Field Notes

• You don’t get much time to reflect on results during the Christmas period, which is a shame as the 2-0 win over QPR was certainly one to savour. Forest produced one of their best performances of the season. It could have been a disastrous team selection with Greg Halford as a loan striker, but the utility player is making the position his own with a goal and an assist (of sorts). Meanwhile book publishers are rushing out new editions of coaching manuals to include Andy Reid’s goal as an example of why you always play to the whistle.
• Meanwhile, earlier on Boxing Day, all three teams at the bottom of the Premier League won, with Sunderland’s shock victory at Everton taking them onto 13 points. That, of course, means Derby’s record low points haul of 11 is safe for another season. Hoorah!
• Leeds United come to the City Ground tomorrow looking to boost their play-off hopes, but they won’t find it easy as Blackpool and Reading are the only teams in the top half of the table who have beaten Forest this season and we seem to produce our best football against other play-off contenders. It should be a competitive game though as both teams take a five-match unbeaten run into the match.
• Jim Price has now been removed completely from the club’s Who’s Who page, further fueling rumours that he has been relieved of his duties and begging the question, who will be handling Forest’s transfers this January? The Mail’s Charles Sale, who has been taking a special interest in Forest staffing lately, also reports that former administrator Jane Carnelly is considering an unfair dismissal case after she left the club last month. The alleged involvement of ‘unlicensed agent’ Brian O’Neil in recent Forest transfers is also under scrutiny. Forest’s response to these suggestions of wrongdoing has been, we are led to believe, to stop answering phone calls from journalists.