Derby defeat is hard to take, but we'll have the last laugh

I know we had to lose sometime, but did it really have to be against Derby of all teams? I am not ashamed to admit that at the end of the game yesterday I was in tears. The taste of defeat felt really foreign to me, and the fact that it was Derby made my stomach churn. Couldn't Forest have held on until the Coventry away game to lose their unbeaten record? It wouldn't have been nearly as sickening and I wouldn't have had to witness it.

Saying all that, I don't think we can have too many complaints about losing because (gulp) Derby were the better side. It was a rare off day for Forest. Whether it was down to nerves or tactics, or a bit of both, it's hard to say, but we were not nearly as good as we are capable of. We struggled to create much at all and it was only Derby's poor finishing that kept the scoreline respectable. We were possibly a bit better than them in the first half, but the Rams were all over us after the interval, and when they went in front with just twelve minutes remaining through a Rob Hulse header that came as a result of a Judas free-kick the writing seemed a little bit on the wall. I think Billy Davies rather messed up our chances of getting anything from the game by taking both Paul Anderson and Rob Earnshaw off. No sooner had Anderson departed the field for Guy Moussi when Derby scored. I am not entirely sure what Davies was thinking of adding another central midfielder into the mix and depriving us of Anderson's pace, but there you go. It was obvious that he was content to play for a point, but it rather backfired on him. Still, every manager no matter how great they are cannot get it right all the time, so we can't complain too much.

I was surprised at how quickly I got the game out of my system. I thought I'd feel pig sick all weekend and possibly all week, but I already feel like I'm over it. I think it's because Forest have been so fantastic all season that we have to expect bad days like this now and again. Maybe in some ways it's a blessing that the 19-match unbeaten run has finally come to an end, because it was perhaps becoming something of an albatross around our neck. The players might have developed a fear of losing the record and that might have adversely affected their promotion chances. Now it has gone we can go into games with a bit less pressure. We are still second and two points clear, and Newcastle dropped two points against ten man Leicester, so we've still got plenty to be happy about. At the end of the season when it comes to the final shake-up, it's Forest who will be able to hold their heads high whether we achieve promotion or not. Derby will no doubt be releasing a DVD of their 'famous' win over us, but it could be the case that we won't be playing them for some time now, so let them enjoy their moment. We might have bigger fish to fry next season.

Watch out, Magpies. There's some Tricky Trees disrupting your flight path

One more goal, and we would have been top of the League. In all likelihood, it would probably have only been for 24 hours, but it would have been nice to see the good name of Nottingham Forest sitting on top of the pile for a change!

Not so long ago, 5-0 thrashings stood out for me as highlights, not just of seasons, but my entire lifetime. Now we're dishing them out week after week, and they're becoming less and less special as a result. We just expect it now! I used to think beating teams like Southend 4-1 was brilliant. I remember skipping all the way back to the car when we beat the Shrimpers a couple of seasons ago. But I was not feeling euphoric last night because I'm used to it...much like I was used to us losing away from home so often under Colin Calderwood. So it's true what they say about contrast. You have to have lows so you can enjoy the highs, and right now I feel like I'm being overindulged.

Billy Davies might disagree, but we are ready for the Premiership. We're more than ready in my opinion. I now actually feel rather excited at the prospect. I know I have been saying all season that I don't want it, but the closer we get, the more appealing the idea sounds. I have not been a season ticket holder watching us in the top flight yet, so maybe it's about time I was, even if following them around all the top stadia will practically bankrupt me.

It seems to me at the moment that if Forest actually want to win, then they will. And if they want to stuff a team four or five then they will do that. That's why when I was discussing with my dad about going top of the table that I felt really confident that we could get the six goals required. And we certainly came close. The crowd sensed a right good thrashing was on the cards when a quick brace from Robbie Earnshaw inside a couple of minutes put us firmly in control after twenty minutes, and the points were practically sewn up after just half an hour when Dexter Blackstock (and thankfully not Earnshaw) made it 3-0 from the penalty spot. A brilliant long-range effort from Chris Cohen a few minutes after the restart gave us real hope that we could go on to snatch the top spot from Newcastle, but we 'only' managed to score one more when James Perch, who was playing in an unfamiliar left-back role, bundled the ball home following a goalmouth scramble.

The crowd willed Forest on to get the all-important sixth goal as the last fifteen minutes of the game ticked away, but alas it never came, although there was some good news with West Brom dropping two points at Ipswich, so we have stretched our lead over them to five points now. To be honest, it doesn't feel like we're going to be needing any snookers to get us over the finishing line. We are just too damn good for this League and if we don't win the title, we look certain at the moment to be going up in second place. I keep waiting for the proverbial bubble to pop, but every match we get better and better. This really feels like it's going to be our year!

Camp's just champion as jittery Forest resist Reading fightback

Forest's failure to kill off the game in the first half against Reading could easily have cost them three points, were it not for yet another remarkable goalkeeping display from Lee Camp.

Reading looked quite jaded following their mid-week FA Cup heroics in extra time at Liverpool. We completely outplayed them in the first half and could easily have been four or five goals up. Paul Anderson gave us an early lead after he was spotted clean through by Chris Cohen, who had just made an excellent break in midfield. And after we missed a sackful of chances to add to our lead, Robert Earnshaw, who to everybody's surprise was in the starting line-up even though he had been declared unfit on Friday, gave us a more comfortable cushion when he raced on to Radoslaw Majewski's through ball to make it a deserved 2-0, just a few minutes before half time. It really should have been 3-0 at the break, but Dexter Blackstock wasted a glorious opportunity to put Reading well and truly out of sight when he sent the ball wide when clean through on goal.

If Forest thought that the second half would be a stroll in the park they were in for a surprise. While Reading had failed to muster even one shot on target in the first half, restricting Camp to a mere spectator, they threw everything at us in the second 45 minutes and if it wasn't for Camp being at the top of his game, they could quite easily have caused an upset. Camp was simply amazing as he made two first class saves from Icelandic striker Gunnar Thorvaldsson in the space of a couple of minutes. This prompted chants from the Forest fans of 'England's number one', and Camp seemed to be loving it. His only bad moment came when he made a poor clearance and it led to Nicky Shorey unfortunately being sent off for a professional foul. But Camp, who last week celebrated being named Player of the Month for December, made a great save from Brian Howard's penalty. It was a shame that Reading did pull a goal back deep in stoppage time as Camp was so close to getting a clean sheet which his performance so richly deserved, but then you could say that Reading's gallant effort warranted something, as well. Fortunately our own hard work in the first half proved to be enough, but the fact that our goalkeeper was made Man of the Match tells its own story. Hopefully this will serve as a warning that we can't take our eye off the ball, not for one moment, because better sides than Reading will punish us if we let complacency creep into our game.

Oh well, we'll see you in the Premiership then, Everton?

So our participation in the FA Cup is over for yet another year, and to use one of those time-worn footballing clichés, 'we can now concentrate on the League'. Our unbeaten record in all competitions may have come to an end, but we can still say that we haven't tasted defeat since September in the Championship, and hopefully that record will go on for some time yet.

I really couldn't care less that we are out of the Cup. I know that might offend some people, but that's just the way I feel. It's always been about the League for me. Maybe if we were doing nothing in midtable, it would be more important, but the prospect of automatic promotion, or if not, a virtually guaranteed place in the play-offs, is far more exciting, and now there are no annoying distractions that are going to get in the way. With two home games coming up followed by a trip to a Derby deep in disarray, we have a really good chance to accrue some serious points in our quest for promotion.

The only disappointing thing about losing last night was the fact that we were the better team. But we came up against a brilliant goalkeeper in Joe Hart, who many are tipping for big things with England. When Barry Ferguson gave them the lead just after the hour, it was very much against the run of play. But once Forest were behind, they lost their way a little bit, and didn't seem that interested in doing anything about it. We would have been rewarded with a trip to Everton's Goodison Park had we made it into the fourth round, which would have been nice, I suppose, but we might well be playing them anyway in the Premiership next season! Judging by Billy Davies' decision to rest no fewer than seven of the players who figured in the win at West Brom, he will welcome the break when Forest have a blank weekend on the day of the fourth round. The fact that Derby face potentially two extra games in the Cup heading into the big game with us could be seen as an advantage!

Forest are the cream of the Championship

I feel rather sheepish in admitting that I thought our long unbeaten run was finally going to come to an end last night at West Brom. In fact I was secretly hoping that the cold weather would do us a favour and it would be postponed. Just how wrong was I?

We not only won at the Hawthorns, but we did so rather convincingly. We were just too good for them! For up until the hour-mark when they became the first team to breach our defence in almost ten hours of football, we were completely dominating. When we sailed into a three-goal lead, it was a fitting award for the wonderful football we had been playing, and it says a lot how far we have come when I was disappointed to concede and blow our chance of achieving a new club record of seven consecutive clean sheets. That is the only negative thing I can say, and have said for ages now!

We totally deserved our half-time lead given to us by Dexter Blackstock, who blasted the ball home from a corner nearly 20 minutes into the match. West Brom were very much second best and once we'd scored, we just grew and grew in confidence. Any fears of a Baggies comeback in the second half were quickly snuffed out as Forest continued to play superbly and two wonderful goals quick in succession from midfielders Radoslaw Majewski and Chris Cohen stunned the home crowd as Forest cruised into a 3-0 lead. Majewski has a reputation for scoring stunning goals, and his strike against the Baggies certainly belonged in that category as he connected with a Chris Gunter cross and fired an unstoppable shot from the back post straight into the net. And a couple of minutes later, some amazing pass-and-move football led to Cohen firing in a third, from the edge of the penalty area. It was looking so easy for Forest. Yet we weren't playing one of the division's strugglers. This was a team who scored goals for fun, riding high in second place in the Championship. They had only lost four games all season going into the match, but here we were completely destroying them!

I must admit my heart began to race when they pulled a goal back and started to look a lot more dangerous. But thankfully Billy Davies made some wise substitutions in midfield, and we saw the game out quite comfortably in the end. We could have been looking at a very different scoreline if the referee hadn't been so leniant towards Paul McKenna when a rather rash challenge could easily have led to him being sent off. The Sky co-commentator certainly thought so, but luckily McKenna was only booked. Even though we were 3-0 up at that stage, I would have worried about our ability to hold on, such is McKenna's influence. A three-game ban would also have ensued, which would have been a big blow.

As a result of our victory, we have swapped places with the Baggies and gone second, just five points behind the leaders Newcastle. Okay, so we've played one more game than both of them, but psychologically, we have a big advantage, especially as the Magpies are at home to WBA in their next game. We now have two home games against Reading and QPR, and if we can win both of those, we could end up putting some serious daylight between ourselves and the chasing pack! Newcastle not so long ago were runaway leaders, but if we keep winning and winning, that will not be the case much longer. I honestly think we might just be the best team in the entire division. We've beaten both Newcastle and West Brom, who everybody is tipping to go up automatically, but after last night's brilliant performance, the bookmakers are going to be revising their odds on us winning the title, never mind automatic promotion. Victor Chandler may be starting to regret their generous offer to buy everybody their season ticket!

My Cup runneth over

If I've got one wish for 2010, it's that Robert Earnshaw never takes a penalty again. His horrible miss against West Brom at the start of the season quite possibly cost us a point, and having been given a chance to redeem himself in the FA Cup 3rd round tie with Birmingham, he did exactly the same thing as he did last time.

Earnshaw should really be the ideal candidate to take penalties, as in one-on-one situations he is absolutely clinical, but just like he did against West Brom, he did a silly slow run-up before taking the spot-kick. The ball went hopelessly over the crossbar, and he was left with egg on his face. Maybe he was feeling over-confident after his recent red-hot form in front of goal. Hopefully if he is to remain our first choice penalty taker, he will change his approach from now on!

At least all he's cost us is a potential place in the fourth round of the FA Cup, and not three precious points. I know to some people the Cup is still important, but to be honest I can't be bothered with it any more as I know we stand little chance of winning the damn thing. Years ago, it was one of my main ambitions to see us win it, but as each season passes and Forest have gone out earlier on, my interest has waned. The magic of the FA Cup is definitely dead now. Once the big clubs stop taking it seriously, it's the end of the road. We've now got to go to St Andrews for a replay. Maybe there will be some added spice if we know that we get to play a big Premiership team if we win, but that didn't seem to make Forest play well when Liverpool and Man United were the prizes on offer in the last couple of years. I just see the game as a nuisance that we could do without, and Billy Davies is probably thinking the same thing.