Watch: Chris Cohen says he could have played for another five or six years
Iconic Nottingham Forest midfielder Chris Cohen said he ‘could have gone on for another five or six years but it wasn’t meant to be’.
Cohen joined the Reds from Yeovil Town in the summer of 2007 initially signing a four-year deal after starting his career at West Ham in 2003.
He went on to make 303 appearances for Forest in all competitions and scored 17 times.
Cohen played his last game for the Reds in Forest’s final home game of this season in the nil nil draw against Bristol City on April 28, coming on as an 89th minute substitute to a rousing reception from the Forest faithful.
He now works as a coach for Nottingham Forest’s Under-23 side.
This is what Chris said about his illustrious career speaking on the latest episode of Team Talk, airing tonight (Wednesday May 9) at 8pm or On Demand.
“I wasn’t the model professional – I used to like a drink sometimes at the right time.
I believe I would have been able to go on until I was 36 or 37 because I didn’t have pace, I was never blessed with natural pace.
Some players have struggles when they get further on because they lose half-a-yard and it affects their game.
Anyone who has ever watched me will tell you I wasn’t the quickest but I used my positional sense along with other things to get me through it.
I think I could have gone on for another five or six years most definitely but it wasn’t meant to be.
At times at Forest, a new manager would bring excitement because you had to prove to someone you deserved to play and none of them realised I was the common denominator in that they would go and I was the one that stayed there!
I was fortunate with that but that was how I saw it – it kept you fresh compared to if it had been the same manager.
Getting promoted from League One, for me, was the highlight of my career when we went up on that day ahead of all expectations with Doncaster losing at Cheltenham and us beating Yeovil.
The smell of beer that day is one I’ll never forget.
The fans all jumped on the pitch and it took us about an hour to get off but it was an incredible day.
My purple patch was in 2013 when I was playing fullback and a lot of people didn’t think that was my best position.
But the team and energy we had suited me, the high press, and Andy Reid would play in front of me and I would always joke I would run round him every single time.
My favourite goal was the one I scored against Ipswich last year in a moment where we needed someone to step up.
I was coming back from injury and felt it was for that moment looking back now.
Britt Assombalonga was unbelievable that day scoring two but to score, I didn’t score that many, was a feeling I’ll never ever forget in the way the crowd erupted.
I think what we can forget is that at Forest, we haven’t been successful for a number of years now – the last few years have been a real struggle.
Aitor Karanka has now decided to come in and change things round and the owner wants success.
The way they’ve been with me to help me through this transitional process I’m going through has been immaculate and I think that success is coming.
I’ve said that for many years and people may say I sound like a broken record, and I do get that, but you look at the manager, proven record, owner, proven record and the players in, like Ben Watson and Jack Colback, have proven track records.
I think the future is bright.
It may take time at the start of next season, if there are more changes, to get everything together, but I’ve no doubt the manager will get us competitive and give us a chance of being in the top six and heading towards the Premier League.
For more from Chris, alongside Notts superfan Adrian Rawden and ever-present Charlie McParland, watch Team Talk tonight (May 9) at 8pm or on our catch-up service. Sponsored by On-Call Recruitment.
