Forest claim maximum points in South Wales

Nottingham Forest continued their excellent away form by returning from Swansea with three points, thanks to a David McGoldrick strike.

The former Southampton striker fired the Reds in front after 35 minutes, after Swansea failed to clear a Forest corner and McGoldrick was on hand to fire the ball past Swans keeper Dorus De Vries.

The home side did put the Forest defence under a lot of pressure throughout the game, but after proving that they were up for the challenge following Tuesday's clean sheet at Sheffield United, they never looked in danger of conceding.

Manager Billy Davies was back in the dug out after missing the game in midweek at Bramall Lane, and he made a bold statement by dropping leading scorers Dexter Blackstock and Robert Earnshaw and replacing them with McGoldrick and Dele Adebola.

And although the decision may have raised eyebrows, no one could question the Scot's judgement afterwards, as it was McGoldrick who scored the goal to continue the visitors unbeaten away record.

Swansea did pose a threat in the second half with the introduction of on loan man Lee Trundle, but he wasted two good chances to draw the hosts level.

First he cut inside Nicky Shorey, but saw a curled effort go just wide of Lee Camp's post, and then in injury time he wasted a great chance by firing over from eight yards out.

In the end astute defending from Forest was enough to see them claim their second clean sheet in a week and hold on to three points, to take them up to third in the table at least untill Cardiff take on Boro on Sunday, and are just two points behind 2nd placed West Bromwich Albion.

Unbeaten away, we're Nottingham Forest, unbeaten away

Nottingham Forest remain the only side in England to boast an unbeaten away record, after claiming a hard earned point at Sheffield United.

In truth, it was a point gained rather than two dropped as Forest were under pressure for the majority of the game and had to rely on keeper Lee Camp to save them on numerous occasions.

The former Derby keeper kept out efforts from Matt Kilgallon, Stephen Quinn and loanee Henri Camara to ensure that Forest left Yorkshire with a share of the spoils.

Forest did create one decent chance, with Robbie Earnshaw firing wide early in the second half, and also saw a shot comfortably cleared off the line by Blades skipper Chris Morgan.

But the brilliant travelling support were delighted to see the Reds hang on for a point and showed their appreciation to Camp by singing his name at the end of the game.

The match saw assistant David Kelly take charge in the absence of Billy Davies who was ill, and he will be delighted to have maintained Forest's impressive away record and kept the Reds in the play-offs in 4th place.

Earnshaw goes Fox hunting

Nottingham Forest recorded a remarkable East Midlands derby win over rivals Leicester City, with striker Robert Earnshaw bagging a hat-trick on route to a crushing 5-1 win.

The Welsh international was in unstoppable form, and netted Forest's opener after just 12 minutes.

Linking up well with strike partner Dexter Blackstock, the former Norwich man calmly slotted past visitors keeper Chris Weale before celebrating with his trademark somersault in front of the Trent End.

The Reds doubled their lead soon after. Chris Cohen's driven shot went through a melee of players before reaching Earnshaw who scored his second with a deft chip into the net. Cue somersault celebration again.

Forest were rampant and Leicester manager Nigel Pearson was clearly lost in what to do. He made two substitutes in the first half, including top scorer Matty Fryatt, to try and change his team's luck, but to no avail.

Forest started the second half in the same fashion as the first and five minutes into the half Earnshaw had completed his hat-trick.

Picking up a soft backpass by Jack Hobbs, Earnie ran the ball past the unimpressive Wayne Brown and finished emphatically into the top corner of Weale's goal.

Earnshaw had dedicated his second somersault celebration to the 2nd battalion Mercian regiment who were back from serving in Afghanistan, but this time the somersault was saved for the delirious Forest fans sat in the A block.

Paul Anderson won a personal battle by scoring past the hometown club, and beating the banter of his mates.

Forest were in cruise control, and looked dangerous every time they attacked. Yet it was the visitors who scored the next goal. A soft penalty was awarded for handball against Wes Morgan, but in truth there was little chance of the big centre half being able to get out of the way.

Many Reds fans believed the decision was a chance for referee Mike Russell to 'even' up the game, after previously awarding a penalty and then changing his mind against the visitors.

Martyn Waghorn converted the spot kick in off the underside of the bar, but that was as good as it got for the Foxes.

Substitute Dele Adebola put the game beyond doubt by following up fellow substitute Garath Mcleary's powerful drive, to make the scoreline look embarrassing on our East Midlands rivals.

This was one of Forest's best performances of the season, and saw the hosts leap frog their opponents into 3rd place in the table.

Forest Shorey up defence

Nottingham Forest have signed experienced defender Nicky Shorey on an emergency loan from Aston Villa.

The move sees the former Reading man move across the Midlands in the search of regular first team football, after falling down the pecking order at Villa Park following the signing of Stephen Warnock.

The signature of the two capped England man sees Forest's left back problems eased significantly. Last season's player of the year Chris Cohen has been playing in that position, but as we all know his best position is in midfield.

First choice left back Julian Bennett is still a long term injury casualty, and summer signing Joel Lynch is seen by manager Billy Davies as a future centre half than a left back.

So the signing of Shorey will certainly feel like Davies is no longer having to put round pegs in square holes in the left back position, with the impressive acquisition of a Premiership full back.

Whether the Reds look to sign Shorey in January remains to be seen, but Davies has also revealed he is lining up an ambitious move for Spurs man Garath Bale.

If any move for the Welshman does materialised it will be for big money, after Spurs spent £5 million to sign Bale from Southampton and still rate him as a real prospect.

However, his Welsh teammates Rob Earnshaw and close friend Chris Gunter may give the Reds an edge in their arsenal as they look to sell the ambition of the club to Bale.

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Forest look at permanent Majewski move

The news that all Forest fans were hoping to hear has arrived, as Billy Davies today confirmed he is looking to sign the Polish international on a longer deal.

Majewski arrived at the City Ground in the summer on a years loan from Polonia Warsaw and has impressed in the opening months of the season.

He quickly became a fans favourite on Trentside after netting a spectacular opener in the win over rivals Derby County.

Majewski has admitted he is keen to remain at Forest, who have first option on buying the midfielder from his parent club.

Most Forest fans will be delighted with this news as the Reds look to establish a squad capable of challenging for promotion.

cited on the forest website from a Polish news article

Davies unhappy with loanees

Nottingham Forest boss Billy Davies has admitted he is frustrated with the lack of progress being made by his young stars, currently out on loan at lower league clubs.

Davies is unhappy that not all of his players on loan are getting first team action at their temporary clubs. This comes after the Scot decided to scrap the Forest reserve side and instead send his fringe players out on loan, where he thought they would all get first team action and gain more experience than playing reserve team football.

However, it has not really worked that way as most of the players Davies sent out on loan are not playing.

Brendan Moloney started regularly for neighbours Notts County but has struggled to get in the team recently. County are apparently looking to sign the Irish right back permanently however.

Matt Thornhill joined Brighton on loan as part of the Joel Lynch transfer, but the Wollaton midfielder has struggled to make an impact on the South Coast.

Joe Heath has also failed to play regular football at Lincoln City, whilst keeper Shane Redmond has started just one game for League Two new boys Burton Albion.

Mark Byrne and James Reid are at least featuring for Rushden and Diamonds, but that is in the Blue Square Premier and may be a while before the two midfielders are ready to feature in Davies' thoughts for the first team at the City Ground.

Forest face difficult Bristol City clash.

Nottingham Forest face a difficult tie against in-form Bristol City, at the City Ground on Saturday.

The game promises to be a real mouth-watering fixture, as the league's two in-form sides go head to head.

Forest will need to watch City marksman Nicky Maynard carefully, as the former Crewe Alexandra hitman has scored nine goals already this season and is bang in form.

Forest striker Dele Adebola could be in line to start against the club he left in the summer, after playing a part in Lewis McGugan's injury time leveler against Cardiff last Sunday.

The last time the two sides met at the City Ground, Dexter Blackstock fired home a last minute winner for the Reds which went a long way to help Forest securing their safety in the Championship. Blackstock volleyed home a Joe Garner knockdown, before going into the Trent End to celebrate with the jubilant home fans.

Tyson injury blow.

Nottingham Forest were today dealt a severe blow as striker Nathan Tyson was ruled out for up to a month, with a calf strain he picked up in training on Friday.

The injury was enough to keep the former Wycombe Wanderers man out of the trip to Cardiff, and has now proved to be more serious than first thought and will keep him out of action for a while.

Manager Billy Davies has hinted at dipping into the loan market following Tyson's injury, as he joins top profile hitmen Robert Earnshaw and Dexter Blackstock on the sidelines.

Julian Bennett remains a long term injury victim, whilst Joel Lynch and James Perch continue to recover and have been on the bench in recent games.

How much do you think Forest will miss Tyson? Do you think that Davies should bring in cover, or wait until Earnshaw and Dexter are both back fit after the international break?

Options up front for Reds.

This summer saw Forest spend almost £4.5 million worth of talent, in an attempt to build a squad capable of reaching the Premier League within three years


Lee Camp, Joel Lynch and Chris Gunter signed on after successful loan spells at the club last season, however they remained the only additions to the defence.



Davies brought in six other players to provide much needed competition in midfield and attack.

Dexter Blackstock signed for a reported £1.6million fee, along with former Southampton hitman David McGoldrick for a cool £1million. Dele Adebola arrived on a free from Bristol City, after the Nigerian born striker rejected their offer of a new contract.



Paul Anderson made his loan a £250,000 permanent deal from Premiership giants Liverpool and the long pursuit of Paul Mckenna finally paid off when Davies got his man from Preston for £750,000, and immediately made him skipper replacing the out going Ian Breckin.



Radoslaw Majewski completed the spending spree by arriving on loan from Polonia Warsaw, with a £1.5million agreed to take place in January.



It is the attacking flair that made most Forest fans optimistic this season. With the signings of Blackstock, Adebola, McGoldrick, Anderson and Majewski, Forest seemed to have more attacking options then ever before.



Add to the list the strikers already at the club, Nathan Tyson, Joe Garner and the previous season's biggest addition, Welsh international Robert Earnshaw and Forest looked very dangerous on paper.



Manager Billy Davies had said in the summer he wanted six quality strikers and he certainly got them. But Davies knew what sort of strikers he needed to complete the set.



Overlooking former fans favourite Marlon Harewood, Davies chose strikers he knew would give Forest a more 'rounded' look.



Davies claims he has sorted Forest's scoring problem and the Reds can now see off games.



Dele Adebola offers Forest the strength and power up the top, McGoldrick offers skill and guile, Blackstock offers composure and height to the attack.



The three strikers from last year also have their roles within the team. Robert Earnshaw is classed as a 'fox in the box' by Davies and a natural goalscorer, Joe Garner is seen as the team's 'poacher' and a real handful for opposition defenders. And finally Nathan Tyson offers blistering pace and a deadly left foot and can drag defenders out wide to create space for the oncoming midfielders.



This sees the Reds have a variety of options if they need to change the game up front in some way. And if the likes of Mckenna, Majewski, Mcgugan, Moussi, Cohen and Anderson can offer the right sort of service, then there should be no reason why Forest can't be there or there abouts come May.