I’m off on holiday in sunny Lancashire tomorrow, and won’t be back until the following Saturday’s game with Crystal Palace at the City Ground. By then, Forest will have hopefully picked up some more points from their journey to Yarkshire, and progressed to the next round of the Cup in the Nawarth East. Also in these games, we will further see who is, and who isn’t, in Paul Hart’s plans for the forth-coming season.

After last week’s ‘whole squad up for sale’ chaos, this week has seen rumours abound of a dressing room split between senior players and their younger counterparts. Also, there have been various rumours of club’s coming in for some of our more talented players. It is common knowledge that Forest do need to recoup some of their losses of the last two years and that any offers will be considered, but the final decision of who goes and who stays rests with the manager.

Andy Johnson

The one-time City Ground hero has quickly become a villain. Reports in this weeks papers that he refused to sit on the bench against Sheffield United, effectively going on strike, have seen to that. Having previously been quoted as saying he was leaving the club at the end of the season, Andy then back-tracked saying that he doesn’t feel match fit because he hasn’t played 90 minutes. But the general impression of all the quotes and mis-quotes coming from the City Ground is that Johno is quite happy to play for the reserves until his contract expires next summer, then move on.

Alex’s Verdict? GO

As a player who, let’s face it, is not overly gifted with natural talent, Johnson builds his game around 100% commitment and effort. That now seems to have gone. He has lost his desire, probably quashed by losing his first-team place, and in the pre-season friendlies he (although he was not the only one) was seen to be wandering aimlessly around, uninterested.

Without the work-rate, Johnson is pretty useless, and in Prutton and Jenas we have much better replacements who are both committed to the cause. Before the season started, Forest were rumoured to have turned down a £1m bid from Cardiff City for him. I don’t know if this true, but if the bid came in tomorrow, Forest should snap their hands off; get Johnson off the wage bill and pocket whatever transfer fee we can.

Chris Bart-Williams

Another player with just one year on his contract, Bartman is arguably the club’s biggest talent. With Premiership and European experience, he proved himself last year earning the title of ‘player of the year’. However, when the season was over he put himself on the transfer list, hoping for a move back to the Premiership. But when no notable bid came in (apart from David Gold’s persistent nagging) he agreed to see out the rest of his contract with the Reds. However, he still looks set to leave the City Ground at the end of term as he is unlikely to be offered a new contract, nor sign one unless we will be playing top-flight football.

Alex’s Verdict? STAY

Bartman’s wages will probably cost the club another £500,000 over this season and by not accepting a bid of around £1.5m, we are ruling ourselves out of a lot of money. But Bart-Williams is still committed to the cause, and his experience alongside the youngsters will be invaluable this year. Paul Hart and the club may be banking on youth for the future, but quality is quality and that is what Chris Bart-Williams is.

David Prutton

Young Player of the Year two years running, and with a string of England Under 21 appearances under his belt, Prutton is undoubtedly the hottest property at Forest these days. Still only 19, Prutton seems to be attracting interest from Premiership teams. Ipswich are the latest to be linked with him, and Newcastle are reported to be following up their long term interest with a bid of around £3m.

Alex’s Verdict? STAY

Prutton is a rare gem in football these days. He has committed himself many a time to the Reds, and signed long-term contracts. As he is now a key first team member, letting him go at whatever price would certainly be a bad move. He is worth at least £4m, but even then I wouldn’t sell him unless he showed desire for a move. So far he hasn’t, so hands off Prutts!

Riccy Scimeca

At £3m from Aston Villa in 1999, it is no wonder that Riccy has disappointed many. He has rarely looked anything like worthy of his price tag, and is probably David Platt’s worse buy in his two year spell with Forest. However, he still has two years to run on his, quite generous, contract and he is out of the first team in a big way, it looks unlikely that he will attract interest from outside parties - certainly ones prepared to stump up for his wage demands.

Alex’s Verdict? GO

Riccy has failed in a big way and doesn’t look likely to break back into the first team. If a chance comes up, then I’m sure we will sell him. I think it is time to cut our losses with Riccy, and accept whatever we can, if only to get him off the payroll.

Also on the GO list

Jim Brennan - Another of Platt’s disappointing buys, Jim faces too much competition for the left-wing/back position and we should look to cut our losses if we can.

Gary Jones - A useful back-up player, but we don’t need him as we have enough young players coming through to cover all positions. Also, he arrived on a free so we wont be making a loss on him if we let him go.

Andy Reid - Reidy’s attitude problems have obviously upset the manager and it is unlikely he can redeem himself. However, he has undoubted talent and promise and we may able to get a decent price for him.

The MUST STAY list

Jack Lester - Jack would be sorely missed if he were lost from the Forest team. He tenacious style of play will always make him a threat to defences and at a bargain price he was valuable purchase by Platt and one that should not be wasted.

Stern John - His contract runs out in 2002, but if he can find some scoring form this season then we should certainly try and keep him. So far he has been injury haunted but showed flashes of talent.

Mathieu Louis-Jean - One of the club’s best players in my opinion and one of the few that can play at right-back. Was missed dearly last season and is a vital point in the team.

Chris Doig - The side’s best defender and still unbelievably young. Also a fairly unknown talent so it should be quite easy for Forest to keep hold of him before big clubs get wind of his skills.

Gareth Williams - Adds consistency and composure to the midfield and is incredibly talented, yet still young.

Jermaine Jenas - Again, a young player with the potential to be a star of the future. Forest should get the Nottingham lad signed up long-term.

Eugen Bopp - Still too young to judge fully, but like Jenas, Williams, Doig and Prutton, could be a huge name in the near future.

The ‘If the Price is Right’ list

Alan Rogers - A great asset to the team, adding creativity, but out of contract soon and would be worth cashing in on if a decent bid comes through.

David Johnson - Has the talent to make a success of his time with Forest, but the complex financial situation to do with his transfer would mean selling him on at a decent price would be beneficial.

Tony Vaughan - Still has a lot to offer, but faces stiff competition for a place. A reasonable offer would tempt me.

Marlon Harewood - Still undecided about Marlon and would let him go for a decent price.

Christian Edwards - Has just signed a new contract and would be sorry to see him go for less than he is worth.

Andy Gray - Might experience a revival under his old youth manager, so could be worth holding onto, especially with the lack of wide-right players available.