Terk Posted January 21, 2006 Author Share Posted January 21, 2006 With the parents’ Christmas visit arranged, I could turn my focus to the trip to Preston. Joe Cole had picked up a minor thigh strain in training and so wasn’t risked for the trip, and to be honest no one took on the creative role that Joe had so often filled for us. We looked lacklustre all day, and when we crammed onto the bus home, I was happy to have a point safely in my pocket. We had somehow found ourselves in the lead just after the break. Eugen Bopp, who had replaced the injured Eirik Bakke in the first half hour, found Rasiak with a nice pass and the Polish striker chose that time to have his one moment of brilliance, evading his two markers and firing past Andrew Lonergan from twenty yards. I never really expected us to hold onto that lead, however, Preston had been far better than us in most departments of the game. And indeed our advantage lasted a mere seven minutes, Danny Dichio finally getting the better of Ryan Nelsen, a battle which had proved most of the watchable action throughout the game, and clipping a shot past Pedersen. The point kept us in third place as the international break descended, few of our players were due to meet up with their countrymen but I asked Tim to keep a track of those who were and how they got on. We would face Derby when league action resumed, though in the end that would be eighteen days after our trip to Deepdale as a few southern hemisphere call-ups between the two sides meant it was pushed back to a midweek slot. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Nottingham Forest.co.uk Blake Unhappy on Bench Robbie Blake made a stunning impact when he arrived at the City Ground in January, the much travelled striker scored twelve goals in as many appearances (and only seven of them starts) but this season has found himself struggling for game time as Grzegorz Rasiak lights up the Championship. Robbie has yet to find himself on the scoresheet this season, a fact he insists will not last for long, but one he is keen to point out will only be solved by finding himself on the pitch. â€It’s difficult for any player when you’re not playing. Especially seeing as I did so well for the side when I came in last season. It’s difficult to accept at times.†The dilemma is obviously a difficult one for Reds boss Stephen Beckett, Polish international Rasiak has netted eight times since he signed in early August and Neil Mellor is coming off the back of having scored twenty five in Forest’s League One campaign. But like any professional, Blake is looking for somewhere to play every week, â€There certainly comes a time when you’re continually finding yourself on the bench or in the stands when you have to question how long you stay. I’m not in the early days of my career, and whilst I’ve still got a good five or six years left in my legs yet, I want to be playing as much as I can before I have to hang the boots up. I’m convinced that I have a lot of goals to offer at this level, and I just want the chance to prove that, wherever it might come.†</div></BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Daily Mirror Pedersen Wants Move The Sunday Mirror has learned that Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Rune Pedersen has requested a meeting with the club’s management after deciding that his future lies away from the club. The Danish ‘keeper, who excelled in Forest’s record breaking League One campaign, believes that he can yet win a place in his country’s World Cup squad, but feels that a move to the Premiership is needed to facilitate that. It is unclear as to whether Forest manager Stephen Beckett will grant his goalkeeper’s request, it is believed that a major part of his plan for the future of the club hangs on keeping Pedersen in the gloves, but as one who prizes squad harmony highly, he may feel it better to let the player move on rather than risk him causing upset amongst his fellow players. Both Everton and Birmingham last month sent scouts to watch Pedersen in action against West Brom, a game in which the Dane excelled and fired his team on towards victory. David Moyes and Steve Bruce are expected to fight for his signature come the January transfer window, and there is even talk of Charlton taking him on as competition for #1 Dean Kiely. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> It was indeed true that Rune had come to me on the Wednesday after the Preston match and asked to be placed on the transfer list. He did feel that he had achieved all he could with Forest – I thanked him for the resounding vote of confidence in my management – and that if he were to make the Denmark squad, he would need to be playing on the same level as Thomas Sørensen. It was a decision I thought long and hard about, especially given the known interest of both Birmingham and Everton, but in the end I granted his request and privately set a £3,000,000 asking price. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Quality work here, Terk. It was a superb first season at the City Ground and your start to the new season has gone very well. The off-field part of the story has also been handled excellently. KUTGW. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted January 25, 2006 Author Share Posted January 25, 2006 Cheers, Spav I've been pleased with the way the season has begun, definitely better than I had expected. I'm ever hopeful that we can keep it up. Also glad to hear the off-field element is keeping people entertained as well -------------------------------- I woke suddenly, my head drenched in ice cold water. As my eyes managed to focus, I saw Hannah standing above me with an empty glass and a cheeky grin. It was Sunday morning, and my legs still ached from the exertions of the previous day. I’d never much been one for the great outdoors, I got all the exercise I wanted and needed on the football field, and I was quite happy to spend the rest of my time in warm, indoor environs. However, a beautiful Saturday afternoon spent atop peaks in the Cairngorms is enough to take anyone’s breath away. I was surprised at how I’d quickly taken to it; I had agreed to partake of the walking part of the weekend because I knew Hannah was particularly into that sort of thing. But within hours, the majesty of the scenery and the feeling of the crisp air in my lungs had won me over. The sheer exhilaration felt when we had scaled to the summit was matched only by the most beautiful view I had ever witnessed. But my legs still hurt like buggery all night. â€Tired after last night are we?†“I was tired enough after we came off the hill. I could sleep for a week.†“Well it’s already midday, you need to get your arse out of bed.†“Why?†“You’re taking me for lunch.†“That’s nice of me. And it would seem that I’ve already had my shower. Any chance you could put on something more than a t-shirt though, your legs are distracting me.†-- The whole weekend was fantastic, better than ever I had hoped it would be. I returned to training on the Tuesday morning with still a week to prepare for the visit of Derby, and with a wonderfully renewed sense of vigour for the job. With our game having been moved back to mid-week, I got the chance to sit down on Saturday afternoon and watch two of our fellow Championship sides go head to head on Sky. Crystal Palace had yet to lose in the league campaign, their early tag as one of the favourites for promotion being fully justified. But all good things must end, as they say, and a late second half double from Stefan Moore lit up an otherwise drab game to give Q.P.R. the win at Loftus Road. Palace’s defeat had given everybody in the league a lift; it’s nice to know that nobody in your title race in invincible, but it didn’t do much for a dire game when we finally lined up against Derby. For what it was worth, we were the better side, forcing more chances on their goal than they did on ours. Indeed, as time ticked away to the inevitable goalless draw, James Beaumont managed the only real exciting moment, a curling twenty five yard shot which Lee Camp did well to tip over the cross bar. Three days later we were faced with Palace’s conquerors, Q.P.R., a second home game in succession. Near 30,000 people turned up, and for the first fifteen minutes, they saw us have to put on a fantastic rearguard action as Stefan Moore tore us to shreds, only to find that Rune Pedersen was putting his ambitions to one side and having a fantastic day. We gradually came back into the tie, Ryan Nelsen had been given the job of sticking to Moore like glue and he was decidedly limiting the striker’s chances. We began to craft a few opportunities of our own, the best coming on the stroke of half time when an opportunist shot from Kris Commons fizzed over the bar. It took until after the hour mark for us to create anything clear cut, and when we did, we took full advantage of it. Bolo Zenden had come on to replace the tiring Commons, and the Dutchman turned the game in our favour. It was his perfect cross that Rasiak rose, unmarked, to head past Simon Royce on sixty-nine minutes, and Zenden claimed his second assist five minutes from time when he sent Beaumont clear and the young midfielder finished coolly past Royce to seal the win. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted January 27, 2006 Author Share Posted January 27, 2006 â€Crewe away on Saturday. Could be a tough game, I wouldn’t want any of the lads to pick up an injury against United, or be too tired because of the effort they put in.†“But if we go to Old Trafford with anything less than a full strength side and we’ll be ripped apart.†“We’ll be ripped apart anyway.†“Not necessarily. They might field an under strength side. And Rune’s in stunning form. We nick one early we might be able to hold onto it.†“You actually think we can win?†“Maybe.†“That’s possibly the most wishful thinking I’ve ever heard of. United will show just how far away we are from being ready for the Premiership.†“You’re sounding like you don’t want us to get promoted this season, Stephen.†“Of course I do. It’s just that I don’t think this group of players is ready for that. We’d have to invest heavily.†“Maybe it’ll be good to show the first team lads that. Make them realise that they can’t turn everything to gold.†“I know, you’re right. I just don’t want to see them get thumped. It could destroy their confidence.†“Better teams than us have and will get creamed at Old Trafford.†“I know.†“So are we going full strength?†“Yeah.†I knew Tim had been right all along, that there was no other way to go than to field our full strength side in the Carling Cup tie against Manchester United. But some part of me remained reticent, I just didn’t want to see these players in whom I had invested so much time and effort have their confidence shattered when there was nothing they could do about it. But in the end it was the only choice, and the team sheet I handed to the match officials an hour before kick-off read: Pedersen ©; Eaden, Nelsen, Cullip, Stewart; Bakke, Cole, Diarra, Sissoko, Commons; Rasiak As everyone of the 60,204 fans in the ground had expected, United dominated the early proceedings. Alex Ferguson had shown some respect for both ourselves and the tournament by fielding a strong side, the only two notable absentees being the frontline of Van Nistelrooy and Rooney, replaced by the hardly poor Roque Santa Cruz and Louis Saha. But it was Scottish midfielder Darren Fletcher who was causing most damage, marauding down the right flank to great effect and causing Jordan Stewart no end of problems. The home side fashioned a frankly scary thirteen chances on goal in the first period, but thanks to our never better Dane, they went unrewarded come the interval. And, indeed, there was a shock on the cards for the pundits to discuss at half time. Quite against the run of play, and two minutes into the scheduled three on injury time at the end of the half, a United attack was broken down on the edge of our penalty area by Ryan Nelsen. The Kiwi launched the ball down the left flank for Kris Commons to chase, and he beat both Fletcher and Neville to the ball with ease. With Rasiak still attempting to lumber past the halfway line, there was only one option up the field for Commons, and that was Momo Sissoko. The Malian arrived unmarked on the edge of the penalty area at the same time as Commons’ perfectly weighted ball, and after taking one touch to control it, Sissoko stroked his shot past Van der Sar to give us the lead. The elation was only momentary, none of us on the bench truly believed that it would last, and by the full time whistle we were proved right. Within two minutes of the restart, United’s constant attack paid dividends as Fletcher cracked an unstoppable drive from twenty yards to level the scores. That seemed to sap a good amount of our energy, and it was a miracle that we held on until the 68th minute before we conceded again, this time Giggs crossing for Santa Cruz to head firmly past the forlorn Pedersen. The Danish ‘keeper pulled off two more world class saves, to deny Scholes and Giggs before the final goal of the match arrived with less than a minute left, Santa Cruz chipping a cheeky effort into the corner of the net to round off a fantastic performance. Sissoko was the first to show the effects of the Man Utd tie, going down with a twisted knee in Friday’s training, despite the session being kept deliberately light. It was quickly obvious that Rasiak was not going to recover in time for the trip to Crewe though, and it was decided to rest Bakke, Commons, Diarra and Nelsen as well. I don’t know whether Crewe took it as an insult that some of our better players were missing from the team to face them, and indeed that we were giving a first start of the season to supposedly forgotten man Robbie Blake, but something inspired them to put in a wonderful performance. Thankfully though, Nelsen’s replacement James Perch was in form equal to that of the Crewe forwards, and Pedersen was again determined to show his better wares to the watching world. Quite often a side who have made a gigantic effort against higher opposition in a cup game will go on to lose at least their next league fixture, such is both the physical and mental fatigue, and whilst we never looked like winning, we did at least stop Crewe from doing the same. In the sort of season where it was clear that every point was going to be vital, I was just glad to have got another one on the board. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted January 27, 2006 Author Share Posted January 27, 2006 October 2005 Summary (Championship unless otherwise stated) Preston 1 – 1 Nottingham Forest (Rasiak 49â€; Dichio 56â€) Nottingham Forest 0 – 0 Derby Nottingham Forest 2 – 0 Q.P.R. (Rasiak 69â€; Beaumont 85â€) Manchester United 3 – 1 Nottingham Forest (Carling Cup 3rd Round) (Sissoko 45+2â€; Fletcher 47â€; Santa Cruz 68â€, 89â€) Crewe 0 – 0 Nottingham Forest Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
united_forever Posted January 29, 2006 Share Posted January 29, 2006 Its going great Terk, i'm loving the relationship between yourself and the chairman's daughter. Waiting to see whats happens next with you two. In terms of the soccer unbelievable mate keep it up. Unstoppable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted January 30, 2006 Author Share Posted January 30, 2006 cheers, united_forever --------------------- A quick return to action saw a midweek visit from Rotherham, a side sitting 12th in the table having not won since mid September. After having won only once in our past five games – proof of how far we’d come was in the fact that I saw this as somewhat of a mini-crisis – we were anxious to get three points on the board and keep up our charge for the play-offs. A strong side was put out in the hope that Rotherham’s run wouldn’t end against us, and thanks to a continuation of Rasiak’s fine start to the season it didn’t. The Polish frontman was employed to plough his lone furrow again, but rather than providing goals for supporting midfielders, he was more than happy to strike the blows himself. His first came twenty-five minutes in, Kris Commons’ work down the left ended with a superb cross which Rasiak headed in from the penalty spot. Rotherham barely provided a threat throughout the match, and the points were made safe – as was 3rd place in the table – when Bakke crossed from the right and Rasiak bundled it home from six yards. The bad news of the day was that, in throwing himself into the post as he chased a third goal in the final minutes, Rasiak suffered a nasty bruise on his forehead which the club physio suggested was best rested for five or so days. Light training was fine, general fitness work and the like, but given the number of times he headed the ball during a match, it was certain that he’d have to miss the visit to Hull at the weekend. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted January 30, 2006 Author Share Posted January 30, 2006 â€That’s three away games in a row that we’ve been outplayed. Preston, Crewe and Hull.†“Got a point in each.†“God knows how. Hull should have hit double figures. And they’re 22nd in the league.†“And we’re third, stop complaining.†“I should be happy that we’re useless on the road?†“No, you should be happy that we’re third in the league during our first season back when our target is merely to avoid relegation.†“Yeah, well, I’m not.†“I guessed.†Tim’s inane happiness at our position was beginning to annoy me; I wanted to identify why exactly it was we had gone off the boil in our away games and what exactly we could do to rectify it. The game at Hull had been painful to watch, even though we’d taken the lead through Eirik Bakke, it was never going to last and Stephen McPhee’s equaliser looked likely to be the first of many goals the home side scored during the game. A combination of their poor finishing and good goalkeeping kept them out though, and as Tim pointed out, we were at least still in third. I had two weeks to find out what was going wrong before our next game, indeed it was a full seventeen days before we took to the road again. As much as I watched the videos, I couldn’t identify a common problem between the games other than a general lack of form amongst the players. The away form was pushed to the back of my mind, however, with the news that David Friio and, more importantly, Joe Cole suffered hamstring strains on the same day, indeed within half an hour of each other. They were both looking at two weeks out, though in truth neither were risked back into action for the remainder of the month. There was better news on the injury front, however, as Clint Hill came back onto the bench for the visit of Cardiff. Lassana Diarra’s duties with the French U-21 side had not been completed though, so our midfield was further down in numbers, and in the post-match interviews, it was that which I pointed to as one of the reasons for us again failing to win, though at least we did claim another point. That was largely down to yet another brilliant performance from Rune Pedersen, how we were going to keep hold of the Dane in the winter transfer window was a topic that was keeping me up nights. Once again we had taken the lead – and once again it was undeserved – this time through Rasiak who got on the end of Beaumont’s pass and fired low past Tony Warner. We looked like we might hang on by our fingernails for the win, but with eight minutes left, Shaun Newton grabbed an equaliser for the Welsh side; the absolute least they deserved. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted February 2, 2006 Author Share Posted February 2, 2006 â€I got it, I got the job.†“That’s brilliant. When do you start.†“Next week.†“Fantastic. We have to celebrate. Dinner out tonight. I’ll book somewhere this afternoon and I’ll pick you up after I get done at the club.†Hannah had gone for an interview at BBC Radio Nottingham, far from expecting to get the job, just wanting to take that first step back onto the market. It turned out, however, that her former boss from when she worked for the BBC in London was now working in Nottingham and had no hesitation in offering her an assistant producer job on a daytime news show. It was a step back on the working ladder after three years of living off daddy’s wallet, it was the exact opportunity she’d been waiting for. -- The night out had been thoroughly enjoyable, and the time at home afterward even more so, but I had to be up early the next morning for the trek down to London. We’d decided to travel down on the morning of the game rather than the night before, and travel back the same night, getting home in the early hours of the morning, but hopefully with three points in our pocket to make the journey more pleasant. The opposition for our trip to the capital were Watford and a light training session on the Vicarage Road pitch had confirmed to me that Clint Hill was definitely fit enough to start a game for the first time since the trip to Grimsby, though I dreaded to think how quickly he’d injure himself again. Much to my surprise (and delight) the injury prone centre back lasted the whole game, though the same couldn’t be said about his defensive partner. A minute into injury time at the end of the first half, a clumsy foul by Ryan Nelsen on Jay Bothroyd when the Watford striker was clean through on goal in the penalty area brought him a red card with no hesitation from the referee, and Leon Knight tucked away the resultant penalty to level the scores at the break. We had taken the lead through Bolo Zenden, the Dutchman striking a low shot from the edge of the area after being set up by Eirik Bakke. And despite Watford’s numerical advantage and general superiority in the second half, it was Zenden who put us back in front late on when he came in off his left wing and rifled the ball into the roof of the net. Two games without a three point haul was definitely not going to turn into three, and Rasiak made sure of that just sixty seconds after Zenden had put us in front when he latched onto a loose ball and creamed a shot home from twenty five yards. All the press attention in the next few days, however, was focused around Steve Bruce’s move to Newcastle. The former Man Utd centre back manager had been lured to his native land, leaving Birmingham in a precarious position just outside the Premiership relegation zone. Managers from Alan Curbishley to Alex McLeish were linked with the St Andrews post, though unsurprisingly mine wasn’t a name that the press linked to the vacant post. An idle comment from my assistant manager, Tim Flowers (â€Wouldn’t you love a job like that?â€) got my mind racing though, it really would be great to have a job in the Premiership, especially at a club who had the resources to be there for a long time. I thought about it long and hard, Birmingham was only fifty miles down the road; it wouldn’t mean moving from our Nottingham home, which was important considering Hannah’s new job. The more I thought about it, the more it drew me in, and much of the next day at the office was spent surreptitiously writing out my C.V. before firing it off to the powers that be at St Andrews. I tried as best I could to put the matter to the back of my mind for the visit of 14th placed Wolves. With Friio and Cole injured and Nelsen suspended, plus Rasiak feeling the pace and dropped to the bench after his exertions in midweek, we fielded what I thought could be a suspect team in places. Clint Hill was started for the second time in four days, which turned out to be a mistake as he hobbled off with a twisted ankle in just the thirteenth minute. Of more concern to me in the immediate aftermath of the game was Rune Pedersen. The Danish ‘keeper had slipped and fallen in the changing room at half time, landing awkwardly on his shoulder and forcing Paul Gerrard into action for the second period. We had got a good start to the game, Beaumont laying a beautiful ball into the area for Bopp who thumped a first time shot past Matt Murray, and we had rarely been troubled by anything which suggested that Wolves were going to give their fans something to cheer about. And that continued into the second half, Gerrard had only one save to make, and even that was relatively routine, and we sealed the points when Murray was forced to parry from his own defender – David Partridge – and Robbie Blake was on hand to tap in the rebound. The news on Pedersen was better than had been anticipated, the initial fears of a dislocated shoulder were allayed, it turned out only to be some pretty nasty bruising, but it would still keep him out of the trip to Bolton. Clint Hill was facing another two week period on the sidelines, but I had become used to that, and was more worried by Nicky Eaden’s strained medial ligaments which would see him out until the New Year. It left us without a true right back, and that was a serious concern. Calls were quickly made, and a deal quickly struck to bring in Sunderland’s Stephen Wright on a month long loan. At the same time, we negotiated with the club to extend the loan deals of both Stephen Caldwell and Liam Lawrence for a further three months. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted February 2, 2006 Author Share Posted February 2, 2006 November 2005 Summary (Championship unless otherwise stated) Nottingham Forest 2 – 0 Rotherham (Rasiak 25â€, 82â€) Hull 1 – 1 Nottingham Forest (Bakke 35â€; McPhee 69â€) Nottingham Forest 1 – 1 Cardiff (Rasiak 66â€; Newton 82â€) Watford 1 – 3 Nottingham Forest (Zenden 14â€, 78â€; Nelsen s/off 45+1"; Knight pen 45+3â€; Rasiak 79â€) Nottingham Forest 2 – 0 Wolves (Bopp 2â€; Blake 79â€) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted February 2, 2006 Author Share Posted February 2, 2006 <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | West Brom | | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 38 | 14 | +24 | 42 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Bolton | | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 38 | 19 | +19 | 42 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Crystal Palace | | 19 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 35 | 15 | +20 | 41 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Nottm Forest | | 19 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 30 | 13 | +17 | 39 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Wigan | | 19 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 27 | 17 | +10 | 31 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Ipswich | | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 31 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Watford | | 19 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 32 | 24 | +8 | 30 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Stoke | | 19 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 23 | 18 | +5 | 30 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Leeds | | 19 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 27 | 25 | +2 | 30 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Sheff Utd | | 19 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 26 | 21 | +5 | 29 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Crewe | | 19 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 21 | 20 | +1 | 26 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Reading | | 19 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 26 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Cardiff | | 19 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 24 | 26 | -2 | 24 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Wolves | | 19 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 20 | 24 | -4 | 23 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Derby | | 19 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 24 | 25 | -1 | 22 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Gillingham | | 19 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 28 | 33 | -5 | 22 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Q.P.R. | | 19 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 21 | 32 | -11 | 21 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Burnley | | 19 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 27 | 34 | -7 | 20 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Rotherham | | 19 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 18 | 28 | -10 | 20 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Hull | | 19 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 17 | 23 | -6 | 19 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | | Preston | | 19 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 29 | 37 | -8 | 19 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | | Brighton | | 19 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 21 | 36 | -15 | 15 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23rd | | Luton | | 19 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 19 | 39 | -20 | 13 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24th | | Leicester | | 19 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 13 | 35 | -22 | 7 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted February 3, 2006 Author Share Posted February 3, 2006 â€I like the look of him. He finds space pretty well and gets up to support the front men.†“I’ll go check him out.†“That would seem like a good idea, it being your job and all.†The player in question was Ryan Stevenson. I’d been sent a few unsolicited videos of him by his agent and after a relaxing night watching them, I’d decided that he was worth having someone watch him up close. A midfielder who could play in the centre or on the right, even up front if needs must, but was most comfortable working in the space between the midfield and attack – ‘in the hole’ if you will – the 21 year old looked a good prospect for future years. -- With Pedersen still suffering the effects of his half time fall against Wolves, Paul Gerrard retained his place in goal and Stephen Caldwell took over the captaincy. Caldwell’s fellow Sunderland players Wright and Lawrence were both named in the starting XI as well, and Joe Cole had recovered enough for a place on the bench. With Bolton just three points above us and occupying one of the much coveted automatic promotion spots, we were well aware of just how important a game it was. Most had been surprised to see Sam Allardyce’s men relegated from the Premiership during the previous season, they’d been considered to have long since established themselves as a stable top flight side. What was even more surprising, perhaps, was that they kept hold of each of the highly thought of players who had taken them down; Kevin Nolan, Jussi Jääskeläinen, Henrik Pedersen, El Hadji Diouf, they had all kept faith with Allardyce’s regime, and they were looking well placed to live up to their pre-season billing as title favourites. We began the better side, our passing seemed crisper in the cold air and whenever Bolton had the ball we always had someone in close contact, harrying them into mistakes. When you have such superiority early on in such a big game, it’s of paramount importance to take advantage of it on the scoresheet. Should you fail, you only boost the confidence of your opponents, but thankfully we rose to the challenge, literally so in Momo Sissoko’s case as he headed home Kris Commons’ cross in the tenth minute. Unfortunately, we then fell into the all-too-common ‘this is gonna be easy’ state of mind. Bolton sensed that quickly, and were quick to punish us. Fabrice Fernandes, who would prove to be a nuisance to us throughout the game, cut in from his left wing, leaving his marker, Stephen Wright, behind and was in the perfect place to get on the end of Diouf’s ball into the box and flick his shot over Gerrard. We got to half time with the scores still tied, though God only knows how as on more than one occasion, we were rescued by white-shirted ineptitude in front of goal. Big Sam’s Big Boot had quite obviously made its mark during the interval, however, as his side roared out of the blocks in the second half, and finally found themselves in front just four minutes after the restart. Kevin Davies, who had been guilty of two glaring misses before the break, had this time found his shooting boots and fired low and hard past Gerrard after being put clear by Fernandes. The sense of impending doom was clear amongst our lads, and when Wright’s woefully under hit back pass just before the hour mark allowed Henrik Pedersen clean through on goal, there was never any doubt in anyone’s mind that he was going to slide his shot easily past Gerrard. As the game went on we continued to get worse, and even our stars such as Rasiak, Sissoko and Commons were giving the ball away whenever they touched it and generally looking like they were more suited to Conference football. The blow that truly killed us – until now we had merely been lying comatose in a pool of our own blood – came when Stephen Wright compounded his nightmare debut with a ridiculous handball as Fernandes was going away from goal which gave Diouf the chance to score from the spot, a chance he duly took. Needless to say, Wright was hauled off pretty quickly after that, and to be honest I knew that I shouldn’t have left him on the field for so long, but at least the move did stop us from leaking any further goals, and stopped the scoreline at embarrassing rather than letting it continue to utterly humiliating. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
united_forever Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 Most unfortunate in your most recent match. I hope the boys pick up their game soon, you have been doing so well until now. None the less goodluck with the rest of the story Terk. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted February 6, 2006 Author Share Posted February 6, 2006 cheers, united_forever I think it's safe to say that the Bolton game was our worst moment since I took over ------------------------------------- I sat in my office in the early hours of Sunday morning, the answering machine blinking with half a dozen messages from Hannah asking when I was going to get home. I had just finished watching a tape of Saturday afternoon’s game and was still struggling to comprehend just how poorly we’d played. The answer was right in front of me all the time, of course, it was clear for everyone and his dog to see that we were a side bereft of confidence. The defeat at Bolton had obviously taken a higher toll on the boys than I had initially anticipated and our clash with 10th placed Sheffield United was awash with a litany of errors from over hit passes, missed chances and wildly mis-timed tackles. Somehow, for reasons beyond understanding, we had managed to ride out the Sheffield storm until the ninetieth minute, when we fashioned a clear cut chance and, even more surprisingly, actually took it. It was Bakke who had crossed for the returning Joe Cole to volley home from twelve yards, but even though injury time was now upon us, we still had time to throw two points away. Stephen Wright had suffered through a woeful debut at Bolton, and though his performance against Sheffield was a little bit better, he managed to mark himself out as a villain to the fans when he slid in to try and intercept Paul Ifill’s low cross, but succeeded only in steering the ball beyond Pedersen and into the net. I had barely been able to sleep in the three days between the visit of Sheffield and the trip to Leeds. A couple of hours here and there on the sofa in my office was the only rest I had managed, at the flat I had taken to sitting in the chair next to the bed and reading endless reports from my scouts and coaches. All of it made little difference though as we tumbled to a second defeat in ten days. Stephen Wright had retained his place in the side, I had agonised over whether to shift James Perch out to the right of the back four, but stuck with the ex-Liverpool lad to give him one last chance. And it was a chance that he spectacularly failed to grasp. As he trudged off the field with twenty minutes of the game gone, the referee’s red card still flourished in the evening air behind him, he had to know that he was wearing a Forest shirt for the final time. His marching orders were the result of two awful challenges in the space of three minutes, either of which could have seen him sent from the field on its own merits without any argument from me. The scores were level when Wright departed, though thanks only to two smart saves from Pedersen to deny David Healy. Within three minutes of Wright’s dismissal, the home fans were celebrating their side being in the lead, Eddie Lewis flashing in a powerful drive from twenty yards. We were totally outplayed throughout the game, in all honesty I can barely remember a goalbound chance from a red shirt, and the result was all but sealed before half time when Stephen Crainey slotted home from the penalty spot after Danny Cullip had been penalised for handball. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherm Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 excellent read, love the detail both on and off the pitch. KUTGW Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted February 8, 2006 Author Share Posted February 8, 2006 cheers, sherm ------------------------------ I was wrenched from my sleep by a the incessant buzzing of the doorbell. I looked at my alarm clock. 22:45. This job had really changed me, I couldn’t remember going to bed before the early hours before I took it. I fell out of bed and stumbled to my feet. In searching for my bathrobe I managed to stub my toe three times, so I was swearing profusely by the time I reached the door. â€Who’s there?†“It’s Rachel.†I was stunned for a moment. It felt like an ages before I managed to utter â€Erm, hi. Come in.†and buzzed her into the building. When I had first woken I assumed it was Hannah, home early from her weekend in London. I knew she’d left her keys on the kitchen table, so I was all ready to ridicule her before I let her in. Before I knew it, there was a knock at the door. I tried to open it before I’d unlocked it, a few seconds later she was standing in front of me. I had forgotten just how beautiful she was. Her hair was shorter than when I had last seen her, it rested on her shoulders and suited her perfectly. The rainwater running down her face just added to the allure. Her eyes had a melancholic look to them, to be honest there was a sadness in the way she was holding her whole body. She sat down on the sofa and I poured her a glass of wine, forgoing one myself because I knew the look she’d give me. I brewed myself a coffee instead and went to join her. She’d taken her jacket off and I was desperately trying not to notice the way her wet top was clinging to her body. Failing completely, I offered her something dry to wear (â€Anything of yours would be too big for me.†“It’s alright, you can wear something of Hannah’s, you’re about the same size.†“Who’s Hannah?â€) Which launched us into a long conversation about the respective positions of our lives. â€Stephen, he cheated on me.†“What?†“Danny, he cheated on me.†“When?†“Two nights ago, I walked in on him with some blonde friend of his from work. He didn’t even apologise. He just walked her to the door and then went back to bed.†I moved over to the sofa and sat next to her, pulling her into a hug as she began to cry on my shoulder. I felt guilty, like it was me who’d cheated on her all over again; I just couldn’t shake the feeling of responsibility. -- …When I was just a baby My mama told me, son Always be a good boy Don’t ever play with guns But I shot a man in Reno Just to watch him die When I hear that whistle blowing I hang my head and cry… The alarm clock woke me violently, as if a hammer was delivering a firm blow directly to my temple. My eyes opened and were suddenly startled by the sight of Rachel lying beside me, her beautiful smile lighting up her face. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherm Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 ah cheating on the girlfriend are we terk?hold up, isnt that how u lost this one in the first place Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
united_forever Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Bad boy Terk. Stick with Hannah. Mate you're too good for Rachel. Plus you run the risk of losing your job. Anyway. Still going great. I'm loving this one. Best stiry i've read. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 A master at work. I can only watch and learn from this excellent story. I know it's a bit of a theme of mine but if I could do conversations half as good as you I'd be a happy man. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted February 9, 2006 Author Share Posted February 9, 2006 cheers all I figured Stephen's life had been going well for long enough, he needed something to derail him And chesterfan, I've been reading your PP-70 story, your conversations are far better than you seem to think they are ------------------------------ With a game to prepare for that afternoon, Rachel had left early, after a hurried breakfast. She’d given me an awkward kiss on the cheek before getting into her car and driving off, and I simply couldn’t figure out how I felt. I knew I was supposed to be feeling guilty, like I always had when I’d cheated on Rachel, but there was more than a small part of me that had truly enjoyed my evening with her, more even than I had ever enjoyed being with Hannah. Of course, I had no idea how Rachel was feeling either. Other than angry that another boyfriend had found his way to infidelity, and furthermore the near inevitable feeling of some level of responsibility, I had no idea what her intentions were, whether or not she had any desire to return to Danny. A light training session was held in the morning, a few running drills merely to warm up the legs before getting into the game in the afternoon. The visitors for the game were Leicester, and with Nelsen on international duty in the preliminary rounds of the Oceania Cup, Perch in as emergency right back cover for the inept Stephen Wright and a barely fit Clint Hill called onto the bench, I was having trouble being any more optimistic about our chances than I was about my ability to hold my personal life together. Throughout the whole game we looked as disjointed as I felt, and as I had expected us to be. Perhaps my lack of concentration of the matters of football had been transmitted to the players, they certainly played as if their hearts weren’t in it. Indeed, it seemed a miracle to both Tim and myself that we were a mere goal behind at the break, Leicester’s Dutch striker Mark de Vries drilling home a shot from twelve yards just before the half hour. There was no way back into the game, I knew that as I sent them out for the second half. A few changes were made, a few tactical switches done, but nothing was ever going to get us back level. Thankfully our goal difference wasn’t hurt too much, only De Vries’ goal split the teams come the final whistle, but the defeat did drop us down to fifth place in the table. My mobile was blinking when I got back into the office, a voicemail message awaited me. I knew who it would be from before I listened to it, I’d been expecting her to call at some point, it was the main reason that I’d left my phone in the office rather than having it on the touchline with me as usual. â€Stephen, it’s Rachel. I wanted to say this face to face, but I couldn’t bring myself to this morning. Last night was great, it made me remember why I stayed with you for so long in the first place. But I want….. no, I need to try and make this work with Danny. And you’ve got Hannah. I don’t want her to go through what I did with you. It was great to see you, but we have to forget about what happened. We have to try at least. I hope I’ll see you soon, I hope you understand.†I knew it was right, I knew for everyone it was for the best, but I couldn’t help thinking that something had just slipped through my fingers. And I couldn’t help it, tears began to roll down my cheeks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkybradley Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Top Quality Stuff Terk, Really good read the offield stuff is great and good to see your boys doing their bit on it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian of Nazareth Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 you lucky bugger! Sleep with the ex and she allows you to keep the girlfriend and enjoy the one nighter Excellent as usual Terk. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Yeah Simon, that bit with the ex and the current girl just seems to strech credulity to the breaking point. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted February 9, 2006 Author Share Posted February 9, 2006 Cheers to everyone who's followed this tale so far, and welcome to pretty much unchartered territory; I'm not sure if I've ever been as far as page 5 in a story before. And Bryan, streching credulity to breaking point it may be, but the situation over the last couple of posts has been lifted straight out of real life (with added Leicester defeat, of course). Just goes to show that sometimes truth really can be stranger than fiction. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted February 10, 2006 Author Share Posted February 10, 2006 Two days after defeat to Leicester, Hannah and I celebrated the end of our first year together. As far as she was concerned, it was a year that had gone well, though at the beginning of it, neither of us had pictured that we’d living together by the end of 2005. I wanted desperately to tell her what had happened whilst she had been in London, to admit my sordid liaison with Rachel, but I knew full well that it would be the end of us, and I wasn’t sure that I could take her walking out on me. In the end, we had a wonderful evening; laughing, joking and enjoying each other’s company as much as we ever had. But as we returned home and the inevitable end to the night began, our hands caressing each other as things moved further and further, I couldn’t help but feel gut-wrenchingly guilty. The only problem was that neither could I figure out whether I felt I was betraying Hannah or Rachel. -- With the defeat against Leicester, the halfway point of the campaign had been reached. From having been in touching distance of the top at the end of November, a single point in four games meant that we had lost a lot of ground on what now looked like a three-way battle for the title. Thankfully, we were still well involved in the scrap for the remaining three play-off places, but unless things picked up quickly and consistently, any thoughts of automatic promotion looked to have long sailed out of the wide open window. Before we next took to the field, Bolo Zenden gave us a boost by extending his loan deal for yet another three months, whilst reserve striker Jack Lester was farmed out to Lincoln for the same period. Having lost to Crystal Palace on the opening day of the season, a day in which we really were taught a bit of a footballing lesson, I was hardly confident that our slump could be broken against the capital side. Especially given the fact that Kris Commons was sitting the game out with a suspension thanks to collecting his fifth yellow card of the season against Leicester, and that a groin strain had sidelined Danny Cullip for two weeks, meaning the ever injury prone Clint Hill was pressed back into the starting line up. We, however, were able to field a new signing, although he began the game on the bench. Young Welsh international Kevin Davies had been thoroughly impressing at Swansea, and a minimum fee release clause in the twenty year old’s contract had seen a swarm of Championship clubs fight for his signature. In the end it was a race that we won, landing the attacking midfielder for the seemingly paltry sum of just £170,000. Davies’ arrival seemed far from enough to inspire us out of our dip though, and the fans expecting a Boxing Day treat were instead left fleeing the stadium with an air of depression around them. Palace had secured the victory without having to work particularly hard for it, David Johnson was determined to prove me wrong for selling him and grabbed a first half opener, which was deservingly added to by a stunning strike from Mark Pembridge on the hour. As I had somewhat expected, Clint Hill had failed to last the game, hobbling off with yet another knock to his ankle, which was again going to see him on the physio table for a full two weeks. Luckily, Ryan Nelsen was back from his Kiwi duty for the trip to face Gillingham at Priestfield. With Commons back in the line and a strong side fielded all round, I was confident that we could sign off the year with a win, despite the game being played only forty-eight hours after the Palace encounter. And, for the better part of the game, it looked as if my confidence was well founded. For the first time in the month we actually played well; passing accurately and carving out chances almost at will. Unfortunately, we showed all the finishing ability of a hairy-pawed primate and were made to pay for such profligacy. With a mere two minutes remaining on the clock, and both Tim and I consoling ourselves with the fact that we would at least hold onto a point, a defending aberration between Nelsen and Pedersen allowed Dean Whitehead to steal in and toe poke the ball home, before Jonatan Johansson sealed our fate with a beautiful chip as the game moved into injury time. The defeat meant that in six games during December, we had taken a mere single point. More to the point, we had dropped a full seventeen. It was a very worrying drop in form, and one that had dropped us out of the play-off zone, down into eighth place. If we were to hold onto our hopes of back-to-back promotions, then the slide would have to be arrested in the very near future, indeed the New Year’s Day outing at Brighton seemed the best place for it to start. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted February 10, 2006 Author Share Posted February 10, 2006 December 2005 Summary (Championship unless otherwise stated) Bolton 4 – 1 Nottingham Forest (Sissoko 10â€; Fernandes 13â€; Davies 49â€; Pedersen 58â€; Diouf pen 64â€) Nottingham Forest 1 – 1 Sheffield United (Cole 90â€; Wright (OG) 90+3â€) Leeds 2 – 0 Nottingham Forest (Wright s/off 20â€; Lewis 23â€; Crainey pen 45+2) Nottingham Forest 0 – 1 Leicester (De Vries 28â€) Nottingham Forest 0 – 2 Crystal Palace (Johnson 22â€; Pembridge 60â€) Gillingham 2 – 0 Nottingham Forest (Whitehead 88â€; Johansson 90â€) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 *raises bottle* I'll drink to the fact that life is stranger than fiction Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted February 20, 2006 Author Share Posted February 20, 2006 my apologies for the delay since the last post --------------------- â€You’re just being bloody stubborn.†“Look at the success it’s brought us so far, have you forgotten unbeaten last season?†“But it’s not working now, I think that’s clear to see from last month.†“We’re still top 10, I think most would see that as success for our first season up.†“But you know as well as me that we’re easily good enough for top six. We’ve become predictable with the 4-5-1, we need to throw two up front for the Brighton game.†“We’ve only got two days training before it, you really think the lads can learn a new system in two days.†“I think as professional football players they bloody well should be able to, and it’s not as if 4-4-2 is anything alien to them.†“What about 3-5-2? Drop the wingers to wingbacks, push the defensive midfield to centre back and use the spare men from the full backs for another centre midfielder and striker? “I think they’d be more likely to take quickly to 4-4-2.†“But if I want to make us unpredictable then I want to stay as far away from 4-4-2 as humanly possible. Everyone knows how to stop a 4-4-2, they’ve played against it since school. If it’s not 4-5-1 then it’s 3-5-2.†“Fine, just make some f*cking change.†-- Once again I knew Tim was right, he had an irritating habit of being so. The videos of our December games clearly showed that teams knew what was coming from us, that they had indeed learned exactly how we could be stopped. But I was still loathe to change from something that had brought us so much success. However, Friday’s training was spent explaining the new system to the lads, getting across to each of them exactly what it was that we wanted from them. Brighton sat 22nd in the league when we travelled to face them at the Withdean and under normal circumstances it was a game I would have expected us to win with consummate ease, but one point from our previous six games had dented my confidence in the side somewhat, and coupled with the fact that we were employing a new formation, I was more than weary that could come unstuck. And for much of the first half, I didn’t seem to be far wrong. The home side gave us their fair share of problems, Michael Carrick, Alexandre Frutos and Dele Adebola combining to good effect and carving out some good opportunities. However, we had our own little creative genius in the shape of Joe Cole; playing in the centre of our midfield trio, Cole was at his mercurial best, particularly in the second half when he laid forth the through ball from which Rasiak thumped home the only goal of the game. It had certainly been a game we’d had to tough out, we were probably the better side but some of our finishing was poor at times and on occasion holes had been picked through our defence, but there was enough encouragement to meant that we stuck with the new formation for the next game at least, not least the fact that we had come away with our first three point haul since November. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
united_forever Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 You were lucky with that last win i hope the lads pick up their game tremendously you don't want to lose your job Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">my apologies for the delay since the last post </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Heh - I typically scan by original poster to find the stories I read, and of course your work is on my 'must read' list. So, I keep getting a brief moment of excitement when somebody posts in "The All New Mod Requests Thread" or the "Off Topic Thread" - "Yay! new upda... oh." KUTGW! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted February 20, 2006 Author Share Posted February 20, 2006 cheers both u_f, I hope I'm not in that much danger just yet And amaroq, to make up for those obvious disappointments, a double update ------------------------------ â€Please, Hannah, you have to believe that I’m sorry. I can’t tell you how much I regret it. I’ll do anything, everything to help you forgive me.†“You think I could forgive you? I was stupid to think you could ever change. You humiliated her and now you’ve humiliated me. You’re just a sorry piece of sh*t, Stephen.†“I’m so sorry. I’ve no idea how it happened.†“It happened because the only thing you think with is your f*cking dick. Anything that sees it happy sees you happy. You’re f*cking pathetic.†“Please, look at me…..†â€I can’t. I can’t without seeing her.†“I would never mean to hurt you.†“Damn funny way you’ve got of showing it.†“Just don’t go. Please, please don’t go.†“Give me one good f*cking reason why not.†“Because I will spend every minute of my life making it up to you. Showing you how much I regret what I’ve done. Because you’re everything to me.†“Goodbye, Stephen.†Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted February 20, 2006 Author Share Posted February 20, 2006 I’d known I’d had to tell her since the moment I woke up on the morning after it happened. I had put it off as long as I could, but the guilt was tearing me apart, she had the right to know what a lowly piece of sh*t I was. Naturally, the night after she left was spent examining the bottom of many a bottle, and it was with a distinctly heavy head that I stumbled into the chairman’s office the next morning, having been summoned there as soon as I had sat down behind my own desk. â€Good morning, Stephen. You’re not looking too well this morning.†“Bit of a rough…….†“You think I care? I know what happened last night, Hannah came round in floods of tears. I honestly didn’t think you capable of making my little girl cry, Stephen.†“………†“You have nothing to say for yourself?†“If you’re looking for an excuse, I don’t have one. And I just can’t think of the words to say how sorry I am.†“I appreciate that, not that it’ll change the slightest thing. Her sister will be round later to pick up the rest of her stuff.†“OK.†“I thought long and hard about this last night, Stephen. For the majority of that time I wanted to hurt you, for the rest I wanted to fire you. But this morning I saw, from your point of view I would guess, some sense. The club has been doing superbly well since you came on board, last month aside. I don’t think it would do the club any good to be involved in the media circus that would ensue should we fire you despite our good league position. I think everyone needs to focus on the job in hand, even though you deserve every miserable moment that should come your way. I should perhaps say though, I don’t think I would cry into my pint if you were to find employment elsewhere, and if results continue to drop, I’ll find the first excuse to get you the hell away from here. But for now, consider the matter closed. You’ve got a cup tie to win on Saturday.†I couldn’t believe my luck. I had mentally lost my job the moment Hannah had walked out of the door. I knew how close she was to her father, I knew how protective he was of her, I simply couldn’t believe that he hadn’t thrown me headfirst through his office window. Now it was just a case of keeping my head down, and desperately hoping that results stayed as far away from the low levels of December as possible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
united_forever Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Wow!!! Big twist. I'm shoked. U think you will get back together with her? Anyway. I hope the results go your way so you can keep your job. You were doing so well, like it said in your last post, put las month aside. good luck with it. And once again thanks for your kind words in response to my most unfortunate incident. Good luck mate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted February 23, 2006 Author Share Posted February 23, 2006 cheers, u_f you'll just have to keep reading if you want to know whether Stephen and Hannah get back together And trust Bryan to laugh at the situation ------------------------------------ Trying to put what had happened to the back of my mind was, as you’d expect, not proving the easiest of tasks. The apartment, small as it was, seemed huge now that there was no one else to fill it, and to be honest, I was doing everything I could to stay out of it for as long as I could. I didn’t want to sit in the armchair or lie in the bed, constantly being reminded of what I’d thrown away. The problem was that neither did I particularly want to spend endless hours in my office – during the day at least – as Nigel had taken to watching my every move, bumping into me in every hallway, no doubt neglecting any duties he had as chairman of the club, in what in my mind had become a desperate attempt to find something about my direct actions at the club which would let him fire me. Thankfully that was providing harder than I’m sure he imagined; I’d got Rune Pedersen to abandon his thoughts of leaving for a more prestigious club and commit himself on paper until the summer of 2008. And a deal had been struck to sign Derby’s delightfully talented midfielder Inigo Idiakez on a free transfer when his deal ran out in the summer. If he could bring to the City Ground anything like the calm and composed passing ability that he had entertained Pride Park with, I would be a very happy man. My mind was diverted back to football as much as I could rationally expect it to be by the time Cheltenham arrived for our third round tie in the F.A. Cup. I’d decided to stick with our new 3-5-2 system for the visit of a side placed 17th in League One, some thirty-odd places below us in the tier of English football, but a number of fringe and reserve players were pressed into the starting line-up, an effort to give some of the frontline members of my squad a rest. The two most impressive of those called up from the reserve squad were striker Sam Litchfield and midfielder Ross Gardner. Both had been impressing in our second string, a hard thing to do given their apparent enjoyment of defeat, and both did well against the lower opposition they faced in this game, Litchfield only just failing to convert the best chance of the first half when Cheltenham goalkeeper Shane Higgs pulled off a truly magnificent save. It was perhaps inevitable that, playing in such vital positions, Gardner and Litchfield would be the ones hauled off the field despite having played well when the scores were still tied and an hour had been played. Grzegorz Rasiak and Bolo Zenden were the two thrown on from the bench, and their introduction seemed to stun the visitors, certainly they looked to have an easy time wresting the game in our direction. They had been on the field a total of five minutes when Zenden’s run down the left flank from where he crossed deep into the penalty area found Rasiak on hand to thump his header past Higgs, and it was barely eight minutes later that the exact same combination provided almost the exact same goal, a place in the fourth round now well and truly ours. There was time enough though for our Polish frontman to plunder his substitute hat-trick, James Beaumont laying through a pass which saw him round Higgs before sliding the ball home, and indeed there was time enough for Cheltenham to bag themselves a consolation effort, John Finnigan peeling away from his marker and striking the ball past Paul Gerrard with apparent ease. In light of his good performance, and those he had been putting in for the reserves, Ross Gardner was offered a new three and a half year contract extension, one which he readily signed even though he knew it would likely take most of that time before he broke into my first team set up on a regular basis. The transfer front was failing to quiet down as well, and Bolton suffered a big blow to their promotion push when Kevin Nolan jumped at the chance to join Rangers for £5,500,000. The Scouse midfielder had already netted ten times in twenty-eight game during their charge to get straight back into the Premiership, weighing in with six assists just for good measure as well. And whilst Bolton’s numbers were falling, ours were growing as John Edius Viáfara was prised from Portsmouth. The defensive side of midfield wasn’t the strongest in our squad, but the 25 times capped Colombian (who also held a British passport) had all the talent to stop that from being true, and the £900,000 price tag was far from exorbitant. He was fit and raring to go, and won himself a place on the bench for the visit of Reading. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educated Hick Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">And trust Bryan to laugh at the situation </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Yeah, because I know damn well that Hannah and Stephen will get back together at some point. Love makes blind fools of us all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted February 24, 2006 Author Share Posted February 24, 2006 Indeed it does, Bryan ---------------------------------- Pedersen had been rested for the Cheltenham game with the anticipation that he would be fit and ready, refreshed from his rest and raring to go for the visit of Reading. That plan was thrown well and truly out of the window though when he badly bruised his shin twenty-four hours before kick-off; as we didn’t want to risk making it any worse, Gerrard was retained in the starting XI, a line-up to which Nicky Eaden returned for the first time since his knee injury. Eaden was quite clearly still tender though, and it was he who Bobby Convey skinned before delivering the perfect ball into the penalty area, from which Leroy Lita volleyed the visiting side in front. What was more depressing was the fact that it was the very least that Reading deserved, having dominated from the start, particularly in the midfield area. We hadn’t got where we were by being easy to beat though (despite it beginning to appear as if we were a much easier target) and once again we managed to salvage a goal against the run of play which landed us a share of the spoils. Joe Cole, who was eventually given the man of the match award, mostly on account on his industrious second half performance, split the Reading centre backs with a wonderfully weighted ball which Rasiak found it all too easy to strike past Jamie Young. We may have been outplayed and we may still have lay in eighth place, but at least we could cling to the fact that we hadn’t been beaten. Before we returned to our F.A. Cup duties, I had wanted to deal with the fact that, aside from Rasiak, my strikers were hardly firing on many of their cylinders. I knew it was difficult when they were lacking a consistent run in the side, but the opportunity to bring someone else in, namely Middlesbrough’s 26 year old Italian Massimo Maccarone on a three month loan was too tempting, especially given the interest that was circulating around Robbie Blake. The fourth round draw of the F.A. Cup had been reasonably kind to us, as kind perhaps as we could expect it to be, as we avoided the Premiership big guns, instead drawing fellow Championship outfit Stoke in a tie to be played at the City Ground. Rune Pedersen was deemed fit enough to reclaim his spot between the sticks, and though Yacine Abdessadki missed out through his international duties, John Viáfara (who had not got on the pitch against Reading) and Massimo Maccarone were given starts to make their debuts. Perhaps it was that, the slightly new feel to our side, the unfamiliarity between a few key players, or perhaps it was a sign of the little that separated the sides, being only a single place apart in the league standings. For whatever reason though, the game was possibly even less exciting than listening to Alan Shearer talk, only a missed Peter Thorne penalty provided any sort of talking point, though even that was dampened by every agreeing that it was a stone-wall penalty, the only mileage that came out of it was amusement at just how far over the bar Thorne’s effort flew. A replay was the last thing I had wanted, and as I urged the lads to push on in the final few moments, a small part of me wondered whether I’d have been happier had Stoke nicked one in the final seconds than I was with the eventual draw, but in truth the fifth round draw was where I wanted to be, and if we managed to overcome Stoke in the replay, we would be rewarded with a trip to face either Manchester City or Plymouth; suddenly I spied a place in the quarter finals. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted February 26, 2006 Author Share Posted February 26, 2006 The interest in Robbie Blake had culminated in Leicester tabling a £1,000,000 bid after our cup tie against Stoke. With the player unhappy and not featuring often in my squad, and the fact that Maccarone had just been brought in, it was an easy decision to accept the offer, and by the time we faced Stoke in the league a week later, the much travelled striker had a new home at the Walkers Stadium, much to the delight of a number of Forest fans who believed he was having a disruptive influence on the rest of the squad. Before that league encounter with Stoke, indeed it was a double header at the Britannia Stadium as we faced them four days later in the cup replay, we were met at the City Ground by Ipswich. After much deliberation, and totally against the advice of my fellow coaches, I decided I’d had enough with the 3-5-2 experiment, had the performances been decent I might have stuck with it, but my trusted 4-5-1 was employed once more, and come full time I had every right to be smug. It had taken us just thirty four seconds to batter ourselves in front, Bopp getting the ball on the right and swinging in a wonderful cross for Rasiak to thunder a header past Ian Walker. Six minutes later our lead was doubled, Danny Cullip having been fouled by David McNamee and Gary Holt converting the spot kick and the Scottish midfielder almost had a second when his volley was just tipped over the bar by Walker on the quarter hour. We did have our third on the half hour though, Bopp again the provider as he slid a ball through the Ipswich defence and his fellow midfielder David Friio raced into space and whipped his shot past Walker. Despite our dominance over all aspects of the game, we had to wait nearly forty five minutes before we increased our lead further, Robbie Blake – playing the game on the right wing – signing off his Forest career with a superb volley from Neil Mellor’s cross. We had time for one more, indeed we had the chances for three or four, but the lads felt five was enough after Gary Holt netted his second penalty, again benefiting from a foul on Danny Cullip, this time from Canadian international Jason De Vos. The league game against Stoke went much the way of the cup tie between the two sides, though without the excitement of a missed penalty to spice things up. With both sides familiar with the other’s style from our meeting just seven days previous, and neither appearing in the least adventurous, a draw was always the inevitable outcome, and it hardly spoke well of the chances for a pulsating encounter when we returned to battle over a place in the fifth round of the F.A. Cup. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted February 26, 2006 Author Share Posted February 26, 2006 January 2006 Summary (Championship unless otherwise stated) Brighton 0 – 1 Nottingham Forest (Rasiak 54â€) Nottingham Forest 3 – 1 Cheltenham (F.A. Cup 3rd Round) (Rasiak 66â€, 74â€, 82â€; Finnigan 84â€) Nottingham Forest 1 – 1 Reading (Lita 29â€; Rasiak 45â€) Nottingham Forest 0 – 0 Stoke (F.A. Cup 4th Round) Nottingham Forest 5 – 0 Ipswich (Rasiak 1â€; Holt pen 7â€, pen 76â€; Friio 30â€; Blake 74â€) Stoke 0 - 0 Nottingham Forest Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted February 26, 2006 Author Share Posted February 26, 2006 <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | West Brom | | 29 | 19 | 7 | 3 | 56 | 17 | +39 | 64 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Crystal Palace | | 29 | 19 | 7 | 3 | 51 | 24 | +27 | 64 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Bolton | | 29 | 19 | 5 | 5 | 62 | 26 | +36 | 62 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Leeds | | 29 | 14 | 7 | 8 | 40 | 30 | +10 | 49 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Ipswich | | 29 | 14 | 7 | 8 | 39 | 36 | +3 | 49 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Sheff Utd | | 29 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 42 | 28 | +14 | 48 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Watford | | 29 | 14 | 6 | 9 | 49 | 36 | +13 | 48 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Nottm Forest | | 29 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 39 | 26 | +13 | 48 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Stoke | | 29 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 36 | 27 | +9 | 46 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Reading | | 29 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 44 | 42 | +2 | 44 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Wolves | | 29 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 29 | 27 | +2 | 42 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Wigan | | 29 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 40 | 32 | +8 | 41 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Gillingham | | 29 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 42 | 43 | -1 | 39 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Crewe | | 29 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 31 | 32 | -1 | 37 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Preston | | 29 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 47 | 54 | -7 | 31 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Burnley | | 29 | 8 | 7 | 14 | 41 | 51 | -10 | 31 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Cardiff | | 29 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 28 | 39 | -11 | 30 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Brighton | | 29 | 8 | 5 | 16 | 37 | 55 | -18 | 29 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Rotherham | | 29 | 6 | 9 | 14 | 25 | 46 | -21 | 27 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Derby | | 29 | 6 | 8 | 15 | 37 | 47 | -10 | 26 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | | Hull | | 29 | 4 | 14 | 11 | 22 | 35 | -13 | 26 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | | Q.P.R. | | 29 | 6 | 7 | 16 | 25 | 49 | -24 | 25 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23rd | | Luton | | 29 | 5 | 6 | 18 | 25 | 57 | -32 | 21 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24th | | Leicester | | 29 | 5 | 3 | 21 | 21 | 49 | -28 | 18 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Nottingham Forest 0 – 0 Stoke (F.A. Cup 4th Round) Nottingham Forest 0 – 0 Stoke </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Yeah... that's not promising a lot of goals for the F.A. Cup replay, is it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted February 28, 2006 Author Share Posted February 28, 2006 It hardly fills you with confidence, does it amaroq? --------------------------- Despite two of the dullest draws you could ever hope to see having been played out between the two sides in the previous ten days, the draw of the F.A. Cup still attracted nearly thirty thousand supporters to the Britannia stadium, anxious to cheer their side on to a fifth round meeting with either Manchester City of Plymouth. Stoke began the better side; they dominated for at least forty of the first forty five minutes, and by the time the half time whistle sounded, they had the lead that they deserved. It had come through Scottish winger Peter Sweeney, striking a low, hard shot past Pedersen from the edge of the area with six minutes of the half remaining. It was the very, very least they deserved. But as said before, we hadn’t become easy to beat overnight, and there was a determination amongst the players during the half time interval that they were not going to let their participation in the most famous of domestic cups come to and end against a side placed lower than them in the league standings – even if they were separated by a mere two points. For the first twenty minutes of the second half though, it looked as if Stoke would weather the storm that we created. We had more possession than we knew what to do with, and all too often we were muscled off it as we approached the final third, or our final ball was so woefully bad as to never threaten anything like a goal. Three minutes after the hour mark, Kris Commons and John Viáfara entered the fray from their bench warming duties, and their appearance was the swing the game well and truly in our favour. On seventy minutes, Commons won a free kick on the left flank and swung it into the box, it managed to evade everyone in the danger area until David Friio, storming in unmarked at the back post firmly planted a header past Jason Brown to pull us level. If that wasn’t enough for the fans’ favourite winger – and of course, former Stoke player – Commons was instrumental in winning the penalty, just seven minutes from time, that finally saw us through. Lewis Buxton had been calm and composed throughout, often the source of our irritation as he quashed our attacking intent, but when Commons ran at him, their meeting in the penalty area sent our wide man crashing to the floor and the referee racing to the penalty spot. John Viáfara was charged with converting the kick and did so easily, sending Brown the wrong way and sending us through to the fifth round. In that fifth round, we would face Premiership outfit Manchester City, who had overcome their own tight replay with a 1-0 win in Plymouth. Former England striker Andy Cole had netted the only goal of the match on the hour mark, and they would now prepare to host us at the City of Manchester Stadium. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">It hardly fills you with confidence, does it amaroq? </div></BLOCKQUOTE> It didn't... but what a nice outcome! I particularly like your description of each specific game - a lot of authors either gloss over the match to give you the final score, or get too into providing match incidents. You do a great job of evoking the 'feel' of the match, from Stoke's first-half domination, to the steely determination of the second half, and the elation of the final goal. Definitely a style I'm learning from: it keeps me emotionally engaged with your side. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted March 4, 2006 Author Share Posted March 4, 2006 cheers, Amaroq I think that's something which a lot of my previous stories have fallen down on, I get too involved in writing match descriptions rather than reports and quickly get bogged down and bored, which leads to the story just dying on its arse. This one seems to have avoided that though, glad people are enjoying ---------------------------------------- With form returning to some degree throughout January and my determination to focus on little but the job I somehow still held, we returned from Stoke with league action to distract us; Luton visiting from the southern reaches of the country, anxious for three points to try and ease their very real relegation worries. Welshman Kevin Davies came into the starting line up for the first time, partnering Joe Cole in a flamboyant central partnership which would certainly put pressure on Gary Holt sitting behind them to protect the back four. Perhaps I was a little ill-advised in seeing the arrival of a club from the lower echelons of the league as an opportunity to field a few with a lack of recent game time, certainly the cohesion between defence, midfield and attack that we had worked so hard for over my tenure was definitely lacking – something that was most notable in the performance of lone striker Massimo Maccarone, who too often made his runs at the wrong time to the wrong places. Having said that, we were still by far and away the better of the two sides; if all we lacked was cohesion, Luton looked for the most part as if they were eleven players who had met on the coach trip to the ground. Their mistakes, most often mis-placed passes or mis-timed tackles, presented us with plenty of goalscoring opportunities, a lot of which fell to the boot of Kris Commons, who in the absence of Luton’s attacking threat was playing almost as a second striker, but too often we found ourselves thwarted by the efforts of the visitor’s ‘keeper, Scott Carson. Carson had obviously decided today was the day that he would remind everyone of just why he was regarded so highly, and in particular an acrobatic save to claw away Commons’ left-footed drive, which seemed for all present to be flying into the top corner, stood out as a moment of brilliance. We did manage to force the solitary goal that was necessary for the three points to be stowed safely in our pocket, though it coming just sixteen minutes from time meant that I had begun to feel somewhat nervous. It was Maccarone at the heart of the good work, chesting down a crossfield ball from Commons and lofting a pass of his own into the penalty area for Cole to race onto and slide past Carson. Since the landmark Bosman case, the early months of a year are invariably filled with contract negotiations, and it was no different for us. Eugen Bopp had been impressing me, of that there was no doubt, but I had wanted as much time as possible to make a decision on his future. As it was, interest from Mainz from his homeland – they had sent scouts to our last two home games – forced my hand, and the young German was offered a three year extension to his deal which was due to run out at the end of the season. Also up for renewal were veteran players Nicky Eaden and Gary Holt. Both had done more than admirably when called upon to perform their duties, but the realities of football outside the top division mean that sometimes that isn’t enough. With the wage budget already stretched to near breaking point, and their wage packets not exactly slim, we simply couldn’t afford to keep them on their current terms, let alone offer them anything better. I was reluctant merely to see them leave though, and both were offered one year extensions on the condition that they agreed to thirty percent cuts in their wages and bonuses. I didn’t expect them for a second to sign on for such terms, especially with plenty of interest from fellow clubs in the division, but I felt something of a duty to at least make them an offer and show them that we would like them to stay. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted March 4, 2006 Author Share Posted March 4, 2006 If victory was expected over struggling Luton, anything but was in the thoughts of most as we travelled to face the league leaders at the Hawthorns. Still harbouring many a Premiership player in their side, West Brom had a squad that even I felt we couldn’t cope with, despite our victory over them at the City Ground in September. Of course, the day we met West Brom in Nottingham had been the day Hannah had moved into my apartment, and my morose mood looked to have transmitted to the players for the first hour of the game. Certainly our lacklustre performance couldn’t have been blamed on tired legs, we had been given a full week between this and the Luton game, but yet the hosts played around us almost as if we weren’t even on the pitch. On that day back in September, we had taken victory thanks largely to the performances of Stephen Caldwell and Rune Pedersen, and the latter of the two was once again proving his value in this encounter. It was thanks to him that we got to the hour mark trailing by only a single goal; Kanu having struck in just the ninth minute, but nearly every West Brom player having been denied by our Super Dane since then. Maybe it was the confidence that inspired, but whatever it was that saw us roar back into the game really matters little, all that is important is that we did so. Grzegorz Rasiak got us level, Ryan Nelsen having played him clear and the Pole rounding Russell Hoult before slotting home his twentieth goal of the season. His twenty-first followed in quick fashion, Sissoko again finding him unmarked and a lethal shot ripping into the back of the net to give us the lead. West Brom looked shocked to their very core, and we were not going to rest back whilst they found their composure enough to snatch back a point. With eleven minutes remaining, Maccarone – who had only just replaced Rasiak – swung a wonderful cross into the penalty area, and the late arriving John Viáfara struck it hard past Hoult, scoring our third goal and wrapping up our three points. On our return to Nottingham, both Nicky Eaden and Gary Holt informed me that they had rejected our offer of continued employment, and had indeed signed pre-contract agreements with Gillingham and Wigan respectively. Better news, however, came in the form of Eugen Bopp putting pen to paper on his new deal, the £500 a week pay rise he received being the very least he deserved for his impressive service. In light of the agreement he had signed with them, Gary Holt was not considered in the selection meeting for the game again Wigan at the City Ground. With it being only three days after the West Brom game, a few players were rotated, Maccarone coming back into the starting line up at the expense of Rasiak with Bopp and Zenden parading the wings in place of Lawrence and Commons. To say that the near 27,000 crowd were entertained and received clearly their money’s worth during the ninety minutes of the game would most certainly have been just; six goals and a rash of further chances tends to make for an exciting game; it was just a pity that all six didn’t fly our way, that to a certain extent our usually good defending let us down. We started in the perfect fashion, Zenden’s eighth minute cross headed past John Filan by Maccarone, though Sambegou Bangoura had the visitors level just one hundred and twenty seconds later. And indeed, the pacey Wigan frontman put his side in front with just fifteen minutes of the game played. Stock had to be taken at that point and the game calmed down for a while, but upping the pressure exactly when we needed to, the completion of Maccarone’s hat-trick had us back in front come the half time whistle. Bopp had been the provider for both the Italian’s second and third efforts, almost identical crosses from the right wing being volleyed into the roof of the net in almost identical fashion. After such a rip-roaring first half, it was inevitable that the second would be quieter, though there was still a number of chances for either side to wrest the game and the points in their direction, but the only goal which did come arrived six minutes from time, the boot of Wigan’s Joey Roberts striking a shot past Pedersen and earning a share of the hotly contested spoils. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted March 7, 2006 Author Share Posted March 7, 2006 just some pointless statistical information, this post takes the story (excluding tables) to 47,378 words ----------------------- In his Wigan heroics, Maccarone had sustained a strained wrist that, for some reason or another, the club physio felt important enough for him to miss our F.A. Cup tie; as far as I was concerned, handball wasn’t a major part of his game, so it really wouldn’t have affected him too much, but I tend not to argue with doctors too much. Clint Hill, on the other hand, was fit for the trip to the City of Manchester Stadium, but given the fact that he seemed to break down with a new injury every time he took to the football field in an actual game, I was reluctant to throw him in, even on the bench, and decided to leave it for our return to the league. I was pleased to see when the sides lined up that Man City were taking us seriously, their full strength team was fielded; a place in the quarter finals of the competition up for grabs. City weren’t having the best of seasons, they sat just 15th in the Premiership, and more importantly a mere two points above the dreaded relegation zone, it was clear that they were using the cup to try and gain some confidence to help them in their league struggle. But neither did we have any interest in being beaten, and it showed in the way we came out of the blocks, Rasiak forcing David James into a save before sixty seconds had passed. We continued to cause them problems, Sissoko, Cole and Commons were proving to everyone that they were in every way good enough to ply their trade in the Premiership and it was the Malian on loan from Liverpool who threaded a ball past Sylvain Distin for Rasiak to fire past James and give us the lead. Indeed, Sissoko was by far the best player on the pitch, controlling the centre of the midfield, and when our second goal came around, it was him on the end of Commons’ cross, placing a header past James. Unfortunately, between our two efforts, Bradley Wright-Phillips had snuck away from Danny Cullip and fired what was then an equaliser past Rune Pedersen, and not long after Sissoko’s effort restored our lead, the young striker crossed for his partner Andy Cole to volley City level a second time. The second half was almost exclusively dominated by the home side, they taught us about just what it really takes to live with a Premiership side, but luckily Pedersen was on the very top of his form, and a replay date was booked back at the City Ground. The sides that everyone wanted to avoid in the Quarter Final draw were Liverpool and Chelsea, and Tottenham were hardly an attractive prospect either. So it was great relief when – should they dispose of Everton in their fifth round replay – Liverpool would have to entertain Chelsea at Anfield, and I breathed even easier when Tottenham were paired with Sunderland. I had been hoping to get Blackburn or Coventry, neither of whom I thought would be unbeatable, so was a little disappointed when they were drawn against West Ham or Charlton, leaving us to settle for a trip to either Middlesbrough or Wolves if we managed to overturn City on our homepatch. By the time we travelled to face Derby in the league, Gareth Taylor had called a end to his Forest career, joining Luton for a paltry £1,000 transfer fee. Clint Hill won a place on the bench after a couple of impressive training sessions, and our star midfield trio were rested along with Rasiak, allowing Mellor the chance to impress. It wasn’t long before we got the start we wanted, Yacine Abdessadki playing a wonderful long ball into the penalty area and Bolo Zenden finding himself on the end of it, stroking his shot past Lee Camp for the lead. We were quite clearly the better side, even if a few of the lads were feeling the effects of two games in four days and Mellor passed up no less than four clear scoring chances before he finally netted in the second half, another benefactor of a fantastic long ball from Abdessadki. The win moved us seven points clear of Wigan who sat menacingly just outside the play-off zone, though it was still going to be an almighty scramble for those places in the end of season tournament. February rounded off with a visit to Turf Moor, and though Clint Hill made his return to the starting line up after coming through his thirty minute appearance at Derby unscathed, Lassana Diarra missed out after picking up his fifth booking of the season in the very same game. Just under 22,000 fans came to see us take on Burnley, and they saw a pulsating encounter which deserved far more than the two goals it got. Gifton Noel Williams had put the home side in front on the quarter hour, and it was a lead they certainly deserved after having already forced Pedersen into two smart saves, but we were by no means out of it, and indeed had two simple chances of our own before finally pulling level through Zenden – sweeping a shot into the net after being played clear by Eugen Bopp. Both sides charged on for the win in the second half, a draw was really of no use to either, and even the loss of Zenden to a calf strain on the hour didn’t slow us down. But ultimately the efforts were fruitless, Pedersen and Brian Jensen were both in form between their respective sticks and some wayward finishing at times didn’t help. In the final days of the month, it was confirmed that Bolo would miss two weeks of action before his calf injury fully healed, and Stephen Caldwell’s loan was extended for a further three months; the Scot had impressed whenever he came into the side, and I wasn’t going to turn my nose up at any chance to bolster our numbers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted March 7, 2006 Author Share Posted March 7, 2006 February 2006 Summary (Championship unless otherwise stated) Stoke 1 – 2 Nottingham Forest (F.A. Cup 4th Round replay) (Sweeney 39â€; Friio 70â€; Viáfara pen 83â€) Nottingham Forest 1 – 0 Luton (Cole 74â€) West Brom 1 – 3 Nottingham Forest (Kanu 9â€; Rasiak 60â€, 65â€; Viáfara 79â€) Nottingham Forest 3 – 3 Wigan (Maccarone 8â€, 39â€, 45â€; Bangoura 10â€, 15â€; Roberts 84â€) Manchester City 2 – 2 Nottingham Forest (F.A. Cup 5th Round) (Rasiak 14â€; B. Wright-Phillips 22â€; Sissoko 28â€; A. Cole 35â€) Derby 0 – 2 Nottingham Forest (Zenden 6â€; Mellor 71â€) Burnley 1 – 1 Nottingham Forest (Noel-Williams 15â€; Zenden 31â€) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadpadtherad Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 february was a good month results-wise. how many goals has rasiak got now? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
united_forever Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 A dramatic turn in results Terk. Very well done. I hope things continue to go well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
united_forever Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 dramatic turn in results over the last few months i mean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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