The Rambling Red - Issue 11 08/03/03 | by TrickyMatt

With a nose longer than the Nile and a hair-style befitting the environs of Charing Cross station, Mr Paul Hart may not be instantly recognisable to the masses. This however seems destined to change as Forest navigate their way through a division more unpredictable than a Doner Kebab. At present, Mr Hart deserves all the plaudits that could be possibly given and I am sure I speak for all Forest fans in thanking him for the progress which he has overseen during his brief tenure as manager of Nottingham Forest.

Brian Clough stands head and shoulders above any other Forest manager and his place not only in our hearts, but those of the football-loving public is certainly assured. Paul Hart has some way to go before even registering on the same planet as Sir Brian, but the way things are going, success seems our destiny.

Not so long a go, the “famous two times European Cup winners” were on the brink of real trouble, and we still are to a certain extent. The situation even warranted an appearance on BBC’s flagship lunchtime news show, “Working Lunch”. There I was spreading my Branston thickly and lovingly over a poorly constructed cheese toastie when a river and stand appeared on the television which had become peripheral to the lunch time events. Before long, Hibernian fans were informing me of the coverage, yet of the ilk neither cherished nor desired. I would much rather have regaled my Dad’s timeless story of walking around Munich’s Olympic Stadium before season 76/77 saying something along the lines of, “Oooohh wouldn’t it be great to see Forest play here, I mean just think of the Frankfurters we could have at half time!”. Of course three years later we were and as you may have gathered, I have heard this story before!

The positive attitude around the City Ground these days is remarkable. As the top man, Paul Hart is a creditable recipient of my praise which can be as hard to come by at times as a Jim Brennan goal! The fact that Paul oversaw the development of many of the youngsters that currently litter our first team squad adds to my general appreciation for all things Hart. Add to this the improvement of players who were already at the club such as Jim Brennan, Louis-Jean and of course, David Johnson. All three of these players have become pivotal to the promotion push whereas previously they stood as expensive mistakes. All of this pushes my opinion of David Platt further and further into the waste paper bin of football managers.

Recent matches have seen Forest really push on in the race for promotion. The 4-1 away win at Gillingham putting us third, nestling behind Leicester who must be starting to worry as the Tricky bandwagon gathers pace Franz Carr would be proud of.

Personally, I was very impressed by the second half showing at Watford. Firstly, let me say how impressive the Tricky turnout was. Filling the entire end surpassed my expectations but saying that, I have been present at Vicarage Road on the last three occasions and each time, we have been there in force. I felt a victory was a fairly probably outcome.

Many have stated their disapproval with regard to the performance in the first half, but the second was superb. The performances of Andy Reid, Gareth Williams, Riccy Scimeca and the magnificent Michael Dawson drove the team on to what I feel should have been a victory. Dawson’s header that hit the bar in injury time would have deservedly seen Forest claim the spoils against a hard working but creatively lacking Watford team who seem destined to finish outside the playoff positions.

I must mention the four-goal salvo witnessed from the boots of Marlon Harewood against Stoke City. After being turned away form Hooters due to it being closed on police advice, our little mob had its spirits lifted immeasurably by the incredible scoring feats of “The Marlon” in a performance that seemed to me to be utterly surreal.

On dissecting the performance in the hostelries of Nottingham afterwards, it was concurred that the performance owed much to the ridiculously poor Stoke team who are going to do very well to avoid relegation on this showing.

Whilst on this game, I loved seeing Gareth Williams playing with that swagger of confidence he has developed this season. The way he escapes the attentions of opposing players through his trickery and appreciation of the game oozes quality and I feel often goes without applause from many fans. I also think Gareth is getting about the pitch more, which is something he has lacked previously. Does anyone agree with this?

Now folks, its time to take a trip down memory lane to cheer you up on your lunch break or whenever you are reading this:

“Going for promotion during season 97/98 was never going to be easy. Newly relegated and up against the twin threat of Sunderland and Middlesborough amongst others, an instant return to the top flight was a job and a half. The formers combination of Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips would prove deadly throughout the season whilst the Boro had added former sherbet boy, Paul Merson to their ranks.

As the end of the season drew closer, Forest took the short but important trip to St Andrews to meet play-off chasing Birmingham fans, ooops I mean Birmingham City! The two are hardly distinguishable. A full away end was to witness a result that typified the season and did much to explain its undoubted success. Those Reds present (certainly where I was housed near the “Family Enclosure”) were subjected to excessive amounts of gesticulation from Brum fans sitting with their five-year-old sons! I for one found this highly amusing as every time Ian Woan found row Z, each model citizen would rise to man to indicate just how many times you play a team per season!

The atmosphere intensified notably when City were awarded a ridiculous penalty as pixie like full back Thierry Bonalair was adjudged not only to have made a challenge for the ball, but an illegal one at that! The spot kick was duly despatched and didn’t the Birmingham fans love it as they lorded it over there more illustrious neighbours.

However, don’t laugh until the fat lady sings, someone once said whilst on hard drugs, and that very lady hadn’t even sucked on a throat sweet! Step forward Pierre Van Hooijdonk. At this juncture, he was quite rightly idolised and that man was there yet again to show there is indeed no substitute for quality.

Oh how we laughed. Firstly, he put away a delicately taken free-kick after Michael Johnson had been sent off for hauling down Pierre as he ambled towards goal. This obviously resulted in some excitable banter as the Tricky Reds gave our blue counterparts a dose of their own medicine.

I was just returning from planet ecstacy when a varied corner saw Ian Woan feed Pierre who curled a magnificently placed shot into the bottom corner away from the clutches of blues keeper Ian Bennett. Que bedlam behind the goal as an undeserved defeat had turned into a stunning victory.

Four minutes was all it took, and Forest had secured a vital three points in a promotion race enthralling to the last. With the prolific Van Hooijdonk/Campbell strike pairing fronting a solid team led by the superb Colin Cooper, the Division One championship was sealed and days like this showed exactly why.”

I chose to include this game with an eye towards our forthcoming fixtures where we play many of our promotion rivals. Results like these would be a very welcome addition to an already excellent season.

A song for the lads during our rise this season? I am going for simplicity, “Getting Better” by Shed 7, fingers crossed for more of the same.