Powelly on all things Forest..

The summer has again been somewhat empty, besides watching the World Cup, I have often found myself going on the net to cure my longing for the new season by looking on Vital in the hope that there is some exciting news. The official site has told me nothing at all apart from how the lads are doing in Italy, and I am increasingly disenchanted by the lack of any real activity.
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Since the end of last season I have waited for the new manager to be announced and I was satisfied to find that Colin Calderwood had become the new boss. Satisfied being the operative term after the Martin O` Neill fiasco which gradually made me believe he would be the new manager. I have heard and read many different opinions on this appointment but I believe in giving him a fair crack at the whip as the manager.
The one point everybody has agreed on are the positive vibes that have come out of the City Ground since his appointment, his training methods have been received well, as has his decision to allow the players input into their code of conduct. This approach towards the players provides a great contrast to the regimental manner in which Megson ran things.

Although there have been plenty of positive points since Colin Calderwood`s arrival, I continually find myself worrying about the squad which does not look like being added to before January. I am worried about whether the squad that finished 7th in an overall poor season can win the league this time round. Good man – management is one thing, but the quality, or lack of it is the most important factor in whether or not we achieve promotion next season.

Although we have a strong squad, we are weak in key areas. For example, in midfield we don`t have a midfielder with the quality to compliment Clingan in midfield, which makes me think that we still won`t have a link between midfield and attack. It could be said that Garry Holt could be given the holding role but whether he can keep sustained form is a question that none of us can answer. My main concern rests upon the fact that we still haven`t signed a new goalkeeper that can replace Paul Gerrard. Although Rune Pedersen made few mistakes during his run in goal at the end of last season, I still don`t trust him as forest`s number one and his distribution is very poor.

Overall, we have heard positive signs coming from the City Ground since the arrival of Calderwood, but I am yet to be convinced that ours is a squad that can win the league next season. I would be very pleased to find myself prove completely wrong on this though!

Thanks for reading.
Jake Powell