Fan-tastic Says Calderwood

It's been difficult to say the least for supporters of this great club in recent times, especially when the players you idolise and worship don't display the same passion and love for the shirt as you do. That is a charge that can be laid at the feet of more than a few in the last few years, but the signs this season are that we may once again have a group that may indeed be worthy of our undying support.

After three long years in the third tier of British football, Nottingham Forest can somehow command crowds in excess of 25,000. Fair enough last nights game cost a fiver to get in , but it was a Tuesday night in the middle of November against Southend for Christ sakes! That's pretty good going for any team at any level of the game.

Fans have admittedly grown a little less tolerant now and are quick to vent their annoyance when things go array. Booing at games has become somewhat commonplace of late, if they fall below the expected standards. So much so that opposing teams have picked up on it and are trying to use it as a weapon against us. 'Get the crowd on their backs and they will fold.' is the message from opposing managers and it can work.

Last night though, when the Reds went 1-0 down, it was great to see the crowd get right behind the lads and instead of berating and chastising the team, they got behind them and backed them 100%. This was not lost on the manager CC.

He singled out the fans for special praise and told the Nottingham Evening Post. ' it is a great thing to have 25,000 people behind you rather than 15,000, particularly when we need them when we are behind. It was atmospheric, as it always is at an evening game at the City Ground. The number of fans was impressive. I don't think we have won too many when we have had a crowd like this, but we gave an accomplished performance. They were great when we were a goal down - and also when we were ahead. And we do want to make people want to come back. Good football is a starting point for that.'

The fans have been put through the pain barrier over the past three years in particular, but maybe this is the year when we get our rewards for sticking by the team. There will no doubt be a few rocky roads ahead, but with support like last night and the players performing the way they did, they should hopefully be few and the good times may yet return.

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