Not the last minute thing

So, another controversial last minute penalty, after Forest had hauled themselves back into contention, and a long coach trip home beckons...

I was hoping by now to be recovering from our weekus miseraballus, and looking forward to:

a). Forest scoring more goals than the other team (more points)

b). Forest not conceding a goal (helps towards achieving a).

c). The next match, at which a) & b) might occur, ideally at the same time.

Top football theorists believe that if you score more goals than the other team, thereby getting more points than if you score less, or indeed the same number of goals, that this is a good thing. Indeed, top football historians have shown, using research-based evidence, that this is indeed the case, and teams who have more points, have historically found themselves higher up the table.

It's also difficult to rationalize second from bottom, as being mid-table, as one did for much of last season's Bad Patch.

Mourning, after the night before

It's a real September day, here in the palatial grounds of forestblog HQ, proper football weather in fact, and sufficiently uplifting to encourage me to look forward to the next match; just as when I go for a job interview, I always believe I'm going to get it, similarly I always think Forest will win. Obviously I tend to be wrong on both counts, at the moment anyway ...

Whilst it's important not to dwell, and to move on, in life as in football, nevertheless, it's fair to say that this weekend's calamities can in part be put down to the somewhat unfortunate, and substantial disruption to the Forest defence - Joe Kinnear was claiming that he only had about ten fit players to travel down to Plymouth, and whilst we know this to be footballese for 'We have one or two injuries, and therefore we're getting our excuses in early' this is nevertheless a good illustration of how thin the Forest squad is. It also suggests that one or two more of the kids may have to grow up, slightly earlier than planned this season, and that Joe K. may have to bring in a couple of handy loan signings.

Apparently Joe K. is mates with Wenger, so maybe they'll loan us one of their wonderkids - a centre half would be handy, and a left back might come in useful, for when Little Alan runs out of puff.

Welcome to the working week ...

It's that time again

Nearly kick off time, and half of me wishes I'd braved the Bank Holiday traffic, and the Navy Day, ( imagine, a whole city decked out in dark blue ...) and made the epic trek to Plymouth; if Forest were playing away at Santander, then it would be easy to hop a ferry - provided you had a day to spare. Having watched Santander against Barcelona this weekend, I suspect Forest could beat them.

Apparently the Australian Banana Growers' Council are looking at using waste bananas to generate electricity! It appears that there are up to 50,000 tonnes thrown away each year, and The University of Queensland have a research project which involves mixing bacteria with bananas, which break down and produce a gas to drive a turbine and generate electricity. Impressive stuff I feel.

Very pleased to see young James Perch in the team the other week – he did OK, & will probably prove to be good in the air, possibly developing some kind of Air Jordan-like ability to hover above opposing strikers… Forest just need to sign a Bird from somewhere, a Twigg, and possibly Michael Branch. Alternatively, a back four of Salmon, Pike, Herring and Perch would be pretty awesome, or indeed a pre-metric 3 centre back system, involving, Perch, a Pole and a Rod.

Still looks like newly promoted Plymouth have peaked too early, and have had their moment in the sun - getting beaten by Watford, suggests they should be ideal recipients of a Forest backlash. Probably.

Welcome to the forest blog

So, Plymouth it is then, and how far is that exactly? It's a long way, in mileage terms, after all. Three & a bit hours from South Wales, where Forest Blog HQ is located, so that makes it about 6 hours altogether, one way, from Nottingham, not counting Bank Holiday West Country traffic jams. Must be the furthest possible away fixture for Forest, until the idea of the Atlantic League gets resurrected, and they have to play away in, lets say Santander or Setubal.

Notice I'm trying not to mention the Coventry game, as I think it's always important to move on in such circumstances, but I think the post-match dressing room lock-in might have been one to miss. How do you spell Nadir, and didn't I read that he was coming back to the UK to try and cut a deal, after years in exile over the Polly Peck scandal?

Of course, any Forest fans who opt for a weekend in Plymouth (!) will have been able to enjoy the ever popular (it says here) Navy Days, which apparently will cause even more traffic chaos in Plymouth itself.

So fingers crossed, and don't touch that dial...