Promising, if raw, left back who started his youth career at Forest but was released as a young teenager after appearing to lose his way. "Gordon" buckled down and earned himself a contract at Walsall, eventually breaking into the first team after some impressive performances. Once Gary Megson had finally fallen out with Alan Rogers (not that we could remotely have seen that clash coming!), it was to Bennett that he turned, signing him in the January transfer window (not long before he was sacked, in fact).

Bennett settled well enough - he is quick, willing and works hard. Initially, Colin Calderwood seemed happy enough with his ability going forward to play him as a left wing back (and even, on occasion, on the left of midfield) - Calderwood's first game in charge illustrated this, as Bennett slid in at the far post to score the only goal of the game. However, as time went on Calderwood appeared to lose faith in his defensive abilities, signing Alan Wright on loan for the run-in of the 2006-2007 season, and then Matt Lockwood permanently during the Summer.

Many of us assumed that his Forest career would be very limited from that moment, but Bennett was having none of it; early injuries to Lockwood gave him his chance, and he seized it with gusto; he cut out the slightly flakier moments in his game, instead using his considerable physical attributes and athleticism to great effect. This, coupled with his clear love for Forest (he's a life-long fan and endears himself to fans by wearing his heart on his sleeve) made him a favourite with the fans, and by the end of the season he was widely seen as Forest's most improved player, culminating in winning the Club Player of the Season, being selected in the PFA League One Team of the Season and even scoring a screamer from 25 yards against Yeovil to help clinch promotion... all in the space of 4 days!

It was Lockwood who moved on in the summer. Whether Gordon can cut it at a higher level remains to be seen, but he deserves enormous credit for turning an apparently ailing career around through sheer force of will, and I would definitely not bet against him.

Unfortunately, the jury remains out - not through any fault of Bennett's; he simply missed almost the entire 2008-2009 season through injury, and at the turn of the year 2009 he is still nowhere near ready for first team football. He has now been out injured for so long that there has to be some doubt about whether we'll ever see him in a red shirt again. Since Forest have spent most of 2009 scratching around looking for a left back, it is safe to say that he has been missed - but the arrival of Nicky Shorey, a player of completely different class to Bennett (which is not meant as a criticism; Shorey looks our best left back since Psycho), shows how far Forest have moved in 12 months.