relying on Scott Dobie and Holt, neither of whom played very well at Chester.
This partnership is doomed to fail, so the sooner Nathan Tyson and Agogo are 100% fit, the better for all concerned. Our season may not effectively start until mid-September at this rate, as Tyson is still a month away, and even then there is a good chance he won't be the same player when he returns.

It's just a shame that Southampton have knocked back our attempt to sign their 19-year-old striker David McGoldrick on a season long-loan. He sounded ideal - he managed to score six goals in twelve appearances while on loan with Bournemouth last season. He was also born in Nottingham, and was said to be quite keen on playing for his home town, but if Southampton don't want him to go, then that's their prerogative. We'll just have to try and find someone else now, as there is no way on hell's earth that we can continue with the dire Dobie if we have serious ambitions of finally getting out of League One this season.

Season's bleatings

So, the football season is finally upon us, and already people are calling for Colin Calderwood's head after Forest failed to get off to a winning start against 'little no-hopers' Bournemouth.

I don't think we played too badly, especially in the second half, but we struggled to create clear-cut chances, so we resorted to long and hopeful balls from midfield again. I know we are in the midst of an injury crisis right now, but that's the point of having a good squad, so people can step in. But even if we did have a fully fit team available, I am not convinced that Calderwood would be able to pick a good, balanced side anyway. He has a nasty habit of playing people in positions for which they are not designed.
For instance, Sammy Clingan was a right winger yesterday, when we are crying out for his creativity in the centre, and Luke Chambers was playing as a right back, where he tried his best, but he should have played alongside Kelvin Wilson in the heart of defence instead of Wes Morgan, who looked clumsy once again.

I thought Calderwood was going to try James Perch out at right back. He hasn't done too badly there in the past, so why has the idea been abandoned so readily? Perch is not a midfielder, full stop. As I said, we need at least one creative central midfielder in there.

It looks like Perch is going to face a spell on the sidelines for a bit with a neck injury sustained in the late stages of yesterday's match, so Calderwood will be forced to pick somebody else anyway. Hopefully, Chris Cohen will be fit soon, and Forest will start to look more purposeful in midfield.

Perch's injury might be seen as a bit of divine intervention, in the same way that Ian Breckin's is. Incidentally, Breckin could now be sidelined up to six weeks with a calf problem. It's difficult to envisage Neil Lennon losing the captain's armband after nearly two months of wearing it, but that would be too logical, and that is a dirty word in Calderwood's dictionary.

Breckin injury a blessing

And another one bites the dust. Ian Breckin has become the latest first teamer to join the ever-increasing injury list, on the eve of the new season, but without wishing to sound too mean, this is actually good news for those who don't think Breckin warrants his Captain Fantastic tag, which Calderwood has bestowed on him.

Breckin has been an ever-present in defence ever since he joined the Club two years ago, and for many Forest fans, he has been the weak link. I will admit that he is quite good with aerial challenges, which comes in handy against big, physical strikers, but when Forest attempt to play a more passing game, his frailties are shown up for all to see.

And as for being captain, please don't make me laugh! He is as quiet as a dormouse, and never shouts words of encouragement at his team mates, like a proper captain is supposed to do. And I have also heard, although it might not be true, that he doesn't have much time for people off the pitch, often snubbing people for autographs. Remember that incident at the City Ground where he stuck two fingers up at a supporter, for which he later apologized?
No wonder he's not popular with the fans.

The captain's armband will almost certainly go to Neil Lennon, who, of course, has a wealth of experience, having skippered Celtic to the Scottish title last season. But whether or not he is officially recognised as such, he will do most of the talking on the pitch anyway. Although, I hope he doesn't slag off the other players when they make mistakes, which I have heard he did quite a lot during pre-season. That's the fans' job!

Breckin's injury will be an ideal opportunity for Luke Chambers and Kelvin Wilson to stake a claim for the two central defensive berths. If they can strike up a good understanding in the next fortnight while Breckin is sidelined, it will be hard for Calderwood to justify changing the defence again. After all, Chambers and Wilson are his signings, so he would surely want to play them instead of one of Megson's cast-offs.

I haven't mentioned Wes Morgan, as I don't think he's in very good form at the moment, judging by people's pre-season reports of him, so I expect him to be on the bench, and let's hope for goodness sake that he stays there this time!

Lack of firepower a big concern as season fast approaches

The start of the new football season is just five days away, but instead of feeling really excited about it, like I was a few weeks ago, I am now feeling a bit worried. Our pre-season performances have been very lacklustre, and we have been struggling in front of goal.

But it's no wonder we haven't been scoring much if Scott Dobie has been operating as a lone striker up front. I am fully aware that if Tyson, Agogo and Holt were all fit, Dobie wouldn't be in the team, but even so, what is stopping us signing somebody on loan, or even bringing someone in permanently? It appears quite a lot, as Calderwood has indicated that there will be no signings made before the weekend for the Bournemouth game.

With Arron Davies ruled out injured, and Chris Cohen still not match-fit yet, it looks like we will have to wait to see all of our new signings line up in the team together. We might just have to content ourselves with a 1-0 scrappy win on Saturday. I guess, as long as we get off to a winning start, that's all that should matter in the short term. The pretty football will hopefully be forthcoming in the next few months when we have all our good players back.

It's not just the fact that we don't have a decent strikeforce that is a concern, though. Calderwood still doesn't seem to know what his best team is and what formation to play. He kept changing it in the friendlies, sometimes three times in a match, so it's not surprising Forest struggled to get going. He has pledged to have us playing more passing football this season, and while there has been some evidence of that during pre-season, he still seems to be obsessed with being defensive. Did we really need six defenders on the pitch at Sheffield United on Saturday? What exactly were they defending? It was a friendly for heaven's sake! They should have used the opportunity to attack as much as possible. That would give them confidence for the important matches ahead.

No such thing as a friendly against local rivals

I'm glad I didn't go to the Derby game now. By the sounds of it, Forest were a damp squib, and I was bored listening to it on the internet commentary.

Many of our first teamers were missing, but still it would have been rather nice for Forest to show a little bit of interest in the match, all the same.
There were a few positives to take from it such as the performance of young rookie goalkeeper Dale Roberts, and the impressive display by Brendan Moloney at right back, but overall, we were made to look like amateurs, and it just underlined how far away we are in terms of class from the Sheep at the moment, as much as we hate to admit it.

At least we didn't suffer the humiliation of losing to Notts County anyway. Forest fielded a very young team with a handful of first teamers, including Luke Chambers who scored both goals, having only ever scored once in more than one hundred games for Northampton! It will be interesting to see if he now starts scoring in the League.

But the headlines were dominated the next morning by the ugly scenes that unfolded at the end of the match when hundreds of Forest and County fans saw fit to run on to the pitch and start fighting with each other. Apparently it was the worst violence County had seen in over 20 years, and now all those responsible are facing life bans! I think that is a bit overzealous. Maybe just a ticking off would suffice. After all most of them were probably very drunk and didn't know what they were doing. If they are threatened with a ban, I doubt they would do it again.

On the other hand, there are some people who turn up at football matches with the sole intention of causing trouble, and they, of course, are not welcome and quite rightly should be kicked out for good.

Fortunately, there was no trouble reported after the Derby match, which is quite surprising really as there were more than 25,000 in attendance, and there is certainly no love lost between ourselves and the Sheep, and whether there are three points at stake, or just pride, nobody wants to lose against their local rivals.