It hasn’t been a season to remember for fans of a Nottingham Forest persuasion, and their thoughts will already be drifting towards the 2016/17 campaign.
The current campaign has seen the club battle a overhanging transfer embargo and several high-profile injuries, making for a pretty miserable nine months in what should have been a celebration of the club’s 150th birthday.
Forest are currently without a manager and the current favourite is ex-Sunderland and Brighton and Hove Albion boss Gus Poyet, with the club expected to announce the man tasked with reviving the club’s fortunes in the next week or so.
Poyet had a decent time of things during his time with the Seagulls and led them to the play-0ffs during 2012/13, where they succumbed to a play-off semi-final defeat to Crystal Palace.
Whoever gets the Forest gig will realise that the squad he inherits is pretty solid as far as the Championship goes, and with a few decent additions the Reds could be a force next season.
Football League World writer Lee Clarke takes a look at an ideal XI next season, should Gus Poyet take over.....
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PRESS THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE DREAM FOREST XI!
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GK – Dorus de Vries
The commanding Dutchman has been a model of consistency this season and on Saturday he deservedly collected the club’s Player of the Year award.
His performances during the current campaign will surely ensure that he starts the 2016/17 campaign as the Reds’ number one goalkeeper once again.
The ex-Wolverhampton Wanderers man has waited patiently for his chance to shine in the first-team and he has taken his opportunity with aplomb this season.
Forest would be a lot worse off in terms of points were it not for the form between the posts of de Vries, who has rolled back the years this campaign.
RB – Eric Lichaj
I see no reason why a new manager would need to go out and sign another right-back; such has been the consistency of the American defender.
Lichaj has been a little bit hit-and-miss of late but for the majority of the season his form has been as good as any other player in a red shirt.
The defender has recently been recalled to the USA squad which head coach Jurgen Klinsmann named in preparation for the Copa America tournament this summer, which is testament to his form this season.
A real work horse, Lichaj possesses the sort of passion that Forest fans like to see when a player wears their club’s shirt.
CB – Matt Mills
It wouldn’t surprise me if Mills was given the captain’s armband next season given the leadership qualities which he offers the team.
Mills’ defending hasn’t always been on top form. Sheffield Wednesday at home was a particularly bad game for the ex-Reading man, but in large the Reds tend to work better defensively when he is in the side.
Few would say that Mills hasn’t had a decent first season for the club and with three years still to run on his deal, it is fair to say that he will be a key figure at the heart of defence next season.
CB – Michael Mancienne
Since picking up an injury at the start of April the Reds have really missed the injection of pace which the former Chelsea man brings to the back four.
Mancienne is the Reds’ best defender on his day and a real asset to the football club when he is on top form.
The Reds are blessed with several players who would be more than capable of leading the team should the opportunity arise and Mancienne is no exception.
A real team player, the man who cost Forest just £1 million when he signed from Hamburg must go down as one of the shrewdest pieces of business the club has ever done.
LB – Daniel Pinillos
When Forest lost the Spanish left-back to a serious knee injury back in December it represented a cruel blow for the club, given that the 23-year-old was in such great form for the team.
Ex-boss Dougie Freedman had plucked the defender from lowly Spanish outfit Cordoba and he had really shone following a run in the side.
Pinillos produced a memorable display in the 1-0 win over Derby County during the month of November and took to life in the Championship with relative ease.
Forest’s medical team know all about dealing with serious knee injuries after several high-profile cases and they will be hoping to get the Spaniard back on the pitch for the start of next season.
CM – David Vaughan
Although Dorus de Vries collected the official Player of the Year trophy, he must have been run very close by this impressive Welshman.
Earlier in the season the 34-year-old kept Liverpool’s Joe Allen out of the Wales side which speaks volumes about his form in the red of Forest during the campaign.
Vaughan recently penned a new one-year deal with the club which will keep him at the club until next summer, which will be a big boost to the new manager who will arrive at the City Ground in the coming weeks.
CM – Gary Gardner
Forest would do very well to tie down the long-term future of Gary Gardner who is currently loan at the City Ground from Aston Villa.
Villa are set to have a clear out during the summer and that could mean bad news for the midfielder, who has adhered himself to the Forest fateful with a string of fine performances, over two loan spells.
Forest will no doubt face competition from clubs in higher regard than themselves but a bid should be made regardless, especially considering Gardner’s affinity with the supporters at the City Ground.
RW – Jamie Ward
Ward is Forest’s little terrier out on the right-hand side of midfield and a new boss should work out a way to get the ex-Derby man on the pitch more often.
The winger has suffered with a couple of niggling hamstring injuries since arriving last summer and it will be hoped that he can stay injury free next season.
Ward is a handful for the very best of Championship defences on his day and he is a really big player for Forest, who they have missed at times during the current campaign.
Next season it will be really crucial for Forest to manage the likes of Ward and Chris Cohen, in order to ensure that they are available for the bigger fixtures that the Reds play.
AMC – Henri Lansbury
Whether Forest can keep hold of Lansbury on the back of such a disappointing season remains to be seen, but if they do manage to tempt him to stay at the City Ground he has to play just behind the striker.
Lansbury has been wasted by previous bosses Stuart Pearce and Dougie Freedman, who both chose to utilise him in a more defensive role, which beggars belief.
The ex-Arsenal prospect has earned his reputation by playing in a more advanced role, where he can get strikers onto the ball and chip in with goals of his own at the same time.
He has come in for some unfair criticism this season from certain supporters and I just hope the new manager can give him a full season in his natural position, allowing him to show his critics exactly what he is capable of.
LW – Oliver Burke
One of the most exciting prospects outside of the top flight is 18-year-old Oliver Burke, who Forest will hope to keep hold of this summer.
Both Arsenal and Manchester United have scouted the player in recent months and the youngster has raw potential that will hopefully be fulfilled at Forest.
Burke is getting better with every passing game and the next stage in his development is for him to get a regular run in the first-team, with interim boss Paul Williams bizarrely choosing to use him less frequently.
The new manager will have a job on to keep hold of the skilful winger but if Forest do then they could be a real force next season.
ST – Britt Assombalonga
The former Peterborough United striker will be like a new signing when he takes to the field for Nottingham Forest next season.
The talisman has been out with a knee injury which at one stage threatened to curtail his career and next season is set to be a big one for the player.
Assombalonga netted 15 goals from August to February last season and was cruelly robbed of a 20-goal campaign after rupturing knee ligaments.
The £5.5 million signing will be massive for Forest next season and his return to full fitness could save the club millions in the transfer market.