The Ghost of Billy Davies

His name has once again appeared from nowhere following the shocking run of two games (note a heavily sarcastic lilt to this, I do not think it is shocking) without a win, coming 7 days after the best win of the season which had us all but promoted in these same fans eyes.

And now, and I trust it is down to Matchtalk last night which due to tech issues I was unable to listen to, that the usual array of nutjobs, cranks and attention seekers all called for Davies to be back. I entirely presume this from what I saw on both Facebook and Twitter using the usual refrain of we want our Billy back.

I even saw someone suggest the vast majority want him back in tweeting at Fawaz, although luckily, summarising these types intelligence it was a to a fake account (bravo)

I’m not one for questioning various people’s intellects and whatnot, but the majority (to use their vast sweeping statements they use too) are invariably people who don’t have the first fucking clue about this game. They just see he had success, and that this must mean he would again.

There is one reason I would ever want Davies back and that would be closure. Just as if he messed it up and failed you could finally put these to bed, and if he is the great prodigal son coming back to glory, then fine, we succeed. What I would expect is to be EXACTLY IN THE SAME POSITION WE ARE NOW. (Caps intended)

If Davies was in charge right now, in the top half a few points off the playoffs, would these same people be calling him into question the same way they do with SoD? Of course not.

I don’t even understand why I have to keep writing these pieces that explore a crisis that in my eyes doesn’t exist, doesn’t exist in the al-Hasawi’s eyes, not in the player’s eyes and in Sod’s eyes. But because some people aren’t happy unless we are 12 points clear at the top, here we are again, with people wanting to change a manager that hasn’t really failed. Yeah I agree we’ve hardly set the world alight. But we had no players in August, bar a few that mis-fired last season.

Frank Clark is lauded as a hero for what he did that team he took up struggled through the first few months. Because it was a new team that had been melded together with many new stars.

If you were to bring in Davies, who people proclaim to be the master and wouldn’t make the apparently questionable signings SoD has (I disagree entirely here by the way) can I remind you this is the man who signed McGoldrick and Adebola, and in the loan market saddled us with the expensive Konchesky and Boyd who were much maligned? Or are we just glossing over these facts. Under Davies we invariably limped through the first few months of seasons before cresting around now on a decent run leading to a late January slump.

Case in point is the same guy I referenced in a blog the other day. A guy I work with who goes to a handful of games at best and doesn’t listen to game. He wants Davies back. People cite the West Broom game time and time again about how good it was. One game. One game. Shall we over look how he ballsed up the playoff twice, made questionable selection decisions, (sound familiar) and kept choosing a defensive midfielder people didn’t like because they frankly don’t understand a defensive midfielder that doesn’t charge round like a headless chicken like Evans or Moussi ever did. I.e. they only understand all out attack, which just doesn’t work. They don’t understand the nuanced art of tactics.

SoD got critiqued for choosing one up front against Hull. It wasn’t one up front in the strictest sense, as the midfield was structured for players to get forward, it was meant to see Coppinger and Reid wide, but because they lack pace they couldn’t support like a McCleary could. Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, West Brom, Newcastle, Arsenal have used one up front this season. At home. But no, this point completely underlines the mentality that some fans just won’t accept O’Driscoll because they wanted Davies back.

In their heads he was only got rid of because he fell out with Doughty, Burt and Arthur. Arthur by the way whose name I haven’t heard uttered once with contempt this year yet he’s doing the same job.

The main point I will always make is this. If Davies is so damn good why hasn’t he got another job yet? And let’s remember he was openly touting himself round for jobs with Forest too. If SoD did that these same fans would be on the net teeth gnashing faster than anything fast you care to mention. Davies is poison. He constantly bickers and moans and undermines the squad. Always saying we need this that and the other, commuting from Scotland. Davies didn’t like board interference and wanted control. The al-Hasawis are not fully hands off. They have advisers, Dr Tarek for one, and have signed players that the manager didn’t request in Jenas. He wouldn’t function well under this, would we recreate the us v them mentality again?

People say with SoD we have the small club mentality but more me small club mentality is to constantly look back and not forward. Davies is the past; he’s in the rear view mirror. Forget him. You undermine the current regime by mentioning him. This will only go away through success so get BEHIND the team. Push them forward.

Matchline

From the outset here I think its best to be honest. I loathe and love Matchline in equal measure.

Loathe because I don't know what possesses people to decide that straight after a match they need phone up an answer phone to leave a 30 second garbled message about what they thought to the match,usually with incomprehensible results. Some of them sound so rushed and ill thought out I simply don't get why. It's likereading the forum on Vital Forest.

But then again I think that's why I love it. It's often a view into the immediate after match reaction of someone who hasn't really had a chance to discuss it or take time to mull it over, they are that keen to get over their view they simply can't wait.

The journey home from the match is often interrupted by turning up the volume to listen to "what the morons are saying" this week. And here is another element to me of its beauty. By and large it is people phoning who simply have an opinion that is usually ridiculous. But by it's nature something like this will always attract in those people. Those who feel the need to put their view on to others. Don;get me wrong, I understand the irony of writing a blog on the subject of idiots putting views over forcing them on others, whilst you may well be thinking exactly the same.

Matchline is often funniest though when we lose. Because then the nut jobs really come out. Knee jerk reactions to the match spelt out in and ill thought response where everyone is to blame. Under Calderwood he was always to blame, under Davies it is Doughty to blame. The usual refrain of "give him more money Doughty to do what he wants" Yes lets sign Claude Davis for £3million.

My favourite ever was in the Calderwood era. Some loon comes on and pipes up with something along the lines of what follows.

I just got in, didn't go and haven't listened, and saw the result. Not good enough, Calderwood has to go. Not good enough at all

So your going to bemoan a match you know nothing of? This particular game we had performed admirably I remember, though not who against, and were unlucky to lose, but no, some guy just got in, saw we lost,and without knowing any details feels he should phone up an answerphone and rant about it. Talk about foolish.

It did however give us "Come on you Forest men" from Carl from Carlton, or whatever his name is. This has entered into many fans match day parlance. It even had copycats mimicking him.

Then there was the guy pretending to be Irish. Now that was funny, promising a Guinness and a bag of potatoes to whoever played best that week. Unfortunately with anything funny and original other brain dead dolts have to try and steal the material and pretend its their own (look at the fake hoax Big Sam account after the other got closed down on Twitter, people feeling the need to revel in OTHERS glory)

But then it will be ruined by some child coming on who always start the message enthusiastically and by the end have started to think I really don't want to do this now especially when the launch into some song at the end, the idea was there, but the heart has truly gone.

But why do people feel the need to make it known what they thought. Most of us saw the game or listened, so we have a good impression. I only can assume they think the players are all gathered round the radio in the dressing room listening intently to what people thought of their performance in trepidation.

I was between the canal bridge and Lady Bay Bridge once when I heard someone phoning matchline. It'd had been a good win, so it was just the same as everyone else "think we did good today, keep it up..." yadda yadda. In all my maturity in my ever increasing age I decided to start swearing loudly in ear shot, hoping either a)to be heard on the recording, or b) if that wasn't going to happen, he wasn't ever going to get on with such foul language ruining it. And that's what sums it up.

Cheap Radio fro Radio Nottingham, all it is is an answer phone and some office junior doing minor editing. But by he same time frustrating but a vital part of match day now.