Nottm Forest - Return to the Top?

Rookie manager Hamish Donnelly has been unveiled as the successor to Colin Calderwood this afternoon as Sky Sports understands. He is expected to battle bravely against relegation but he is slightly more optimistic that his board, looking for a mid-table to top-half finish. Although he has stated that promotion would be an extremely hard task with this squad, bearing in mind it is his first managerial position, he hasn't ruled it out completely.

Donnelly has an extremely small budget of £140,000 with which to bring new players in and he can only offer them £7,250 per week as revealed by an insider. The current squad is quite weak and will need some bolstering for the forthcoming season which leaves many fans wondering how the new manager will be able to save the club this season on such a tight budget. The current squad consists of a tight bunch of lads (only 25 players large, with many of these youth players) that the new manager hopes can pull together and work for each other this year. Donnelly has refused to comment on any favourite players or definite first team players for the next season stating that "players are only as big as the team they play in" and that any players not willing to stay loyal or fight for the team will be sold without haste.

The new boss has a large presence about him despite the fact he is relatively unknown throughout the football World. He appears to have good knowledge of players and has been lurking in the lower leagues as a coach and an assistant manager at one point, building up his portfolio. He has revealed some players will have to be brought in this summer but is unwilling to comment at this point on his prospective targets.

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It's now a month on into Donnelly's career and he has made quite an impact on his team with his hard but fair attitude. He has also pulled some strings in the transfer market and managed to bring in some new talent to the squad whilst selling players not included in his first team plans. Below is a quick summary of the transfers both in and out with their rumoured fees included.

Out:

Julian Bennett - to Aston Villa (£1,900,000)

Luke Chambers - to Aston Villa (£1,400,000)

In:

Ian Morris - from Scunthorpe (£150,000)

George Boyd - from Peterborough (£250,000)

Paul Robinson - from Millwall (£400,000)

Marcus Williams - from Scunthorpe (£200,000)

Wade Elliott - from Burnley (£500,000)

Vincent Enyeama - from H. Tel-Aviv (£1,3000,000)

John Bostock - free transfer

The fans have been generally pleased with Donnelly's signings in the market but are displeased at the purchase of Wade Elliott who they believe to be over-priced and over-rated. They have also shown their anger at the sale of their two prospective English defenders which were favoured by the fans. Donnelly however, believe that Marcus Williams can improve a lot as he is still young and the strong defender Paul Robinson will take no nonsense and will easily make the step-up to a higher division. The fans are delighted at the purchase of Vincent Enyeama, on the other hand - a Nigerian goalkeeper who has proved himself in Israel and is set for an exciting future at the club. This has left regular Paul Smith in wonder of his future at the club but Donnelly has ensured him that healthy competition will be good for him and he will get his chance if he puts the work in at the training sessions.

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The pre-season went as expected with the friendly games not taken too seriously by the players but a chance for them to get their fitness and practice levels up to scratch. Although Forest didn't perform overly well, they recorded a win against Leyton Orient and draws against Man City and Celtic. Donnelly's real test however, lies in his first competitive match - against Cardiff. It is rumoured that in this match he is looking to use a standard 4-4-2 and not try anything miraculous or different.

The line-up against Cardiff was as follows:

GK - Enyeama

DL - Williams

DR - Perch

DC - Wilson

DC - Robinson

ML - Boyd

MR - Elliott

MC - Moussi

MC - Cohen

FC - Tyson

FC - Earnshaw

The team gave a solid performance as expected with a 2-0 victory, with Cardiff barely having a shot on goal. Tyson and Elliott were the goalscorers in this game which has eased the pressure on Elliott with the fans seeing his quality on his debut. Robinson gave a solid performance at the back with solid tackling and commanding headers proving he is an asset to the club.

Forest's next opponent was Chester in the league cup. Thinking this would be an easy match, Donnelly decided to rest some of his new purchases and tired players to keep them fresh for the league. However, Marcus Williams made a dreadful mistake within ten minutes, hacking an opponent down in the area awarding them a penalty and himself a red card. This didn't dampen Forest's spirit however due to an inspired performance from Nathan Tyson. Within the first half he had completed his hat-trick with goals in the thirty-third, thirty-fourth and forty-fifth minute. The team continued to dominate this match with goals from Chris Cohen and Robert Earnshaw handing the team an easy 5-1 victory.

With a good start at the club, Donnelly has won over a good number of fans straight away and they will hope this can continue. With good knowledge in the transfer market, a hard line mentality and a no-nonsense 4-4-2, fans are comparing him with the legendary Brian Clough. Donnelly has dismissed these comments as "ridiculous" but has told the fans to expect good things this season.

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NOTE: This thread will be updated when I finish a month (in game time) and I have the free time to do so. I'm going on holiday for ten days on Wednesday so I might not be able to update it for a while.

What are your plans for the League and Cups this season?

We are aiming for a mid-table to top-half finish but the lads will have to pull together and battle for each and every game. I haven't set a target for domestic competitions this year as the team know what is expected of them and if they try their hardest and put in a good performance in each match, I'll be happy.

It is rumoured you have a very strong ally in Gary McAllister, would you care to comment on this?

the fans are disgusted that you sold julian bennett as he was seen by some fans as the next stuart pearce. Why did you decide to sell this fans favourite???

fans are comparing him with the legendary Brian Clough.QUOTE]

I highly doubt that. You will not be considered as great as cloughy until you win back to back champions leagues. Do you think that in you time here you would be able to acheive that feat?

Julian Bennett left because he wasn't in my first team plans. He made it perfectly clear he wanted to play for a Premiership club and didn't believe we would ever make it. Negative mentalities and disloyalty don't go down well with me so he had to leave.

I have only managed the club for two days and I know I am nowhere near comparable with Clough and I don't claim to be. Those reports from Sky Sports were just crazy. As for the Champions League - I would like to make that dream a reality but I will need the backing of the board, fans and players to repeat this feat.