Nottingham Forest - a football club which has sold out and lost its way

I've always been proud to be a Nottingham Forest fan. I've lost count of the number of people who have told me they have a soft spot for Forest and how they wished to see them back in the Premier League.


This is a club synonymous with good football and respect for referees, for a brilliant academy, a superb atmosphere and a fanbase which travels far and wide in huge numbers.

But sadly, the last two years have tarnished the club's reputation.

It began by spending large sums on players (many of whom have not even stepped on the pitch for the club) which resulted in a breach of spending rules. Rather than accept the fact we survived in the Premier League through an unfair advantage, we pretended that we had no choice and moaned at what I believe was a lenient punishment.

The manager who took us back to the Premier League, not to mention delivered memorable cup runs, had his job security played out constantly in public before eventually being sacked and replaced a few hours later.

Our brilliant academy director has been let go, homegrown players have been allowed to leave and we no longer trust our youngsters to make the step up to the first team, something which has always been an enormous source of pride.

Senior staff have been hired and re-hired and we've even had a player we were told had been "loaned out" only to find out he was actually released.

Forest have become a laughing stock, known more for the number of players they sign every transfer window than for the many things we should be proud of.

We hired a referee consultant and threw around conspiracy theories, tarnishing our good name (and ignoring the fact our play-off victory was secured thanks to an inept VAR).

We drastically increased ticket prices and even charged people to go on a season ticket waiting list.

Basically, we've lost our morals and tarnished our reputation and for what? Just to try and compete in the Premier League.

As a club we have completely lost our way. We had a team, a manager, a playing group, an academy and a supporter base to be proud of. And what do we have now, other than a faltering survival bid and loyal fans who may not be able to afford to go and watch next season, regardless of what league we are in.

It's shameful, and while I hope we stay up this season, whatever division we are in I really want to see things change. 

Lower season ticket and match day prices, even if it means we have less to spend in the transfer window. Stick to the rules, no matter how uncompetitive they are, and stop publicly berating referees.

Trust in the academy, stop the transfer splurges and bring us back to being a club which is liked and respected outside of Nottingham.

It's time for Forest to be magic again. 

Football has left me cold

It's not just Forest who have left me feeling rubbish about football this season.

VAR has been awful, the season has been dominated by spending breaches and points deductions, as well as dodgy owners threatening the future of their clubs.

We've had FA Cup replays scrapped just to squeeze in more Champions League games, we've had clubs release bitter statements after getting bad decisions, we've had tragedy chanting and we've had players take the Saudi Arabian blood money.

Bar a couple of good title/promotion races, it's been hard to watch, although a special mention should go out to my local team Peterborough United.

Posh play good football, score lots of goals, trust in youth and have an academy graduate as their captain. A shining example of what football should be about.

Meg's story is a stark reminder how anorexia can get anyone

Meg Lanning is a brilliant Australian cricketer. Or should I say was, as she has now retired due to a health condition she revealed recently was linked to an eating disorder.

Her story chimes a lot with mine - first you increase your exercise, then cut down your food, and before you know it your weight is plummeting, you're having terrible mood swings and you crave your own company and to be left alone.

I would urge everyone to spend two minutes reading this as it could easily be you or someone else you know who suffers from anorexia next.

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