Far have I travelled

In a game set up for Forest's star players to shoot The Reds into the Champions League, at the heart of their intent and endeavour was 35 million record signing Ibrahim Sangare. The Ivory Coast star is still short of 30 appearances, since arriving from PSV Eindhoven two summers ago. The club identified him as their No. 6, the final piece of the jigsaw, in establishing themselves back among the elite. Initially, struggling with the pace of the Premier League, it was thought that time away at AFCON during that first season would be an ideal opportunity to regain confidence, in familiar surroundings. In his native land, Ivory Coast won the competition. Things didn’t go to plan for the player. Sangare featured in the final but lost his place in the starting XI in the group stages. Illness upon his return, a series of subsequent injuries and Forest's fantastic early season form this term has starved Sangare of much needed game time. Following a loss of form in recent weeks, Nuno dec...

Since Premier League football was earned after 23 years in EFL obscurity, where seasons faded before they got going, the City Ground faithful have got used to a big final day finale, with everything still to play for! Forest’s first two campaigns back in the big time ended in relegation battles that went down to the wire, by hook or by crook, they survived! At the third time of asking, they fought until the end, this time to earn a European place for the first time in 30 years. In possession of Conference League, a win would have seen them leapfrog Chelsea into the Europa League spot. A win, with results elsewhere going their way, would have seen Champions League football achieved. Almost as unthinkable as the miracle that saw The Red’s become twice European Champions, back-to-back. That was BC! For much of the season, the miracle was on! A place at European football’s top table seemed a probability, more than a mere possibility. That was until, as they did against their high value opp...