The World in My Eyes

5 days later, I feel as though I'm possibly finally recovered from my huge emotional hangover. Don't get me wrong, I've felt worse... The play off trouncing against Yeovil had me in tears long into the new season... but the game on Saturday was up there with one of the worst days I've ever experienced; however, only from a performance perspective.  I do have to come out and say it; Derby County 5 - 0 Nottingham Forest.  I was never entirely confident entering the game. There was an element of hope surrounding us, but from what I could tell on social network sites and from fellow bloggers, in honesty, Forest fans went into that game with a 'if we get a point it's an achievement' view.  Nevertheless it was a typical derby day feeling. Derby County were trying out their new South Stand regime and had moved the away fans into the corner of the ground- I'll say more on this later. The weather was pleasant and the air was tense.  The game- f...

I'm currently studying English Language and Creative Writing at University and you've probably already realised that I'm a slight football nut.  I've decided to combine hobby with study and with the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster approaching I've written a free verse poem about the disaster.  For those who know poetry you'll probably already know this but free verse means it's a bit different, doesn't really have a rhyming pattern or rhythm and can be written quite snappily to create emotion etc. Also the structure is a bit crazy for effect.  As a Forest fan who does like Liverpool the Hillsborough disaster is something very close to my heart. My grandfather was in the Forest end on the day and it changed his view on football from then. Not many people need telling of the devastating effects it had on the world, but for those who don't know, 96 people lost their lives in a crush at Hillsborough football stadium.  Controver...

I primarily have my boyfriend, Conner Crowder (@MrRamtastic), to thank for this trip.  Conner, happy to visit Ibrox Despite my relationship indeed being a Forest Derby local rival love affair, Conner spent 10 years of his life growing up in Ireland and due to the separation between the Catholics and Protestants, he was often singled out for being English. Did he bow down to it? No, of course not. He instead decided to adopt Glasgow Rangers as a second team in order to annoy the Catholics further... So, after informing me he'd never been to Ibrox before I decided that for his 23rd birthday it was about time he lived his dream of attending a Rangers game. And then my dad got jealous so he got a ticket for his birthday too. A huge thanks to him as well, who took us to the game.  Saturday March 15th 2014 We'd driven up to Carlisle the night before to cause less stress on our journey for the following day. Rangers had changed the kick off time to 12:45 (...

Unfortunately, or possibly fortunately, I have not been able to attend the last two games for Forest. This means I missed two draws, one away against Middlesbrough (1-1), the other at home against Doncaster (0-0). From what I've heard, neither game was particularly inspiring. This leaves me in a less than able place to comment on the games themselves. Andy Reid appears to have made a miraculous recovery from his 6 week injury after less than 6 days. Good news supposedly, though I'm sure I'm not the only Forest fan panicking that his early departure in the Doncaster game isn't another knock that he's picked up. This could be the worst case scenario, especially as we have our bitter rivals, Derby County, to play this Saturday. Further worrying is the fact that we have made so questionable starting team selections over the past few games.  This could lead to a few tears before the game, especially if Forest fans see likes of Collins, Harding, Moussi and Half...

With a world of controversy currently surrounding the Nottingham Forest camp over the past few weeks, it's no wonder the fans went into this game with caution. New injuries picked up by new signing but the yet-to-impress Rafik Djebbour and Simon Cox left more groans among the Forest faithful. This information was soon followed by the news that the not so outspoken but opinionated Forest gaffer will not do any interviews till March 26th following his recent 5 match touchline ban for 'abusing' a referee. Up to yet, what that term means we are unsure of; all we understand is that he's certainly made his feelings known on the poor refereeing performance during the Forest and Leicester draw. The increased injury list, lack of manager and the "lower team" curse that Forest carry with them mean that a trip to Oakwell (a place we often struggle to pick up points at) left little for Forest fans to get excited about, but still we held faith that we may pick up...

As an avid Forest fan, my heart is beginning to race at the thought of the upcoming weeks. I'm sure if you approached any other Forest fan or Derby fan for that matter, you will find that their nerves are also starting to settle in. It's nearly here.  Yes, it's the game that everyone eagerly searches for when the June fixture list comes out; the East Midlands Derby.  The second round for these two feisty rivals is sure to be one to go down in history as potentially one of the worst or best (depending on the outcome) local derbies most of our fans will have witnessed in a long time.  One of the things we DO agree on. RIP Brian Clough Jack Hobbs scoring the winner vs Derby September saw round one swing towards Forest with a late first half header from Forest defender Jack Hobbs the only thing separating the two teams. Whilst neither team were up to scratch that day, it wasn't over all a bad game. Despite this, it lead to the untimely, or possibly tim...