The World in My Eyes

... I don't mean for one minute that I enjoyed this year in the slightest. It's safe to say that 2016 has ruined a lot of people. As an avid user of social media, every second person seems to have had a bad year or has found this year intolerable in some way. Let's be honest, December 31st can't come quick enough for most of us. This year has been horrendous in many aspects. We've lost some incredible names that we've grown up with; people who have inspired us and bought our imaginations to life over the years that they graced the world with their talents. The month of January is usually long winded and stressful, but after that, most years tend to improve. It seemed as though we reached April and it became fairly obvious that 2016 wasn't actually going to get any better. And by September, we were screaming at it all to end. We've had terror scares, brexit bullsh*t and Trump calamity, terrible crashes and loss of life. Seriously, how bad did this year

I write today having had my eyes opened wider to another side of football. Non-League. I'm not talking about the likes of Grimsby Town or Chester- more the teams whose players take on another part time job and can recall every name of the less than 100 fans that go and watch every week. I say opened wider, because having visited non-league football before, I do know what it's all about. But, on Saturday I witnessed the same lower standard football, cold weather and small ground, yet left with both a bubble in my heart and a stab in the chest.  My first game for Nottingham Forest was in 2001 away at Crystal Palace. I remember leaving that game filled with an emotion that I'd never felt before. Of course I feel that feeling all the time now, but back then, I didn't understand the world of football. I've grown into it and witnessed some of the best and most miserable days of my life. Every  football fan wants the very best for their team, as do I, but with the w