Player passion presages a bright future

To all those who were moaning about Forest not signing anyone, are you happy now?! Goalkeeper Lee Camp has finally joined us permanently from QPR, and becomes our fourth summer recruit of the week, following the captures of Dele Adebola, David McGoldrick, and Paul Anderson.

I am delighted that Camp is officially a Forest player. It has to be one of the most drawn-out transfer sagas in Forest history, as we've wanted to sign him ever since he joined us on loan last November. He's always been very clear that he's desperate to play for us, and he was very disappointed when we didn't move for him back in January. I was really worried when he went back to QPR, as I thought having Paul Smith back in goal would really affect our chances of staying up. When we were thrashed at Burnley 5-0, my fears seemed to be well-founded, but though we signed a replacement in Iain Turner, he was then injured and Smith returned between the posts. But happily Smith didn't let us down too much for the remaining games as we secured our place in the Championship. Nevertheless, in the wake of Camp's arrival, Smith has now been handed the number 21 shirt, so will find himself playing a substitute role next season - that's if he doesn't leave for first team football elsewhere.

Camp already has secured a place in Forest folklore following his heroics in those now infamous last few minutes in the game at Derby last year. He has a tremendous rapport with the fans, and he loves playing for Forest, which is good news for everybody. The more players we have who are proud to be representing the Club, the better. It's very refreshing to hear young players who have nothing to do with Nottingham say how much they love the Club. Paul Anderson said his heart was set on joining us permanently, even turning down the possibility of Premiership football with Wigan. Chris Gunter was only at Forest for a handful of games at the end of last season, but in that short space of time developed a strong affection for the Club and now wants to come back for another season on loan, if not long-term if Spurs are willing to sell him. And we had no problem persuading Chris Cohen to sign a new deal without hesitation. Forest are once again an attractive club with a great future, and that in my opinion is largely thanks to Billy Davies. I'm not going to get too carried away, but I honestly believe that if he is given time, he could turn out to be the best manager we've had since Brian Clough.