[FM11] My road to nowhere

[Nottingham Forest]

Club History

Nottingham Forest are a professional football club founded in 1865. They currently play in the npower Championship after narrowly missing out on promotion in the 2009-2010 season after losing to Blackpool FC in the Play-Off Semi Final.

Game Set Up

Football Manager 2011. Patch 11.1.

Leagues Loaded

All leagues loaded for the nations below

Australia

England

France

Germany

Holland

Italy

Ireland

Northern Ireland

Portugal

Scotland

Spain

Wales

All players of nationality loaded: Argentina, Australia, England, France, Holland, Germany, Italy, Spain.

[ism-scfc]

Will follow this - good luck

[Nottingham Forest]

Will follow this - good luck

Cheers. I am going to stick with this one.

[ism-scfc]

Cheers. I am going to stick with this one.

Yeah, I know it can be hard sometimes, especially when no-one replies to the threads you post (like mine atm! Grrr!)

How are you going to present it? Monthly updates or what?

[Nottingham Forest]

Yeah, I know it can be hard sometimes, especially when no-one replies to the threads you post (like mine atm! Grrr!)

How are you going to present it? Monthly updates or what?

I was thinking monthly updates. Bit of writing on some of the games wtc. Just key points.

[ism-scfc]

I was thinking monthly updates. Bit of writing on some of the games wtc. Just key points.

Yeah, that's what I'll be doing with my Stockport career - 'There's only one team in Cheshire' if you want to have a look. Short passage on each game, and a league table every month

[Raware]

As a Forest fan myself, i'll be following this and hoping you can bring back the glory days of Clough and Taylor! Good luck

[Nottingham Forest]

Yeah, that's what I'll be doing with my Stockport career - 'There's only one team in Cheshire' if you want to have a look. Short passage on each game, and a league table every month

I read some of it earlier. I will read the rest soon.

As a Forest fan myself, i'll be following this and hoping you can bring back the glory days of Clough and Taylor! Good luck

Thanks.

[rancer890]

Good luck Nottm Forest!!! This means I don't have to start with Forest myself, considering you and Raware gave me the itch to start with them.

[Nottingham Forest]

Good luck Nottm Forest!!! This means I don't have to start with Forest myself, considering you and Raware gave me the itch to start with them.

Cheers man.

[Nottingham Forest]

Board Expectations

After how well the club did last year. The Board Expectations I get a choice from are either promotion or winner. I chose promotion which gave me £500k transfer budget and £110k wage budget. I eventually put all my transfer budget in to wages as I don't think I will be spending and fees on anyone.

July 2010

So July is now over and we go into August unbeaten from our 5 pre season games. Really pleased with how they went but slightly disappointed that we didn't beat Fulham despite being the better side.

The Results

Histon 0-5 Nottingham Forest

I was expecting to win this game quite comfortably and a 5-0 win was what I expected. We could have probably won by more as we did have 20 shots.

Goalscorers: Kelvin Wilson, Lewis McGugan, Dexter Blackstock, Matt Thornhill and Peter Luccin(On Trial).

Arbroath 0-5 Nottingham Forest

Again another 5-0 victory and this time we had more shots, 27 to be precise. Probably could have won by a bigger margin again but it's pre season so I am pleased.

Goalscorers: Dexter Blackstock, Raddy Majewski, Hill (OG) and Rob Earnshaw (2).

Crawley 0-2 Nottingham Forest

Another good victory which I was pleased about.

Goalscorers: Blackstock and Hall (OG).

Leyton Orient 0-2 Nottingham Forest

Again another victory.

Goalscorers: Cohen and Earnshaw.

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Fulham

We were slightly unlucky not to win this game. We were the better team for the majority of the game. However, I am pleased as we have managed to draw with a mid table team from the Premiership.

Goalscorers: Cohen.

[Nottingham Forest]

July 2010 Continued

Transfers

The sqaud that I already had at my disposal was good and it didn't need a big overhaul. One weak position in my team was the left flank bot left back and left mid. Although Anderson, Cohen, McGugan, Tyson and Bertrand could play there if need be, if they did it would seriously weaken other areas of the team. I managed to sign a player who would cover the whole of the left flank. I also tried to extend Bertrand's loan spell until the end of the season but currently he is not interested.

The formation that I have started off using is good but I didn't have enough players imo. I managed to sign 3 players who are all versatile on loan from Arsenal, Everton and Manchester United.

Transfers In

Salomon Olembe (Free) - LB, LM and WBL.

Jose Baxter (Loan from Everton) - AMC, AMR and Striker.

Harvard Nordtveit (Loan from Arsenal) - CM, CB, DM.

I have also had a bid accepted for Corry Evans which I delayed for a week.

Corry Evans (Loan from Manchester United) - CB, DM and CM.

Transfers Out

Nialle Rodney (Loan to Cheltenham)

I also tried to get a parent club to try and get some better loans but the board couldn't find a club suitable.

[Nottingham Forest]

Is there a better way to update guys. I would like to know your opinions please. Thanks.

[ism-scfc]

Updates are great, but a league table screenshot each month would be nice too

[pooman2279]

As a Notts County fan I hope you fail.

[Nottingham Forest]

Updates are great, but a league table screenshot each month would be nice too

I will be putting league tables up and other things.

As a Notts County fan I hope you fail.

That's nice .

Another update soon .

[Nottingham Forest]

August 2010

All is good on the banks of the Trent. The month of August saw us go unbeaten in the league but unfortunately fail to get in to the third round of the League Cup.

Results

Doncaster Rovers 0-2 Nottingham Forest

We looked comfortable from start to finish in this game. With Lewis McGugan scoring a sublime effort from 20 yards after 5 minutes. However, 6 minutes later he had to go off with a hamstring injury which will mean he is out of action for 4 weeks. Things got even easier for us, when in the 31st minute James Coppinger got sent off for a second bookable offence. Dexter Blackstock sealed the win in the stoppage time of the first half.

Nottingham Forest 4-0 Lincoln City (League Cup)

This was a fairly easy game and I decided to give debuts to Karlton Watson, a young centre back and Kostakis Artymatas, a young central midfielder. They both played really well which was a bonus. Rob Earnshaw was on fire for this game scoring a hat trick in 20 minutes. A Moses Swaibu own goal rounded off the scoring.

Nottingham Forest 3-1 Hull City

So our first league game of the season at home. I expected this to be a fairly close game, but it wasn’t. Right from the off Rob Earnshaw scored his first league of the campaign after I decided to play him again after his hat trick against Lincoln. Paul McKenna then scored a goal before half time and then Kelvin Wilson scored just after half time. A Chris Cohen own goal was how Hull scored. It was a shame we conceded but the result is what mattered.

Leeds United 1-3 Nottingham Forest

Leeds are a good side on their day but I felt that we could be beat them. It was all square until the 53rd minute when Bradley Johnson scored for Leeds. At this point in time I thought we were going to lose but 6 minutes later Wes Morgan popped up and scored an equaliser. From then on I was going to try and get the win and I did but I think we only did it after my change of tactics. I took Matt Thornhill off and brought Dexter Blackstock on and changed to up front. The team balance somewhat changed as I moved Paul Anderson out to the left and set him as an inside winger. I left Raddy Majewski in the attacking midfielder central role and had no one on the right hand side apart from Chris Gunter. My gamble paid off as Paul Anderson and Paul McKenna scored 2 goals in the last 10 minutes to secure the victory.

Nottingham Forest 1-3 Aldershot Town (League Cup)

This game was a shambles and we never really got going. It was probably my team selection which cost us this game and although I would have liked to have progressed further it wasn’t to be. After the way Karlton Watson and Kostakis Artymatas played in the previous League Cup game I decided to play a few more fringe players. Our goal was scored by Luke Chambers and Aldershot’s goals were scored by Anthony Charles, Anthony Straker and an own goal from Karlton Watson.

Nottingham Forest 5-0 Crystal Palace

We entertained Crystal Palace at The City Ground and although it seemed a close encounter we were more clinical in front of goal. We got off to a great start as Paddy McCarthy scored an own goal after 8 minutes. Once that goal went in the floodgates opened and the rest of our goals were scored by Raddy Majewski, Rob Earnshaw, Chris Gunter and Kelvin Wilson.

Ipswich Town 1-2 Nottingham Forest

In what has been probably the closest encounter so far this season, we managed to win at Portman Road. Things got off to a great start again as Rob Earnshaw continued his great goalscoring form this season by scoring after 6 minutes. However, after 15 minutes Carlos Edwards levelled it up again. But once again we scored a late winner in the 84th minute; it was scored by Chris Cohen.

I am delighted at how we are doing in the league currently and if we continue to play like we are then I will have no problems with what round we went out of the League Cup in. The ultimate aim this season is to gain promotion and maybe even win the npower Championship. Jose Baxter also picked up an injury, I think the same as Lewis McGugan and he is also out for 4 weeks

I have also won the Manager of the Month award after my 5 league victories in August.

League Table

Fixtures

[pooman2279]

I am disappointed

[ism-scfc]

Good going so far

[Nottingham Forest]

I am disappointed

That's good .

Good going so far

It is. I hope it will continue.

[Manu.123]

I will that you will be in the prem at the end of your season and i hope that you will make europe in your first season. I really like this so far mate and keep up the good work.

[Raware]

Super Reds! Even better to see Derby in the bottom half!

[Nottingham Forest]

I will that you will be in the prem at the end of your season and i hope that you will make europe in your first season. I really like this so far mate and keep up the good work.

I hope I do get promoted. It's about time we get back to the Premiership. Getting in to Europe in my first season if I do get promoted may be difficult but I will give it a try. Thanks.

[Nottingham Forest]

Super Reds! Even better to see Derby in the bottom half!

I have them as my next game. They are 17th atm and I am 1st still and unbeaten. I need to win.

[Nottingham Forest]

I feel I have let all Forest fans down. I didn't lose the game against Direby but I drew . I probably should have won. The only positive is I am still unbeaten in the league.

[killakerr]

I feel I have let all Forest fans down. I didn't lose the game against Direby but I drew . I probably should have won. The only positive is I am still unbeaten in the league.

Tut tut. Promotion will redeem this, though.

[Nottingham Forest]

Tut tut. Promotion will redeem this, though.

Well I hope it does but my unbeaten run has come to an end.

[Nottingham Forest]

September 2010

So the month of September is over and we have finally lost a league game. I am disappointed that we are not unbeaten anymore but maybe the players will start to play freely again.

Results

Nottingham Forest 2-0 Coventry City

This game was a fairly game and 2 goals in 3 minutes from Raddy Majewski and Paul Anderson kept the unbeaten run going. Richard Keogh was sent off in the 61st minute for Coventry. It didn’t really make a difference though. This game also saw Guy Moussi pick up a fractured arm which will see him out for four weeks. On a positive note Lewis McGugan made a return to action as a substitute.

Scunthorpe United 0-3 Nottingham Forest

We travelled to Glanford Park in high spirits and hoping to keep our unbeaten run going. We did just that and Wes Morgan, Rob Earnshaw and Paul Anderson scored our 3 goals.

Nottingham Forest 2-0 Bristol City

We entertained Bristol City in this game at The City Ground and to be honest it was a fairly simple game that we dominated with 60% of possession. Rob Earnshaw scored a goal and Kelvin Wilson rounded off the victory in the 87th minute.

Nottingham Forest 0-0 Derby County

A highly anticipated East Midlands Derby saw the game end in a stalemate. Neither side really got going and even though I would have liked to have won, we still kept our unbeaten run going.

Sheffield United 1-0 Nottingham Forest

I decided to change the tactics for this game and a few of the players. Whether it was the right decision or not I don’t know. It didn’t seem to be a problem even though we conceded an early goal through a Lee Camp own goal. Even though this happened we still seemed to be in control and looked like we could win the game. We didn’t and despite me changing the tactics to try and get a point we failed to and in the end lost. Paul McKenna was also sent off for 2 bookable offences which means he will at least a game. I told the players that I was angry and most of the player’s morale has dropped to good.

Despite our unbeaten run coming to an end we are still 2 points clear of Sheffield United. I am hoping that me criticising the way they played against Sheffield United doesn’t affect them for the rest of the season. I am thinking about going back to my first formation in attempt to get back to winning ways. David McGoldrick has returned from injury, as has Jose Baxter which means I have two other players I can call on.

League

Fixtures

[Nottingham Forest]

Lee Camp has just made his first international appearance for Northern Ireland. I am glad. I now have another full international in my team .

[Nottingham Forest]

October 2010

The month of October saw us stumble somewhat. The defeat by Sheffield United saw us go and lose our next match as well. We never really got going in the month of October and I am struggling to get the players to respond and play like they were in the first month. I keep chopping and changing the attacking members of the squad and the tactics because none of them seem to be playing well enough or be playing well to my tactics. Chris Cohen seems to be struggling to cope with his role in the side, even though for the first 2 months he was superb. Rob Earnshaw can’t find the back of the net and we are really missing his goals. Paul Anderson is injured. There are positives as we have managed to stay top and pick up a few points. The defence is playing really well which means that even though we aren’t scoring too many at the moment, we aren’t conceding any either. This means if I can nick a goal we seem to be able to hang on and get a win.

Results

Nottingham Forest 0-1 Middlesbrough

The start of October saw us entertain Middlesbrough at The City Ground. We struggled to get in to this game from the start and Middlesbrough capitalised on this when Matthew Kilgallon scored in the 22nd minute. Gradually though as the game went on we started to get more involved. Despite my attempts to pull level or gain a win we failed. Paul Anderson also picked up an injury which meant he would be out for 7/8 weeks.

QPR 0-2 Nottingham Forest

We travelled to Loftus Road and should have been fairly confident of a victory. The reason for this is QPR were bottom and hadn’t won for a number of games. However, the game turned out to be fairly even and we took the lead when Raddy Majewski scored after 36 minutes. The game was sealed in stoppage time of the second half when Paddy Kenny scored an own goal.

Nottingham Forest 0-0 Reading

Not a lot can be said about this game as there wasn’t much good about it. We had more shots but just couldn’t break Reading down and get the victory.

Watford 0-1 Nottingham Forest

This was another fairly even game which was won in the 88th minute after Jose Baxter scored his first goal for the club.

Nottingham Forest 0-0 Millwall

We had a staggering 67% of possession in this game but our finishing let us down. We couldn’t break Millwall and to be fair to them they must have had a game plan and stuck to it.

Hopefully the team will start to settle down again and we can start picking up some results like we were at the start of the season. Although we are still top, I can’t see this staying like this because our rivals are surely going to start winning matches.

League

Fixtures

[Nottingham Forest]

November 2010

November was a really good month for us and it looks like we are getting back to playing how we were at the start of the season. I have reverted back to my original formation of 4-2-3-1. However, now I am playing Dexter Blackstock as an Advanced Forward. We seem to be scoring goals but there hasn’t been a stand out scorer. Out of our 5 fixtures during November we won 4 out of 5. We drew the other one and we are currently unbeaten in 9 league games.

Results

Norwich City 1-2 Nottingham Forest

Norwich probably deserved to win this game as they had more chances and possession was equal. Simeon Jackson scored for Norwich in the 18th minute. This seemed to make us play worse but somehow we managed to win the game after 2 goals by David McGoldrick and Dexter Blackstock.

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Preston North End

In a fairly close encounter Paul McKenna scored against his former club and it looked like we could win. However, in the 68th minute Darel Russell decided to spoil the party and grab an equaliser. A draw was probably a fair result. Enzo Maresca made his debut after he signed on a free transfer.

Nottingham Forest 3-0 Leicester City

This game wasn’t as one sided as it looks. We were just more clinical in front of goal. I decided to recall Chris Cohen to the team in place of Garath McCleary and instead of playing Cohen as a Box to Box Midfielder; I tried him as an Attacking Midfielder. This role changed paid off as he scored the second of our three goals. It was the Attacking Midfielders that worked as a team as Lewis McGugan grabbed the first and Raddy Majewski grabbed the third.

Barnsley 0-1 Nottingham Forest

Despite Barnsley being bottom of the league at the time, they gave us a good game. We had 65% of the possession but just couldn’t convert them in to chances or goals until Ryan Bertrand scored a great goal.

Burnley 0-1 Nottingham Forest

Burnley are one of our rivals in the promotion chase. They sat 4th at the time of the game and matched us all the way in this game. We started well and could have taken the lead when Lewis McGugan thought he had scored. However, he hadn’t because the linesman had ruled it out. It didn’t matter though as a few minutes later Chris Cohen scored in the 26th minute. This proved to be the winner. It did get a bit nervy though as Wes Morgan was given a straight red in the 69th minute. We held on though to stay unbeaten in nine games and stay top of the league.

November has been a really good month for us. We sit top of the league, seven points ahead of Millwall and unbeaten in nine games. December could be a tricky month though as we will have to play Cardiff City, Portsmouth, Swansea City and Hull City who are all in and around the play-off places. I haven’t been able to extend Ryan Bertrand’s loan and I don’t think I will be able to now. It is a real shame as he has been a great player for me. I did manage to extend Rob Earnshaw’s contract for another year but he currently has poor morale but doesn’t have any problems as far as I know. I need to try and get his morale and form back as he could prove vital in my quest for promotion to the Promised Land.

Transfers In

Enzo Maresca (Free)

League

Fixtures

[ism-scfc]

Wow! You're absolutely flying - keep going and you'll be in Europe soon!

[Nottingham Forest]

Wow! You're absolutely flying - keep going and you'll be in Europe soon!

Im am flying yes which is good. December though could be vital in our promotion push. Europe is still a long way off though.

[Nottingham Forest]

December 2010

The month of December could have been a tricky one. We did extremely well to continue our unbeaten run which included 3 wins and 2 draws. This included a 5-3 win against a team. The 2 draws that we had, well we could have won them had it not been for dodgy decisions and costly defending. Overall though I am really pleased with how the team our playing. With the positives though there will be negatives. The negatives being that Rob Earnshaw still can’t find the back of the net. Although his morale has improved. Chris Cohen has been ruled out for 5/6 months with a Broken Foot, which pretty much rules him out for the rest of the season. We will miss him a lot as he was starting to improve and chip in with key goals in his new role within the side. Dexter Blackstock is also out for 7/8 weeks as well and although he isn’t scoring a mammoth amount of goals he is playing a key role in the team by helping the Attacking Midfielders get goals. I have also brought Rivaldo in on trial with a view to a permanent deal. Even though he is 38 now I still feel that he could do a job for my team until the end of the season.

Results

Nottingham Forest 5-3 Cardiff City

Cardiff travelled to The City Ground in 4th place. They must have been confident of getting a result and to score 3 goals away from home with one being in the 86th minute they must have been confident of getting a point. However, a goal apiece from Dexter Blackstock and Chris Cohen in the 90th and 5th minute of second half stoppage time meant that we were victorious. The other goals for Cardiff were scored by Michael Chopra(25) and Chris Burke(46). The goals for Nottingham Forest were scored by Lewis McGugan (10 and 30) and Enzo Maresca(27). Paul Anderson also made his return as a substitute in the 86th minute. However, in the 4th minute of stoppage time he was given a straight red.

Portsmouth 1-1 Nottingham Forest

We travelled to Fratton Park looking to keep our unbeaten record intact and although we weren’t playing particularly good we managed to take the lead through a Liam Lawrence own goal in the 56th minute. We looking good for the victory and things got better when Michael Brown got sent off for a 2nd bookable offence in the 83rd minute. However, in the 90th minute Liam Lawrence redeemed himself and scored the equaliser for Portsmouth.

[Nottingham Forest]

December 2010 Continued

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Swansea City

We were the better side from start to finish and it showed though the shots and possession we had. We took the lead in the 38th minute when Chris Cohen scored. Swansea tried to draw level and nearly did only to have a goal disallowed. This was the game in which Dexter Blackstock and Chris Cohen picked up their injuries.

Nottingham Forest 2-0 Doncaster Rovers

Doncaster came to The City Ground near the bottom of the league and had not won in a quite a few games. They had more chances than us but not a lot of possession and that showed as we were more clinical in front of goal. Lewis McGugan got our first in the 34th minute and Enzo Maresca scored our second in the 4th minute of stoppage time in the 2nd half.

Hull City 1-1 Nottingham Forest

We were still unbeaten and I was fairly confident that we could nick a win at the KC Stadium as Hull had fallen to 12th. We started off fairly slowly and it wasn’t until the 55th minute that we took the lead through a Kamil Zayatte own goal. We had to hold on but unfortunately Craig Fagan scored for Hull in the 72nd minute. It looked like the game was just going to fizzle out in to a draw but in stoppage time of the 2nd half David McGoldrick had a goal disallowed for being offside.

I am pleased that we are still unbeaten and haven’t lost since the Middlesbrough game. The players seem to be enjoying playing in the original formation again and they are playing more like a team. January is a few days off now and I will look forward to welcoming Joe Garner, Julian Bennett, Mark Byrne, Nialle Rodney and Zannetos Mytides back from their loan spells. I think I am going to look at offloading a few players to reduce the wage bill. They are Dele Adebola and Salomon Olembe. Although both are good players they are no more than back up and with returning loan players coming back on less wages it seems the perfect time to reduce the wage bill and maybe increase morale a bit. I am going to try and have one last attempt at extending Ryan Bertrand’s loan and I will probably look at sending Zannetos Mytides out on loan again.

League

Fixtures

[GioGio85]

Great start fella,keep it up. Who has been you star performer so far?

[Nottingham Forest]

Great start fella,keep it up. Who has been you star performer so far?

I wouldn't really say there has been a star performer really. It's been a team effort tbh. Earnshaw had a spell where he was scoring a few goals. Then there's been McGugan, Cohen, McKenna, Majewski, Anderson and Maresca and then the defence/keeper have been great not conceding many. I didn't manage to extend Bertrand's loan so I have Bennett back and he's got a ban for 10 yellow. Looks like Salomom Olembe will be staying for the time being.

[edgar555]

Great work Forest

Maresca is far to good for the Championship, great signing!

[Nottingham Forest]

Great work Forest

Maresca is far to good for the Championship, great signing!

Yeah, he seems to be . I didn't really need him at the start of the season and he didn't get offered to me until my blip in form happened. When he did get offered though I took him on trial and signed him . For £6k a week he's been a bargain. He sits in the centre of midfield with McKenna. Maresca plays as a DLP-support with McKenna as DLP-defend. He's also scored quite a few goals as well which is great. Seems to get tired quite quickly though.

[Nottingham Forest]

January 2010

January saw our unbeaten run come to an end after 15 games. Slightly disappointed in the way it had to happen but that’s football. I am pleased though with how Rob Earnshaw’s been playing. I decided to give him another chance in the FA Cup 3rd round in an Advanced Forwrd role and he didn’t disappoint by scoring one and setting the other 2 up. I also made a big mistake. After having one last attempt at trying to extend Ryan Bertrand’s loan but failing again, I turned my attentions to trying to sign another left back. I found Milan Misun available to loan from Celtic and I thought yes he will do. I signed him but as I went to include him in one of my squads it said he was unavailable/ineligible because he had already played for 2 teams. Shame really. I also signed Rivaldo on a free transfer until the end of the season. We still sit top of the Championship clear by 10 points.

Results

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Leeds United

There isn’t really much to say about this game really. We dominated from start to finish but just couldn’t convert our chances. It took a change of tactics and the introduction of Jose Baxter to grab us the winner in the 83rd minute.

Crystal Palace 3-2 Nottingham Forest

We travelled to Selhurst Park becoming a bigger scalp for team every week. However, I felt we could win this game and it looked like we could when Lewis McGugan scored the opener after 6 minutes. The lead was shortlived though as Calvin Andrew popped up with the equaliser in the 8th minute. Then 8 minutes later Neil Danns put Crystal Palace ahead. The game then stayed like that until the 57th minute when David McGoldrick scored. Things looked liked they would end in a draw until the 79th minute when Adam Barrett (a centre back) scored a volley from a corner. The game stayed like this and our unbeaten run was over.

Swindon Town 1-3 Nottingham Forest (FA Cup)

The games over the festive period had taken its toll on my first 11. So I decided to rest the majority of them and give games to fringe players and youth players. In this game I decided to give Rob Earnshaw another chance but in an Advanced Forward role. He played great by getting the 2nd goal for us and then setting up the other 2 which were scored by Nathan Tyson and Garath McCleary. Vicent Pericard scored Swindon’s goal. The win set up a tie with Birmingham City at St Andrew’s.

Nottingham Forest 3-1 Ipswich Town

We got back to winning ways in this game and despite us being the best team throughout the game we went behind in the 29th minute to a Grant Leadbitter goal. It didn’t really matter though as 3 goals in 4 minutes either side of the half time whistle meant that we won this game with ease. Lewis McGugan got 2 and Rob Earnshaw got the other.

Coventry City 2-2 Nottingham Forest

In what was a fairly even game at the Ricoh Arena things got off to a bad start for us when Gary Deegan put Coventry ahead. However, though 2 goals in 3 minutes from Enzo Maresca and Rob Earnshaw just before half time meant that we went in to the break in the lead. We looked like we would go on to record another victory until in the 79th minute Michael McIndoe scored the equaliser.

Birmingham City 3-1 Nottingham Forest (FA Cup)

In what was another fairly even game we somehow lost to Birmingham City in this 4th round FA Cup game. We managed to take the lead in the 17th minute when Rivaldo gave us the lead. Thing were going good until the 33rd minute when Cameron Jerome scored and then in the 36th minute when Sebastian Larsson put Birmingham ahead. This seemed to knock us for 6 and we couldn’t get back in to the game. Birmingham then controlled the game and put the game to bed when Nicola Zigic scored a third. Zigic could have had a 2nd but that was ruled out for offside. Disappointed we didn’t respond that well to going behind but the league is more important.

The start of February sees us travel to Pride Park. We also have games against Sheffield United and Middlesbrough. If we can win 3 out of our 6 games then I will be fairly pleased.

League

Fixtures

[Manu.123]

I can not believe that you got beat by Crystal Palace in the league and Birmingham City in the FA cup, but i hope that you have to play them again and beat them both because you have got better players than them.

[Nottingham Forest]

I can not believe that you got beat by Crystal Palace in the league and Birmingham City in the FA cup, but i hope that you have to play them again and beat them both because you have got better players than them.

The Crystal Palace match i'm not too fussed about really. It's good to get beat every now and then. Hopefully the players get another run together. We beat Crystal Palace 5-0 at home so it's all good. The FA Cup is the FA Cup it would have been nice to go far in the competition but the league is more important. There are 51 points to play for and we are 10 points clear.

[Nottingham Forest]

I should also add that Lee Camp has picked up a hip injury. I sent him to the specialist and he is out for 3 months .

[Nottingham Forest]

February 2010

February looked like it could be a good month for us as we managed to win our first 2 games. However we then had a game postponed due to Sheffield United’s continued participation in the FA Cup. That meant we only played 5 games in February and we lost the last 3 which means our 10 point lead is gone and now some of my players confidence is shot. I am really starting to worry that we will fall short. I hope not. There are still 36 points to play for and we are 7 points clear of Cardiff City and 2 points behind Middlesbrough although we do have a game in hand which is against Sheffield United. So I am not too confident.

Results

Derby County 0-1 Nottingham Forest

This was a game of sit back and wait. We didn’t have a shot until the 2nd half. I was actually looking forward to getting a draw if I am going to be honest. The way we played and the way Derby were playing was quite worrying to be honest. However, in the 71st minute Stephen Pearson got sent off for a second bookable offence. At this moment in time I decided to go for it. I decided to bring on Rob Earnshaw and Dexter Blackstock for Rivaldo and Raddy Majewski. I decided to switch to 3 upfront with David McGoldrick joining them and I left Lewis McGugan in the AMCR position. My decision paid off as in the 1st minute of second half stoppage time Rob Earnshaw grabbed the winner.

Nottingham Forest 3-1 Scunthorpe United

We didn’t get off to the best of starts against Scunthorpe and that showed when Febian Brandy scored the opener in the 7th minute. We still struggled to get in to the game and it wasn’t until David McGoldrick and Rob Earnshaw scored 2 goals in 5 minutes which meant we went in to the 2nd half leading. Dexter Blackstock rounded off the scoring by grabbing the 3rd in the 87th minute.

Bristol City 1-0 Nottingham Forest

Despite having 57% of possession and having 12 shots we couldn’t get many of them on target. This showed as Cole Skuse scored what proved to be the winner just after half time.

Middlesbrough 2-0 Nottingham Forest

We probably were the better side in this game but clinical finishing from Boro meant that we lost. Marvin Emnes and Kris Boyd got the goals.

Nottingham Forest 0-3 QPR

QPR travelled to The City Ground having not won in 3 games. With us not having won in 2 games, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways. How wrong I was! QPR blew us away with 2 goals in 5 minutes. The goalscorers were Adel Taarabt and Mikele Leigertwood and they came in the 23rd and 27th minute respectively. We couldn’t get in to the game after the this and despite it being a fairly even game from start to finish Jamie Mackie score QPR’s third in the 57th minute.

We go in to March on the back of three defeats. I am starting to worry that the players will start to bottle it and we may miss out on promotion altogether. We really need to get back to winning ways and I am thinking about changing tactics to a simple 4-4-2.

League

Fixtures

[Nottingham Forest]

March 2010

March hasn’t been the best month for us either. Out of our 5 fixtures we have only won 2 of them. Luckily for us though we have reclaimed top spot back.

Results

Nottingham Forest 0-2 Sheffield United

Our torrid run of form continued as we lost for the 4th game in succession. Sheffield United took the lead when Ched Evans scored after 9 minutes. We never really got in to the game and things went from bad to worse as Julian Bennett saw a straight red. Paul Anderson then scored an own goal which meant the game finished 2-0 to Sheffield United.

Reading 2-0 Nottingham Forest

We travelled to Reading looking to turn things round and although Reading were the better side it looked like we may have gone back to Nottingham with a point until Ian Harte and Shane Long scored 2 goals for Reading in the last 6 minutes.

Nottingham Forest 4-2 Watford

Watford must have been fairly confident of getting a result considering our recent form. However, things seemed to click in this game as Rob Earnshaw got us off to great start by scoring in the 2nd minute. Earnshaw then grabbed his second and our second in the 37th minute. Watford’s Liam Henderson pulled one back in the 41st minute but 2 minutes later David McGoldrick restored our 2 goal advantage. Dexter Blackstock added a fourth in stoppage time of the first half. Liam Henderson grabbed his second in the first minute of the second half for Watford. Unfortunately it didn’t mean to much as we won with ease.

Millwall 1-2 Nottingham Forest

In a fairly even game at The Den, all was square until the 52nd minute when Rob Earnshaw helped us take the lead. It looked like we may have been heading for a victory until Liam Trotter got an equaliser for Millwall in the 86th minute. However, up popped Jose Baxter to score our second in the second minute of stoppage time. Once again he scores another vital goal.

Leicester City 3-1 Nottingham Forest

We were totally outplayed in this tasty East Midland’s Derby which saw 8 yellow cards. Leicester took the lead in the 55th minute when Matty Fryatt scored. 19 minutes later Kelvin Wilson grabbed an equaliser. Then in the 81st minute a Wes Morgan own goal gifted Leicester control again and as much as we tried to grab the equaliser Leicester scored their third in the 90th minute, Matty Fryatt’s second of the game.

It looks like it could be a tough month in April and May. We have to play three teams that currently sit in the bottom half, two of which are fighting against relegation. Then after those games we have games against 2 of our promotion rivals and then 2 games against teams that are pushing for the play-offs. April and May could be a nervy month.

League

Fixtures

[ism-scfc]

Still top!

Need to get winning again, and you'll be in the promised land before you know it!

[Nottingham Forest]

Still top!

Need to get winning again, and you'll be in the promised land before you know it!

Not no more. I haven't updated yet as I haven't finished the season but currently I am third. 3 points behind Burnley, 5 behind Boro with 2 games to play. My players morale is rubbish, I'm still not guarenteed play-offs either.

[Nottingham Forest]

April 2010

April was an extremely tough month for us as we only managed to pick up 1 point from 6 games. I also had trouble with the player’s morale and that seemed to be the problem as to why they weren’t winning games or at least looking like they weren’t winning games.

Results

Nottingham Forest 0-0 Barnsley

What can I say about this game 56% possession 13 attempts albeit only three were on target. We should have won this game as Barnsley didn’t even have one shot.

Nottingham Forest 0-1 Norwich City

Again we had the majority of possession and although Norwich had more chances we should have at least got a point from this game. We didn’t and Simeon Jackson was the sole scorer.

Preston North End 3-1 Nottingham Forest

Preston dominated this game from start to finish and it showed as they had more shots and more possession than us. They took the lead in the 12th minute through a Keith Treacy goal. Paul Hayes added a second in the 39th minute whilst Petr Janda got Preston’s third just after the break. Jose Baxter got a consolation goal in the 58th minute but annoyingly that was our first attempt on goal.

Nottingham Forest 1-2 Burnley

Things seemed to be looking up as we started off as the brighter team. We also managed to take the lead in the 11th minute when Rob Earnshaw scored. However, 2 goals in 9 minutes by Clarke Carlisle and Chris Eagles in the 25th and the 33rd minute killed us off as we just couldn’t find the equaliser.

Cardiff City 2-0 Nottingham Forest

This was a fairly even game at The Cardiff City Stadium and despite looking like we would take the lead; it was Cardiff who did in the 29th minute through Fabrice Pancrate. Darcy Blake grabbed Cardiff’s second in the 84th minute.

Nottingham Forest 0-2 Portsmouth

We were all at sea against Pompey and it showed as we could only amass five shots with none on target compared to their 18 shots and 6 on target. John Utaka grabbed a brace with goals in the 38th and 61st minutes.

We are really struggling to find a win at the moment and even points. This has meant that we have fallen out of the automatic promotion places and go only finish in the play-offs now.

[Nottingham Forest]

May 2010

I was getting desperate to try to get a victory to try and boost the player’s morale. I did that by arranging a friendly in between the Portsmouth and Swansea games. This was last ditch stuff, if we don’t win this game then we could well miss out on the chance to get promoted to the Promised Land!

Results

Nottingham Forest 5-0 Abbey Hey Reserves (Friendly)

We dominated this game from start to finish and it was the sort of reaction I was looking for from the players. We took the lead in the 20th minute through Wes Morgan. The same player then doubled our lead in the 33rd minute. 3 minutes later we were three up as Paul Anderson grabbed a goal. Chris Cohen then grabbed a fourth just before half time. In the 57th minute Enzo Maresca rounded of the scoring in a result I was looking for.

Swansea City 1-2 Nottingham Forest

I had contemplated resting all my first team players and laying youth players instead. However, after the result against Abbey Hey Reserves I decided better of it and stuck with the same 11 that beat them. They comfortably the won the game with Paul Anderson and Chris Cohen getting our goals whilst Ferrie Bodde got Swansea’s goal.

We had finished third in the league which meant we would be playing 6th place. I wasn’t overly confident about the possibility of playing 1 of 4 teams and after movements in the table all afternoon it was Bristol City who occupied 6th place at the end of the day. If I am going to be honest this was the team I wanted to play most out of Cardiff City, Reading, Bristol City and Sheffield United.

Bristol City 0-3 Nottingham Forest (npower Championship Playoff Semi Final Leg 1)

I decided to stick with the same team that beat Swansea. Partly because they had won and partly because the rest of my squad’s morale was shot to pieces. I had made the right decision as in the 18th minute Enzo Maresca scored in 4th goal of the season. A couple of minutes later Raddy Majewski scored our 2nd goal. Then with 11 minutes left to play Raddy got his 2nd and our third which meant we would be going back to Nottingham with a 3 goal advantage.

Nottingham Forest 0-0 Bristol City (npower Championship Playoff Semi Final Leg 2)

I was fairly confident that with a three goal lead that we could hold on and get in to the final. There wasn’t really much to note as Bristol City didn’t really seem to want to win the game and looked like they had already written themselves off. We strolled through to the final with ease after 3-0 aggregate win.

Cardiff City awaited us in the npower Championship Playoff Final after they comfortably dispatched of Reading 5-1 on aggregate in the other Semi Final. If I am going to be honest I didn’t mind having to play Cardiff as we had already beaten them once this season 5-3, although they did beat us 2-0 at their place.

Nottingham Forest 1-2 Cardiff City (npower Championship Playoff Final)

I can have no complaints what so ever that we lost to Cardiff. We started off slowly and that showed when Craig Bellamy put them in front after 12 minutes. Despite continued pressure from Cardiff we managed to hang on whilst causing a few problems for them. We managed to keep it at 1-0 and in the 52nd minute we got what we were looking for when Raddy Majewski got the equaliser. We then started to kick on and probably had the better of the chances. Despite this, the game went the extra time. The game was equal until the 100th minute when Danny Drinkwater scored a sublime effort from 25 yards. Despite Kevin McNaughton being sent off in stoppage time of the first half extra time, there was nothing that we could do to prevent Cardiff from winning and being promoted to the Promised Land.

League

Fixtures

[Nottingham Forest]

What Next For Me

I would like to stay at Forest if possible, but as I haven't met the Board Expectations I don't know if it will be able to. I have asked for a new contract and the Board have said that they will offer me one in the next few weeks.

What Next For Forest

I think squad needs an overhaul of some sort. Too many times last season the squad failed to cope. I have already made plans for who I would like to let go and sell. I also need a striker of somesort who is able to go and get me 20 goals. Too mnay times last season our strikers went missing and didn't score enough goals between them.

Squad Stats

Squad Stats 1

Squad Stats 2