IT’S great to have Nottingham Forest visiting for our first home game of the season.
Not until someone reminded me that Danny Cadamarteri scored and then got sent off for his celebration (he’d already been booked) when they were last here, did I realise it was that long ago – 2007.
I was in our squad for that game, on the bench, and it immediately brought back a conversation with the manager, Andy Ritchie, about making a late substitution.
It was one apiece and we were hanging on a bit, with Luke Beckett up front doing a mountain of work chasing passes into the corners.
The gaffer turned to me and told me to get warmed up, ready to replace him.
The plan was to knock the ball down the channels to keep the pressure off, and I’d been noting how much work Luke had been getting through.
I was making a comeback after injury and knew my legs weren’t what they used to be, so I suggested to the gaffer that if we needed someone chasing into the corners for the last 10 minutes, it might be an idea to send Dave Mirfin on to replace Luke and let him run after everything that was pumped forward.
Andy obviously thought it was a good idea because that’s exactly what he did – and it worked a treat.
We ended up with a point and I ended up watching the last 10 minutes like the rest of the match, from the bench!
It’s funny how things like that stick in your mind, but I am hoping this time we can go one better and take all three points before we look forward to entertaining Burnley at home on Saturday.
