'Absolute clarity' needed to avoid another season of 'chaos'

[BBC]

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In a week in which Nottingham Forest achieved one of their two goals this season - and narrowly missed out on the other - thoughts now turn to the future.

Securing Premier League survival with two games to go means planning can begin for next season. Sadly, it's not planning for a place in the Champions League but, after two seasons of almost qualifying, it seems realistic to aim high.

But what does planning look like? Vitor Pereira only has until next summer on his contract and without Champions League football it's likely that we'll lose one or two star players.

It's hard to see a world where we keep Elliot Anderson after the World Cup, but if he's being talked about as the most expensive English Premier League player... well, we should have some money to strengthen.

But, if anything, we need stability this summer - last summer's chaos followed by the ongoing turmoil of this season means we need to get it right. Very few of the new arrivals in 2026, and during the January transfer window, hit the ground running and ultimately - on top of four managers - that almost got us relegated.

Even without European competition, there are still 38 Premier League games and two cup competitions to battle for so, for any kind of consistency, we need a squad ready to deal with injuries, suspensions and tactical changes.

The work begins now for the club to be ready for pre-season in July.

There are still two games left and a World Cup in between, but absolute clarity is needed for next season to avoid the mess we embraced this campaign.

Find more from Pat Riddell at The Famous Club