No excuses, Forest. Now we know you can play

Phew! I am feeling really relieved that we weren't on the receiving end of a good thrashing against Swansea, as I was sure that was what was going to happen. To get a clean sheet is very pleasing against League One's best side, but nevertheless the three points would have come in very handy as it would have kept us in second place.

The first half was fast and furious with both sides enjoying long spells of possession. At first Swansea were all over us, and we struggled to get hold of the ball, and I thought we were in for a long night, but the defence, aided by the brilliant Paul Smith in goal, was on top form. Both Kelvin Wilson and Wes Morgan were rock solid. They are surely our best central defensive pairing we have at the moment, and now it appears that Ian Breckin has been dropped (hopefully for good, along with his captaincy), we are beginning to look more composed at the back again.

It wasn't just a good defensive performance, though. We even made the Swansea goalkeeper work for his money. He made four or five good saves, including one from Grant Holt, and another from Matt Thornhill, who made his full debut in place of Chris Cohen who was ill.

Thornhill looks quite a good prospect, but I don't think he's ready to be a fully-fledged first teamer just yet. He'll struggle to get in the team with the likes of Lewis McGugan, Sammy Clingan, and Cohen all vying for a place in central midfield.

I was surprised to see Neil Lennon was on the bench last night. The papers have been full of gossip about his not being happy at Forest and his dislike for Calderwood. There have been rumours flying around recently about several Championship clubs being interested in signing him, and at one point he was linked with the Hibernian manager's job, but nothing came of it. To be honest, I am not bothered. I think he is surplus to requirements, and if his heart is not at Forest, then what is the point?

Even though the result was good, I did feel dejected at the final whistle when I heard that Doncaster had gone into second. I forgot all about them and was concentrating on the Carlisle, Leeds, and Walsall results, which couldn't have been more perfect for us as Walsall drew with Leyton Orient, and Carlisle were beaten at Oldham, and Leeds, who have just appointed Gary McAllister as their new boss to replace Newcastle-bound Dennis Wise, slipped up at Southend.
We're only a point behind Donny, and we do have a game in hand on them, but they are a good side, and I can't help but think that the fixture at their place in March could be a really massive game.

Having given a good account of ourselves against Swansea, you would think that Forest will be full of confidence now, but it's as if they're a different team when they are away from home, and our next two matches are at Bournemouth, and Leeds. We absolutely have to beat Bournemouth on Saturday. There's no getting away from it. They are third from bottom in the relegation zone, so defeat there would be a disgrace, but Forest have a track record of losing these kind of games, and we were well beaten there last season when we visited them. They are scrapping for their lives, but if Forest can repeat the level of performance they put in against Swansea, they should be too strong for Bournemouth. If we can't beat the likes of them, then we don't deserve to get promoted.

Poor away form is killing our promotion dream

If we had made the most of our domination in the first half at Millwall, I would probably be celebrating earning three points. Instead I'm supposed to be thrilled that we have come back from two goals down to rescue a point against a team who at the start of play was fourth bottom.

It's just typical that after completely outplaying Millwall in the first half, we still found ourselves a goal down after Neil Harris (yes, him again.) put the home side up with a free kick, needlessly conceded by a silly tackle from James Perch. And it looked like it was game over when Millwall got a second eight minutes into the second half. In fact Forest reverted to type after that and were pretty poor until the genius that is Colin Calderwood decided that it might be a good idea to bring on some wingers in the form of Arron Davies and Kris Commons. Of course, they made an almost immediate impact as within six minutes of their introduction, Forest had pulled a goal back through Chris Cohen, and suddenly they were back in the game and looking like a decent attacking outfit. If at least one of Davies or Commons had been on the pitch from the start instead of Perch, we might well have won this game. As it was we had to be content with just a point thanks to Nathan Tyson's 88th minute equaliser.

The point takes us back into second place, but as we have no game this weekend owing to Bristol Rovers' progress in the FA Cup, we will only be there for a few days as we're only level on points with third-placed Carlisle, who now have a game in hand on us.

Calderwood made some drastic changes tonight, eschewing his beloved 4-3-3 formation in favour of a 4-4-2 diamond. He even dropped captain Ian Breckin to the substitutes' bench, something Forest fans have been campaigning to happen for ages, and the restoration of Kelvin Wilson to his rightful place in central defence, and the recall of Julian Bennett at left back meant that we had the same back four that had earlier in the season kept so many clean sheets. Wilson was given the captain's armband, but whether he will be our permanent skipper from now on remains to be seen, but as he is such an inspiration in the back four, he could be an ideal candidate for the job, despite his young age.

We've got some really difficult games coming up now, starting with the visit of runaway leaders Swansea to the City Ground next Tuesday night. They are eight points ahead of us and have played one game less. I can't see us catching them, even if we beat them next week. So one automatic promotion place is gone, and who fills the second, in my opinion, will be the team who performs the best away from home. That rules us out then. My money is still on Leeds, but don't discount Walsall or Doncaster. Even though we are second for the moment, I think we are destined for the play-offs, and I fear we will be in for yet more heartache. I still haven't got over last season yet. May 18th 2007 was the worst night of my life...ever, and I do not want to have to go through anything like that again. But such is the nature of football - and particulary the nature of Forest - that I know I will have to face more devastation one day. But surely we poor fans are due a bit of happiness soon?

Will we lose out on a top six place all together?

If we had got anything out of the match at Swindon, it would have been a terrible injustice. We got exactly what we deserved – nothing. And the fact that all three goals came from Forest players just about sums up what an inept performance it was.

Forest have been useless away from home for years now, which is why I have stopped going so much because it's just a waste of money, time, and energy. We've now managed to win just one in our last eight games on our travels – hardly the form of a team with automatic promotion aspirations. I think we're going to have to rely on our home form to stay within a chance of sneaking into the top two, because I can't see us becoming a good travelling team unless we get rid of Deadwood, and I just can't see that happening until the end of the season at the earliest.

Quite frankly we don't deserve to get promotion. There are much better teams than us like Swansea, who now have a five-point lead, Leeds, who very soon will overtake us, Doncaster, and even Walsall, who are on a brilliant run at the moment. I am not even sure we will make the play-offs at this rate as we're only a couple of points ahead of seventh place. As long as we keep winning our home games, I think we will manage to stay in the top six, but what if that comes unstuck, too? What then? We're unbeaten in eleven games at the City Ground, but when Swansea visit a week on Tuesday, I fear a good thumping could be on the cards, much like Scunthorpe meted out last season.

I feel so fed up with Forest right now. Even our wins at home are tinged with apathy as I know that it will be all undone in the next game when we will more than likely be awful. We take one step forward, then one back. So we just stay where we are, not getting anywhere. Except that while it might appear that we are not getting worse and worse in that we are not falling down the table (yet), the Club is deterioating off the pitch as we hemorrhage yet more supporters, who sickened to the core by the state that this once-great Club has been reduced to, have now become ex-season ticket holders, reducing home attendances to around 15,000 when you discount the away supporters. That figure will be eroded still further next season as we almost certainly face a fourth consecutive season in League One. Especially if they continue to charge extortionate prices, and especially if Deadwood is still here.

He should have been given his P45 after the Yeovil capitulation last May. Only promotion will save him from getting the sack, surely? And even if we do go up, I am seriously worried about Deadwood being let loose in the Championship. I can't see us being anything more than relegation candidates with him in charge. His team selections and tactics are baffling. What is his obsession with leaving his best players on the bench? He seems to be frightened of dropping players and just waits for them to get injured or suspended. Leaving Kelvin Wilson on the bench yesterday was a very odd decision. He's our best defender by far, and you need him in the team at places like Swindon. The fact that we have kept so many clean sheets this season is down to the presence of Wilson. So why he wasn't recalled to the starting line-up, I don't understand.

Playing James Perch in midfield was also a mistake. Perch's best position, if any, is probably at right back, where he had been playing in the last couple of games in place of Luke Chambers, but as Sammy Clingan apparently had picked up a knock in training, Perch switched to midfield, where he once again had an awful game, just like most of his team mates. He managed to score an own goal to give Swindon the lead in the first half, as did Ian Breckin eight minutes from time, who restored justice for Swindon, after Chambers had very much against the run of play equalised for us shortly after the hour mark.

It was a pretty bad day all round for Forest fans as all the other teams apart from Leeds won their games. Swansea and Carlisle both won, as did Leyton Orient, Walsall and Doncaster, who beat Leeds at Elland Road. Consequently, we have slipped down into third place, and while we are only a point away from second at the moment, and our automatic promotion chances are far from dead in the water, we are going to have to overcome our travel sickness quickly, because the likes of Leeds, Doncaster, and Walsall are not going to be sympathetic and will trample all over us, leaving us trailing in their wake.

Forest must do their Best to sign a striker

I'm not sure how we won so comfortably yesterday. I would be lying if I said the quality of our performance deserved a 4-0 scoreline, because it didn't. In fact, most people picked Paul Smith as our Man of the Match, so what does that tell you?

Obviously if Smith never made saves, then he'd be a pretty useless goalkeeper, but had it not been for him, I think Leyton Orient would have won the game. When Grant Holt put us in front with a header, it was rather against the run of play, and as we had been quite poor up to then, I only half-cheered the goal as I thought we wouldn't hold on for long.

But we were much better in the second half, and once Holt made it 2-0 from the penalty spot, we looked comfortable, and Smith, who had right at the start of the half made a superb last-ditch save in a one-on-one situation, became more of a spectator as further goals from Kris Commons and sub Matt Thornhill's first for the Club completed the rout to stay in sight of Swansea, who remain three points clear after winning again.

Carlisle lost at Doncaster, so we are back in second place for the moment. The promotion race is wide open this year with the top three changing places every week. Leeds would have been the runaway leaders had they not suffered that fifteen-point penalty, but even they have shown recently that they can be beaten, and many of their goals have come in the last minute, which suggests that they have had to work hard to get good results.

We've got some huge games coming up against our promotion rivals, with Swansea visiting the City Ground in a fortnight's time.
That should be a really exciting match, if not nerve-wracking. Provided we get some good results in the meantime, that game could be a real top-of-the table clash with the winner being top by the end of it!

Next weekend we have to visit Swindon again, scene of that awful, awful rain-sodden 2-0 defeat we suffered two seasons ago. It was a rude awakening to life in League One, and the first of many sub-standard displays on our travels that season. I had the misfortune of going to that and got drenched on an open-terrace, and then as if things weren't bad enough, on my way back home via Oxford, I managed to lose sight of my mum, who had come with me, and got on the train without her. Thank god for mobile phones, otherwise I don't know how I would have contacted her. Needless to say, I have decided to give this game a miss, and given Forest's recent performances away from home, I am confident I won't regret it, either. We have been poor on our travels even with Nathan Tyson and Junior Agogo, so unless we sign somebody this week, I am really worried about where our goals are going to come from. Holt may have scored twice against Orient, but one of them came from the penalty spot. I don't think he is the answer at all, and in any case he's made it clear that he doesn't want to be at Forest, so what is the point?

Agogo will be missing for the next month, and we can't rely on Tyson to stay fit for any length of time, so we are extremely limited in our striking options, and at such a crucial time, too. We have had a couple of bids for Coventry's Leon Best rejected, so we are looking for a striker, but Colin Calderwood's interview on Radio Nottingham was rather worrying. He said that the Club was having difficulty attracting players. I can't believe that! Forest are more attractive than most clubs in the Championship, and a few in the Premiership, so I can't believe players wouldn't want to play for them! All the other clubs chasing promotion are busy strengthening their squads, while Forest as usual continue to procrastinate and leave everything to the last minute.

Calderwood better pull his finger out and bring a striker in this week, or I fear that once again we will be in for a disappointing conclusion to a season that had promised so much.

Last-minute winner better than any medicine

I often ask myself why I bother going to see Forest when most of the time they make me miserable, but just occasionally something brilliant happens which makes you realise it's all worth the pain and anguish so you can really appreciate the good times.

Lewis McGugan's injury time winner against Huddersfield turned what I thought was turning out to be a pretty awful start to 2008 into a fantastic day, which had not started very well at all for me as I woke up feeling sick and generally felt ill all day.

Usually, I like to get to Nottingham at least four hours before the game, but feeling so ill and lethargic, I couldn't face hanging around in the cold for that long, so I took the risk of catching a later train. Fortunately it got me there at 13.00 and my fears were allayed that I would miss the match.

I wasn't really looking forward to the game at all, but there was no way I could miss it, as it really hurts having to miss a home game, and I knew I would regret it if I didn't go. Fortunately my efforts were rewarded with victory and a pretty decent performance, despite the harsh sending off of Kelvin Wilson, when his header back to Paul Smith somehow saw a Huddersfield player fall to the ground at the same time, which the referee must have thought was as a result of Wilson fouling him.

To be honest, although it looked bad at the time for Forest, the sending off actually helped create a really good atmosphere. Everyone was so incensed with the referee's decision that he was constantly booed for the rest of the game, and the players were so determined to get justice that they really upped the tempo, and finally got their rewards when McGugan's sweet strike from a tight angle in the first of four minutes of injury time made it 2-1 to us and broke Huddersfield's hearts, but left 17,000+ Forest fans with beaming smiles on their faces.

The day got even better when the results came in from elsewhere. Swansea had only managed to draw at Swindon, and Leeds shockingly had lost 3-1 at home to Oldham! I would have put money on them beating Oldham at Elland Road. I had predicted, as you may recall, that Leeds would overtake us after New Year's Day, but two defeats on the spin has left them four points adrift of us again, and we have played one game less. Losing to Swansea was always a possibility, but a heavy defeat at home to Oldham must surely have given their supporters the jitters. Are the wheels starting to fall off now, I wonder? Or perhaps more likely it was just the usual case of the players being a bit hung over following the New Year celebrations.

We now have a fortnight's break without any matches as it's FA Cup weekend next week. Our would-be opponents in League One, Millwall, are still in it, so we get a good rest, which we could really do with. It will give Nathan Tyson time to recover from his injury, and hopefully he'll be back for our next game, which is at home to Leyton Orient, who after a really good first half of the season are now finally starting to fall away, just as we all knew they would. January could be a very interesting month as we will also meet the leaders Swansea at the City Ground. We are currently two points clear in second place, and this month as we have so many home games we have the chance to break away from the chasing pack.

It's just a shame that we will be without Junior Agogo for up to a month while he goes on international duty with Ghana. We had better pray that Colin Calderwood brings somebody in during the January transfer window. There's been plenty of talk of signing various midfielders, but I think we have enough of them as it is. We absolutely must sign a striker, otherwise without Agogo, and Tyson struggling with niggling injuries, where on earth are our goals going to come from?