With 21 additions and over £150,000,000 spent it would be easy for any fan to get ahead of themselves and set unrealistic targets for this new squad full of big names and promising young players, however Forest fans need to take a step back and evaluate where the club is.
As soon as that full time whistle blew at Wembley and the celebrations halted a few days later my target was simple, 12 points! The stories of Derby’s 11 point season are famous and every East Midlands derby we remind them that they are in fact the worst team in Premier League history and it would be a nightmare should Forest beat such an embarrassing record in their first season back in the big time, while 4 points from 6 games must look bad to an outsider, but Forest have taken points at Goodison, beaten West Ham and gave a good account in a 2-0 loss against Spurs.
One thing that all Forest fans can look at is last year we were dead last place with no hope and we have somehow managed to be looking at a fixture list jam packed with teams playing in Europe bolstering world class players, and the City Ground is full week after week. As forest fans the dreary Saturdays of Reading beating us 2-0 with us finishing with 9 men and the droves of Forest fans leaving on the 80th minute seem to be behind us for now at least but it's important to remember just how bad those days were so we can appreciate what Mr. Marinakis and Steve Cooper have done for this football club. Even with a terrible second half performance against Bournemouth costing us 3 points at home, we are only 6 games in and have lots of football to look forward to.
Forest face Leeds on Monday at Elland Road and it is a game I will be attending with hopes of getting at least a point. The last time Forest visited Leeds Lewis Grabbans late equaliser allowed forest to return with a point in 2019.After Leeds a home game against Fulham awaits and again it’s a game Forest will go into expecting a good performance and points won. Forest lost 4-0 at home to fellow promotion winners Fulham last season at the city ground however did earn a 1-0 win at Craven Cottage. And after that to complete the next 3 Forest will travel the short distance to Leicester who currently sit rock bottom and winless with manager Brendan Rogers future hanging in the balance. Forest will once again see this as one of the more favourable fixtures this year with Rogers side seemingly in disrepute with poor results on the pitch and a very unproductive summer window which highlighted the issues Leicester have with players seemingly trying to secure moves elsewhere.
If forest can manage 5 to 9 points from these games, I’m sure fans will start once again unrealistically dreaming of a 7th place finish and trips to Budapest and Athens on a European tour. However, what all forest fans must remember is that a 17th place finish and maybe a cup run is still a fantastic season and will be a credit to not only Steve cooper but also the recruitment team and Marinakis who are aiming to cement Nottingham Forest in the top flight once again and become a famous household name across the country once again
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