There’s an age old saying in life that goes something like this, “it’s the hope that kills you!” Never has it been more applicable than following Nottingham Forest football club in the Championship.

Having masterminded a critical away win at Brentford, Sabri Lamouchi’s side took on Birmingham City, safe in the knowledge that they were just two points off the automatic promotion places. Hindsight is a great thing, but had the Reds beaten the Blues on Saturday, they would now be one victory away from the top spot.

If I’m completely honest, I never envisaged a win at Griffin Park, a place where habitual losses seemed to have been common for Forest in recent years.

It’s no overstatement to say that the head coach, manager, or whatever you wish to call Sabri Lamouchi, got his tactics beautifully correct in West London. Serious question; how many of you, including the analytical fan accounts, predicted Joe Lolley in the No10 role for the majority of the evening? I’d take a good guess at zero!

As supporters, we’re far better informed than in the days of old, a plethora of websites are a click away and will provide you with stats, tactics and analytics that will allow you to believe you’re far superior than the manager of your club. Almost every club has at least one of these accounts on twitter and they are quite insightful at times. I’m a great believer that knowledge is power, but some are proof that you cannot trump a good, old fashioned UEFA coaching badge.

Yes, I’m alluding to the @BeesTactical account on twitter, which caused uproar among the Nottingham Forest supporters. The fall out to the damning indictment of the NFFC tactics thus far was nothing short of brutal. The Brentford supporter in charge of the account certainly ruffled the feathers of the Forest supporters and must have been slightly red faced at the final whistle.

Brentford are a club I really admire, they’ve not only established themselves in the Championship, but play very nice football too. Their “Moneyball” recruitment policy has served them well and they’re looking forward to exciting times ahead, new stadium and all. However, there is more than one way to skin a cat. Despite Lamouchi’s game plan being less attractive than that of the Bees, he’s taken 6 points from them without conceding a solitary goal in the process. You’ll do for me!

I refrained from any kind of biting on Twitter, and the reason is simple, it’s highly likely that the two clubs could meet again in the play-offs. For the supporters of both these teams it may be a case of he who laughs last!

That excellent victory created a wave of optimism ahead of the Birmingham City game. Regardless of the opportunity to climb into the automatic places, the Nottingham Forest supporters did themselves proud yet again with a tremendous following on the road.

It all looked so promising too, Tiago Silva smashed home his first ever Championship goal, and soon after, Forest had a chance to double that lead from the penalty spot. On second viewing, I thought the alleged foul, by former Reds keeper Lee Camp, was a soft decision but the referee gave it anyway.

Lewis Grabban’s miss was costly as the Blues went onto equalise a minute or so after. It would prove to be one of those days for the prolific striker as he rattled the crossbar later in the game from wonderful position on the edge of the six-yard area.

Although, Lewis Grabban’s spot kicks have been decent this season I’d personally opt for Joe Lolley. It seems a little fickle to say so after Grabban misses his first of the campaign but Lolley seems to hit them with a bit more conviction. I have no issues with Lewis because he’s been fantastic for Forest, it’s just a preference when it comes to penalties.

Birmingham went on to take all three points at St Andrews, but it could have been so different. People have quite rightly highlighted the inability to protect a lead in certain games, which, ironically, they did so brilliantly at Brentford. Again, easy to pick fault when we lose but the Championship is one of the most competitive leagues in the world.

The task ahead is huge, both Leeds and West Brom to play within the next three games. We will, no doubt, have a much clearer perspective of our promotion credentials after this period. One thing is universally agreed upon though, if Samba Sow returns to action for the aforementioned games, our chances of success are massively increased. He is vital to our promotion push.

*Article provided by Steve Corry (Nottingham Forest Correspondent).

*Main image @BCFC a debutant Scott Hogan goal was not what Reds fans wanted to see moments after Lewis Grabban missed his penalty.