THERE'S no doubt that derby matches are special games. Growing up in Dublin I was a Celtic supporter and the Old Firm games are huge. They would always be the derbies we looked forward to most. As a kid I always watched them and thought I'd love to play in those types of games one day with the atmosphere and passion they had. When I was in the youth team at Forest I remember watching my first derby game here. Both clubs were in the Premier League then. It was a night game and the atmosphere was unreal. Pierre Van Hooijdonk scored and it finished 2-2 and I think that was probably one of the last times the two clubs played each other in the Premier League. I would love to be playing them there next season. My best memory of playing against Derby was my first one. It was a Wednesday night game at the City Ground. We won 3-0, Marlon Harewood scored two and Darren Huckerby got the other. That was an amazing night. We played some great football and it should have been more to be honest. I do have a few bad Derby memories too but I won't talk about them. I don't want to think about them. I want myself and everyone else to go in to Sunday feeling positive. During my career I've also been involved in some big derby matches with Tottenham and Sunderland. I remember being involved in the last ever North London derby at Highbury. Robbie Keane scored a really controversial goal when they had a player down injured and Martin Jol and Arsene Wenger squared up on the touchline. I think Wenger refused to shake his hand after too. Obviously the spotlight on the Premier League derbies is massive. But I've realised that every city, every town and every club has their own rivalries that mean so much to them. The Sunderland v Newcastle rivalry reminded me a little bit of Celtic and Rangers. It verged on hatred. It stemmed from the Sunderland fans seeming to think that people from Newcastle thought they were better than them. In the build up to derby week you could really feel the excitement around the area. Any time we beat them they absolutely loved it and treated us like heroes. This week the build up has felt a bit different around Nottingham actually, because both teams are doing pretty well and added to that we're top of the league. It has definitely added to the excitement of it all and made it more interesting. So tomorrow, the lads and myself will be doing everything we can to get a result for Nottingham Forest and our supporters.
Nah you should keep it. Get the Mods to rename it Smug's Carpark, and when a thread gets derailed and we know Smug won't give an inch, they can take it outside.
Drop me a text sometime fella, I needed to reset to factory settings on my phone only to realise your number was saved to the device instead of the sim. I lost you da's too but I can get that off you when I need it.
