The Forest Player of the Season 'curse' and the future for Ben Osborn

I'm worried for Ben Osborn. No, not because of the Twitter trolls. Those fans should, by rights, have been silenced by his fully deserved - and fan-voted - Player of the Season award. The sometimes-silent majority have spoken and Ben should take heart from the fact that we do truly appreciate his efforts during a chaotic period at the club.

🏆 @OsbornOn1 has been crowned as #NFFC’s Player of the Season after winning the majority of the fans’ vote.#ThatLovingFeeling https://t.co/AO1vQIrgcd

— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) May 5, 2018

My concern is that the Player of the Season award at Forest is becoming a little like the Manager of the Month crown or the board's 'vote of confidence'.

That bad? Here's what happened next to the last 11 winners of the award:

2007: Grant Holt

After bagging 18 goals in the 2006/07 play-off push, Holt seemed to fall out with manager Colin Calderwood and was shunted out on to the wing where he, perhaps predictability, failed to flourish. He netted just three times and was loaned out in March 2008 before being sold in the June.

2008: Julian Bennett

Bennett had been an inspiration during the successful League One promotion campaign - culminating in 'that goal' against Yeovil - so it was a huge blow to lose him to injury after just four games in the following season. When he did come back he suffered a collarbone injury that kept him out for six weeks and then eventually succumbed to a knee injury on Boxing Day that ended his season.

2009: Chris Cohen

The recently-retired Cohen wasn't struck by the 'curse' in 2009/10 - although play-off heartache was to come at the end of the season. Chris' bad luck was to follow later.

2010: Lee Camp

Again, Camp thrived after winning his Player of the Season title. He kept 12 clean sheets and narrowly missed out on becoming the first player to retain the title, finishing second to Luke Chambers.

2011 Luke Chambers

Chambers was appointed captain by new boss Steve McClaren but failed to hit the heights of the previous campaign. He scored no goals - compared to six the season before - and, along with the whole team, struggled for form. Eventually left at the end of the season.

2012 Garath McCleary

Having been a key factor in saving us from relegation under Steve Cotterill - scoring nine goals in the process - Garath left for Reading in the summer.

2013 Chris Cohen

Cohen suffered the second major injury of his career in November 2013, ruling him out for the rest of the season.

2014 Andy Reid

A ten-goal campaign earned him his second Player of the Season crown - ten years after the first. Reid and Cohen had then formed a promising midfield combination during a superb start under Stuart Pearce before both were injured in the same game - at home to Derby in September 2014. Reid wasn't seen again for nearly a year after.

2015 Michail Antonio

Michail's 15 goals and 12 assists were a joy to watch in 2014/15 (I'd put him in my best post-Premier League XI as a result) but he left to join West Ham by the end of the subsequent summer transfer window.

2016 Dorus De Vries

The former Wolves stopper played just one game of the 2016/17 season, leaving to join Celtic. His experience and calming influence have been missed since.

2017 Eric Lichaj

The popular American international only made half as many appearances in 2017/18. Despite memorable moments - such as a stunning goal against Arsenal - he twice found himself behind Tendayi Darikwa in the pecking order.

So, that's three major injuries, three immediate departures and three - to a greater or lesser extent - losses of form for those winners.

It's probably a reflection of the club's chronic inability to find any real form of stability in recent years. Players who are key one season have either been sold, replaced or misused, meaning we've rarely had a solid, consistent core that has worked together for a few seasons to become a coherent and successful team.

The future for Ben Osborn

Will the same fate befall Ben Osborn? It's hard to say. In some respects - and this isn't meant as harshly as it sounds - he won this season's crown by default. There were very few other players to feature in both the Warburton and Karanka sides. That is, of course, testament to his hard work and talent (he's impressed far too many managers to be dismissed now) but also reflects his versatility.

As the below Tweet shows, Ben has found himself in no less than seven positions during the course of the season.

Player of the season
Ben Osborn. pic.twitter.com/23VJMiPFlT

— Grant (@Grantnffc1) April 30, 2018

His flexibility makes him a great squad player and perhaps it's fitting that he takes the crown at the same time as Chris Cohen - a man who filled a similar number of positions in his time - bows out.

However, he'll be acutely aware of the fact that the manager is surely about to embark on another shopping spree. The additions from the January window and those to come in the summer might well mean that we have new recruits to fill all of those seven positions that Ben has filled.

Ben Osborn isn't a player to shirk a challenge. New managers, new positions, new playing styles and tactics, Twitter trolls, relegation battles, off field chaos - he's seen it all in his time in the Garibaldi. The Player of the Season crown is a fitting reminder that he has overcome all of that to earn and keep a place in the side. In light of the lack of a consistent, experienced backbone, the likes of Osborn have been the heart of the club and he's been the poster boy for the Academy core that has kept us afloat. Yes, he isn't perfect but lesser players would have wilted.

The next challenge - to forge a role in a Karanka side that has to challenge for the top six - might be the toughest yet. If he can do that, he'll need to defy the gloomy history for recent Player of the Season winners too. Over to you, Ben.

Osborn Supremacy showed the way forward

It was damp - and unnaturally chilly - squib that brought the curtain down another ultimately disappointing campaign at the City Ground. The gloom of a flat and pretty pathetic 2-1 defeat at the hands of Russell Slade's Cardiff was only broken by two rays of light.

The first of those came from a man who grew used to bringing us out of our seats. This time, Garath McCleary proved able to get the crowd roaring from 25 miles away as news of his third goal for Reading against Steve McClaren's choking sheep drew a slightly surreal - yet raucous - cheer. Was it a little sad that D***y's demise was all we had to cheer at 2-0 down and heading to 14th? Probably. But did that make it any less joyful? Nope.

And the truth was there was one other glimmer of light to come. Yes Dexter Blackstock netted to reduce the arrears and confirm his own better-than-expected comeback but the real star of the last 20 minutes was Ben Osborn.

First though. let's be brutally honest, Dougie's team selection for this game was best summed up by one inflatable that was thrown around the Lower Bridgford - a cock up. Having the right footed Mancienne - who has spent the last few weeks out of position at right back and central midfield - at left back was a recipe for disaster. The early substitutions were a little bizarre too - Chuba Akpom looked like he had absolutely no idea where to run when he came on and capped off his miserable loan spell with a shot so bad it drew laughs when he was presented with a golden chance. Paterson too came into a confused and disfunctional forward set up on the hour mark while the 90 minutes saw five loanees involved, seemingly wasting a chance to utilise players we will actually have on the books next season.

Worst of all was the omission of Osborn, and he hammered home that mistake with a superb cameo. The midfield trio of an out-of-sorts David Vaughan, sloppy Henri Lansbury and a not-quite-fit Gary Gardner lacked the energy and drive that young Ben has in spades. He came on, took the game by the scruff of the neck and was involved in everything. His arrival sparked the team into life, having a noticeable impact on Todd Kane who marauded forward with great purpose and Paterson - who was suddenly able to pick up the ball in his favoured areas. Osborn was positive, drove forward, passed accurately and must surely be destined to be a starter for next season.

His continued progress has been a joy to watch and its about time we stopped seeing him as the player who can easily be dropped - both Pearce and Freedman have been guilty of this - and realised he's a vital part of the midfield, especially in the current formation.

It's also worth considering - as was pointed out to me - that you can, if you want, consider Osborn's magnificent winner at the sheep dip as the goal that ultimately cost them the play offs. Now tell me that didn't at least draw a cheeky smile??

Worryingly, if the rest of the players were out to earn their Forest futures then there wasn't a lot to be positive about. Dexter battled hard and probably earned his goal but beyond that none of the starting XI will have done anything to further their cause. The football was one-dimensional too. Basically the only tactic seemed to be 'give it to Antonio and hope he can beat the two/three men surrounding him'. It was a bit of a slight on the wily Burke that the plan seemed to bypass his talents.

I worry that we may well have squandered a decent chance in the last few games. We haven't given Hobbs and Mancienne a chance to gel as a partnership, haven't given Osborn the extra responsibility he's deserved and could've seen more of Tyler Walker. The back four was a bit of a shambles and Cardiff, who have themselves been thoroughly underwhelming this season, didn't have to break too much of a sweat to get their lead, even if both finishes were clinical.

Dougie's early games in charge involved progressive attacking football - and brought him a richly deserved longer term contract. Unearthing a few more Ben Osborns will be the key to re-finding that and might ensure we're cheering our own stars - not relying on our old flames to warm us up. Freedman's seen the good and bad of all his charges in his 18 games - it's just a shame that there was so much of the bad in this defeat.

Dougie Freedman? Everything he touches turns to goals

I don't know if Dougie Freedman has a middle name but it ought to be Midas.

I was underwhelmed at his appointment, a feeling not really dispelled by John McGovern offering the explanation of 'he was available' when asked why he was chosen to succeed Stuart Pearce.

Still, football moves on quickly and here I am, six games later, the opposite of underwhelmed (whelmed??!) by what the Scot in the hotseat has served up.

Six games, five wins, 19 goals and just one yellow card to boot. Given how obsessed everyone is by stats these days he's probably tempted to call it quits now, preserving an 83% win rate.

This latest victory will live long in the memory of the travelling Trickies - largely because it served up three top class strikes to overthrow the shellshocked Royals.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Freedman's tenure so far is how he's kept his good start going in spite of a number of number of challenges. £5m star striker injured? No problem - Dougie rejuvenates Dexter Blackstock and finds a new focal point for the attack. Blackstock struggling to make three games in a week after coming in from the cold? No problem, a quick tweak to our approach and Matty Fryatt comes in to lead the line. Defence out of form and fitness? Dougie digs out Danny Collins and gets him playing his best games in the Garibaldi. Jack Hobbs injured? Jamaal Lascelles slots in for the most assured performances he's put in for a year. Three captains missing (Cohen, Reid and Hobbs)? Lansbury fills the leadership void and thrives with the armband. Key midfield fulcrum struggling to make three games in a week? Mancienne makes up for Gardner's absence in a deep midfield role with a tidy display.

I've heard it said that Freedman has succeeded by 'keeping it simple'. That's maybe true in the way that he's settled on a formation that works in the Championship and that plays to the strengths we have on the wings. However, go back to that list above and you'll see that he's hardly had an easy ride of it. He may have mapped out a solid and effective shape but that job - amid all the issues he's faced - has been far from simple.

With Mancienne, Osborn and Lansbury as the starting midfield trio, the action at the Madejski began firmly in Forest's favour. Osborn stood out with his purposeful running, tigerish work rate and smart passing as Reading dropped deep. Maybe Steve Clarke's men were buoyed by their results at Ipswich and Derby and wanted to play this as an away game? Still, this looked a little alien to us - probably as we were still recovering from not having a lot of the ball against Bournemouth - and there was just a skewed Osborn effort and a blazed Antonio strike to show for our early endeavours.

Reading then woke up. Everything they did all afternoon came through the former Reds duo of Gunter and McCleary on the right. I actually thought Danny Fox stood up well to the test but, with little or no help from the disappointing Paterson, the crosses and chances started to come in the second part of the first half. The first two were spurned by Simon Cox - one of their own they sung as though it a good thing. As those chances went begging and his game disappeared into all-too-familiar anonymity the Forest faithful were only too happy to remind the hosts he was, indeed, one of their own. The other two chances were thwarted by an ever alert Lascelles - the first a block to divert a Pogrebnyak effort wide and the second a clearance off the line to deny McCleary.

Safely back in the dressing room at 0-0, the Midas manager struck again. Seeing that Paterson was struggling he brought on Chris Burke and it almost immediately paid dividends. The Scottish winger's first foray down his flank caused havoc and instantly gave notice of our greater threat. His introduction also meant Michail Antonio switched to his preferred left flank and put him up against Chris Gunter, who didn't seem to relish the problems posed by the power and pace of the man who was plucked from non-league by Reading.

Still, the game required a touch of class to tip it properly in favour of Freedman's men. It came from the boot of Ben Osborn. The Sheep Slayer deliciously curled in a long range effort past a stranded Adam Federici. He was so nonchalant about it at first that we didn't quite believe it had gone in. I guess he's getting used to this. It was a sublime strike though and capped off what was, for me, a man of the match display.

Antonio then turned back the clock to last week, powering past a succession of players before letting fly with an effort that, unlike against Bolton, whistled wide. Reading weren't done yet though. Darlow denied Pogrebnyak with a smart save and Gunter fired over a dangerous cross that evaded everyone as it fizzed through the six yard box.

Our attacking play was much swifter and sharper in the second half though and when the ball broke to Antonio as the clock approached 70 minutes he burst forward again - this time releasing Fryatt who twisted and turned his way into the box before doubling the lead. His boss, no doubt biased by his goal poaching past, rated this his favourite of the three we scored all afternoon.

My favourite, however, came from the boot of substitute Gary Gardner. He was sent on to replace the tiring Fryatt with Antonio moving up front (for five minutes before Blackstock came on for Antonio we played with no strikers - who knew Dougie was the Scottish Guardiola eh?). Gardner looks like a proper footballer - the sort of underrated but talented midfielder who graced Trentside in the late 80s and early 90s. For this cameo he wasn't the deepest midfielder of the central trio and so had licence to roam. And roam he did, right up to 35 yards out from goal, when he let rip with a thunderbolt that satisfyingly kissed the underside of the bar on its way in.

In a nerdy way we ought, really, to have been almost as impressed by what followed. With ten minutes to go we witnessed a well organised solid unit keep its shape, keep working hard and shut out Reading in their quest for a consolation effort. No one even 'fed the Yak', who I'm not sure had a kick when he came off the bench. It was disciplined and just what we'd been missing under Pearce. Lichaj was flawless, Collins and Lascelles looked a good blend of experience and youth, having both previously had their fair share of shaky moments in the past year or so, and Lansbury and Mancienne worked their socks off to make sure the battle was won.

The contrast was even more stark for me given that I only get to the occasional away fixture. The last time I saw the Reds on the road was at Huddersfield. Not only was the result the exact opposite that time out but the performance was markedly different too. We were a shambles across the back and looked vulnerable every time the Terriers came forward. We couldn't get a foothold in the midfield and offered little or no attacking threat.

This also ended my own Reading hoodoo. I'd previously seen us put to the sword 1-0 on Good Friday 2003 as the play-offs loomed under Paul Hart and then again 3-0 a few months later in the early part of the disappointing following season. By then a frustrated Hart explained his only 'plan B' would be to throw Michael Dawson up front, so stretched were his resources. My next two visits were largely forgettable early season draws, a 0-0 in 2009 and 1-1 in 2010. It seems it took the Midas touch to break that duck.

So there it is. Freedmania runs wild. Let's hope for more sunshine, moonlight and good times from Dougie. And don't spoil it for yourself by stressing about the play offs. It's sobering to think that Billy's second coming brought a run of six successive wins after an initial draw. That was at a similar stage of the season when we couldn't quite chase down an impossible dream. Pearce also began with an identical points record to Dougie from his first six games.

Freedman's 'super six' have been more entertaining and convincing than either of those two runs, particularly Pearce's. He'll have more challenges thrown his way in the weeks to come and won't always be able to rely on the sort of long range raspers that Osborn and Gardner cracked in on Saturday. Still, given the way he's begun, we should stop being surprised if and when he finds the answer to any predicament to come.