Naive Calderwood will cost us promotion again

I'm absolutely seething. The 3-0 defeat at Gillingham was nothing to do with Gillingham being brilliant, or the Forest players playing badly. It was purely down to Colin Calderwood's (Deadwood I shall now call him) complete lack of tactical nouse, and his negative mindset. I just can't get my head round his decision to play Kelvin Wilson at left back when we desperately needed him in central defence.

I'm sick and tired of Deadwood playing players in positions for which they are not designed, and then leaving players who do play in those positions on the bench. What is going on in that head of his?

We had four central defenders at the back yesterday. And while Luke Chambers has done a good job as a right back, if Deadwood thinks he can make a decent left back out of Wilson, he's sorely mistaken. And the fact that Wilson's poor back header cost us the third goal should have been enough to convince Deadwood that he is not cut out to play there. As a central defender Wilson is absolutely brilliant, and had he played as one yesterday, I doubt the scoreline would have been so embarrassing.

If Deadwood is picking James Perch and Wilson to play at left back, then that says a lot about what he thinks of Matt Lockwood. OK, so Lockwood has had a few poor games, but given time he could turn out to be a decent player. After all, he was not voted the best left back in League One last year for nothing. I thought the whole point of signing him was so he could link up with Kris Commons, but since Commons can't even hold a place down in the side at the moment, either, that idea seems to have been put to bed.

I've gone through phases this season of backing Deadwood and wanting him sacked, but just recently his team selections and tactics have got more bizarre. It's just like last season all over again when we hit a rocky patch in December and ended up throwing away what had for so long looked like certain promotion. Only this time around, promotion has not at any point looked by any means certain at all, and unless Deadwood grows a brain cell or two between now and May, I can't see us troubling the top two. We are still in second place at the moment, but we will surely not stay there for long. We don't even have our home form to fall back on any more, as we are now struggling to put away teams like Northampton on our own pitch. There seems to be a real lack of confidence permeating the whole team at the moment, and I'm not sure what can be done to bring it back.

A good away point, but why be so negative?

I don't know about you, but I was thrilled we got a point at Oldham. This game had heavy defeat written all over it, so the fact that we managed to get a clean sheet at a ground where we have not had much luck in recent years, least of all last New Year's Day when we were thrashed 5-0, is quite a surprise.

I had been convinced that defeat was on the cards, but not long into the first half, a strange feeling suddenly hit me like a giant wave. We were not going to lose! I really can't explain how I knew this, but having experienced this on many occasions this season, and ALWAYS been 100% correct, I felt extremely confident that I was going to be proved right again.

I remember I had exactly the same feeling before the Cheltenham match a few months ago, so I was half celebrating the result before we'd even turned up at the ground! And before the Northampton game, which on paper was a home banker, I had a sense of foreboding that it was going to go wrong, and sure enough we only managed to steal a point with a last-minute equaliser.

Saying all that, though, it's little wonder we escaped with a point with so many defenders on the pitch. We started the game with three central midfielders and no wingers as Arron Davies and Kris Commons were once again left on the bench. The strangest decision of them all was to play James Perch at left back in place of Matt Lockwood. Now, if all our other options were exhausted, maybe it was understandable, but Lockwood was not injured. He was on the bench, and although he hasn't really done well since he returned to the side, playing Perch ahead of him must have been quite an insult.

This is just typical of Calderwood playing players out of position. After nearly two years in the job, he still doesn't know what his best side is. He chops and changes the team every week. It's no wonder it looks like the players don't know whether they're coming or going half the time. He seems to be clueless tactically, and when he gets it right, it's just down to luck.

Another thing that really annoys me is that when a key player gets injured or suspended, he can't get back into the team. Our top scorer Junior Agogo went on international duty with Ghana, and until very recently, he had to be content with a place on the bench. And yesterday, Kelvin Wilson, by far the best defender we have at this Club, and the very reason why we have managed to get so many clean sheets this season, was only a substitute after missing his first League match on Saturday with injury. If the reason for this was that he wasn't match fit, then why even have him on the bench?

From a defensive point of view, it was a good performance. We really frustrated Oldham and stopped them from playing, but if we hadn't been so negative, we could have won that match and kept our place at the top of the table. As it was, we didn't manage to fashion one shot on target all afternoon. What must have former Reds goalkeeping legend Mark Crossley have made of our performance in front of goal? For him, 0-0 was just about the perfect result. I very much doubt he would have been elated if he had played a part in causing Forest to lose, as we all know he loves the Club, and would surely jump at the chance to return in the twilight of his career.

I did say that six points out of nine would be a good return from our Christmas games, so we're still on course to achieve that with games against Gillingham and a home date with Huddersfield to come. Gillingham will be a tough place to go as well, as although they are struggling near the bottom, their home form is pretty good. We thrashed them back at the City Ground earlier this season, but the Gills will give a better account of themselves this time, and we will have to be at our best to beat them, I think.

Rather inevitably, we've lost our place at the top of the League to Swansea, and fallen into second. Leeds are right behind us breathing down our necks. They are remarkable as they keep scoring in the last minute. It's so annoying, but you just kind of expect it. The same thing happened to us at the City Ground back in August, and I've no doubt it will happen when we visit them in February. I only hope that by the time that match comes around that they haven't run away with the League by then and that we are still within a shout of automatic promotion ourselves.

Top of the tree for Christmas, but will we be there in May?

Christmas has come early! All I wanted was to be top of League One, and we are, but make the most of it while you can, as I don't think we will be there in a few days' time.

I don't think we played that well against Port Vale, but we still deserved the three points as Vale were awful, and showed just why they are in the bottom three. But they did come close on several occasions and were only let down by their terrible finishing. Our defence frightened me at times. We really missed Kelvin Wilson's composure, and I hope he is back for the Boxing Day clash with Oldham, otherwise I fear another thrashing could be on the cards.
Wes Morgan did alright, but he always looks unsure of himself when he first gets the ball. I am not sure that he and Ian Breckin are a central-defensive partnership made in heaven at all. Though, saying that, Breckin did have a very good game yesterday, and at one point made a superb last-ditch tackle to prevent what looked to be a certain goal.

The start of the second half was very reminiscent of last Saturday's game against Northampton. Forest were very slow off the starting blocks and looked very jittery. Vale were having a lot of possession, but unlike Northampton, they couldn't make the most of it, and when Lewis McGugan made it 2-0 to add to Junior Agogo's earlier first half strike, it really settled our nerves, and Forest took control of the rest of the game.

We would not be top if the Carlisle-Swansea game had gone ahead, as any result there would have seen us in second place, so it's a real bonus to find ourselves top on Christmas Day. You can't ask for much more than that, but it's so tight at the top that you can find yourselves in third or fourth place within a week.
Leeds are in third now and just one point away from the summit. They also have a better goal difference than us, and will overtake us in the next couple of games, as we have two tricky away matches at Oldham and Gillingham, and then on New Year's Day we have Huddersfield at home, and I'm not confident of beating them, either.

I think I will be happy if we can get six points out of the next nine. That would allow for one defeat, which will probably come at Oldham. You know what Forest are like on Boxing Day. They rarely ever play well away from home at the best of times, let alone when they've been stuffed full of mince pies.

Complacency could end up costing Forest

Leon Jackson's shock triumph over red-hot favourite Rhydian in this year's X Factor final just goes to show that you can not take anything for granted in life.
And maybe that's a message that needs to be drummed into the Forest players' heads for so-called 'easy' games in future, as we were extremely fortunate to escape what would have been a very humiliating defeat against an extremely poor Northampton side yesterday.

Colin Calderwood made it clear before the game that anything less than six points from the two home matches with Northampton and Port Vale would represent a disappointment. Well, now all we can get is four, and if we don't beat Vale next Saturday, we will have thrown away a glorious chance to gain some serious momentum in the race for promotion.

It all looked like it was going to be plain sailing when Lewis McGugan gave us the lead with a fantastic long-range effort, and we dominated the first half so much that the result seemed something of a foregone conclusion. So what on earth went wrong in the second half? Northampton, who had looked every bit relegation fodder before the break, were suddenly running us ragged and frightening the Forest defence to death. Matt Lockwood sloppily conceded possession, and Northampton grabbed an equaliser, which really put the spring in their step, and all of the sudden they were the better side. Within six minutes, they were in front, and we were playing so poorly that I just could not see a way back for us.

Thank god then for Junior Agogo's 90th minute equaliser from a corner. If there was ever a way to be happy at earning only a point against Northampton, then this was the way to do it, but if you told me we'd only manage to draw against them on our own pitch before kick-off, I would have felt gutted. But the way the game went, I just felt relieved in the end. If we'd lost, I would have felt extremely depressed and sick, which is not what I want to feel at Christmas time.

If we do beat Vale, and I say if, then four points out of six won't be too bad, I guess, particularly if we are second on Saturday. There's still half of the season to go yet, and there will be many more ups and downs before May. Every team has a wobble now and again, so let's hope that this was just that, and that we will be back in a winning habit before too long. Last season our poor form over Christmas and New Year was what saw us surrender a seemingly unassailable seven-point lead at the top of League One. Who can forget that horrendous 5-0 thrashing at Oldham on New Year's Day. I wish I could! If we can avoid losing against them on Boxing Day this year, I think I will regard it as a job well done, considering they have been a bit of a thorn in our side in recent seasons.

I think League One is a lot stronger than it was last year. There are a handful of teams who are consistent. Swansea, Carlisle and Leeds, in my opinion, are a better bet for the title than us. At the moment, I don't think we're good enough to get automatic promotion. Apart from Leeds, I would say that Swansea are the biggest threat. That point we earnt against them back in August could turn out to be very significant at the end of the season.

I never wanted to play Liverpool anyway

The fact that we are out of the FA Cup doesn't bother me in the slightest. And I'm not really that upset that we won't get a chance to pit our wits against the mighty Liverpool, either. We would only have been a laughing stock on national TV, just like we were at Chelsea last season. And god knows what a heavy defeat against the Scousers would have done for our confidence.

What does bother me, however, is the fact that Forest didn't even make an attempt to pretend to care about it. They showed a complete lack of respect for the travelling Forest fans, who braved sub-zero temperatures to watch what was quite frankly an embarrassing performance. The scoreline rather flattered Forest, for if it wasn't for Paul Smith, we would have been thrashed.

It's easy to blame the players, but Calderwood was completely at fault for his awful team selection and formation. Why on earth did he leave three of our best attacking players – Arron Davies, Kris Commons, and Junior Agogo – all on the bench?
Why did we sign Davies again? Somebody please tell me. Wasn't it to make us a threat on the right wing, and take the pressure off Commons? Wouldn't these two players have made a real difference? Granted Commons can be very lazy, but even a lazy Commons would have been better than what we did have out there in the midfield.

It didn't really upset me at the time when Sammy Clingan was sent off against Brighton, but now I realise just how important he is. Without him, we were clueless. Although his replacement James Perch admittedly wasn't bad last night, putting him and Neil Lennon in the midfield is just so negative, and it's no wonder we got so badly outplayed. We were completely devoid of any creativity, and it harked back to last season. That's why it just didn't make any sense to have those three players on the bench.

I really don't know why I bothered going. I hated Luton the last time I went, and vowed never to go back. But silly old me thought that it would be an exciting game what with Liverpool being the prize for the winners. Why on earth I thought that, I don't know. It was just a typical FA Cup second round match, really. The only consolation was that the journey home wasn't long. And I suppose I enjoyed my egg mayonnaise sandwich.

It's looking much Brighter again

Well, knock me down with a feather! I was certain we were going to lose tonight at Brighton. All the ingredients were there for a recipe for disaster: in-form opposition, a cold December night, and one of the worst grounds to visit in League One, but thanks to a double from super Nathan Tyson, it was Forest who took all three points, despite being reduced to ten men when Sammy Clingan was shown a straight red card early in the second half.

There was a real danger that following the defeat at Walsall three days earlier, the Forest players would be low on confidence. As they were four points adrift of the leaders Swansea at the start of play, they could ill afford to lose another away game in the space of a few days, so the pressure on them was huge. Colin Calderwood hinted that there would be a shake-up when he named his starting line-up, although he did make some odd choices, choosing to drop Arron Davies to the bench, and leave Kris Commons out altogether – ostensibly because he was 'ill', but I think there may have been a bit more to it than that.

I'm glad to see that Junior Agogo got recalled, though. I could understand him being left out for the first game back after international duty with Ghana, but I was expecting him to be recalled for the matches after that, but Calderwood left him on the bench for the Walsall game. I would have thought that his name would be one of the first to go on the team sheet, considering he is our leading goalscorer.

Tyson, despite playing on the left wing in the first half, was the hero, scoring both goals, but the real credit must go to the back four, who were all superb, defending resolutely. They could easily have caved in after Sammy Clingan was sent off – indeed I was convinced we were going to throw it all away - but they kept their cool and thoroughly deserved to earn yet another clean sheet – rather impressively their eleventh in eighteen matches so far this season!

Although it will probably only be for less than twenty-four hours, we are back in second place, and even if results go against us tomorrow, the situation at the top of League One is once again looking healthy. It could have been so much worse had we not won tonight, which is why these three points could prove to be absolutely priceless at the end of the season.

What is so scary about Walsall?

Exactly one year ago to the day, I know just where I was. I was at Bournemouth watching a very lacklustre Forest side lose 2-0. It was our first defeat on our travels that season, but although we bounced back in some style a few days later with a brilliant 4-1 win at Crewe, our form really suffered around the Christmas period, and ultimately it was that that cost us promotion. Fast forward one year later, and once again our promotion credentials are brought under scrutiny with yet another defeat at Walsall, a team we have failed to beat on the last TEN occasions.

It was a pretty bad night for Forest all round, with results going against us. Only Leyton Orient did us a favour by losing at home to Millwall. But I think Orient are the least of our worries. Leeds will overtake us soon – they are storming to promotion, and were it not for their fifteen-point deduction, they would be running away with the League. And Swansea and Carlisle, in my opinion, are showing more consistency than us at the moment.

We actually were the far better team in the first half. The radio commentators said it was as if we were at home, and Walsall were lucky to be in it at half time, but Forest's inability to play a full 90 minutes reared its ugly head again, and in the second half we were not in it. Forest's heads dropped when they conceded just three minutes after the break when Sammy Clingan's headed back pass let in Michael Ricketts, and from then on we were very much second best, and you just knew it was not going to be our night.

What is it about Walsall that Forest are so scared of? This was our fifth successive defeat at the Bescot Stadium. They are well and truly a bogey side, and it was a pleasure not to have to play them last season when they were in League Two.
Can you imagine if we get drawn against them in the play-offs? No, I don't want to think about it. But it's a real possibility. They are in good form, and...oh god, no, let's not even go there.

At least we don't have a whole week to mope around and feel sorry for ourselves, anyway. We've got to go to Brighton on Friday night. That's another ground that we don't like visiting. If we had beaten Walsall, I would be happy to get a point from Brighton, but now I think we've got to beat them. If results go against us again on Saturday, we could find ourselves playing catch-up. But Brighton themselves are not doing too badly at the moment, and Forest will find it tough. I'm not looking forward to it at all.

What I am looking forward to, however, is the Luton game next Tuesday. I wasn't interested in it before, but the fact that the winners will meet Liverpool in the third round, has certainly made it a lot more attractive. As it's not far from where I live, I've persuaded my dad to take me. I had vowed never to go back to that place a few weeks ago after Forest's awful performance there, but I think this game could be really exciting. Both teams will be really up for it (you would think), and all the Forest fans are desperate to renew the old rivalry with Liverpool. I've never seen us play them before, so it will be fantastic to have them come to the City Ground in January, even if it's almost certain we'll be on the receiving end of a heavy defeat. But we have to get past Luton first, and they are very difficult to beat on their own ground, as we found to our cost little over a month ago.