Forest Reserves- Deal Or No Deal

After watching another reserve game, this time against a very good Birmingham side, I thought it time to rule the roost over the current batch.

Rune Pederson. Rune has his critics, and I have to admit that I have not been his biggest fan. However, he is a good shot stopper, distributes the ball well, particularly to the full backs and commands his penalty area pretty well. He has the ability but also has his faults. He is not as confident with crosses as I think he should be, he is too willing to punch the ball rather than catch it and seems very uncomfortable kicking the ball from hand. Deal – he is a good reserve keeper and is certainly the best of the rest.

Brendon Moloney – This lad has class. He is good on both sides of a back 4, gets forward excellently, passes well, is not scared of taking defenders on and will have a crack at goal if the opportunity presents itself. Of course, he is only a kid and has his faults, he gets dragged out of position sometimes, and can be caught out if the midfield lose possession. He does however, track back to make good any error. He is tough as old boots and in my opinion is pushing John Curtis all the way for his first team place – Deal – no doubt whatsoever.

Mark Byrne – Not a bad little player but can be guilty of jumping in to tackles. This is the first time I have seen him play but he definitely has potential in the centre of midfield. Deal – maybe, but could be a little small for such a demanding position.

Vincent Fernandez – My god this player is annoying, solid as they come, good in the air, distributes well and gets stuck in. However, takes too long to make the pass and is often caught out by his telegraphed passes and is a bit slow to get into position if he gets caught out – Sorry No Deal

Hamza Bencherif – the Algerian Wes Morgan, without the silky skills. Solid as they come, fantastic in the air and 99% of the time a good passer, again can telegraph passes. Deal – bit more time and composure makes competition for the centre half position tough.

Alan Power – I am not sure if he was out of position in tonights game but went missing far too often and was not in a position to receive the ball – Moloney outshone him as a winger and he was playing full back – No Deal, unless there is a marked improvement.

Robert Hughes – This lad has talent. He is a real battler, gets stuck in, tackles well, passes well and gets forward ahead of the strikers to give options and has a great shot. However, all this is done sometimes, because sometimes he looks like he is running round like a headless chicken. I like Hughes, I think he can do well but he has to be more consistent in his play and stamp his authority on games at the reserve level. As a guide, I saw him in a reserve game with Lewis McGugan and he was far better but lewis is more consistent hence his first team place. Deal – but only just

Emile Sinclair and Ben Fiarclough – These 2 lads are very similar. They are both very very quick, both love to go at defenders and are comfortable on the ball and importantly, both love to shoot. However, for all their speed, they are too small and lack the strength to prevent getting pushed of the ball by defenders. No Deal, I do not think they have enough to make it as centre forwards but could have a future as wingers.

Overall, the future is bright. We have a good bunch of youngsters who are doing very well; we need to keep hold of them. The problem is that this might not be that easy when you bear in mind that yet again at a Forest reserve game there were at least a dozen scouts.