The Curse of the Old Boy

It appears at times there are only two ways it can go when we come up against a former player. They either play a blinder, or are so poor to be anonymous. Lewis McGugan skirted both those criteria this weekend.
Although the headlines will read the ex player came back to haunt us, in reality up till that point he’d be largely anonymous, and even after the goal he popped up with an effort that was well saved and then disappeared again.

It always feels like ex players score against us, or ex keepers will have a blinder etc. But is it really the case? Look at Barnsley away last season, we concede to a Marlon Harewood goal, but in reality he was pretty poor, spurning chances and generally getting mocked al game, in a nice friendly way. We knew his limitations especially since coming back to England, but remember how dangerous he could be.

Kris Commons often seems to have a mixed record against the fans who now so malign him, on the one hand that infamous cup game, scoring the late winner, and yet other occasions include him stooping to over celebrating a goal in the 5-2 drubbing like it actually mattered. The thing is we knew he’d score at least one.

So it was no real surprise when they got the free kick, and after I turned to a friend and said “well, he’s done nothing all game so watch this fly in” and it duly did, none of was really surprised. Fair play to McGugan who downplayed a celebration, I know if I’d have a section of support mocking and abusing me (as a number of Forest fans did, admittedly in equal measures got a good reception) I might be tempted to turn it back on them.

We have a couple of ex player likely playing against us on Saturday, who like Lewis may get a mixed reception. Grant Holt and James Perch are now at Wigan, and so that old curse could once again return. We have a good turnout apparently going up to the North west, so no doubt some of them will decide booing and chiding Holt will be the best course of action, whereas Perch would likely get good support from all, not realising that as often as it causes an awful performance (think Collymore returning with Liverpool) that it sometimes spurs them to better things.

At the end of the day I think abusing a player who generally played well and did anything near as much as Lewis did that abusing them is wrong. He didn’t make derogatory comments or suchlike. When it’s someone like Marlon King then fair play, they deserve all they get. Holt is a strange one as he clearly never feels he got the rub of the green at Forest, and has since gone on to bigger and better things with Norwich. Perch on the other hand came through our academy, put in a good few years and left for the Premier League. I for one won’t be booing either, not only because I think it’s unfair, but it just might be that spur to make either play better or rub it our face. Holt doesn’t have the connection Lewis, or Commons or Harewood had so might feel celebrating, Perch would likely not. Either way, it's hope they don’t have a good day.

Contractual Situations

The Trio Whose Contracts Are Up

Usually for Forest this isn’t a tale of half a dozen key contracts being up for renewal, but for once just 3 really. Aside from the loan players of course.

We have three main players out of contract and one of those has spent the majority of the season unavailable or out on loan in the guise of Marcus Tudgay. Contrary to rumours elsewhere Chris Cohen is not out of contract, a quick search reveals he signed a new deal in October (evidenced here). Other contracts that were expiring in Dexter Blackstock and Radi Majewski have been renewed.

Which leaves Andy Reid, who signed a 2 year deal when he signed, erm, 2 years ago, and Lewis McGugan.

Now I don’t know the ins and outs of whether we have offered deals, and in the past this kind of news has lead to conjecture about players futures. A number all blindly believed Dexter had joined Leeds, and a strange Polish press release seemed to indicate Majewski couldn’t agree terms, but these were both in the early days of negotiations and seem to be a counter ploy by agents to get the required deals.

I say it’s all conjecture because you never know the truth in these matters. Reid and McGugan on the surface appear to be have not offered deals yet. This would surprise me as Reid has played regularly this season and is a big part of how we play, and McGugan is dangerous and would have sell on value.

Our new found wealth would also mean that any potential stumbling blocks over Reid’s wages (believed to be around £12k a week) would now be averted, as had this been last year there isn’t a cat in hells chance of agreeing anything similar.

Unless it is that is a problem. That the club don’t want such high wages when we aren’t sure where we will be next season. However I do assume that the new deals signed this season were all of a higher end of any pay scale, and the fact Reid is 30 might be stumbling blocks too. Stick him on a 2 year deal and we’d be stuck with it. 30 year attacking midfielders aren’t the most valued commodity even if they have the quality Reid does, and with his pay deal and being saddled with that in the Championship? Well Chairman get itchy about that.

There is every chance deals are in the pipeline, but they may have been earmarked as players to monitor in relation to our league position and where we end up. The likes of McGugan would probably want a good deal, and he could maybe step up, but here’s a catch. Is McGugans bright form because of that very reason? He’s playing for a deal? We’ve seen it time and time again.

I can honestly see Tudgay being released. I think the club want to see where they are before seeing what to do with Reid and McGugan, and maybe they both want to see where the club are before they start negotiating. We seem to have been locking down players we want to keep. The fact these 2 deals are expiring I find interesting.

Settled Midfield Reaps Benefits

At the start of this season we signed a glut of midfielders. Considering we were already quite blessed in this position it seemed a strange one. Already in possession of Majewski, McGugan, Moussi, Greening, Reid and Cohen in the midfield we added Gillett, Coppinger, Lansbury, Guedioura, and since the summer McLaughlin.

Lansbury has been able to settle in team under Davies

It led some wags to choose a XI of just midfielders. But what it also led to was a lot of chopping and changing, some of it enforced, some of it for the sake of it to use them all. This led to a very unbalanced side and players badly out of form. Guedioura looked a shell of the player he was last year, Lansbury never settled, McGugan and Majewski seemed peripheral and unneeded.

Fast forward to now and a lots changed there. Instead of the tinkering, there is consistency, and as a result the team is winning.

We started the season with an element of consistency. The same midfield 4 was frequently used right up till we lost a couple against Leeds and some lot called Derby. We went with Gillett, Guedioura, McGugan and Reid. This consistency as I say was partially enforced, Lansbury and Cohen both injured at this stage. The last game of this run of the midfield saw Guedioura get sent off against Palace and so the chopping and changing began, and the form faltered.

If you look from the end of November up to and including the Watford game, a run which many wanted SoD to be sacked during, the form was inconsistent, with horrible defeats, but also quite good results it would look now (0-0 at Brighton doesn’t look bad) Gillett started in that run, but didn’t finish, Moussi taking over, Guedioura and Cohen were used in a majority of games but would be dropped (and sometimes bought on at half time) and Lansbury and McGugan switched in and out the team. Coppinger played a couple of times. In fact the prevalence of early substitutions does smack a little of a manager trying to tinker to get things right, and although now we look fondly back at O’Driscoll period on charge, there were glaring inconsistencies. I for one think we would have got it right, but it was a case of trying to juggle too many balls.

Radi blossoming in new role

The problem is there no –one gets a consistent run of form and it told. When McLeish came in he had a midfield which was largely out of form, he didn’t know his best side, and besides, a midfield is superfluous in a McLeish team as the ball gets humped over them (I again implore you to seek out Aliaksander Hleb’s quotes on this from his spell at Birmingham)

So how was it Billy was instantly able to galvanise this midfield into one that is a constant, in form, and above all free scoring. Well he seemed to decide on a different set of personnel and although in the familiar 1-3 layout, with one deep the other attacking, gave a certain artistic license to Majewski, who revels in such a role. Lansbury gets to be the box to box midfielder, and Guedioura gets treated more a quarter back to control the play. Gillett played this role before but with the quarter back element. Instead of long balls forward, he was more like a rugby scrum half, getting the ball and passing sideways. Guedioura's range of passing far outstrips Gillett’s, and though both don’t shirk the physical side of the game, Guedi is bigger and stronger, and can shrug off challenges.

We have also now settled on a formation. O’Driscoll by and large used the 4-1-3-2 at home but was prone to adjusting to a 4-2-3-1 formation, which didn’t work. Indeed when we altered to this against Wolves for a while we struggled to control the game. The sole forward with less support struggles to maintain possession. Additionally, having the 2 men sitting deeper means we don’t attack in the same force. I am also acutely aware I supported this formation saying many modern teams play it. They do, but that’s in the Premier League.

Whether it was a case of SoD trying to keep people fresh, and that he did have knocks to contend with we will never properly know. But we were doing better before he kept trying to adjust the midfield, and the formation. Billy has faithfully stuck to his 4-1-3-2 and it’s paying dividends. He hasn’t tried to evolve the game to involve more width; he sees what we have and is making the best of it. Players like greening and Moussi are kept involved, but are not integral. The only usual change is to see McGugan come into the fray for whoever looks like they need removing. And he is a great foil to be able to bring on.

I guess the challenge becomes when a result or two goes against us, and maybe then chopping and changing might be seen. When you’re in a great run you don’t makes too many changes, except in our case when the strikers just aren’t firing. I keep seeing people suggest involving more width, or that we should change the structure, but why the hell do anything when the team doesn’t changing? People seem to want to tinker for the sake of it, and what we illustrated above shows that doesn’t work. I think as said before that too many people play Football Manager and think because what happens in a fictional cyber world will play out exactly in reality. It doesn’t work like that.

It’d be interesting to see what happens if Guedioura got injured, would Davies favour this system with either Moussi or Gillett, would he reshuffle to a 4-4-2, a flatter formation with Reid wide or Lansbury on the right? All conjecture. Why change what’s working unless we have to? Consistency. It is the watchword of the day for me, and it shows how obviously it is needed.

Guedi the new DM

Resurgent Reds

Following the dual wins against Ipswich and Wednesday the renewed optimism and verve around the team is palpable. We face what could be a troublesome fixture against a struggling Wolves team on Saturday that could be a challenge as they scrap for survival, but the confidence that oozes from this team right now makes me doubt that. The Reds went to Sheffield, and beat Wednesday in a very convincing first half performance, and although by the end we were holding on a little, Wednesday didn’t really look like scoring. The same almost with a resolute Ipswich team. Hard to break down, but eventually we ground out the result.

The Owls get it completely wrong in the first half, and the two teams set ups saw Forest run rampant, and probably should have scored more than the now inevitable Majewski goal. It was a wonderful goal too, a great team move and unselfish play that led to Majewski having a comparatively easy slot home to put us one up and ultimately give us the three points.

The wonders of the current middle 3 being so interchangeable are that it makes them hard to mark as they can switch intermittently in their role. Though none are explicitly the central or the wide man, the set up sees Lansbury pull right and Majewski left, with Reid given space to play his passes to the two front men, with Guedioura coming in behind. But that’s simplifying it. They react to the pitch in front of them and pop up anywhere, making them very hard to defend. Certainly hard to man mark.

When Wednesday did get it right putting on a extra pacey wide man it forced us to adapt, to keep the midfielders in check to cover for the extra forwards and wide play, pulling Lansbury to help cover Jara, and Majewski to cover Cohen. Johnson meant that two pacey wide men were involved as well as Antonio, and between the two they created more forward play if not chances.

That said Darlow didn’t have a great deal to do, what he did he mostly did right, although his parry out at one point in second half could have caused a problem, the Reds always looked relatively comfortable. Even bringing on Lascelles to cover for Collins, though he could have given away a penalty for hand ball. There were a couple of calls for penalties for ball to hand type incidents and to be honest yes I have seen some of them given, but that doesn’t make them right.

A word on Collins, back in the side in Halford absence, he has become the easy man to dislike, in the way that Forest fans just have to have at least one unpopular player in the side. Gillett and Collins seemed to be archetypal of the loss of form in January/ February, and therefore have become the target of often quite unfair abuse. Collins of course was instrumental in the early season in settling down the defence in its infancy of being together, and yes he suffered a loss of form, but there's no need when he was announced in the team to be hyper critical and for some to even suggest they’d hoped he had played his last game for the club. And like it or not he is the club captain so was always going to get the arm band. For one he is a vocal contributor at the back. Too often people just think the longest serving player should be the captain, but that simply isn’t a great policy for choosing who should be the leader on the pitch. Davies is an expert at identifying his teams leaders, so if he stuck by Collins, and if he chose him to play, then get behind him,, Davies knows more than me or you, so if he thinks he should play, then play. Lascelles hasn’t played much competitive football this year, and is relatively inexperienced, to chuck him in there could well have been costly. And a few months at Stevenage don’t equate to experience before anyone tries to fire that one at me.

The Ipswich game was a tougher cookie to crack. That was until they decided to start getting themselves sent off. On an extremely misty night where from my Trent End seat the Bridgford End goal was quite often impossible to see clearly, the Reds eventually prevailed against 9 men Ipswich.

Ipswich had a call for penalty that some were adamant was in the box, following a foul I believe by Majewski. It was right on the border, and although their player fell in the box, the initial foul and contact was right on the edge. In my view the right call, I haven’t seen any replays though. Apparently the Sky Sports News reporter at the ground was adamant it was a penalty.

He was also adamant that martin shouldn’t have been sent off despite lashing out at Lansbury. Admittedly Lansbury did over react in going down, but it achieved the aim of getting Martin dismissed. He may or may not have gotten away with it had Henri not reacted. Basically had he stayed on feet the manager would not have been forced to act in the same way. That said Martin should have been booked for a challenge on Guedioura just before, which wasn’t even a free kick somehow.

And when the second red came for Stearman for what was a stupid yellow, it should have been easy. Ipswich though completely changed their team model to defend at all costs. The point which they’d have been pleased with was now all they could really hope for, and so they attempted to keep what they had. Credit to Mick McCarthy who has supported both decisions to a certain degree.

In that regard with a rigid rear guard to break down, and our incessant desire to pass the ball into the goal all night, the game required something different. Step forward Lewis McGugan. In a game with a packed defence we needed someone not afraid to take that shot on that might not be on. Guedioura aside, this time mostly shoot with clear opportunities. Majewski although scoring from range, is usually when he had space to compose, Lewis at his best doesn’t need much space, just that split second to see it’s on and it hit, like the goals from two years ago, often a shot out of nothing.

And with all that build up, a heavily deflected almost mis-hit left shot from McGugan won it. Leaving the keeper stranded, the ball went in. It should have been easily 3 points wrapped up. Go on and get a second whilst Ipswich have to come out of their shell a little. However we sat back and passed around in defence with minutes left. Indeed when 6 minutes went up I was almost fearing the worst. The old demons of not holding on, and giving up leads still haunt us. But it seems under Davies maybe they have been banished. Ipswich had chances, none clear cut, but chances. We simply tried to time waste despite a two man advantage rather than try to see the game out. Ipswich fans taunted this with cries of “we only have 9 men” and they were right to do so. We shouldn’t be holding on at home against Ipswich with 9 men, that’s a simple fact.

McGugan: What To Do?

Lewis McGugan is a player I have written about before at length, and every time it seems it’s one of these debates about exactly what to do. One of the very first pieces I wrote for this blog featured the fact that Lewis was an obviously talented player who seemed to be squandering those abilities. Then he caught fire. Not literally I’d add, purely proverbially.

He went on a run of form where astonishing goals flew in from everywhere; we even ran a video based competition on which was his best goal. Of course the free kick against Ipswich won. However, that was all 2 years ago now. In the mean time, and arguably since the second half of that season Lewis has shrunk back into the shadows. Making infrequent substitute appearances, with occasional starts.

And it s not as if he is banging on the door to be in the first team. He isn’t. When he does play he doesn’t look great. Often so embarrassingly quiet you forget he was on the pitch. At least Radi, who I regard in a similar vein, makes ill advised poorly timed challenges to remind you he’s playing.

The future unfortunately for Lewis would look to be a move away I think, but the shame is after all the attention he apparently got 18 months ago whereby we could have got £3mill (again apparently) he looks like he will drift for free in the summer as his contract expires then.

Another facet is Lewis believes his own press, and rightly so when you have his talent. The problem is when you’re form doesn’t match then you don’t have a great bargaining chip. Look at someone like Torres who has great talent, but appalling form, would he still be negotiatecontracts like he did 18 months ago? Of course not. And the same applies for Lewis. His stock has plummeted.

Although in Giles Barnes case it was injuries I can almost see Lewis going that same way, and the precedent is there with Forest players before. Eugen Bopp for instance, talented players who just can’t seem to either fulfil it, or remain focussed enough in their career to be a top talent. They end up drifting down the leagues, or rotting in some reserves somewhere.

There is a reason he hasn’t been playing much lately. The competition for places means he isn’t anywhere near guaranteed first team football. When McLaren came in, his aim was to sculpt a team around McGugan, and maybe that’s why he failed. Davies managed to squeeze something out of McGugan, and maybe it’s challenging him. Before hand when he was good, there was some competition, but not a lot for his role. Now there are 5-6 players who can do what he does, so in that essence he misses out. Maybe he sulks, and doesn’t train, who knows. There was the element when Davies came in about saying he was too fat. Davies seemed to be able to challenge McGugan to prove him wrong in a way other managers have perhaps put him on a pedestal whereby he believes he is the best. That’s not when he is the best.

What’s happening now I am unsure? I think a lot of fans would be indifferent to his departure. A shame because we know what he can do. But not a shock, because he simply isn’t anywhere near consistent. There are times as well on the pitch he seems to sulk. Angry at now being allowed to take a free kick. His corners have been awful for a long time. It’s just not what you expect of your most creative player. They are an extreme art of managing. Look at Taarabt at QPR, some managers just don’t want passengers other see their ultimate benefit. This is why extremely talented players like them often move around. The likes of Hatem Ben Arfa end up moving around till touching down somewhere that gets them. I think maybe it’s for the best if we let Lewis do the same. Yeah he will go on and succeed somewhere else, but in the mean time he just doesn’t seem to want to be here, and even when he does succeed. It won’t last. He doesn’t seem to have the fortitude to make it last.

What Would Be Our Best Midfield?

I’ve talked at length about the various options in midfield without ever really analysing what might be the best options, discussing other peoples various roles and how this set up works. However the win and performance at Wolves has raised some question marks in my mind about which personnel is best.


Quietly I had wondered whether the midfield attacking three we had been using were the best options. I for one have been chomping at the bit to see what Lansbury can offer from the start. I think Cohen is making himself undroppable, and we all know what Guedioura is capable of, despite not hitting those heights this season yet.

I appreciate the role Reid can play, and his guile and technique with the ball cannot be questioned, but I always wonder about his mobility, and how a more mobile midfield three might be better. The lack of pace and drive has sometimes been a real issue in the midfield. With Jenas and Reid out, Guedioura and Lansbury stepped up and completely seized their chance this week.

I would like if possible to see this midfield set up given a couple of games to see how they run. All the requirements are there, set piece delivery, creativity, drive, finesse. Reid offers an ability with set pieces that a wonderful crossing ability, but I would argue so too does Lansbury.

Looks at the ball Lansbury played on Saturday, 40-50 yards over the top ball perfectly to Sharps path and feet to take on and score. Considering he was schooled by Arsenal it was a very un-Arsenal like ball, essentially being long ball, but it was so much more than just a punt up field than long ball and direct implies. It was crafted, judged and dropped into place for the striker to latch on to. Creative but direct. Very Reid like, but with mobility.

If Guedioura is starting to hit last season’s form and I know one swallow doesn’t make a summer but he was looking far better, and maybe the catalyst for this improvement was playing his old team, and as often happens he played out of his skin. If his form is now getting back to last season it makes him undroppable. He just needs to stop getting sent off. I had a feeling as he approached towards their goal on Saturday and let rip that he’d hit something dangerous, and lo and behold it was unsavable down in the corner. We’ve got our Guedi back.

Cohen I have been impressed with this season. I thought his form may suffer with the long layoff but he seems to have come back determined to make up for the year or so out of the game. There are those who are suggest he isn’t he player many others say he is, that’s its all effort and no class but I completely disagree. We are a better team with Cohen it.

We are yet to see anything of Coppinger, and with Majewski injured the other option would be to see McGugan in, but I think we all know that although he has obvious ability his temperament is questionable and this means with the new better options he is essentially unpickable.

Jenas and Reid will have their roles to play, the problem with Jenas is that yes he is quality, but will he be here after January? Is it worth trying to play someone else into form instead? Reid isn’t going to be able to keep playing all season and will need rests. Weeks like this where we have 3 games in 7 days will be too much for his fitness level. The options of rotation should keep players fresh, but you also want the consistency that playing regularly brings. This is what has hampered Guedioura as he has been in and out the team.

It all bodes well though. If an army marches on its stomach, a team’s promotion bid will rely on its midfield. Yes you need the strong defence, and the goal scorers, but the way we play, needs a strong midfield, and thats what we have.

McGugan Wonder Goal Welcome Reminder of What He Can Do

I’ll make this abundantly clear at the start, I didn’t see the game, I was at Leeds festival so this isn’t a match report per se, however since seeing the goals, and especially McGugans (which Vincent Kompany felt moved to tweet about) I did want to comment that it’s been too long that we saw this side of McGugan.

Nearly 2 years, well maybe 18 months, I was compelled to put together a video for the website celebrating McGugans string of wonder goals. He was scoring one every other week. 8,9, maybe 10 goals worthy of any pitch, although the Ipswich free kick strike was most people’s winner of goal of season, the Cardiff away goal was my personal favourite, and this goal reminded me of it.

Not quite out of nothing, he had space, and a moment to adjust, it was still largely unexpected to shoot there and then, and with such precision. That precision is the key, shooting from such a range should allow the keeper a moment to adjust position, to read the flight, to react. Not though when hit with the precision and power, a very hard combination.

Yes he should be closed down quicker perhaps straight away, not allowing that second to produce what he can, but maybe Bolton weren’t as aware as many other Championship squads were. Was it that defenders were rise to him last season which restricted him? Was it the managers being unable to utilise him rightly, both McLaren and Cotterill. Probably an element of that too.

But that he was in the position, took the shot and succeeded bodes well. When McGugan is clicking and on form, so do Forest. He could be that focal point to succeed on, if only he was more consistent and didn’t go missing in games. The new passing should benefit him though.

It won’t work every game, you deny him space and he won’t get these chances, so a lot of teams deny him that time these days. That does however then free up our other power hitter Adlene Guedioura to fire at will from range, and we know all too well what he is capable of. Just seems McGugan’s efforts have that finesse, that precision in his shots, whereas Guedioura is all raw power.

I will say this about the goals I saw from Friday night, and that also involved looking at tactical analysis that our new Technical advisor provides. He has a YouTube channel on which I saw his analysis, and yes there were defensive lapses. People not picking up players, leaving their man etc. These need to be cut out. Invariably it is a more attacking player covering whose attention lapses for that second that defenders wouldn’t. This will happen, but the team needs to be a united unit. It’s not quite there yet, we didn’t have enough pre season games to have fully clicked, but it will come. And when it does with what we are building, we could blow teams away.

Transfer Gossip Update

I'd like to make it clear once and for all on this, these are not news report, but mainly taken from gossip columns whereby I cherry pick the likely, and the ridiculous. The rest I between I ignore


Ins


Billy Kee
Burton Striker Kee, an ex Leicester youngster has been linked. He has been scoring a lot of goals in league Two and is the sort of striker that wouldn’t cost much and potentially do a job. Kee is described as stocky on one site, which basically means a big unit who is strong, like a Grant Holt. It is potentially the type of player we could go after, what Burton would want fee wise is unclear, and therefore may be a stumbling block. On the other hand someone might just be plucking a young striker doing well in League Twos name out of a bag. Kee is a Northern Ireland u-21 international


George Elokobi
The Wolves Left back has been linked via Sky Sports, so for once it has as more reputable source. That said, we currently have Cunningham there for the rest of the season so why would we spend on wages of a Premier League player in the same positions? Plus he has a season on his contract so would potentially command a fee. The guy is a big strong player who’d take no crap, that said I simply don’t see this happening.



Stephen Quinn
The Sheffield United midfielder has been linked, again on Sky Sports. Seems potentially possible as Cotterill hasn’t really settled on a midfield he likes yet. Quinn could be just the type of player we need, not afraid to get stack in, can get wide and has good delivery. Basically Cohen, but with more hustle.


OUTS


Matt Derbyshire
Again. Being linked with Coventry and Sheffield Wednesday but I’d guess any deal would be a loan till end of season as no-one would want to commit long term. I liked him before he arrived, but it just seems we are the wrong club at the wrong time for him.


David McGoldrick
Word is the club are basically desperate to get rid of him. Get him off the wage bill and potentially get a fee back, but accept it would be nowhere near the fee we paid. McGoldrick would simply be no loss. Notts County have been linked, but how can they afford him?


Lewis McGugan
Linked with just about anyone below 8thin the Premier League seemingly. You name them; they’ve been linked with essentially a cut price £1mill deal for the mercurial midfielder. Simply isn’t nearly consistent enough in a relegation battle, in some eyes. Still would be a shame to lose one of our most exciting players, but if needs must.

Latest Transfer Rumours

Ok so as we near the reopening of the January transfer window, and as Cotterill has had an excellent opportunity to survey his squad, the transfer rumours are starting to creep out the wood work again.


And unsurprisingly, those start at the club Cotterill recently departed. And even more unsurprisingly they start with Liam Lawrence. Lawrence is of course a local; he was born in Retford, and as a youngster was on the Forest books. I have heard in the past, though I have nothing to corroborate this, is that he was always resentful to Forest for this, and as a consequence doesn't like the club. As I Say, I do not know if this is true. He however would not be cheap, and for that I raise severe question marks over this potential deal. It just feels like lazy journalism

Equally is the vague rumour connecting Erik Huseklepp, a Cotterill signing for Portsmouth in the summer. That alone suggests to me it is unlikely, as does the fact Pompey paid a princely £1.5mill for him, and Forest recently announced we do not have much cash.


Chris Martin, not the one in Coldplay, but the Norwich striker has also been linked, and with a host of other Championship clubs too. Maybe more likely, but we don’t exactly have a dearth of strikers at the club (what with Blackstock impending return) Palace look to be the front runners to sign him on loan. Martin has a checkered past, being barred from many bars in Suffolk after a fight in a pub in Beccles.

There are strong rumours suggesting that George Boateng will be let go in January. These have appeared on numerous sites, and may have credence with that Boateng really was a McClaren man in the Forest camp.

Finally, there are very non-committal rumours about there having to be departures in January to fund any arrivals. The names mentioned are unsurprisingly Lewis McGugan and Lee Camp. It remains to be seen how much truth there is in this.

Goal of the Season - Lewis McGugan

Thank you to all who voted, a good turn out of votes in the end, with a somewhat predictable result.

Lewis McGugans wonder free kick versus Ipswich was voted as goal of the season from the choice of ten. He beat McGoldricks goal into against Crystal Palace into second place,and scored 68% on the poll,comfortably beating all the other choices shortlisted.

Heres an embedded link to a Youtube vid of the goal just in case you were on Mars and missed it.

Forest Player Exit Rumours

Usually we always deal with a vast number of incoming player rumours. Well this time due to a stuttering promotion bid it's our own players being linked with other clubs, and quite a number of them this week to round up and evaluate how likely many of these seem.


Chris Gunter
The Welsh right back is being linked with soon to be promoted QPR as they look to bolster their ranks for the Premiership. And most rumours link them with the cream of the Championship. I think it could be likely to see QPR go for Gunts. He is still young and therefore would be a good investment, I could see him jumping at the chance of Premiership football if offered. If Forest accept such an offer remains to be seen. Every player has his price and all that.


Lewis McGugan
Similarly QPR are being linked with McGugan which is a rumour that also appeared back in January, that didn't have much in it at the time. If Taarabt does leave QPR(a host of top top clubs are linked)then McGugan would be a like for like replacement, though not as good, and with more questions about attitude. McGugan would undoubtedly jump at the offer of Premiership football. Remember before he broke though here he was touting himself to Chelsea apparently


Lee Camp
Obviously a player on top form will get linked, and the season Camp has had its no surprise that Premiership clubs would be sniffing round the new Northern Ireland no.1. Aston Villa are the club being mentioned, Friedel being in the last years of his career is apparently out of contract and Villa are looking to replace the American with Camp. Camp is undoubtedly the one player we would miss more than most, top goalkeepers such as him are few and far between at this level. I'm not sure if Camp would agitate for a move, but a club like Villa could certainly triple his wages easily.


Guy Moussi
Moussi is out of contract this summer,and what with where we will be next season still unknown it seems we are leaving negotiations late. Following his excellent season a few Premiership clubs are sitting up and taking note of this situation. Stoke, Wigan and Everton are the ones being mentioned, and considering he would be on a free it would be relatively risk free. Whether he'd want to go and sit on a Premiership bench for most of the season, as he would, is unclear. He would be a loss for free though.


Luke Chambers
Wolves were being mentioned at looking at Chambers a few weeks ago. Wolves being embroiled in a fight for their top flight status though put's this move in the 'unsure' pile. Baring in mind if relegated they'd have more money than most due to Parachute Payments, they might look at Chambers has a proven Championship defender to help their promotion bid. I can't see them risking him as a buy in the Premiership, but they do persist with Richard Stearman,so who knows.

Davies needs to be ruthless: McGugan out, Lynch in.

In his debut article for Forest 24-7, Mr GeoChallenge discusses a somewhat controversial idea

Davies needs to be ruthless: McGugan out, Lynch in.

by MrGeoChallenge

Lewis McGugan is Forest's top scorer with a bombastic 11 goals from midfield. He is the man that lifts the crowd, the man with the key to any Championship defence - he is our biggest threat and he needs to be dropped, and replaced with the much maligned Joel Lynch.

Forest are dropping from the sky faster than a three winged penguin. One win from our last eight games has left us in danger of losing even a play-off position. Teams are meeting our skill with grit, determination and a plan, and we're being dragged into physical, tough fights. We're playing teams at their own game and some of our players don't have it in their locker. Teams are flooding the midfield, creating tactical, positional games. Games in which there is no room for a passenger.

We all like to see a winger attack, but this player has responsibility - he must form a partnership with his full back or the team will face the consequences - I propose that McGugan does not do this. He rarely tracks back, even more rarely harries players when threatening to cross the ball, and often goes missing when the going gets tough. The last home game was a good example of McGugan not being up for a hard-working, physical, positional battle - our midfield could find no space going forward and didn't compete defensively, meaning we had to go direct, playing into Hull's game-plan.

However, from match one I have been left cringing at the galaxial space that appears in front of our left back, thisis most obvious when the opposition have the ball on their left wing. Our defence shuffles over like good little boys, except there is suddenly enough room on our left side to park the QE2. The opposition sometimes spot this and a good run/pass has left us with problems. This very rarely happens on our right hand side.

McGugan has been playing as Forest's left winger, and should be learning his defensive role like Paul Anderson is. 'Ando' has been much criticised this year because the goals and mazy dribbles of his Swansea days have not materialised, but to me it's clear he has taken on alot of extra knowledge/duties and is struggling to do them whilst attacking as he used to. He is doubling up and underlapping much better than he used to, and dropping onto the defence when it stuffles over to the left very well and has saved our skin on more than one occasion by doing so. He is generally supporting Chris Gunter very well and his work-rate has improved - the Forest coaches have clearly been working on Anderson's defensive side, if we had a left sided player doing this we would look so much stronger.

The above is only observational, so in the interest of fairness I looked at our goals conceeded (only since the Leicester game due to laziness, and Eggheads is coming on in a bit). We have played 18 league games since & including the 1-0 defeat at Leicester, conceeding 16 goals. Of the 13 goals from open play, 8 goals have arisen from threats coming from our left hand side (Middlesborough, Preston (2), Scunthorpe, QPR, Coventry, Barnsley and Leicester). We've been beaten straight down the middle 4 times, and only once from our right.*
* (I must point out these statistics are from my own viewing only, and for one or two goals this is slightly subjective, especially Leciester & Coventry - but stand by my assertion that they came from problems on the left of our defence).

This is 61% ofour goals conceeded from open play coming from problems developing on our left side, a disproportionate amount.

Watching over the videos the lack of a defensive partnership between our left winger and left back can be seen in numerous examples. The Tommy Smith goal for QPR is a perfect example of a very good player spotting our frailty and mercilessly exploiting it. Drifting alone into the wide gap between full-back and winger, he recieved the ball under no pressure whatsoever. Faced with two QPR players, one of which made an intelligent run behind him, Konchesky could only follow his man. Chambers seemingly took an age to close Smith down, but if he'd of ran out of the defence Smith could have slipped Chambers' man in behind, so Chambers was stuck, and actually did the right thing in forcing Smith to shoot rather than pass earlier. Smith rifled in an excellent goal - but Forest were left in a vey tight spot by their left winger daydreaming and not supporting the defence. Lack of defensive cover from the left winger heavily contributed to the recent Middlesborough goal in exactly the above manner. We also suffer deadly crosses from this area against Barnsley, Preston and Scunthorpe, crosses too easily made.



This defensive frailty is hurting the shape of our entire team, and needs rectifying - now. The fans have been crying out for a left back, and having experience there does help, but he still needs support that McGugan is unable to give. This is no lambasting of our top scorer - he's no winger, but the manager needs to address this and stop playing him there, either by moving him next to McKenna/Moussi or dropping him completely, because it's no coincidence that many of our problems come from the left wing, where McGugan can usually be found. He has the ability to disappear - so much so I've sometimes wondered if he was employing some sort of cloaking device. There are difficult games approaching where every player must make a contribution, if Lewis can't force himself into a game Forest are better off playing someone else. Two goals in these last 18 league games suggests his contribution has dipped.

The solution may already be at the club - Joel Lynch. Having played very well at times this season, I propose bringing Lynch in at left back with the attacking wing back Konchesky slotting into midfield. Konchesky is a defender but I don't think he's that much of a square peg - with his experience he'll be able to play the position and this will enfuse a little more grit into our midfield, a midfield which with the exception of McKenna, allows the game to pass them by too often. Konchesky would at least make his prescence felt.

I think I've demonstrated that the left hand side of our defence is considerably weaker, and also that McGugan has not been contributing as much from this position. Forest need a player to sit on our left wing and, as well as providing an outlet, get stuck in defensively. Konchesky may be the answer - he surely would defensively - but if not Davies needs to bring in a proper winger who knows how to defend. And maybe he does need to be ruthless with McGugan too. It may be just the motivation Lewis needs.

Forest Look-a-likes 2

Owing to the popularity of the last lookalikes article we did, and anew flurry of them, we have the following new ones.
If you want to tell us about some lookalikes we haven't had yet, you can do so on the forum, the facebook page or via twitter, or even in the comments underneath.There is really no reason why you shouldn't as we have so many ways!!
The links are all on the right.

The Lookalikes

Luke Moore and Lewis McGugan



Bruno Mars and Robert Earnshaw



Yakubu and Wes Morgan




John Terry and a Transvestite