lost that loving feeling - The return of the king

I’m certainly not a regular reserve fixture follower – and I guess the lure of seeing the mighty afro back in a Forest kit is great indeed that it prompted me to sit and freeze my proverbials off on a bitterly cold Wednesday evening! The last reserve fixture I attended was prompted by it being Brian Clough’s last game – so if you read this, Johnno, that alone confirms your place in my Forest psyche as an absolute legend! It’s fair to say that around half the Trickies who turned out on a cold night were there for the said same reason: The return of king Johnno the first!

To say we’ve missed Johnson this season is a huge understatement – and the anticipation of his return to action has started the gradual progress which will inevitably lead to a fully-fledged bandwagon by the time he’s ready to step up to take his place on the bench for the first team. The expectation on the poor bloke is immense and I’m sure that that expectation is no less than what he places upon himself to perform, despite being out of action all these long months.

Having gained entry to the main stand (for free, I might add – I’m sure it cost a couple of quid last time I went!), I found myself a likely seat just between the dugouts in front of the directors’ box – in which was sat a certain Billy Dearden, unless I was very much mistaken. He must be stuck for things to do!

The players were already warming up, and despite the team sheet clearly stating Johnno was starting, I cautiously scanned the personnel on the field to see if I could see our diminutive number nine – and sure enough, he was knocking the ball around in a yellow bib along with the rest of the lads! Rock!

Once the team came out there were scattered chants for Johnno and a wave and a grin from the man himself – he looked so delighted to be back on a pitch it took my mind off the fact my feet were slowly turning to blocks of ice. The game kicked-off and, well, I find it hard to get motivated by a reserve game – I just wanted to see Johnno get the ball and see how sharp/fit/etc he looked.

Expectations aren’t really that high from me personally – I was grateful to see him grace the field without crutches – so to see him making a few intelligent runs and touches (as well as being caught offside at least a couple of times) was very pleasing indeed.

Craig Westcarr was lining up alongside him (who also looked useful – maybe a feature for the Palace game?) and I couldn’t help but think about what a bigger target man could have provided as Johnno tirelessly made those darting runs that were made to be found by a Gareth Taylor flick!

Certainly he wasn’t fully match-fit, that much was obvious, but he far exceeded my expectations in terms of the running he put in, his first touch wasn’t bad either – lost it a couple of times, but at others trapped it like a pro and also some neat lay-offs, one at least which almost saw Brian Cash open the scoring. His radar wasn’t quite in sync either as he was caught offside by a none-too-subtle offside trap a couple of times, but we can’t begrudge him that, now can we?

The other starters are worth noting also – Pascal Formann, who saved what looked like a certain goal down near the corner flag; Chris Doig and Brynar Gunnarsson played in central defence and looked a capable pairing, ‘Killer’ picking up a booking early doors for a nothing tackle; Biggins and Robertson covered the fullback slots, both looking to overlap frequently, and relatively untroubled at the back.

In midfield we saw Bopp and Stewart in the middle. Stewart impressed me particularly – a real grafter, which could well be the missing ingredient in our midfield at the moment (but let’s not get carried away – this is a reserve game, after all). Bopp had some good touches but suffered a bit from ‘Gareth Williams syndrome’ and wanted to be a bit too flash at times.

Brian Cash played on the right and looked menacing going forward as well as covering back too, and Ross Gardner on the left, who, to be honest, I didn’t see too much of. Westcarr looked improved since I last saw him - some intelligent lay-offs and excellent holding up of the ball, considering he’s not the biggest of lads. And of course, Johnno, who I’ve talked-up at length!

It was nil-nil at half-time, and that was the last we saw of the DJ, as he was replaced by Bodkin. Biggins was also subbed early in the second half after picking up a knock, replaced by David ‘The Otter’ Tarka, who went in to centre-back pushing Gunnarsson out to right-back.

Early on, West Ham took the lead - a good run to the edge of the box by their number seven saw him stop and curl a shot into the goal, which, in all honesty, Formann should probably have got a hand to at least.

As coldness kicked in, Forest got the equaliser. Westcarr took a corner short, before getting it back and pumping a great cross to the back stick where Tarka converted. I must confess my ‘fair weather’ reserve fan kicked in then, and I absconded for pie and chips in the back of the Bridgford Fish and Chip bar and didn’t see the remainder of the game.

But I’m glad I went, and it was a truly heart-warming moment to see DJ back on a pitch in a Forest shirt. Let’s not get carried away with what he’s going to be able to realistically achieve, but just imagine the cheer at the City Ground on Saturday if his name is featured on the team sheet (admittedly the only conceivable way for this to happen would be as one of the substitutes, I might add). But for now, I’m satisfied in the knowledge that I’ve seen him running about, kicking a ball and not looking completely hapless – God is a DJ! Johnno! Johnno!