Forest 1 Barnsley 0

By: Tim | December 4th, 2008

Although that axe is still hovering dangerously above Calderwood’s head, Saturday’s defeat of Barnsley has at least granted him a stay of execution. We’ll have to wait and see how long for, depending on the next few results, but CC was in a bullish mood after the game; he challenged the players to prove their worth and then went on to claim that the speculation surrounding his position has not affected him: ‘You might find it bizarre or think I’m naïve, but what has happened this week hasn’t really concerned me’.

Frankly I do find it a little bizarre, but hey, if he’s concentrating on the football then all the better for us. At least the players are behind him, and although there was a period when we seemed to be hanging on against the Tykes, there are some plus points to be taken from this match. Earnshaw played close to 90 minutes for starters, and, after being recalled from his loan spell at Rushden & Diamonds, it was good to see Brendan Moloney deputise well at right back.

While Camp has had a few sketchy moments for us, particularly against Doncaster, he once again showed us why he notched up 5 caps playing for England Under-21s, the most notable of his saves being Anderson De Silva’s free-kick late in the game. Calderwood was quick to praise him. Tyson and Garner seem to have struck up an understanding too, the former using his pace to good effect on the left when he provided the cross for Garner’s goal. Pity, then, that Tyson picked up his fifth yellow card of the season – he’s facing a one-match suspension which means he’ll miss out on Saturday’s trip to Coventry.

In other, more positive news, Julian Bennett is on the mend after getting through 90 minutes in a reserve match. Calderwood is currently weighing up whether or not to include him in the squad for Saturday. The reserves have recently been praised by none other than Arsene Wenger, too, after a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal’s second-string in a behind-closed-doors friendly last week. Wenger told the reserve team coach (John Pemberton) that the way we play is ‘how he believes football should be played’, which is surely good to hear.

Lastly, we’ve drawn Manchester City in the third-round of the FA Cup. An exciting prospect, considering everything that is currently happening at Eastlands, although given Calderwood’s reputation for not being bothered by cup matches this tie has ‘defeat’ written all over it. Expect a banal story on the Forest website about how he’d rather concentrate on survival instead of a Cup-run. Then again, the game is due to be played on the 3rd of January, so he might not be in charge anyway.