A third straight defeat but an improved defensive display provided some positives before the last phase of the season... Read More...

Tags: Games Lost, MOTM Wes Morgan

On the basis of this performance, we look set for a quick return to League One. Burnley barely had to break sweat for their five goal victory as Forest collapsed after another Smith error. After the terrible second half at Watford, you’d expect a reaction from the players but things just got even worse... Read More...

Tags: Games Lost, MOTM Isaiah Osbourne

Derby weren’t great but were still easily the better side and put us right back in trouble... Read More...

Tags: Games Lost, MOTM Robert Earnshaw

The old failings are there for all to see... Read More...

Tags: Games Lost, MOTM Lewis McGugan

Just the sort of experience you’d expect from a trip to St Andrews. A horrible bobbly pitch, rubbish refereeing in a half empty stadium against a team relying on hoofing and scraping... Read More...

Tags: Games Lost, MOTM Nathan Tyson

Despite the pre-match talk of missing players, we managed to put together a reasonable starting XI, however looking at the bench tells you exactly why things went so wrong... Read More...

Tags: Games Lost, MOTM Chris Cohen

Things started badly when the teams were announced. Despite the battling performance at Southampton last week, Perch walks straight back into the starting midfield causing Cohen to be shifted wide right and Anderson to the left. I can understand McGugan being re-instated in place of Thornhill but the rest had played well and should have been retained.
 
Typical Calderwood approach to team selection, picking his favourites instead of those deserving a start based on the previous performance.
 
The first goal was down to our own failings. Earnshaw tracked back to win the ball, then inexplicably squared the ball for their winger to cross for a simple header. For the second, Doncaster passed the ball around midfield for ages before finding a player in space to score with a perfect chip over Camp's head. Just before half time, Cohen's challenge on the edge of the area conceded a free kick. The set piece hit the ball, wrong-footed Camp and made it 0-3 at half-time.
 
Tyson and Bennett replaced Anderson and Lynch at half time as Calderwood had to change things around. Bennett only lasted a few minutes until an innocuous fall under no pressure saw Forest down to ten men with Davies having replaced Wilson earlier.
With Cohen moved to left back and Perch already at centre back, it wasn't long before Doncaster made it four. Morgan made a half challenge followed by a Camp save and Cohen's block on the line but we had no chance from the rebound.
 
As Doncaster started to withdraw their players and settle for the win, Forest made a slight impression on the game but it only papered over the cracks. Tyson skipped down the left and pulled the ball back for yet another own goal this season. In the closing stages, Cohen's left wing free kick found Garner to score with a neat finish. In between Earnshaw hit the bar but we were still a well-beaten side.
 
Camp excelled in the second half and was mainly responsible for keeping the scoreline down to a barely respectable level.
 
The one outfield player who played to anywhere near the expected level was MOTM Moloney, with Cohen and Morgan not too far behind but still not great. A definite improvement on other right backs this season and a welcome additon to the squad. However, was lucky to only receive a yellow card after a petulant kick out after a late challenge on him went unpunished.
 
Lynch barely looked like a professional footballer during his 45 minute spell. The official excuse was hamstring injury but as half time approached he struggled to complete even the simplest of passes with his confidence shot to pieces. Wilson looked badly short of confidence until his short spell was ended by illness.
 
Camp's loan spell ends after Norwich, Morgan will soon be missing for a couple of weeks, Breckin's on the transfer list and Chambers wasn't even on the bench today.
 
Perch was terrible (as ever) in midfield but marginally better at centre back with a few composed touches. Cohen started on the right side of midfield, moved into the centre and then ended up at left back, following Bennett's injury for the second half. It would be a disaster if injuries elsewhere resulted in our best player this season having to fill in at left back. McGugan spent most of the time show-boating instead of concentrating on getting the basics done first.
 
Davies was almost invisible as usual, surely McCleary offers more to the team going forward. Anderson was very rarely given the ball and was unlucky to be taken off. In his defence, he's being asked to switch between wings on a game by game basis, which
cannot help.
 
Garner started brightly but his yellow card seemed to affect his game until the late well-taken goal. Like the team as a whole, he never reached the heights of his performance at Southampton.
 
Earnshaw was badly off form and continually let the side down with poor awareness and a shocking first touch. On the few occasions when he received a decent through ball, the chance soon disappeared due to his inability. We should expect much more for someone costing over 2.5M. You have to start questioning the logic of spending so much on a single player when this sum could have been used to strengthen the side as a whole.

Tags: Games Lost, MOTM Brendan Moloney

Terrible performance typical of too many this season. Our sole tactic consisted of lumping long balls to Garner and Earnshaw up against two giant centre halves. Tyson in particular struggled to get into the game down the left wing and barely threatened his full back.
 
We missed the injured McGugan badly with his ability to build up attacks and vision for a pass. Tyson started on the left wing with Cohen and Perch in the middle. Things improved slightly when Perch moved out of midfield to right back allowing Thornhill to get involved. To be fair to Perch, he was terrible in midfield but looked much better at full back in the latter stages.
 
In a game with very few chances, they took one of the couple they created whilst we missed ours. For the majority of the game after they scored, they looked pretty comfortable with Forest unable to create any real chances.
 
They should have scored early on with Moloney went missing and the cross from the right found one of their forwards a few yards out and his header was well saved by Camp. The goal came on the half hour when Wilson didn’t clear the ball properly and their player was given ages to half volley into the bottom corner off Camp’s body.
 
We had three chances during the game. Earnshaw was released by Cohen and hit a weak shot at Kenny. Tyson was also put through by Garner on his right foot which only troubled the crowd behind the goal whilst in the second half all we could manage was a back pass from one of their defenders from 40 yards which Kenny tipped over.
 
All the usual faults were on display again. No leadership or drive. A worrying inability to even pass the ball to someone else in a red shirt. We looked very static with very little option for the man in possession.  Perch, Wilson useless as in previous weeks but they still find there way into the starting XI. Shockingly poor set pieces with Cohen and Anderson consistently hitting only the first defender.
 
MOTM Morgan was the most average of a bad bunch with Garner not far behind. Cohen tried his best but it wasn’t his night but he’s excused the odd one. The rest looked like League 1 players and that’s right where we’re heading on this evidence.

Tags: Games Lost, MOTM Wes Morgan

All of the good work over the past few weeks falls apart after a shocking second half against ten-man Norwich. We looked set for a badly needed win at half time, but more embarrassing defending, strange tactics and lack of drive brings us right back to square one.

Calderwood’s starting XI selections continue to frustrate. The persistent choice of Wilson over Breckin cannot be justified after another erratic performance from our talented centre back. There’s no doubting Wilson’s ability but at the moment, the safer option has to be the more no-nonsense approach of Breckin.

In midfield, the continued use of right footed Anderson on the left and left footed Cohen on the right just compounds the problems we have in this area. The central pairing of Perch and Thornhill is too inexperienced and lightweight to ever succeed at this stage. The continued absence of McCleary from the team after a promising run of games also detracts from our side.

Cohen and McGugan have to be paired in central midfield on Tuesday with two from Anderson, McCleary and Martin either side of them.

We lack leadership and experience throughout the side and are having to make do with kids who are clearly not ready for a Championship relegation fight. The fact that we are still in this position despite having used up all of our available loans just makes this situation even worse.

Wilson did manage to do something right with a pin-point through ball for Tyson to run clear on goal. Their defender caught him and deserved the red card that followed. However, Norwich went straight up the other end of the pitch and scored. Wilson had plenty of time to deal with a loose ball but only gave away possession to their player who pulled the ball back for a simple finish.

We did create chances in the first half but Garner and Thornhill both saw goal-bound efforts well saved. As we enjoyed a better spell in the latter stages, Anderson cut inside from the left and his shot bobbled through their keeper for a then-deserved equaliser.

We still looked okay as half-time approached but just couldn’t capitalise during a half-decent spell.
We never really got started in the second half and resorted to long balls from all areas towards Tyson. Even injuries to their defenders resulting in Sammy Clingan playing centre-back didn’t improve things. The patient, progressive football from the start of this season is a distant memory.

If their first goal was bad enough, Norwich looked almost embarrassed to celebrate their winner. A cross from the right with no obvious target found Chambers and Cohen in such confusion at the back post that the ball ended up in the bottom corner.

Cohen and Garner were again denied in the second half but after their goal, the game drifted away from us.

Our structure become more shambolic as the game progressed. Cohen, yet again one of our best players was moved to left back and Garner pushed back into midfield in an effort to change things around.
Chambers and Wilson looked badly out of form and badly lacking in confidence. Heath and Thornhill aren’t ready for this level and shouldn’t be involved with a struggling side. Perch has one half decent game in midfield and then four where he contributes nothing.

MOTM Morgan marked Lita out of the game and continues his recent revival in form. Camp looked comfortable throughout with clean catching and a will to get the team moving forward with urgency. Cohen, as usual, was the standout performer in midfield despite playing in all positions and then at left back.

Tags: Games Lost, MOTM Wes Morgan

A depressing ninety minutes that summed up our miserable start to life in the Championship. Despite playing well for spells during the game, it’s points and not performances that will get us moving up the table.
 
We had so many good chances I still can't believe that we didn't score. The fact we played pretty well at times and still lost just makes it even worse. Some of the chances looked easier to score but we just don't have that conviction in front of goal. We had more chances but Cardiff should really have made the most of the few chances that came their way. Bothroyd in particular missed a couple that looked easier to score.
 
We played well for the first half hour and then at the start of the second half but McGugan's rash challenge and the penalty knocked us side-ways. We then struggled to regain any momentum for the remainder of the game until Earnshaw’s arrival provoked a couple of late chances.
MOTM Garner was the highlight of the afternoon, despite only playing for an hour. He showed a very good attitude to the game, providing the fight that has often been missing this season. On first impressions, he was much smaller and slightly built than I was expecting, however, as much as Purse etc tried to knock him out of the game he got back up and came back for more. Despite his lack of stature, he plays off the last defender and competes for every ball. First touch looked pretty decent to me and able to bring others into the game. Very encouraging signs and something for the rest of the squad to learn from.
McGugan started well and was involved in most of our early good moves. He spent most of the time almost playing up front around Garner causing their defence quite a few problems. Following his rash challenge for the penalty, he disappeared and ended the game hobbling around. Other positives include the continued decent form of McCleary plus the defence looked pretty good, apart from Wilson who looks unrecognisable from the comfortable centre back of last season. Please take the captancy off him and let him get back to defending properly without the extra responsibility.
Despite the good spells, something has to change to spark our season into life. The teams we play in this league aren't that much better than ourselves, they just look street-wise compared to our naive new boys unable to establish ourselves in this league. The points gap to safety seems to increase with each passing game.
With regard to the manager’s position, it doesn’t change anything. We badly needed points from these two home games and failed. The forthcoming games look much harder.

Tags: Games Lost, MOTM Joe Garner

The clock is ticking and time is surely running out for Calderwood if
the following two home games fail to provide a win. The crowd remained
fairly positive until the final whistle but there's little to keep them
on side at the moment. The support has been quite patient this season
but this might be one defeat too many.

Another change in formation saw us finally revert to a conventional 442
set-up and initially things looked promising. Anderson and McCleary
provided the width and tracked back to help out their full backs.
Fletcher in midfield provided the graft that has been badly lacking in
most games this season.

The first half wasn't that bad. For long spells we matched QPR and
looked much more structured and compact that at other times on our
travels. Neither sides created many chances but McCleary and Anderson
looked dangerous on the break and provided cause for optimism.

Things changed in the second half as QPR raised their game, took
advantage of poor defending and then sat back. As so often seen this
season, lapses in concentration are costing us badly and we find
ourselves unable to recover. Forest never really looked like scoring
apart from McGugan's quality freekick and Tyson's turn and shot that
required a smart low save.

Having defended pretty well in the first half, we undid all of the good
work with our inability to clear a couple of right wing throw-ins. The
first was flicked on and Smith with left with no chance with the first
time shot in off the bar. The second goal arrived after we failed to
clear another throw-in from the same area. The resulting shot from
outside the area came through a crowd of players and flew past Smith.

With the game drifting, Calderwood replaced Anderson and Fletcher with
Davies and McGugan. Cue boos and chants of "You don't know what you're
doing" from the travelling fans mostly due to Cole remaining on the
pitch. I didn't see the problem with the changes as Anderson had tired
badly and we needed McGugan's more attacking approach in midfield. The
biggest failure was not having an alternative centre forward on the
bench.

Forest struggled to make much impact going forward with Tyson and Cole
dominated throughout by the towering home centre backs. Cole in
particular just didn't look interested when we need everyone out on the
pitch to stand up and be counted. Chambers blasted one chance over the
bar but that was about it.

We finally scored and made the final stages interesting. Cohen won a
free kick 25 yards out and McGugan did the business with an excellent
curling strike into the top corner.

As soon as the goal went in, Morgan was pushed upfield to add numbers to
the forward line but to little real effect. We had a few corners but
never really came close to equalising.

The full backs looked more secure than usual with a winger in front of
them to provide cover and also the presence and covering of Fletcher.
Problems again at centre back where Morgan stills looks clumsy at this
level and Wilson a shadow of the assured defender that used to play for
us.

Fletcher impressed whilst on the pitch with his ability to cover back
for the defence whilst holding things together around him. Definitely
something we've been lacking since Moussi's form has dipped and a very
welcome addition to the squad.

Anderson looked sharp in the first half and showed the pace and direct
running that will give us a massive boost in the coming games.

MOTM McCleary was the one player who really stood out throughout,
carrying on his good recent form against Sheff Weds and Palace. Always
willing to take on the QPR defence and involved in most of the good
moves that we put together.

Tyson ran and ran for the side again and had very little support from
Cole alongside him. Cole himself put in an abject display and showed
very little interest in events around him.

With little chance of scoring combined with little chance of keeping a
clean sheet, we're always going to be in trouble.

If we were in mid-table and this type of performance was a one-off blip
then it wouldn't have been problem. However, the first half (at least)
was one of the better displays this season and it still wasn't good
enough. We've played some very average teams away from home this season
and have failed to take a single point from any of them.

Tags: Games Lost, MOTM Gareth McCleary

A thoroughly depressing result, which leaves us stranded at the bottom of the table. Palace were far from being a decent side but as with Tuesday night, we’re left frustrated at our inability to compete with even the very average teams in this league.
 
The team selection contained some surprises. Cole was very unlucky to be dropped after being at the heart of Tuesday’s better moments. Breckin and Lynch could also consider themselves hard done by to find themselves on the bench with Morgan, Martin and Moussi all recalled. McCleary received a deserved start after an encouraging display in mid-week.
 
We struggled to create many clear chances apart from a series of set pieces, which caused Palace problems all afternoon. Their keeper was barely tested in the second half when we should have been pushing them backwards at every opportunity.
 
Palace frustrated us for long spells through their cynical approach to the game and just bided their time until the inevitable Forest defensive mistake came along. When they arrived they took full advantage and never looked in too much trouble.
 
We started the game brightly with a succession of dangerous corners from Cohen. Bennett in particular found himself in some promising positions but was unable to convert.
 
Then Palace won a free-kick on the right hand side which found it’s way across the area for Ifill to score from 20 yards. A great strike but we should really have defended much better.
 
On half-time, McCleary worked a decent opening for Moussi to fire low across the goal but wide of the far post.
 
With Forest struggling to create any chances, Cole replaced Thornhill as we switched to 442. On this occasion, it had little effect as we continued to find ourselves frustrated by Palace and their antics.
 
Their second killed the game off with ten minutes to go. Wilson looked to have the situation under control when Smith came charging from his line. Kuqi simply brought the ball under control and lobbed the ball over Smith’s head. A terrible decision from our keeper who came racing from his line for no reason.
 
We forced a few chances from set pieces, with Bennett again the most prominent player. However, we created very little from open play throughout.
 
I’ve supported Morgan in the past but today he looked like a pub player, completely outclassed especially with the ball at his feet in the second half. Perch did enough during the game to suggest that he can make the right back position, solid and not a pressing problem.
 
Thornhill did reasonably well at Sheffield Wednesday but today he was anonymous and the game passed him by. Rightly replaced by Cole after an hour. Cohen was full of running, as ever, but failed to have quite the impact in recent weeks. Moussi looked to be getting some form back before an ankle injury forced him out of the game.
 
Martin has been transformed from a decent youngster with something to prove into a show-pony who doesn’t seem to realise that this is a team game. Time and again it was one unnecessary flick too many when a simple control and pass was required. A luxury we can’t afford to carry at the moment.
 
MOTM McCleary deserved his start following a promising performance on Tuesday and I didn’t think that he did too much wrong. Out of all the forwards, he was the one willing to get the ball on the floor and run at the opposition. Some of the final balls could have been better but a promising display and something to build on.
 
Tyson ran and ran but never looked like scoring. Cole made a difference for the last half hour and should have started the game. He was lucky not to get sent off for a blatant elbow against one of their players as the frustration grew.
 
We should scrap the continued use of 3 midfielders in an attempt to match the opposition and prevent ourselves from being outnumbered in midfield. Play 4 or 5 across midfield using wingers to provide support to the full backs. We need to make ourselves difficult to beat and then work forwards from there.
 
A couple of fresh faces are desperately required, especially in midfield if Moussi is going to be missing for any length of time. With the current squad, the only option would be to revert Perch back into midfield and re-instate Chambers. This just isn’t going to work. It’s easier said than done but we lack experienced, solid players in defence and midfield. There is talent in the squad but there is a balance missing at the moment, which we need to compete.
 
We need to be more organised and structured in our approach to games. Whilst some of our approach play has been entertaining this season it just isn’t effective enough.
 
Two weeks without a league game might have just come at the right time.

Tags: MOTM Gareth McCleary, Games Lost

Whilst it might look like another depressing defeat without scoring, there were actually quite a few positives to take from last night's game. The second half performance was encouraging and only three outstanding saves from their keeper prevented us from taking a deserved point... Read More...

Tags: Games Lost, MOTM Nathan Tyson

A series of poor refereeing decisions will take the headlines from this game but really we should be looking at our own inadequacies before laying the blame elsewhere... Read More...

Tags: Games Lost, MOTM Chris Cohen

by Simon Hough
... our very own Roving Reporter!

I've been flat out this week at work and haven’t had the
time to write anything on this one...

Normal service for Wolves though!

Tags: Games Lost