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23 Players, can that be called a squad?

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Me no understand, Blackpool are in the Premiership and they want to sign a player that has proved he is not Championship quality. Being pacey is all well and good but if you can't put in a decent cross or finish then you may aswell try and sign Linford Christie.

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red fever

red fever

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It's exciting wondering who Forest will bring in !

Feels just like Christmas !

It's Christmas time

There's no need to be afraid

At Christmas time, we let in light and we banish shade

And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy

Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time

But say a prayer

Pray for the Derby ones

At Christmas time it's hard, but when you're having fun

There's a world outside your window

And it's a world of Ram fear

Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears

And the Christmas bells that ring there

Are the clanging chimes of doom

Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you

First Div Rams

Forest know it's Christmas time again

The sheep are going Down

Forest know it's Christmas time again

David going to cry !

Forest know it's Christmas time again

Dry your bloodshot eye

Forest know it's Christmas time again

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red fever

red fever

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Straight-talking Doughty ready to play a patience game at Nottingham Forest

Nigel Doughty

LEANING back in his chair in the plush surrounds of the City Ground boardroom, Nigel Doughty speaks slowly, in warm, gentle tones.

It is only afterwards, when listening back to the interview for a second time, that it becomes clear that his considered, thoughtful delivery is masking some incredibly straight-talking.

Resplendent in his ever present, perfectly pressed suit and tie and sipping on a coffee, Doughty does not dodge any issues or duck any questions.

After eight years as a chairman, it is clear he has realised that, when it comes to football fans, you can't please all of the people, all of the time – particularly when it comes to the subject of the transfer market.

In his case, the evidence of the last few months would suggest his biggest battle is that to satisfy the demands of his own manager, Billy Davies.

But, whether the flak is being fired his way from the terraces or from the confines of the manager's office, Doughty is unwavering in his convictions.

And, while it may be delivered with a broad smile and a jovial demeanour, his message is clear.

"If you want me to go out and buy somebody who isn't good enough, I will go and do it," says Doughty, perched at the end of one of a quartet of perfectly polished tables.

"It will keep a few people quiet, I suppose. But we are not going to run this club on the basis of sending out a positive PR message to satisfy people during pre-season.

"We have been down that path before.

"There is a serious amount of money going into this club now and we have to run it in a serious way.

"If there are banners saying 'Doughty out' or whatever, it is something I will just have to suffer along the way.

"It is what it is and it is not going to change.

"I have been at this club for 45 years now. I am not going to do anything to it that will damage it in the long term."

Doughty does concede that a few additions during January might have made a difference to Forest's promotion push.

"It would have been nice to have got Moses, it would have been nice to have got Shorey and it would have been nice to have got Pratley," said Doughty.

"But, beyond that, we did not have a list (of targets).

"It would have been nice to have brought in players to assuage the fans. But that is not my style, I am not going to take easy decisions for PR purposes.

"Without being pompous about it, that is how I have made my money. I am not going to take easy decisions for PR purposes.

"Let's say a mid-level Premiership player can buy you ten mid-level Championship players, in terms of wages. So what is that Premiership player going to do (when you try to sign him)?

"He is going to stay in the Premiership."

Doughty's past experience – not just as chairman, but as a young fan stood on the terraces at the City Ground – tells him that new signings are not always a blessing.

"We are only going to bring players in to the club who we believe will improve our ability, as a football club, to get promoted," he said.

"There are not that many people around (to target).

"It would easy for us to go out and buy run-of-the-mill players, as some other clubs have done.

"It would be easy to do that and it would make great copy for you and it would make the fans happy.

"I remember, as a teenager, getting excited about watching new signings at Forest. But some of them were awful!

"It took you three weeks to realise they were rubbish.

"But, on that first Saturday, you were excited about going to watch the new signing, whoever they were.

"We do not want to go down that road."

Forest have made bids for Cardiff winger Peter Whittingham, Darren Pratley, the Swansea midfielder and Jermaine Johnson, Sheffield Wednesday's flying winger.

They have also been linked with loan moves for Chelsea defenders Patrick van Aanholt and Ryan Bertrand.

And Doughty hints that patience will be a virtue in the coming weeks.

"It is dead calm at the minute, but I think it will all start to accelerate as we move towards the Burnley game," he said. "Billy and his team have been working incredibly hard; team spirit is fantastic.

"We are looking to build on the performance last season. You can never give exact timings or specific details (about signings). It is always nice to talk about these things after they have happened.

"The truisms are that we have invested consistently over the last four or five years.

"Certainly over the last three or four years we are one of the biggest spenders in the Football League, if not the biggest spender.

"I think we want to continue on that track.

"I guess we saw £90m go astray in 90 minutes when we played Blackpool.

"There is nobody with a greater incentive than me to make sure we get in the Premiership.

"Because in the Premiership, we are a financially self-sufficient club. At the minute we are not."

On that theme, Doughty says the club will back Davies in the transfer market, just as they did last year.

"We are investing, we are backing Billy and the reason we are investing is because we have probably the best manager, at this level, in the game," he says.

"And, in my view, the manager will go on to much greater things. He is very talented. He deserves our support and we'll try to give it to him.

"We have one or two targets of what I would call top-class Championship level and one or two targets of up-and-coming stars from the Premiership stable.

"If we were to get those – and we might overshoot or undershoot by one or two – that would give us a fantastic squad of 24 and one that would justifiably demonstrate our favouritism with the bookmakers."

Last season, when he backed Davies to the tune of £6m in the transfer market, Forest were still not considered among the favourites for promotion in the Championship.

But, while there may carry the added burden of that particular pressure on their shoulders now, Doughty is unconcerned.

"With that (status as favourites) comes expectation and pressure. But that is something we are warming to," he says. "That is something we want to embrace. In my experience in life, achievers love pressure.

"They are the sort of people who think a challenge is there to be enjoyed and not feared.

"You don't find winners clamming up or offering excuses.

"We have had consistent progression in the club within the last four or five years.

"Now comes the time when we have to justify our position as one of the favourites for promotion.

"We set ourselves objectives a few years ago and we have achieved a lot of those.

"The club is in fantastic shape. We have great facilities and there are new developments taking place both at the training academy and at the ground.

"We are ostensibly debt free and, if we were to get into the Premiership, I don't believe there are many clubs over the past few years who could say that they have that foundation to build on.

"The final, ultimate and elusive aim is to get into the Premiership."

If Forest do achieve that, then the clamour for new signings will reach fever pitch next summer, as they prepare for life in the top flight.

But you get the impression that, where Doughty is concerned, it is something he would take calmly in his stride.

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