lost that loving feeling - The future's bright; the future's Forest

Welcome to this new section of the website. I hope you enjoy reading this article and the many more that will follow.

First of all I will get the boring bit out of the way and introduce myself to you. I'm a sixteen-year-old student from North Nottinghamshire. I have a season ticket in the upper Trent End and I go to as many away games as possible. My ambition is to become a sports writer so I hope this section will help me to develop my writing skills. I enjoy writing about Forest so I can't think of any better way to develop my skills and have fun at the same time.

This is a difficult article for me to write because there is so much to write about. So I do apologise if this article is a little short in certain areas. I could go on forever writing about the start of the season but I have tried my best to get my point across without going through everything that has happened. My next article will be better because I will be able to concentrate on what has happened in the next fortnight.

I will start off talking about the Burnley game. This wasn't a brilliant game but at least we got the three points. Forest have played better this season and lost so it makes a change to play average and still come away with the win. Burnley made it hard for us and we had to grind out a result. Although we didn't play well I thought Forest deserved the three points. My man of the match was Chris Bart-Williams. He scored the winner and played a true captain's role. I was also very pleased with Stern John's performance when he came on as a substitute for David Johnson. DJ looks very average at the moment so it looks like SJ and Jack Lester will be the front two for the time being. It was very pleasing to see another youngster in the form of Craig Westcarr. This lad is the youngest player to play in the Forest first team at the age of 16. He looks to have a very bright future ahead of him. But the most important thing is Forest got the win and we are very close to a play-off position.

This season has gone well so far after the appointment of Paul Hart as manager in the summer after David Platt departed three weeks before the new season. The football has been absolutely fantastic this season and although some of the results haven't matched the performances (we deserve more points than we have) Paul Hart can be very proud of himself. The football we have been playing is the best Forest fans have seen for along time and this team will only get better. So far this season Jenas and Williams have been superb, as have many of the younger players but Jon Olav Hjelde is the man of the season so far in my opinion. Hjelde has done everything right this season and he is playing the best football of his Forest career since he signed from Rosenborg in 1997. He and Chris Doig look very good at the back and they have both made some very impressive performances together. The performance that stands out in my mind is the Coventry away game (need I say more). Another thing that has impressed me this season is the team spirit within the Forest camp. They all want to play for each other and they all want to win. Paul Hart has produced this great team spirit and with this Forest will do very well this season.

So Forest fans can be optimistic for the season ahead. Before this season started some fans were predicting a struggle but it will be far from that. David Platt departed three weeks before the season leaving Paul Hart with little time to make his impression. How wrong were we. Since then Paul Hart has made a dramatic impact changing the style of play to a style older fans will remember. Paul Hart likes his players to get the ball down and pass and that's what they have done. Most opposition managers have praised the way we play, non-more so than Ronnie Moore: the Rotherham boss said we are the only team to "football them to death" and they have played some very good teams. So what can we achieve this season, promotion, play-offs or a mid-table finish? Well looking at the way we have played so far this season I believe we will be pushing for a play-off position. We definitely have a squad capable of reaching the play-offs and there is no reason why we can't achieve this. The youngsters have been brilliant and if they continue to do well we have a great chance.

The amount of young players used by Paul Hart is very encouraging and the likes of Jermaine Jenas, Chris Doig, Gareth Williams, and Eugen Bopp etc will only get better and Forest will be a fantastic football team for many years to come. One thing that does bother me is the fact that big clubs like Newcastle, Man Utd, Leeds, Middlesborough, Chelsea and Sunderland etc are interested in signing up our young talent. The board have tried to reassure the fans but how long can it be before one of the big clubs makes an offer the board can't refuse? Newcastle have been watching Jenas and Prutton for some time now but they haven't made an official bid yet. The younger players have said that they don't want to leave the club because of Paul Hart and that will be the deciding factor if anyone does make a bid. Paul Hart has said that the future of the club lies with these players. The board also acknowledge that the future lies with these young players and I don't believe Paul Hart will be forced to sell to balance the books. But one of the big clubs will surely make a high bid soon and then the board will have to be strong and say 'no'.

Before I write another article, Forest will have played some very difficult games. Forest will have faced difficult trips to Millwall and Watford. Those two away trips are sandwiched in between two home games against Birmingham and Man City. These are four of the hardest games we will play and if we can pick up at least seven points we will be in a good position. The most appealing game in that quartet is the home game against Man City. Psycho will make his return to the City Ground and what a game that will be. The City Ground will be packed for that match and there will be a fantastic atmosphere. If you haven't got a season ticket I would suggest getting a ticket for this battle because it should be end to end stuff.

To end this article I would like to congratulate Alan Rogers on his comeback from injury. It is great to have Tank back and hopefully he will score some very important goals this season. First he will have to get his place back in the team after a very impressive start to the season by Jim Brennan. But well done Tank and good luck for the rest of the season.