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.