Highly-regarded young winger signed in the summer of 2004 on a Bosman. Commons was on the books at Forest as a lad (and, indeed, stood on the Trent End before that), but had to go elsewhere to make his mark, earning an England Under-21 call-up after only a few appearances for Stoke City.

At the time of his arrival at the City Ground, he looked destined to replace the restless Andy Reid on the left of midfield, but in fact Reid took a few more months to depart to Spurs, and Commons (not for the first or last time) suffered from some niggly injuries. Even when he was fit, Joe Kinnear had long since parted company with common sense, and he rarely picked him.

Then both Reid and Kinnear went, and Commons proved to be pretty much the only bright spot in a desperate season as Forest plunged towards relegation with unstoppable momentum. The country sat up and took notice after a mesmerising performance at Tottenham in the Cup, where he was the best player on the pitch by a mile - he was invited to the Final as "Player of the 5th Round" (and he was to repeat the feat the following season, after a hat tricvk against Yeading).

When Gary Megson arrived he was quick to spot Commons' qualities (as was Mick Harford, to be fair), and there was a brief period when it looked as though Kris might keep us up - he scored both goals in a rare away win at Watford, and then produced a sensational 30-yard lob of the keeper to beat Preston. (Said keeper - Chris Day - was on loan from QPR and must have been sick of the sight of Commons; Krissy had scored from a similar range against him a few weeks against Rangers earlier in the FA Cup!).

The fact that Forest eventually did go down was absolutely not Commons' fault - he, James Perch and Ross Gardner were about the only ones who could really hold their heads up after the worst season in living memory. The following season, however, was something of an in and out affair - for long periods in the second half of the season Commons looked far from fully fit.

He started the 2006-2007 season in similarly unlucky vein, suffering a fairly serious ligament injury in a pre-season friendly against Lincoln City. Once fit, however, he sporadically showed us why we we'd signed him; on his day he is unstoppable at Third Division level. Equally there are games where he simply doesn't have the impact that his undeniable talent suggests he should - usually, to be honest, when he is trying too hard to play sides on his own. In particular, he has a tendency to shoot from impossible distances; the fact that occasionally one whistles in shouldn't detract from the fact that frequently he'd be better to pass.

The fans all assumed he'd be off in the Summer of 2007, since his contract was up and he undoubtedly has the skill to succeed at a higher level. However, to the delight of all, Commons changed his mind, signing a one-year extension to his existing contract to give it one more try at getting Forest out of the Third Division.

For too much of his Forest career, Krissy has been the only player in our midfield with the ability to change the game. Most opponents realise this and mark him - sometimes brutally - out of existence, leaving Forest with no Plan B. The 2007 addition of Chris Cohen, Neil Lennon & Arron Davies to the side ought to mean that he and Sammy Clingan are no longer trying to play the opposition on their own, and it is to be hoped that Commons can blossom as a result.