March
29 2000
Defenders
On The Mend: Tony Vaughan
and Riccardo Scimeca look like they are winning their battles to be fit for
Saturday's crunch six-pointer against Crewe.
Unfortunately though, Chelsea
loan star John Terry looks to be out of the running for a start. The 19-year-old
picked up a calf muscle injury in his first training session for the club
and is now struggling to shake it off, with the odds of him being able to
make his debut going from bad to worse.
Vaughan is poised to resume full
training after shaking off the knee injury that he picked up in his last game
for Forest whilst on-loan from Man City. Riccy Scimeca is back in training
after missing three matches with an ankle problem and he is pushing for a
return to David Platt's plans for the game against Crewe.
March
26 2000
Vaughan
On Comeback Trail:
Tony Vaughan is working hard to get himself fit after signing for Forest last
Thursday.
Vaughan picked up the knee injury
at Portsmouth, his last game for Forest before returning to Manchester City
when his loan ran out.
Forest completed the signing
last Thursday after finally agreeing a fee with City, however, Vaughan was
still injured so took no part in the debacle at the City Ground on Saturday.
He is, however, making good progress in his recovery and should be fit for
Saturday's visit to Crewe.
March
22 2000
John
Set For Reserves: After
coming on for 17 minutes in last night's game against Huddersfield, Stern
John is now rumoured to be ready to take part in tonight's reserve team fixture
against Coventry as he bids to get fit for the weekend.
Let's just hope he's not overdoing
it after three months out.
March
21 2000
Tonight's
Line Up: The line up
for tonight's game against Huddersfield sees more enforced changes to the
team. Ignoring the earlier rumours about Stern John, Forest should start with
Marlon Harewood and Dougie Freedman up front as Jack Lester is out with a
groin injury.
Defensive changes also look to
be on the cards as well, with Jon Olav Hjelde back to fitness he will probably
slot in to partner Colin Calderwood.
Stern
Test Tonight: According
to both the radio and the Internet, Stern John is expected to take a place
on the bench tonight as Forest take on Huddersfield at the McAlpine Stadium.
Yesterday it was reported that
John had returned training after recovering from knee ligament damage. However,
having been sidelined for nearly three months, and only returning to training
yesterday, it seems somewhat premature for the Trinidad & Tobago striker
to be making his return yet. We'll just have to wait and see!
Vaughan
Deal Falls Through: Reports
are reaching us that the Tony Vaughan deal has hit snags over the asking price
and talks have collapsed. However, the source says that Platt is still hopeful
of resurrecting the deal and finalising Vaughan's move to the City Ground
before the end of Thursday, transfer deadline day.
March
20 2000
John
Returns: Stern John
is expected to return to training later today after making an amazing recovery
from knee ligament damage.
The striker was originally injured
against West Brom early in the new year and was not expected to appear for
Forest again this season. However, it now looks like the striker could be
appearing as soon as April if his recovery continues at it's present rate.
Vaughan
Deal Still Alive:
David Platt is making a last ditch attempt to sign Tony Vaughan before Thursday's
transfer deadline.
Vaughan returned to Maine Road
after the Portsmouth game as his one months loan had finished. Vaughan went
back to Manchester nursing a knee injury he picked up in the Portsmouth game,
but it is believed that this is not the reason the deal to make his move permanent
failed. It is rumoured that Forest and City could not agree a fee for the
24 year old defender.
Despite these rumours of disagreement
over the price for Vaughan and the fact that he is still nursing his knee
injury Platt is now believed to be ready to make a move for Vaughan and meet
City's asking price of £350,000.
March
17 2000
Squad
News For Saturday:
As everyone is now aware the central defence has been decimated by injury
these last few weeks, as a consequence Platt will have to make some changes
to the squad. Colin Calderwood is expected to make his Forest debut and Jon
Olav Hjelde may be forced back after recovering from injury. Otherwise the
team should be pretty much the same as it has been in recent weeks.
Tranmere also find themselves
with some forced changes for tomorrow. Clint Hill starts his four match suspension
for being sent off during the Worthington Cup Final and David Challinor, the
long throw specialist, is suspended for racking up 10 yellow cards. Striker
Andy Parkinson is rated doubtful after picking up an ankle injury against
Birmingham and will undergo a late fitness test tomorrow.
March
16 2000
Traore
Linked:
It's a busy day on the gossip front for Forest. Latest rumours have it that
David Platt is attempting to sign Liverpool's young defender Djimi Traore
on loan in time for this weekend's game against Tranmere.
Platt, despite yesterday's signing
of Colin Calderwood, is still concerned that he has six defensive players
out injured, leaving him with only two fit central defenders.
Traore has only made one first
team appearance for Liverpool this season, but Gerard Houllier rates the 20
year old as a very bright prospect. The young defender is currently being
kept out of the Liverpool side by the more experienced players in the squad
and because of this it is thought that Houllier is keen to see the youngster
go out on loan to gain first team experience.
Bartman
Off:
Not only are the papers linking Forest with an unlikely move for Lee Sharpe,
they are also linking Chris Bart-Williams with a possible £2 million
move to either Spurs or Everton.
With Bart's performances since
he came back from injury being one of the highlights of watching Forest this
also seems to be very unlikely.
Sharpe
Is Target:
Bradford City's Lee Sharpe is on his way to Forest. At least if you believe
everything you read in the Sun that is.
The ex-Manchester United and
Leeds winger is unhappy at Bradford after moving there from Leeds about a
year ago for £200,000. He has failed to make any real impact at Bradford
and has not started a game for the Bantams since January.
The only real thing that could
link Sharpe with a move to the City Ground is the fact that Platt signed him
on loan from Leeds while he was manager at Sampdoria. The papers seem to be
putting this together with the fact the he is unhappy at Bradford and drawing
their own conclusions.
More realistically, Sharpe is
also being linked with a possible move to Huddersfield, where his old team
mate Steve Bruce is in charge. This move would probably make much more sense
than a move to Forest, so expect to see him wearing the Garibaldi before transfer
deadline day.
March
15 2000
More
Signings Due:
It is being reported that Colin Calderwood will not be the only new face in
the Forest starting line up this weekend.
David Platt is reportedly trying
hard to complete a deal, which will add another experienced central defender
to the squad in time for Tranmere Rovers visit to the City Ground on Saturday.
The club are refusing to reveal
any details about who the mystery signing is, but with six defenders out injured
and the club slipping back towards the relegation zone then something has
to be done quickly.
March
14 2000
Calderwood
On His Way:
There are rumours late this morning that Colin Calderwood is on his way to
the City Ground to undergo a medical. Platt was hoping to wait until the summer
when Calderwood becomes a free agent under the Bosman ruling, but the current
defensive crisis has made Platt bring his plans forward. If Calderwood passes
his medical then Forest will be expected to pay a nominal fee to Aston Villa
for the services of the 35 year old veteran defender.
March
10 2000
Platt
Moves For Vaughan:
David Platt is expected to make his move for the permanent signing of Tony
Vaughan over the weekend.
Vaughan has been at Forest on
a month's loan which has seen him involved in Forest's three wins and the
controversial loss at Wolves. The loan deal ends tomorrow when Forest take
on Portsmouth.
Vaughan has definitely made an
impact in the defence and Platt is keen to keep the player at the City Ground,
with Manchester City looking to get around £300,000 for the man they
paid £1.3 million for a couple of seasons ago.
March
5 2000
Today's
Contender Is:
In the current daily round of who are Forest signing next, today's contender
is Macclesfield Town's 24 year old striker, Richard Barker.
The young striker is attracting
the attention of First Division clubs, with Stockport and Norwich both also
linked to the �350,000 rated star.
March
4 2000
Coventry
Duo Linked: Inevitably,
as transfer deadline day draws ever nearer, Forest are being linked with more
and more transfer targets. I suppose if we are linked with enough then one
of them will probably turn out to be true.
This time we are being linked
with Coventry City's Paul Williams and Gary Breen, both centre halves with
good experience. Though with the possible signing of on-loan defender Tony
Vaughan likely to happen this week, this one may not get off the ground.
March
3 2000
Miller
is Target: David Platt
is reported to be chasing Hartlepool's young star Tommy Miller. Platt has
hinted that he is just the sort of player he is looking to bring to Forest
during the summer.
Miller has made a huge impact
at Hartlepool this season, scoring 14 goals. The bad news for Forest is that
the player has started to attract the interest of Premiership clubs including
Newcastle, Leeds and Chelsea.
Platt
Weighs Up Loan Striker: David
Platt is reported to be looking at the possibility of taking Blackburn Rovers
young striker, James Thomas, on loan.
Thomas, a 21 year old Welsh international
has yet to break through into the first team at Blackburn, however, he has
played first team football for West Brom.
Lurch
To Get New Contract: Dave
Beasant looks to be ready to to sign a new contract with Forest. Like Mark
Crossley and youngster, Mark Goodlad, Lurch would become a free agent in the
summer when his current contract expires. However, with the club looking to
dispose of Mark Crossley they need to move fast if they are to keep hold of
one of the only two experienced 'keepers they have on their books at the moment.
At the moment there is no indication
as to whether or not Mark Goodlad will be offered a contract as well.
March
2 2000
Platt
Confirms Calderwood Interest: David
Platt has confirmed he is interested in signing Aston Villa defender Colin
Calderwood.
Platt travelled to see the 34
year-old in action for Villa's reserves last night. He confirmed that he did
try and sign Calderwood at the beginning of the season. Platt said: "I can
confirm that we have been looking at Colin Calderwood for some time. We tried
to sign him earlier this season but Aston Villa wouldn't let him go. However,
I am confident that we can sign him before the start of next season."
Calderwood will be available
on a Bosman free at the end of the season, but Villa may be persuaded to let
him go earlier if John Gregory is successful in his own search for a new central
defender.
However, the one thing that may
cause Forest a problem in signing him is Portsmouth, who have already held
talks with the player.
Fulham
Watch Rogers: Alan
Rogers is reported to be the subject of great interest from the men at Craven
Cottage.
If the rumours are to be believed
then Fulham are set to make a £2 million bid for the talented left-back/wing-back.
Rogers is still only 22, and left footed, the key to Fulham's interest. Fulham
have had the player watched for the last three games and are said to be preparing
a bid for him.
March
1 2000
Forest
Target Calderwood: Rumours
are reaching us that Forest are chasing Aston Villa defender Colin Calderwood.
David Platt is expected to go
and watch the defender in action tonight for Aston Villa reserves.
Platt originally tried to sign
the Scottish defender at the beginning of the season, but Villa were not interested
in selling at the time. However, Calderwood's contract runs out at the end
of the season and he will be available on a free transfer.
Merino
Off: Earlier reports
said Forest's Spanish midfielder, Carlos Merino, was off to join his home
town club Athletico Bilbao.
Reports are now coming in that
this is indeed the case, and Merino is taking full advantage of the Bosman
ruling to move back to his home town.
Forest are believed to have offered
the talented midfielder a new two year contract, but the lure of going home,
and playing more games is too strong for the youngster.
|