We were going to start with a very difficult home game as the visitors were recently-relegated West Brom, they were predicted to bounce back up to the Premier League right away. The game didn’t start too well for us as I was forced to take off striker Mohammed Tchite due to an injury but we defended pretty well until half time and held West Brom to a goalless draw. They upped the tempo after the break and we were literally under siege. We stood firm for a while but not too long as West Brom took the lead through Chris Wood on 57 minutes. My lads were not impressed though and we managed to score the equaliser only three minutes later: Peter Singh showed good vision to pick out Matt Richards‘ run and the left winger volleyed the ball home! West Brom resumed their attacks but my new goalkeeper Davide La Rocca pulled off a couple of miraculous saves and we managed to walk away with a draw.

We had an easier game after that, the Carling Cup first round match against League Two side Barnet. Tchite was out for 10 days following the injury during the previous game and I was forced to take another striker off during the Barnet match, Peter Singh got injured. We dominated the game, that was quite obvious, but I can’t believe how wasteful we were. Barnet didn’t manage to get a single shot on target in 120 minutes but they won the tie after the penalty shoot-out, frustrating is a mild word to describe what happened there. I was quite disappointed to say the least.

Back to the league, we had another very tough game against a recently-relegated side, Bristol City. They were predicted to finish third this season so we were clear underdogs for that match. I am pleased to say that we dominated the first half, had good ball possession but didn’t manage to create any chances. The second half was a bit different, our opponents pushed forward with greater impetus but my defense looked rock-solid. We were still unbeaten after meeting two of the best teams in the league, not bad…

We had a record to celebrate after the Bristol City game, 16-year-old striker Neil Hayter was sent in after half time and he became our youngest player ever to appear in a competitive game! He is a product of our own youth setup so I will be taking special care of him

We had yet another tough game coming up, at home with Sheffield United, the team that was predicted to finish 6th this season. The first half was fairly even but Sheffield United made the difference through better finishing, they hit the target on 17 minutes while my Mohammed Tchite hit the post two minutes before half time. Then he went on to miss a huge chance a few seconds after the break but Omar Koroma did justice four minutes into the second half with a powerful finish. The team started to play even better after the goal and we missed another couple of chances before Koroma slotted home his second goal of the game. Sheffield United missed a good chance to get back on level terms only a few minutes after our second goal but then we took control of the game and grabbed our first win of the season! Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

Our first game was quite a tough one, we had to face promotion contenders Preston away from home. They were predicted to finish sixth and they surely proved why as we started the game well and showed a couple of good attacks but it was Preston who scored the very first time they came forward. Five minutes later our opponents doubled their lead with a corner kick header, League One was looking a bit too tough for us at that point. My players reacted pretty well though, the team started pushing forward and we managed to claw one back 15 minutes before half time through right winger Tiberiu Paduraru (click on player’s name to view his profile). We resumed our attacking display after the interval but Preston were defending very well and also looked quite threatening on counter attacks. Time was running out on our hopes of a good debut but Preston‘s keeper felt bad about us so he gifted striker Michael Garrity a golden opportunity by coming out of the box to intercept the ball and missing it completely. Garrity kept cool and slotted the ball home for a late equalizer, I was pleased with the fightback. Unfortunately the physio had bad news for me at the end of the game, Barbero was going to be out for three weeks while Koroma was going to be sidelined for a month.

Our next game was the Carling Cup clash with fellow League One side Colchester. They were freshly relegated from the Championship so they were considered as strong promotion contenders in the league but I was hoping for a good display in front of our own fans. The team played pretty well during the first half, we dominated the game and finally managed to convert that into a goal just before the break when Simon Ferry showed good awareness to push in a parried shot. The second half was like a dream for us… First left winger Matt Richards curled in a beautiful free kick shots from 20 yards out, the ball went past the keeper and in off the post. Then Szymon Kazmierowski netted his first goal of the season from inside the box and Aleksandar Mladenov came off the bench to complete the rout with a placed finish. You can’t imagine how happy I was to see the team playing so well, pre-season was pretty tense and I was finally having reasons to rejoice. It was too early to celebrate though, we had to confirm this performance in the following matches.

We had another home game coming up, this time in League One, Bournemouth were coming to pay us a visit. They were predicted to finish 19th so not too far above our predicted 24th The game didn’t start too well for us though, Bournemouth had a good chance to score an early goal but our young goalkeeper Gabriel Nicolau pulled off a great save. Then the lads got going and Jonathan Obika rounded off a team move to score his first goal for the club in the 25th minute. His good movement off the pall paid off again 11 minutes later, he coolly slotted the ball home from inside the box. Unfortunately we were caught napping on a counter attack and Bournemouth clawed one back just two minutes later. We missed another couple of chances until half time but Michael Garrity restored our two goal lead just after the interval by pushing in a good assist from Obika. We were playing very well, creating (and missing) lots of chances until centre back Tom Thorpe settled the score with a corner kick header. I was quite pleased with the amount of chances that we created, the team was looking determined to succeed.

The next game was expected to be a lot tougher, away at promotion contenders Colchester. We just beat them 4-0 at home in the Carling Cup but I was fearing their desire for revenge… In fact, we found ourselves under pressure right away but managed to withstand it somehow and take the lead 23 minutes into the game thanks to a great pass from Obika and a good finish from Revy Rosalia. Then we defended pretty well with a bit of luck too as Colchester hit the crossbar a few minutes later. I was hoping to keep the lead until half time but the pressure was too high and Colchester netted the equalizer during stoppage time. We started the second half with a slightly better attacking attitude and that eventually showed its fruits as young striker Peter Singh showed good personality in skipping past his marker and powering the ball home from just inside the area. Our joy was short lived though, my centre backs lost one of Colchester‘s strikers on a quick move and it was all square. We were under a great deal of pressure again but goalkeeper Nicolau did very well again to keep us in the game. Colchester were knocking on our door but it was us who opened theirs in the end, captain Ryan Carolan banged in a corner kick header 4 minutes from time! You could say that we stole this win, Colchester had quite a few chances but we survived and won it somehow.

Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

The media predicted that we would finish last, as usual Our first game was away at Bury, a team that was predicted to finish 19th. The first minutes of the game were quite painful to watch for me, Bury were dominating and eventually took the lead with a fine shot into the top corner from just inside the penalty area. We were not playing very well and under such circumstances you have to make the most out of the chances you might have. We did have a huge one ten minutes before half time but it was wasted. I made all three substitutions at half time and the team started to play much better but the finishing was still quite poor. Bury doubled the lead following a throw in, my defenders seemed to be thinking about their holidays, wives, girlfriends, anything other than marking their opponents. Striker Omar Koroma managed to claw one back for us 14 minutes from time, he displayed some good footwork to skip past his marker and then powered it in from inside the area. We pushed forward to get the equalizer but the ball just wouldn’t go in, so our first game in League Two ended with a defeat. Captain Ryan Carolan got injured and was going to be out for three weeks, a perfect start…

We had a more difficult game coming up in the Carling Cup, away at League One side Coventry. This time we got off to a great start and Polish striker Kazmierowski gave us the lead 13 minutes into the game with a perfect shot from just inside the area to round off a flowing team move. Our joy was short lived though, Coventry equalized with a fabulous shot from 30 yards out and then, a few minutes later, took the lead with a fine header. Our reaction was weak and the game was as good as over at half time. We didn’t wake up after the break either and Coventry managed to seal the game thanks to a bizarre penalty kick, the ball wasn’t anywhere near the penalty area when the referee blew his whistle. Beating Coventry was an unlikely possibility anyway so I wasn’t too harsh on the lads.

Back to League Two, our next game was at home with promotion contenders Northampton, a team that was predicted to finish 3rd. It was our first home game of the season and I was pleased to see that more than 2000 fans came to watch the game and encourage the lads. My players took control of the game right from the start, we were pushing forward and the opponents were making some very rough tackles to stop our attacking moves. I was expecting to see a red card sooner or later and it finally came in the 31st minute, we had a man advantage but we still had to get something on the scoreboard. That finally came true three minutes before half time, striker Omar Koroma banged one in from inside the penalty area. Four minutes after the break another good flowing team move gave Kazmierowski the opportunity to score from inside the box and he didn’t miss. We were totally in control of the game and should have scored a few more to please our fans. Instead of scoring we conceded one due to a huge error in defense but we never looked like losing it.

We had our first win of the season and a lot more confidence to take into the next game, away at Port Vale, another promotion contender that was predicted to finish 6th. The team looked fairly solid during the first 10 minutes, we were dominating the game and were rewarded for that in the 11th minute when Bulgarian winger Mladenov rounded off a team move with a splendid volley from inside the penalty area. Our first half display was quite pleasing, Port Vale didn’t manage to get any shots at all, on or off target! We kept things under control after the interval too and we could have doubled the lead but the finishing was rather poor. Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

The first game was at home with 7th placed Fulham, one of the biggest overachievers of the season. They found themselves under heavy pressure right away though and Carlos Abad scored the opener with a powerful shot from inside the area. Fulham reacted pretty well though and went close to scoring on two occasions before half time. The second half was rather poor for both sides but luckily we had some players that were able to make a difference: Guilherme showed good vision to pick Bonetti‘s run and the tiny Italian winger slotted it home to give us the win.

Next up, the FA Cup quarter final with Burnley. Everybody expected us to win the game and Sam Hinshelwood made things clear right from the start as he headed home a pinpoint cross from Fabian Delph. The game was fairly quiet as a result of that early goal, Burnley were not coming forward and my players didn’t seem to determined to score again. We did that a bit later in the second half, Sam Hinshelwood was brought down inside the box and Joe Barton converted the penalty kick. We were through to the semi final where Chelsea were waiting for us.

Back to the Premier League then, we had to travel to White Hart Lane to meet struggling 17th placed Tottenham. The Spurs were having a dismal season, I felt quite sorry for them because I have some sympathy for this team since a couple of Romanians played there during the 1990′s. Anyway, this Tottenham only survived to hear the half time whistle. In the second half Andrea Romano and Sergio Aguero transformed the pitch into their own playground, they did whatever they wanted with Tottenham‘s defenders. Simon Kjaer completed the rout with a corner kick header, a nice afternoon for The Magpies.

The next game was the second leg of the Champions League tie with Celtic. We won the first leg 5-1 so I chose to rest most of the important players for the future challenges. Celtic scored an early goal and that gave them some hope of having a magical night but my boys slowly took control of the game and could even have won it in the second half. It ended with a draw, enough to get through to the next round.

We were drawn against Chelsea in the quarter finals, it would have been nice to see only English teams in the semi finals Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

The first game of the month was away at 9th placed Sheffield United, a tough opposition to face without my two best strikers. We had a decent first half, created a few chances but the finishing was rather wasteful so it was all square at half time. We needed somebody to make the difference and, as it happened before, Ashley Young stepped up and delivered a well placed shot to give us the lead and the win. It was a scrappy victory but a well deserved one.

Next up, the FA Cup game with Championship side Wigan. It was supposed to be an easy game but it got much more complicated right from the start, left winger Agnaldo made a brutal tackle and got sent off only 25 seconds into the game! An upset was beginning to look possible for Wigan and they nearly took the lead but the ball hit the crossbar instead of the net. Their dreams were shattered in just a few minutes though, James Milner and Rafael Sobis scored a couple of fine goals to tranquilize the atmosphere. I refused to pull back hoping that we could score one more so Wigan had space and created a few chances before half time. I made some tactical changes at the interval and the second half was way more quiet as a result. James Milner struck again a few minutes from time to complete a fine afternoon for him.

Back to the Premier League then for a home encounter with disappointing 16th placed Everton. We played a great first half and didn’t leave any doubts about the winner of the game at the end of the 45 minutes. Guilherme started things off with a fine goal, he skipped past two defenders and scored with a placed shot. Then Simon Kjaer dominated the aerial space in Everton‘s box and scored with two corner kick headers just before the break. Everton found themselves on the wrong end of a siege after half time, my lads were playing with real passion. We could have scored a few more goals but we had to settle for just one, Rafael Sobis whipped in a fine curling shot from the edge of the area.

The next game was quite important for the club and for the fans, the Nottingham Derby at The City Ground. Forest were down in 17th place and we were keen on “helping” them to get relegated. We started the game very well and took the lead after 15 minutes, Guilherme played a fine through ball for Sam Hinshelwood‘s placed finish. Rafael Sobis doubled the lead just before the half hour mark, a well timed assist from Jonjo Shelvey found him all alone inside the box. We were all over them and looking comfortable but things took a strange turn a few minutes later: Guilherme‘s powerful shot from the edge of the area hit the crossbar and bounced around 30 yards back into the pitch, Forest got a hold of it and launched the counter attack that ended with a goal. My boys were stunned and three minutes later it was 2-2! We resumed the attacks in the second half, missed a few good chances along the way but Forest could have also struck on counter attacks. The pressure was rising inside their box though and the ball finally landed inside the net, Carlos Abad powered it in from the edge of the area. Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.