retired_brianrt

Due to James Vaughan's scoring record in August, he earnt the player of the month award. If his scoring record continued in the same vein as it had done then it would be sure to guarantee our promotion sooner rather than later. We had finished the month in 2nd place, an automatic promotion spot, but I wanted the league title at the end of the season, not just promotion. Unfortunately, Danny Cullip had picked up a slight thigh strain in the Huddersfield match that would keep him out for around 10 days, and James Beaumont joined him on the injured list when he picked up a groin injury in training on the first day of the month. This meant that Ross Gardner took Beaumont's place in the centre of the park, while Rory Delap made his first appearance since signing for the club for the visit of one of my former clubs Northampton to Nottingham.

Northampton had clearly come for a point, playing with 5 at the back at stifling our attacks every time we went forward, even James Vaughan couldn't find the breakthrough, His pace still tormented the defence, but we went in at half time still goalless, the best chance of the half falling to John Curtis, who skied his shot over the crossbar. The second half was much of the same, Northampton clearly coming for just a point, and I got the funny feeling that it was just going to be one of those days. It took until the 74th minute for that view to change, Ross Gardner picking the ball up on the edge of the box before curling the ball into the top corner to send us into the lead. Northampton heads dropped after this, and we could have scored again, but we didn't and held on for a victory that kept us in the automatic promotion places.

...

She had caught my attention straightaway, as she pulled up to training in a silver Mercedes. I presume it was her husbands car, he was a fellow player, but I didn't plan to have an affair with his wife. They had a bust up at the end of year presentation, he stormed out and left her, I just wanted to make sure she got home safely. We had both had a few drinks, but waking up the next morning to find her there. That was a shock to the system. I felt guilty, but I didn't want it to stop. She was incredible, and I felt feelings for her like I had never felt before. 18 months we were seeing each other for, even when I moved to Nottingham. She used to make up business appointments to come and see me. I don't know how her husband found out, but he did. That was why I had to stay in Nottingham. I do regret it now, looking back I know it was a stupid thing to do. I was young, immature and inexperienced. I crave for that passion again though, I really do

...

The next game the team had to face was a visit to Valley Parade and 5th placed Bradford. They were a team in a similar predicament to us, having been a former Premiership team, and they were one of the favourites for the Playoffs, but I was still confident that we could pick up three points. 23 minutes into the match, this looked a bold prediction, two Bradford goals seeing them in front. We managed to get back on level terms with 2 goals in 4 minutes, Neill Collins and James Vaughan sending us in at half time two goals apiece. We were in front just 6 minutes into the second half, Grant Holt coming in at the back post and converting Vaughan's low cross. The Bradford team cut disconsolate figures after this, and there was never any danger of them coming back level, and we held on to claim an excpetionally good three points

retired_brianrt

She was beautiful, long flowing blonde hair. I don't know what she saw in her husband, but if it hadn't been for the fact he was club captain then I don't know if he would have been as accepted around the club as he was. I honestly thought he was an arrogant, first class arsehole, who thought he was a better player than he was. Still, having an affair with his wife for 18 months made me see him in a different light. Last I heard, she had left him and gone to live somewhere else. We ended on good terms but we felt it was best to go our seperate ways. I still think about her, all the time. I don't have any memories of her really, just whats in my head. She made me feel good about myself. Did I love her? I'm not sure about that. But I know I wanted her, and I still do. She was amazing.

...

I had several options in the squad to choose as the front pair. My first choice was Vaughan and Tyson, with Holt as their replacement. Although Dobie wasn't a bad player, I still wanted more numbers. Having looked through reserve sides of Premiership team, young Liverpool striker Craig Lindfield seemed to be the best option for bringing in, and a deal was quickly finalised to bring him to the City Ground for three months. He had a slight injury when he arrived, so he didn't make the squad for our next league game, a visit from bottom side Rotherham. It was a game that I expected us to win comfortably, due to us being at home and Rotherham not being the greatest side in the division. We started well, creating three good chances in the opening 20 minutes, Vaughan missing two of them and Sammy Clingan the other guilty culprit. We toiled and toiled through the game but it looked like we were going to draw a blank, Rotherham 'keeper Neil Cutler keeping everything out, but it was our on loan striker James Vaughan who won the game, breaking free and sliding the ball home three minutes from time to give us our fourth straight league win and send us top of the table.

---

"Mark, I've got a visitor outside who wants to see you. You OK to see them?"
"Yeah it's fine, send them in. I'm not busy at the minute"
..
..
"Hi Mark. How are you?"

No. It couldn't be her could it? I looked up from my desk to see her standing there in front of me. It had been years since I saw her

"Joanne? What are you doing here? It's been so long and you just turn up like this"
"I thought I'd get a nicer welcome than that Mark. After all we've been through together. Aren't you even going to offer me a drink?"
"Not until you tell me why you're her. What's happened? Are you hurt or anything?"
"No I'm fine. I've just moved down to the area and I saw you'd become the manager. I thought I'd pay you a visit and catch up with old times"
OK. Well I'll take you out for a meal this weekend then. Will the other half mind?"
"There is no other half. It's just me. And dinner sounds good"
"OK. Well here is my home number and my mobile number, so just ring me and let me know when you would like to go"
"Perfect. Chow Mark. See you soon"

..and with that, she turned and walked out of my office, leaving me distracted by her perfectly formed backside and a huge grin suddenly sppearing on my face

retired_brianrt

My meeting with Joanne had come as somewhat of a surprise, but it was a ncie one nonetheless. She was still as gorgeous as I remember, and I was delighted to see her. She always made me happy, and I was glad to get a chance to catch up with her and find out what she had been up to.

Before that though, there was a small matter of a trip to London to play Millwall at the Den. They were sitting in 4th place, Nigel Spackman having gotten them off to a good start, and I was expecting a difficult game. I was once again delighted to see the way the lads started, coming out of the blocks with a purpose and really having a go at the defenders. When Djamel Belmadi cut inside from the right hand side and was taken down by Marvin Elliott inside the area, Vaughan coolly stepped up and slid the penalty into the bottom right hand corner. We probably should have extended that lead before the interval, Holt and Clingan both missing chances, but our lead was doubled three minutes into the second half, Vaughan netting his tenth of the season with a clever little lob over the onrushing Lenny Pidgeley. This seemed to wake the home side up, and they got themselves back into the match after 70 minutes, Derek McInnes curling the ball home from the edge of the area, but we sealed all three points two minutes from time, Belmadi scoring his first goal in a Forest shirt when he converted Lynch's cross.

--

Rory Delap had recovered enough to take his place in the squad for our next encounter, another away game at Cheltenham, and he started in midfield alongside Sammy Clingan. Vaughan started up front with the returning Tyson, while Scott Dobie replaced Belmadi on the right after the Algerian picked up a slight knock in training. Cheltenham were a mid table side, sitting 16th in the table, and it was yet another game I was confident that we could pick up a full quota of points from. A quarter of an hour into the match, that theory was secured, yet another brace from James Vaughan putting us comfortably in front. The striker used his pace to beat the defence and slot home for both goals, on 7 and 14 minutes respectively, and the two goals saw Cheltenham lose heart. We couldn't find that extra goal to really put a nail in the coffin, but we left Whaddon Road with all three points, extending our lead at the top of the table to 4 points in the process.

retired_brianrt

"So then Mark. Is there a Mrs. Hampton on the scene? Or are you still the playboy of old"
"Oh you know me Jo. I like to keep my options open. What about you? Why is there no man in your life?"
"I don't know really. Since you came to Nottingham, I missed you. I left Paul 4 years ago, since then, just haven't found the right man I guess"
"So you've been looking then? You could always try a dating service"
"Oh yeah, you can see me doing that can you?"
"No not really. So where you staying then? If you like you can stay in the spare room in my place, free of charge. I don't mind helping a friend out and it'd be nice to have some company"
"You know Mark, I might just take you up on that offer. Thanks a lot"
"Don't mention it. If you're not too busy I can show you your new home tonight if you like"
"Hmm..I think a couple more Gin and Tonics might do the trick"

---

With my new housemate spending considerably more time in my bed than in the spare bed, I was becoming increasingly more aware that we were getting closer by the day. Not that this was a bad thing, but I knew I had other things to focus on, namely winning football matches and winning promotion. fellow promotion candidates Scunthorpe were the next opponents, and with the lethal Billy Sharp in their attack they alwyas had the chance of a goal. I was sure we could pick up three points but I expected a tough test for the team. By half time, the game was as good as over, a first Forest goal for Craig Lindfield and James Vaughan's 13th and 14th goals of the current campaign saw us three goals to the good at the interval. We couldn't afford to let it slip though, which we didn't, holding the second half in the palm of our hands as we strolled through to a surprisingly easy win over a strong side

It was only 4 days later that the final game of the month was upon us, 9th placed Yeovil, another one of my former clubs making the visit to the City Ground. They weren't a bad side, but they were nothing exceptional, and when on loan Arsenal midfielder Johann Smith put us into a 12th minute lead I was a lot more comfortable in my seat. I was getting ever more nervous as the half went on though, but Grant Holt did his job, the former Rochdale man heading home Smith's cross to all but seal the points. We did manage a third in the second half, Northern Ireland midfielder Sammy Clingan striking home from the edge of the area to give us an 8th successive League One win and see us end the month sitting atop the table by 6 points

retired_iva terry

Nice starting...looking forward to your updates

retired_brianrt

September 2006 Summary
(League One unless stated)

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Northampton
Gardner (74)

Bradford 2-3 Nottingham Forest
Johnson (13) Graham (23) : Collins (29) Vaughan (33) Gr. Holt (51)

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Rotherham
Vaughan (87)

Millwall 1-3 Nottingham Forest
McInnes (70) : Vaughan (pen. 7,48) Belmadi (88)

Cheltenham 0-2 Nottingham Forest
Vaughan (7,14)

Nottingham Forest 3-0 Scunthorpe
Lindfield (19) Vaughan (22,36)

Nottingham Forest 3-0 Yeovil
Smith (12) Gr. Holt (45) Clingan (57)

retired_brianrt

Damien77 - thanks a lot, glad to know your enjoying the story

----------------------------

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> PL W D L GD PTS1. NOTT'M FOREST 12 10 1 1 +20 31 2. Bristol City 12 7 5 0 +9 26--------------------------------------------3. Brentford 12 7 1 4 +5 224. Scunthorpe 12 7 1 4 +4 225. Brighton 12 5 4 3 +7 196. Leyton Orient 12 5 4 3 +3 19</pre>

..

Vaughan picked up his second successive Player of the month award thanks to his 8 goal haul, while I collected my first Manager of the month gong, after guiding the team to seven wins out of seven. A few more months like that and promotion would be a breeze. October didn't get off to the greates of starts though, with Clingan, Grant Holt and Rune Pedersen all picking up knocks which would rule them out of the trip to Boundary Park. With Dobie picking up an injury a couple of days later it left me with just three fit strikers, something which I wasn't keen on being a regular feature, so I instructed Dave to have a scout on the loan list and see who he could find that could provide three months cover on the attacking front.

We had driven up north for the Oldham game on the morning of the match, with the intention of staying in Oldham that night, but I would have much preferred to have stayed the Friday night and left Saturday afternoon but I had no choice in the matter. I would have been unhappy had we lost, but come the final whistle in the match we had sealed a third 3-0 win on the trot, Nathan Tyson and a Rory Delap brace enough to seal a comfortable win

With a week's restbite until we played again, I went along with a few of the lads (aswell as members of the Oldham team) into Oldham town centre for a few drinks. Come the coach journey the following day, I couldn't remember much about the next except I had started on bitter and ended up with a pounding headache and a bloody great cut on my head. The lads told me later that a flying bottle had struck me, although my epilepeic state had left me oblivious to it, and it had certainly left it's mark.

retired_brianrt

After a few quizzical looks from Joanne and a trip to the hospital, I was all patched up and ready to lead the team on our march to the Championship. James Vaughan was proving to be deadly in League One, having scored 14 goals in just 9 league appearances, and with Sammy Clingan putting in dominant midfield performances the team was really starting to come along well

..

"You know what today is don't you?"

Joanne had sat down next to me, in a revealing top and short skirt, which had distracted me from the question she posed

"Erm...Thursday?"
"No, I mean what special day is it?"
"It's not your birthday is it? I could have sworn that was in February"
"No don't worry, it's not my birthday. It's the date we first, well, you know..."
"When we first what?"
"Well, took the relationship to the next level"
"Ooooh. I see. That must have been 9 years ago. How do you women remember things like that?"
"It's just a knack we have. We're good like that you see. So are you going to treat me to dinner tonight then?"
"Yeah I will. I won't be out of the ground till gone 7 though, so if you want to meet me there we'll go straight from there"
"Ok, I'll meet you at half 7 in your office"
"OK. See you later"

Women. How do they remember things like that eh? Still, a night away from the football would do me good, even though Joanne is an expensive date...

---

Port Vale visited the City Ground next up, and they had been the surprise package so far. The expected relegation candidates had started well, and sat in a comfortable 10th place in League One. I still expected to pick up a full quota of points from the game, and when Kris Commons stepped up to take a 13th minute penalty we were already one ahead, Sammy Clingan having slotted in a goal in the 6th minute. Commons missed the penalty, or to be more precise, it was saved by Vale 'keeper Mark Goodlad. We still pushed forward, dominating the game and creating chance after chance, but we just could not find the breakthrough, and we paid dearly for it when the Midlanders equalised in the 69th minute, a goal which they didn't deserve, but it earned them a point and ended our winning run.

The Johnstone's Paint Trophy was, quite frankly, a competition that didn't mean a whole lot to me, promotion to the Championship the main target for me and the team. The forst round of the competition had landed us a home draw against League Two Swindon, a game which I had no hesitation in resting the majority of first team players for. Even without the likes of Vaughan, Cullip, Collins, Clingan, Curtis and Belmadi, the team still managed to secure a comfortable win. By the ninetieth minute, we had put four past the hapless Swindon 'keeper. Three of those goals came from on loan Liverpool striker Craig Lindfield, his hat-trick goal a beautiful 20 yard volley that flew into the top corner. Grant Holt also chipped in with the fourth goal, and a comfortable passage into the second round.

retired_brianrt

Four days later and we were back in League One action, a visit to Leyton Orient providing us with another tough test. They were a newly promoted side, and many people expected them to be in a relegation dogfight, but they were sitting comfortably in 8th place thus far. They had some good players, and in front of goal they posed a threat, and come half time they were one goal in front, on loan Southampton striker Leon Clarke having put them in front. We were much better in the second half, creating chances, and two James Vaughan goals in the space of 7 minutes sealed us a win. His first was a typical poachers goal, converting Belmadi's cross from 6 yards, but his second was a real gem of a goal, as he ran from our half, beating three men and sliding the ball under the Orient 'keeper. We held on for the three points, extending our lead at the top to 9 points over Bristol City.

...

Joanne had settled in well, and there was no doubt to the fact that we were officially a couple now. I had tried to bring up her ex husband, and why she had left him, but she hadn't answered the question and kept skirting round the answer. I was interested to know why she had walked out on him, but she didn't want to talk about it so I didn't push the issue.

--

In the first couple of months, we had tried to get as much time together as possible, seeing each other on 5 days a week. He got suspicious though, so we had to slow down, take it easy. To be honest, I think he suspected her of having an affair from the early days, but I don't think he thought it was one of his fellow players at the club. I don't know if he ever found out it was me, but one day he found out and started going ballistic. Next time I saw her, she had bruises. What could I do. I couldn't let him know it was me could I. I always said I would get revenge one day, and I will...

--

Swansea visited the City Ground next, with Lee Trundle their main goal threat. The big Scouser never got into the game though, as we comfortably ran out 3-1 winners. Beaumont opened the scoring after 68 seconds, collecting Clingan's pass and slotting home the ball past Willy Gueret. James Vaughan doubled that lead two minutes before the interval, using his pace to break free of his marker and dink the ball into the net. Swansea were back in the game two minutes into the second half, Alan Tate heading home, but the game was sealed soon after, a Robinson own goal sealing the match and giving us another three points.

Another home game finished the month off, Cheltenham the visitors in the second round of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. Goals from Scott Dobie and Craig Lindfield were enough to send us into the quarter finals, and even Ryan Hall's 89th minute goal wasn't enough to take a shine off the result. Dobie was superb, running the game from the right wing, and he deservedly earned man of the match for his performance

retired_brianrt

October 2006 Summary
(League One unless stated)

Oldham 0-3 Nottingham Forest
Tyson (6) Delap (8,88)

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Port Vale
Clingan (6) Commons missed pen (13) : McCann (69)

Nottingham Forest 4-0 Swindon (Johnstones Paint Trophy Southern section 1st Round)
Lindfield (pen 17,52,55) Gr. Holt (76)

Leyton Orient 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Clarke (37) : Vaughan (61,68)

Nottingham Forest 3-1 Swansea
Beaumont (2) Vaughan (43) Robinson OG (50) : Tate (47)

Nottingham Forest 2-1 Cheltenham (Johnstones Paint Trophy Southern section 2nd Round)
Dobie (17) Lindfield (80) : Hall (89)