That could have been us...

At the end of the 2008-09 season, Nottingham Forest survived relegation back to League One with one game of the league left. It was a difficult year, during which many supporters resigned themselves to falling back into League One, a division the club had spent three dreadful years trying to escape.

After sacking Colin Calderwood and appointing his replacement Billy Davies, Forest just about did enough to secure Championship status. The following summer, he, and the Transfer Acquisitions panel containing Chief Executive Mark Arthur, Chairman Nigel Doughty and David Pleat, sought, and delivered, the new arrivals to bring Forest up to Championship standard.

Last season may have ended in desperate disappointment with defeat to Blackpool in the play-offs, but the fact that Forest were anywhere near a top six finish, never mind 3rd, was evidence of what can happen if a chairman backs his manager and brings enough quality through the doors.

Which leads us to this summer. In any business, but especially football, if you do not go forwards, you go backwards. Forest have stood still and let the league catch up. Ryan Bertrand may have came in on loan from Chelsea, and Radoslaw Majewski's loan is now a permanent deal, but the club has not built on the foundations laid by last season's hard work. More players have gone out than in. Admittedly some are out on loan, and we got (in my opinion) good money for another in James Perch - but it should not be happening that we start this season weaker than last.

The primary mistake was from Mark Arthur was when he declared in public his desire to bring Peter Whittingham and Darren Pratley to the club. Cardiff and Swansea, respectively, were understandably upset about what they claimed to be tapping-up, and promptly raised their asking prices. But from Forest's perspective, a club who should be building a promotion-winning squad should be prepared to raise offers upon rejections, no matter what the circumstances. Another mistake was not having any secondary transfer targets for when the Welsh clubs got fed up of Forest's dallying and said no.

The club obviously can afford to spend money, no club in the Championship spent more twelve months ago, so it makes their failure to do so even more frustrating and disappointing. I renewed my season ticket with a real hope that 2011 could be the year we finally reach the Premier League again. Although the season is only four games old, that dream already looks like just that, a dream. I can't see it becoming as bad as after the 2003 play-off defeat and the infamous 'we're serious about promotion' campaign which resulted in the sacking of Paul Hart and the club getting relegated, because we haven't become a bad side overnight. But it is disheartening to know that whoever goes up, we will think, 'That could have been us.'