Football Season Review

Nottingham Forest fans suffered another campaign of desperation finishing 17th. They never really flirted with the drop zone but this was simply not good enough. Mark Warburton arrived last year and his gung-ho approach to games ensured they did not have any draws for the first few months of the season. This win or bust approach at least ensured they got enough sequences of three points to stay well clear of the drop zone. But Forest started to slip out of the race for the play-offs and Warburton paid with his drop. In came Aitor Karanka who adopted a defence-first policy that did not offer much in terms of excitement or indeed results. The recruitment team also looks to have improved and has a clear structure. So there is at least some optimism in that regard as Karanka looks to make his own mark on Forest. Highlight of the season was easily their FA Cup third round win over Arsenal, but, as with all things Forest recently they failed to follow that up. Forest fans really do need some excitement. It has been a terrible last few years from there. They need some clever management from Karanka, some inspired signings (with the current crop reaching their sell by date) and a little bit of luck. At the moment of writing though they seem as far away from the Premier League as they have been in a while. Youngster Ben Osborn was player of the year thanks to consistent displays both in mdifield at left back. Consistency from most other players was lacking though.

Player of the Season: Benjamin Osborn