The end is nigh
21/01/05 | by Carl Blackborow

In the great circle of life, there comes a time for everyone and everything. A time that greets us all with a less than welcoming handshake. A time when the end is nigh, when the forever present light at the end of the tunnel dims to a dot on the darkest of horizons. For just past that horizon, the faint sound of four horseman on four horses gallop ever closer.

Call me melodramatic, but the next month in Nottingham Forest's calendar could be the one that sounds the death knell. The Call of the Reaper. Of course, it could be the miracle we have all prayed for, the resuscitation, the breath of life could be spread through our club, bringing us back from the near dead and the chasm of the old third division.

Dropping into the third tier of English football would be a disaster. We are all too aware of the financial ramifications such a fall would bring about, and the long term consequences don't bear thinking about, but it is a truth we all have to bear the brunt of.

No doubt blame will be apportioned to all connected with the club. A lack of investment, a squad so diluted it's almost transparent, a choice of manager akin to Paul Gerrards' decision to sign for Forest over Ipswich. Blame solves nothing. It won't get us out of this situation.

There are 17 games left to go. 9 of these are away from home. Forest have not managed a single away victory in this talent devoid league this season. These games include such illustrious opposition as Brighton, Rotherham, Crewe, Coventry, Watford and QPR. Are these teams any better than Forest? Really?

For me, there is only one place to point the finger, and although it has wavered towards the dugout, it never strays far from the pitch. Talent is not the issue for many of our players. It's the sterling characteristics of a dog in a fight that Forest lack. Buzz words that we have come to associate with the likes of Gillingham and Rotherham, and sometimes arrogantly snigger at, we now found ourselves in dire need of.

Passion. If the fervour of the fans could transfer to the players, we would have had this league wrapped up by Christmas because we're serious about staying up. Are they? Guts. Apart from the Christmas tragedy against Sunderland, can anyone remember the last time Forest fought tooth and claw for the points? Or are the memories of Burnley, Gillingham and Cardiff, not to mention Derby, still searing in the memory?

Players meekly uttering lip service in the media mean nothing to the fans anymore. It used to be encouraging. Now it's just the same promises unfulfilled week in and out. Come the aftermath of our next defeat, which player's turn will it be to utter another meaningless apology and a promise to deliver next time in the papers? Now, next time will be too late.

If the players haven't realised it by now, survival is fast slipping from their grasp. If they don't take a damn hard look at themselves, then there will be 23 teams ahead of them. It's time for them to stand up and be counted. There can be no more excuses. The old regime has gone and the bare facts are laid in front of the fans. Now there is no hiding place.

Andy Hessenthaler was recently voted Gillingham's all time top player in a fans' poll. Not the greatest player, or even most renowned, but a player with all the guts, spirit and determination in the world. He would die for that club, a trait that the fans obviously revere him for. Forest used to have a player like that, some 'psycho' the fans adored. 

Not for over half a century have Forest toyed with the idea of becoming part of the forgotten half of English football. A mere afterthought for anyone else, a humiliation for those connected with the club. To be alongside the likes of Bournemouth, Chesterfield and Torquay United sends a shiver through my timbers. One thing's for sure – there won't be any treasure to be found on Blackpool's beaches when the players duly take us to the likes of Bloomfield Road.

Let's hope Megson can instill some pride, passion, fight and guts into them, because in the distance, coming over the horizon, the dust being kicked up by the four horseman becomes ever more visible, bringing with them a fate we are now forced to think about.