Sheff Utd away

Sheffield United away is a notoriously hard fixture for the Reds with everyone knowing they're a horrible side to play against with their ugly long ball football which Kevin Blackwell likes to play.

Forest battled away for a creditable draw in Sheffield, with the loss of Darius Henderson a massive blow for the Blades and a huge boost for Forest. Billy opted for three centre backs to deal with the barrage of long balls, putting Luke Chambers in to add some height.

Lee Camp was outstanding for Forest, pulling off a string of world class saves which contributed massively to Forest escaping with their incredible unbeaten away record intact. The pick of the bunch for me was when he denied Blades centre back Matthew Kilgallon when he clean through on goal and looked all but certain to score.

It was the first of two incredibly tough away fixtures this week, with the Reds facing a daunting trip to high flying Swansea on saturday, where their away record will again be under threat.

I went along to the Sheffield United game with a friend who wore a West Ham shirt with Tevez 32 on the back, which provided great side entertainment and pissed off many Sheff United supporters, the photo we cheekily took outside Bramall Lane is above.

5-1 on your big day out.

Wow. What a performance it was against Leicester on saturday. Got stuck into them from the start, and they just couldn't deal with Forest's intensity and work rate.

I've always rated Robbie Earnshaw as a top notch finisher and........... OK so i've been made to look like a mug again because he was brilliant on saturday. Three brilliantly taken goals as he showed what he's all about, ruthless finishing. As a critic i could ask why he doesn't put that sort of effort in every week, but him and the rest of them were a different class compared to Leicester.

That's the most enjoyable home game i've been to since Bristol City last year where Dexter scored that brilliant last minuter winner. Nobody realistically expected to hammer Leicester that hard and accompanied with the feel good factor that comes with an 11 game unbeaten run, everyone had a reason to be happy. The presence of the army troops also added a nice touch to the day, with the whole stadium showing their appreciation for their efforts in Afghanistan.

As we now sit in third in the league it's nice to look down and see teams like Sheffield United, Middlesbrough and Cardiff City all having their struggles of late. All three teams will no doubt be rivals to Forest for the play-off places, so that makes the trip to Bramall Lane on tuesday even more important. Sheff Utd will have been dissapointed by their season so far, but victory over Forest will mean they'll only be 2 points behind Forest, showing that Forest have achived nothing but promise yet.

I'm looking forward to making the trip to Bramall Lane on tuesday night, but although many fans are buzzing right now and rightly so, let's not forget what a bitch of team Sheffield United have been to us down the years.

Goal Glut and Revenge Complete.

So, we did it. Almost a year on from the horror of Doncaster's last visit we buried the demons in emphatic style. An excellent performance with Raddy Majewski and Paul Mckenna outstanding for me in the middle of the park.

Doncaster are a good footballing side, they play some good football and there were times in th game where showed off their passing game, but ultimately we proved too strong.

It was nice to see Sean O'Driscoll getting so frustrated on the sidelines having had such a brilliant day at our expense last year.

It was an excellent victory, but it marks so much more in terms of improvement for The Reds. We notoriously struggle against Donny, especially through the League One years when we could barely even score against them yet alone pick up a result, so to beat them so convincingly is such a positive thing for the team.

Next week. Just the small matter of Leicester at home. Who are Derby County anyway? The fake East Midlands derby is a huge game for both sides, 3rd versus 4th in The Championship with Forest having the opportunity to jump Leicester if we can claim all 3 points.

The City Ground will be bouncing on Saturday. In my opinion it's the best team we've had since 03/04 when Paul Hart was in charge and it's definitely an exciting time to be a Forest fan.

Leicester have done brilliantly under Nigel Pearson and have surprised many to be flying so high in the league but i have no doubt Billy will fire up the boys to get stuck in from the start.

Leicester will bring their full allocation over the short distance, and no doubt Forest fans will turn out in their numbers.

And don't forget it's a 1 o'clock kick-off!

9 unbeaten, and eating my words....

Middlesbrough away. A tough away trip on paper but with Boro currently struggling and the Reds on fire a quiet feeling of optimism was surrounding Forest.

The early goal was a huge blow, but fair play to the lads for for staying in the game and ultimately outplaying one of the stronger sides in this league away from home.

The Bristol City game was a blow not to have taken all 3 points in the end, but there is no doubt that despite not winning as many games as we would like Forest seem virtually unbeatable at the moment, especially away from home. As the only team in the top seven leagues to be unbeaten away from home so far this season, there is currently plenty for Forest fans to smile about.

And yes, Robert Earnshaw did make me eat my words on saturday. A super free kick which did earn us a point at a tough venue. BUT i would however like to point out that Earnie came on as a 57th minute substitute for David McGoldrick which still shows Billy prefers the youngster in his starting XI over Earnshaw.

it will be interesting now to see if Earnie starts against Doncaster, which is a huge game for our great run bearing in mind that rivals Leicester City soon visit the City ground and we face a tuesday night trip to Sheffield United.

Many Forest fans will remember what happened last time Donny turned up to the City Ground. They handed forest a Boxing Day humiliation which in the end was the final nail in Colin Calderwood's coffin. Donny should not be underestimated and having beaten QPR on saturday Forest should be very wary of them coming to play football and ruin Forest's day.

If Forest do win....many people will sit up and acknowledge Forest as genuine promotion contenders, if they haven't already.

Should Have Been 3, But It's 8 Unbeaten....

Bristol City are an excellent Championship side, there's no doubt about it. They came to the City Ground for a point, and they got it, so boring, but you have to credit them for it.

It was elation when Big Wes scored and it had everyone thinking that it was going to be one of those "Do you remember when Wes scored the winner" days, but BC managed to spoil the party.

Gary Johnson is a top drawer manager and Bristol City are making good steady progress through the Championship thus far. Not many notable names in their starting XI, but a hard working team who were well organised on the day.

Paul Anderson somehow didn't score from close range after Garath McCleary broke through, but it was an unbelivable challenge from Cole Skuse. Ando deserved to get on the score sheet, another lively and hard-working performance from the winger who terrifies defenders when he runs at them. 250,000 pounds. Looks like the scousers could do with him back at the moment.

8 games unbeaten now and a real feel-good-factor surrounding the club and our hungry young team. Middlesbrough away next who have suffered two disappointing defeats since Gordon Strachan took over, but they will surely start picking up points soon when his influence begins to take effect. A draw would be an excellent result and another point gained before we head into the Doncaster game with momentum behind us, and the chance to avenge last years Boxing Day humiliation.

Come On You Reds.

Do we really need Earnshaw.....

I admit, last season Robert Earnshaw's goals were vital to our survival in The Championship. This season however is a different kettle of fish. Earnie is no longer the main man as far as attacking options are concerned, with the arrivals of Dexter Blackstock, Radoslaw Majewski and David McGoldrick and from the performances i have seen from him so far this season they are much below the high standards of last season. A slack penalty miss against WBA and ambling off the pitch when being substituted against Blackpool when we were losing 1-0 are two moments this season which have caused me to question Earnie's desire.
When the transfer rumours started to fly, with Earnie being linked with Middlesborough and Newcastle, i asked myself the question would we really miss him if he was gone. The answer i came up with was no. Dexter has hit the ground running since his permanent arival from QPR, Mcgoldrick has bags of goalscoring potential and will get better the more games he gets under his belt and Majewski looks like one hell of a creative midfielder.

With these increased options, Earnshaw's chances of being in the starting line up are decreased and i find it hard to believe that he will settle for simply being an option on the bench. Also with the amount of fire power we purchased in the summer it has to be asked if Billy really does rate Earnie. We all know what happened at Derby, and i can't help wondering if Billy was only playing him last season because he simply had no one else.

It will be interesting to se if any offers come in for Earnie in January, and if Billy decides £4 million is too much money to turn down for someone who is in danger of becoming only a fringe player.

Neil Warnock, Forever A Wanker

Crystal Palace away. Not usually a fixture with particularly anything to look forward to for the Forest faithful, apart from these days they are managed by a certain Neil Warnock. As if the game would pass without any drama involving him. Tosser. Clint Hill elbows Paul Anderson right in front of the benches to spark a melee on the stroke of half time as Chrissy Gunter ran in to defend his team mate.

Only Warnock could turn an average Championship 1-1 draw into a headline maker, with his stupid comments about Billy Davies after the game. Saying Billy should "keep his mouth shut" and that his comments calling his side physical were "disgraceful".

Forest's rivalry with Warnock stretches back a while now, and was most heated during Forest's play-off season when our boys were just edged out by his Sheffield United side. There is always the enjoyable chant of 'Neil Warnock, what a wanker' whenever he returns to City Ground, and one of my personal favourites was when somebody spotted him in the commentary box as a pundit, and everyone began chanting.

There was also an incident in 2005, as then Forest boss Joe Kinnear described Warnock as a "complete prat" for his touchline behaviour. Warnock stated that because Forest were "struggling" and that Kinnear was "under pressure" that he didn't want to make a positive comment on the game.

Probably true, but Kinnear's point was probably more accurate.

Here's looking forward to the 23rd of March, when Neil returns to The City Ground once again.