Counting down the days
08/07/04 | by Alan Fisher

Now is the time of the year when I start to get really impatient. Well, if I'm honest, I get really impatient almost as soon as a season finishes - but I can switch off from news of Division One (or "The Championship", if you insist) if I try quite hard. Having an international tournament is always a bonus, and easy on the mind as England managed to meet all our expectations and exit in the quarters with a predictably cowardly few performances. But there's some moving and some shaking in the world of domestic football, which at least takes the edge from my thirst for Forest-related news, rumour and debate.

Thankfully this season the non-event of our transfer activity in the summer hasn't been repeated, early captures of former loanees Andy Impey and Alan Rogers were bolstered with Marlon the Second's old Gills teammate Kevin James. This left most Forest fans happy going into the distractions of Euro 2004. Whilst we've had to endure the departure of Gareth "fat wallet 2" Williams to our scummy neighbours Leicester, Joe has been quick to bring in Kris Commons after projected speculation, and the much sought-after Paul Gerrard on a free after his release from Everton.

Considering we have kept our mercurial left-winger for the time being (I refuse to call him 'our little Figo' as, after witnessing his namesake for Portugal in recent games, I think it's frankly insulting to the young Irishman!), and have only lost Williams (and hopefully Sonner, looking at the new squadlist) so far, things are certainly looking good for building on our end of season form. 

The recent speculation surrounding the likes of Leon Osman and - more surprisingly - Marlon Harewood could add even more fuel to the confidence fire over the next few days. Whether or not these two are really serious targets for Forest, or whether Joe is playing mind games remains to be seen, but his intent to bring in at least two more signings in the near future is heartening in these dark post-Xylophone Man days in Nottingham.

Of course, in making such announcements, it sets the rumour-mills into overdrive, which can be both a blessing and a curse. Last season it was a curse, as the rumours abounded and we got excited, only for rivals to snap up our targets - so far this season it's been a bit more positive. We've only really lost out on Matt Spring so far, and have the possibility of annoying our sheep-molesting neighbours by nipping in and taking Osman from under their noses (still seems very unlikely to me, but if anyone can then Joe probably can wangle a deal of sorts). 

And so how does this leave us feeling preseason? Many of my fellow fans seem to be filled with boundless optimism with statements of automatic promotion or, at the very least, a play-off place. Certainly, it could be a possibility, but I'm always going to err on the side of caution - and if there's a fence to be sat upon then usually I'll be found on it!

If Leon Osman and a certain Mr Harewood are paraded in Forest shirts next week then I'll probably jump upon the bandwagon too, but for now I'd like to await these two or three new signings we're expecting and assess the situation from there. I am confident that our squad will be stronger than at the end of last season - and that being so we should be capable of replicating the form we showed at the end of that campaign, and that was certainly promotion-winning form. But this is Forest and something will always go wrong, won't it? Or am I just being overly pessimistic?

Even after player losses and Dad's Army style recruiting (other than Mr Williams), I expect Leicester to be contenders - largely because they're cheats who always get away with it, on and off the field. Hopefully they'll get a bit of long-overdue karma, but I doubt it.

Leeds find themselves in a similar scenario, as do Wolves. All three have to be considered serious contenders - not to mention Sunderland and West Ham, both of whom expected a quick return, which could be their downfall as West Ham in particular find themselves in financial problems due to their slightly over-optimistic budgeting (hence the Harewood stories).

Add in the nearly-men of last season - Ipswich, Millwall, Sheffield United, Wigan - and we already have ten teams including Forest who will all feel they have a realistic shout for a top six finish. And we haven't even considered a surprise package yet!

I'm far from convinced, but I'm certainly not unhappy with how things seem to be progressing in the football sense at least. I await our new signings with interest and hope to see the conclusion of this nonsense with the council, and then maybe I'll stray a little from my fence and be bold enough to make a prediction of sorts. In my own way I'm quietly confident, but I still need a bit more convincing before I invest too much hope in our prospects for the season.