On the back of the final euphoric ten minutes midweek trouncing of 10 men QPR, you’ll forgive me if I seem a little bit over the top. I’ve not felt this good about a Forest side since Billy Davies first stint which seems almost an age away thinking about it now.
With Cardiff up next tomorrow and the return of Neil Harris, I’ll expect nothing less than it to be a cagier affair, completely opposite to the set up of Mark Warburton on Wednesday night.
Cardiff have certainly under performed so far this season and too be honest, maybe it’s a blessing that our old adversary Neil Warnock is no longer there. That said, Harris usually comes with a point to prove at The City Ground given his rough treatment and probable self frustration that his move to Forest didn’t work out in his playing days.
Sabri will have done his homework though so we’ll have to wait and see on team selection. I’d expect Carvalho will be chomping at the bit and will the boss give Albert Adomah the nod once more to get valuable game time under his belt going into the festive period.
Hopefully Lee Tomlin won’t play any part tomorrow as I really rated him during his time at Forest and had a bit of Andy Reid about him; tubby with plenty of class. I honestly thought he should’ve been signed as back up to Carvalho last season but hey ho. I hope he gets his career back on track but maybe not tomorrow!
I really rated Danny Ward up top for Cardiff and he was impressive the last time he played at The City Ground; scoring an absolute screamer. He’d be the type of striker I think would be a good addition in January. Realistically, Lewis is one of the best strikers in the league so I’d be surprised we’d be looking to replace him in a formation that Sabri prefers. Will Dwight Gayle come to play as back up? I’m not so sure. Interesting times ahead on that front.
For my weekly prediction, I’m going to go with a 1-0 Forest win to keep up the momentum. 56 minute Ben Watson winner anyone?
I caught up with Cardiff fan, Jonny Churchward for his take on their season so far…
Cardiff’s season appears to be a bit lacklustre after falling out of the prem last season. Are the club still hungover as it looks as though you’re under achieving somewhat?
I think we’re massively underachieving. Anytime I watch or check the score and we’re behind, I have no confidence that we’ll bounce back and push for a win. I think there’s definitely been a lack of self-esteem amongst the players towards the end of Warnock’s reign. They’ve looked really stagnant.
Hopefully with a new manager at the helm, it will mean players are competing for places and wanting to win again. Too many players were just going through the motions sitting on prem wages and not performing consistently.
Neil Warnock looked like he’d past his sell by date but from the outside looking in, Neil Harris seemed a strange appointment given he was sacked by Millwall. How is your season shaping up following the second international break?
Although people in Wales made a big fuss about Wales qualifying (rightly so, in my opinion, as we looked shocking in the early part of the campaign) I don’t see it as having a massive influence on Cardiff. In the match following the break there were no Welsh players in the Cardiff! That said, I was really pleased with the draw against Charlton away. We went 2-0 down and I thought ‘here we go again’ as I expected the flood gates were going to open and give Neil Harris a rude awakening to life at Cardiff. In fairness, we fought back well and to salvage a draw was pleasing! Good for Harris too. With a good win at home against Stoke to follow, it’ll be interesting away at Forest on Saturday.
If I’m being totally honest, I would have preferred a big name manager but I’m very happy to be proven wrong by Neil Harris. It’s not been a bad start for him.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of this Cardiff outfit? Which individual players do Forest fans need to be looking out for in the Bluebirds side?
We still have some Premiership class in the side and on our day we look really good. The thing that still frightens me is where the goals are coming from. I really like Mendez-Laing – when he’s on form he looks class – so a big game is needed from him against Forest this weekend
Forest picked up a good away win against QPR, scoring four goals for the first time this season when they’ve been relatively hard to come by. What do you make of Forest this season and which players will you be most wary of?
Yeah – Forest looked good against QPR. Could have done without that just before we travel to the City Ground!! I really hope Forest do well this season (with the exception of Saturday, of course) – they’ve really flattered to deceive in recent seasons. This season looks slightly different though and they’ve played some decent football on occasions. I’m always wary of players like Joe Lolley – he’s capable of turning a game quite quickly – hope he’s kept quiet on Saturday!
What’s your most memorable Cardiff game against Forest?
The game at the City ground in 2017 – think Cardiff won 2-0. Can’t remember too much about the game but just remember I met two of my mates before and after the game for a few pints (both Forest fans) – we were all a bit coy before the match but afterwards I remember being quite vocal and pleased with having the bragging rights!
Predictions for Saturday with scorers?
An epic 2-2 draw!!!
Many thanks to Jonny C for his thoughts. Very much appreciated here at Munich and Madrid.