When Colin Calderwood guided Nottingham Forest back into the Championship after a three year exile in League One, the Scot knew he needed to add some firepower to his squad if they were going to live up to his ambition of producing back to back promotions.

The £2.65 million acquisition of Robert Earnshaw certainly got the fans’ mouths watering, and this sense of anticipation was maintained when former England striker Andrew Cole joined his hometown club, with the message that he wanted to finish his career with promotion- with Forest.

However, as it turned out the Reds struggled for goals and found themselves in a relegation scrap.

Step forward Billy Davies to save the club from an instant return to the dreaded League One graveyard. Davies made some inspired loan signings, and one in particular was Dexter Blackstock who formed a deadly partnership with Earnshaw that scored enough goals to keep the Reds in the Championship for the 2009/10 season.

This summer saw Forest spend nearly £5 million on new signings, in a bid to eventually challenge for a place in the Premiership.

What was so striking about the signings Davies was making was that he was bringing in a lot of forwards.

Former Notts County striker David McGoldrick was signed for a cool £1 million from relegated Southampton. Dele Adebola joined on a free from Championship rivals Bristol City and Davies pulled off the signing that all Forest fans wanted to see by bringing Blackstock back to the club on a permanent deal from Queens Park Rangers, for £1.6 million.

What was impressive about these signings was that Davies had signed three strikers that were all last season’s top scorers at the clubs they had been signed from.

This gave Forest a much more attacking look then they had last season under Calderwood, where there was huge reliance on Welsh international Earnshaw. Now Forest have more options to look to when in need of a goal.

The arsenal Davies now possesses up front is arguably the best in the Championship, as he has six strikers that all offer something different to the squad.

Adebola is an ‘old fashioned’ centre forward that Forest have lacked in recent years, whilst also showing he can play football to. At thirty four, people may question what he can give to the club but the Nigerian born striker has shown that his experience may prove essential around the young squad that Forest have by offering something different when the Reds have ran out of ideas.

McGoldrick has been labelled by Davies as a ‘second striker’, a player who can come deep and receive the ball whilst playing of a big striker feeding him with knockdowns.

Blackstock did enough to show his quality during his successful loan spell on Trentside. He is a player who is strong and will battle for every ball, whilst also showing a cool head when in front of goal which has been proven by him racing to the top of the Forest goalscoring leaderboard.

Add these three players to the forwards already at the City Ground, Robert Earnshaw, Joe Garner and Nathan Tyson and Forest seem to have all bases covered up front.

With such a variety of options in the striking department at the City Ground, it feels as though the fans are starting to believe Davies’ ambition of getting the club back to where it belongs- the Premiership.

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