Reading's strike pairing of Kevin Doyle and Leroy Lita is said to be one of the most dangerous in the Championship, but our defence kept them quiet all afternoon. I was a bit unsure about how Wes Morgan would cope against them, but he had a really good game alongside Kelvin Wilson. Morgan and Wilson are really shaping up to be a first class central defensive pairing, and if they continue to excel in the Championship, people are going to sit up and take notice. The good thing is they are both from Nottingham, and I can see them sticking around here for years. It's quite rare for a player to stick around at one club for more then a decade these days, but Morgan has already been a first team player for five years, and I can't see him wanting to leave any time soon.
Julian Bennett also had a good game at left back. I was unconvinced of his credentials in the Championship, but if he plays like he did against Reading every match, then he'll have no problems. He's really endeared himself to the fans because he isn't afraid to stick a crunching tackle in. We saw plenty of those flying in yesterday. My only concern is what will we do if he gets injured or suspended? We haven't got anybody suitable to replace him. Joe Heath got a run out there in pre-season, but he wasn't very good. Chris Cohen can operate as an emergency left back, having done so on occasion last season, but he isn't brilliant there. As we were so good defensively in League One, we could get away with players playing out of position a lot, but in the Championship it will be a lot more difficult.
The best player on the pitch by far was Guy Moussi. He is a player of real quality and he passes the ball superbly. I don't understand how Forest got him so cheaply, and that other clubs didn't show an interest. David Friio has at least done something worthwhile for Forest by spotting him. We signed him on a three-year contract, but I think we can expect a lot of interest from the Premiership clubs next summer if he continues in the same vein throughout the season. I just hope that he realises that he wasn't being booed every time he had the ball! People were chanting 'Mou', which sounded like 'boo', but I am sure he understands what we meant, even if he can't speak a word of English yet!
I didn't expect us to create much in the way of chances as Robert Earnshaw was plowing a lone furrow up front, with Lewis McGugan just behind him. Earnshaw is so small, that he's not the ideal striker to be up on his own, so it would be unfair to judge him on yesterday's performance. I can see him scoring goals whenever Andy Cole, Nathan Tyson, or Joe Garner get themselves fit. But that won't happen until around September time, according to Colin Calderwood. It's incredibly frustrating, but what can we do? We'll have to sign somebody on loan, but whether we can get anyone of real quality is another matter, because clubs aren't as willing to let strikers leave as other types of players.
We began last season with a goalless draw at home to Bournemouth, who were of course eventually relegated, and everyone felt really despondent. But this was the most satisfying
The key is how well we perform away from home, because there were many dreadful performances on our travels in League One, which impeded our progress. Our first away trip is to Swansea next Saturday. We were very fortunate to come away with a point last season as they totally dominated us, and I expect it to be a very tough game this time around. I would say that I'd be happy with a draw there, but we really do need to start winning as soon as we can, because there are no home bankers in this division.
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