How many fully qualified football managers does it actually take to change a light bulb?

I never knew just how many qualified football coaches and managers there actually were residing in England. Judging by some of the things I've heard fans say recently and also some of the utter garbage I've read ,I've come to the conclusion that there must be thousands right here in Nottingham.

"He should play wide". "We should attack more". "He should get rid quicker" and my all time favourite, "Do you know what you're doing?" These are just a few of the moronic drones you could be greeted with whilst visiting a football stadium, anywhere in the world probably (in different languages obviously!)

Some people will remind me that the punter pays for their ticket so is entitled to an opinion on team affairs. Fair point indeed, but if the fan was to indeed wrestle with its conscience a little, before bellowing out at 3:04pm on a Saturday afternoon with the scoreline at 0-0 then what they choose to say might have greater meaning?

SUPPORTER. The clue to its meaning is not exactly hidden. Sing time-old club songs; chant your favourite player's name recurrently and even taunt the opposition team and fans if it seems to help, but don't bemoan your own manager. Don't test the fragility of your striker's already tenuous confidence in front of goal and all in all just get behind your team, especially at home. Why don't we all just put away our imaginary UEFA pro-coaching badges and do the right thing. Sing, sing, sing, sing.

On all things red this week I suppose it's a glass half full, half empty scenario isn't it? The half full version of events is that we somehow managed to beat ourselves at Swindon last weekend. Without the double OG that graces the record books we actually went to a club with a new found lease of life. A new board and more importantly a new manager and we all know that new gaffers always win their first game in charge, don't they? We should have won a tricky away day 1-0. Half empty. We didn't win and that could prove costly.

On to Wednesday night and a nice cosy trip to the new den. Half full on this one is that the boys in red showed exactly the fighting spirit that's going to be needed in abundance for the run in to this campaign and our efforts to gain Championship status. Also when it comes to tally up the points total at the end of it all, this might not seem to bad a point.

Half empty isn't so forgiving. We need to stop falling behind teams on the road and also convert the chances we create in games that we're so on top of. Friday night came and all this talk of glasses not being full came to a holt. A friendly bar man turned up and told me someone else had paid for this one.

No game for the tricky trees this weekend but Carlisle, Doncaster and Orient all threw away the chance to overhaul Forest's fragile second position. What I didn't get was a whisky chaser with my topped up drink, as the marauding Swansea kept up their charge to the promise land and in doing so opened up an 11 point lead.

Saturday and I was positively merry as Luton gave Leeds a dose of there own medicine. A late equaliser was the kind of luck that Leeds had been dispensing on others this season but it was they who found themselves on the wrong end this time. So second place we remain and even through the eyes of a man that's had too many, it doesn't look all that bad.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to offer my deepest sympathy to those paying Sheep followers who had to sit through what can only be described as utter tosh at the weekend. Andy Todd looks like nothing more than a pub player, with all due respect to the Havant and Waterlooville lads, I wouldn't pay him in used beer mats. Premiership indeed it does say on their shirts but further from the truth that couldn't be, I like Jewell (Paul) as a manager and I can only imagine he's losing sleep at the moment.

The sight of an aging Welshman, with that just stepped out of a salon look, being hailed as a saviour makes me want to roll on the floor and howl with laughter (I have already done this!) . Next year we WILL meet again and it will give this Forest fan the ultimate satisfaction to tell you we are the Premier team in the East Midlands once again.

See you at the Swansea game,

Alan
Commentator for visually impaired spectators at Nottingham Forest and Wembley stadium.

The FA have done an article about the Visually Impaired commentary at Wembley, done by Alan. Read about it here.