An Odd Weekend of News

So I was busy for most of Sunday or all of yester not giving me a chance to contribute to the debate and gossip about the chairmanship. And now that all seems to have settled down I don’t really have much new to add to the equation.

The al-Hasawi's

But with Fawaz becoming the main man after the recent financial scandals, it does make you wonder what the actual reasons behind the moves were. There is mixed debate on this subject. Fawaz was embarrassed by the mishandling of accounts and bills being paid and wants to take direct control.

Or the other that this move was always planned for the New Year, with Omar having more expertise in the British world of business, and therefore business law etc, it would be better for a bedding in period before Fawaz took full control of what is essentially his baby.

I have no qualms with either reasoning. It isn’t to have the club splashed across the papers for being stranded without a working club credit card. Or for that matter the rumours of unpaid wages and agent fee’s, which on the surface looks appalling, but is actually quite common practice in most business for a lot of bills to have gone unpaid for a while (well everyone I’ve ever worked for anyway) But it makes good copy, especially for owners we still know relatively little about. We still aren’t sure just how wealthy they are after all.

Anyway, in the midst of all this, Fawaz announced when 24-7 had already speculated about the new big screens coming to the ground. It was a badly kept secret that these would be in for Boxing Day, all but confirmed anyway when the seats were missing in the Bridgford End last week, and pictures of cabling reading to be connected up.

This and the unconfirmed gossip about the fact we are now aiming for promotion not next season or the year after but immediately this campaign. Not sure why the change of focus. It could be they see the division as wide open and this is a good chance as any. Or it could be the much worse fact that yes, they aren’t as wealthy as we thought and it’s do or die now. If we don’t get up, we’re doomed. Which the doom merchants on Twitter love as a theory. Which is true? I don’t know. Good old conjecture though, never stops the Forest Twitter timeline churning; I don’t know the answer, let's make something up and treat it as gospel.

Stephen McLaughlin - apparently about to sign

And after all this comes the news of a signing near enough tied up. Derry City winger Stephen McLaughlin has all but been agreed it seems. The 20 year old was James McClean at Sunderland’s replacement, and he was at times a revelation last year. If this guy can do anywhere near that we may be laughing (even if McCleans form has dropped considerably) we need natural width, and if he comes it may well spell the end of Coppinger. He could, and I stress could, be our new McCleary. And by that I also mean he might take a while to bed in and get up to speed.

On that note, Coppinger, after his comments (I wanted to put outburst but it really wasn’t) that he is not enjoying his stay as he has always played 40 games a season. Well newsflash James, you just made a step up, and in terms of that you have to expect to maybe not always play. If you want to lack ambition and play every week at a lesser club then go on. Go back to Donny.

Matt Derbyshire has also said he wants to leave, which isn’t a shock in the slightest. The proof in the pudding will be if he does, where he goes. As surely it would mean a hefty drop in wages. Those trips to the Cinema don’t pay for themselves. Neither does his wife’s endless shopping trips.

There is a bit of talk around David McGoldrick too, seeing as McGoaldrought has found his scoring boots again, and is firing them in for Coventry. Another 2 this weekend, and in perfect time foe the transfer window. Surely a player isn’t improving in time for the shop window? How very cynical. If he does go, we can probably sneak a fee now as before I assumed he’d leave on a free this January. Again taking a pay cut maybe an issue, but goal shy Championship clubs might now be sniffing around. Barnsley love our ex players, why not them?

Oh and actual news where it matters, on the pitch, we drew 0-0 with Brighton. Good result on the face of it. Although apparently he performance was lacking somewhat

Financial Issues? Or More Bad Journalism?

It was reported in some gutter press this week that we hadn’t paid our players or some agent fees. This was left alluding to a financial cash flow problem at the club but not confirmed.

One report is it’s a glitch with the BAC’s payment system at the club. Whether this is the case as with most of this article is speculation at best.

There are mixed rumours on the net surrounding whether we had or hadn’t paid these wages. One person suggested on the forum it was a definite fact without actually providing anything other than hearsay, whilst another forum member (IntotheForest) cited he has a friend employed by the club in the shop, and that any issue affected paying the wages of players would surely also affect retail staff.

That is a distinct possibility. Whether there is a separation or demarcation between different divisions of the club and how wages are paid I have no idea. One thing I do know is that other clubs when in trouble generally don’t pay admin, retail or playing staff all at the same time. SO this would probably indicate it’s bollocks.

But that ascribes the same structure at other clubs to Forest. There might be a separate division or part of the “company” that pays the non essential non playing staff.

This is all pure conjecture mind you. And I tend to think it’s something that isn’t a problem. If it was why would be in the process of spending large sums on sprucing up the stadium? And up to a reported £1million on big screens and rolling adverts. This is all an expense that if there was a problem would definitely be shelved.

The only other thing was potentially a delay in transferring Kuwaiti funds over to the UK if this is true. That may have seen some arranged payments missed, but again this is all guesswork and potentially all smoke and mirrors.

The main part for me is that there hasn’t been mass hysteria about this like we would have seen last week. Seems like an attempt to make a mountain out of a molehill and make issues with our new owners again by the press.

I think we all remember the ridiculousness of the Daily Mail piece that suggested after a week of the new regime that we’d be only signing Arabic players and that because we hadn’t spent big our new owners were penniless. People just seem to want to create issues with the al-Hasawi's, thankfully its people with no bearing on matters and not the Nottingham press, but ill informed nationals.

However thanks to our friends over the river, everyone starts muttering “Munto” and thinking it could all be that. It isn’t. But it still plays into opposing fans and detractors hands.

Everything is fine

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.

Jenas Loan Not Sean's Choice.

The gossip this week and news that many were discussing over pints before and after the game this Saturday as well as the game was what exactly is happening with Jermaine Jenas.


Jenas is well known for his problems with fitness these days so seeing him out the match day squad wasn’t exactly a surprise, but you’d think that a player of his ilk would surely walk into the squad.

Perhaps not. We all know the intricate game of politics that is often played at football clubs all too well, after all Billy Davies was our manager and everything was about politics with him.

It turns out that Jenas wasn’t signed by SoD, and that the al-Hasawi’s decided go out and get a big marquee signing to signify our intent. This is hardly a shock, nor does it overly worry me when you consider that they had a stated intent to bring in Kuwaiti players, we all know that this means they do have intentions to go out and get players that might not be in the managers mind. And as I say, when it’s a Premier League quality player who has played a number of times for England even better.

But, and there is always a but, they did say that ultimately the manager would have final say over any signings. This clearly hasn’t been the case here. Now it doesn’t look like they are going to interfere in team selection issues, and thus far I can have absolutely no complaints about the reign of the al-Hasawi family.

But it does sit there as a nagging doubt when you hear about something like this. It’ can’t make for great morale, when you have someone going out and signing a player above your head. I have no doubts that SoD knew that these types of occurrences could happen, and therefore won’t be a huge shock.

And these things happen all the time in football. Managers have players signed for them, but who didn’t want that player. . Look at the likes of Chelsea who have had success. Those players though that are seen by new regimes as huge new marquee signings often don’t work out. Look at Leicester’s policy last year, and the signing of Shevchenko at Chelsea is perhaps the most famous example. Trophy signings. Not that I am saying Jenas is a trophy signing alone, no doubt it was as I said before a signal of intent, telling everyone we have arrived. In a way that Bellamy at Cardiff was used, it might just put a few extra bums on seats and bring in that bit extra cash.

The fact that we were willing to apparently spend £15k a week to fund a portion of his wages also begins to illustrate the intent of the club. Some have accused us of trying to buy the title, but we have only spent as much as £4mill, and although signing fees and wages aren’t factored in, it’s still going to be less than Blackburn spent on Rhodes.

So I don’t worry too much that this regime is cherry picking in a couple of players ahead of the manager’s choice. It isn’t ideal but it is increasingly common. There is no sign of the Hasawi’s trying to influence selection, which was one worry before they came in, because there was a vague legacy of this with the team they owned in Kuwait. It does show maybe a little more hands on approach that what we thought had been happening. And does show why Jenas has only slowly been introduced to the team because he is not directly in the manager’s plans.

We haven’t had a full on Billy Davies tantrum that he had about players being bought in that weren’t his, that occurred with George Boyd, who Billy had never wanted, and so left him partly out the team. And it would illustrate the odd choice of another midfielder in already midfielder heavy squad. How long JJ stays around for is also completely unclear. But as long as we can afford him, and there isn’t too much dressing room upheaval, then it’s all fine in my book.

Progress Report - Oct 2012

What a difference a result makes. Had we not beaten Peterborough then maybe the tone and position of this piece may have had a different focus. Returning to winning ways has been key though.


The run of results from the Leeds away game, including the painful Derby defeat saw the club start to slip. With a fairly expensive array of players and with fan expectation renewed it could have been alarming. I had heard the first mutters of discontent at O’Driscoll. Why he was choosing certain players or not changing it up. These usually prove to be infectious amongst fans and spread.

Considering last season we were close to relegation, and considering two of the best players from that campaign are now both at Reading (Gunter and McCleary to the slow today) and that we had a large number of loanee’s and that Lynch too had gone, it’s progress that we even have a team at all, never mind one the fans feel can challenge.

Regard for one that we remain under most of the media’s radar still. Usually in our case there’s a bit more interest and though we have already have Clem from the Football league Show visit it us, they didn’t seem to focus on the renewed belief at the City ground.

So yes, an away victory at Peterborough arrested a run of games with no wins that was in danger of looking like a decline rather than a blip. That will be sorely tested on Saturday by the visiting Blue... oh wait Red Dragons of Cardiff City, who arguably have one of the best squads in the division. If we perform against them, and get a result this will be progress.

Our main problem remains that we still don’t know the best XI for the squad. Hell we aren’t even sure of the best formation. Do we go 4-2-3-1 or stick to 4-4-2. Both have benefits. I’d argue if w stick to 4-4-2 this needs to see McGugan jettisoned to the bench, and play Reid, Gillette, Guedioura and Lansbury, but that’s missing out Jenas who we have on loan and the resurgent Cohen. This is forgetting Majewski, who remains the second coming in some fans eyes for reasons that still remain unclear.

With a 5 man midfield, Cohen and Gillette can take the deeper roles, or Guedioura, with McGugan behind a sole striker, Lansbury and Reid getting wide. It still means players missing out, and I for one am glad this head ache isn’t mine.

What is obvious is Gillette remains key to this team. The most under stated of all our signings has probably had the most impact. He has quietly gone about his task but has garnered positive reviews in most games. Playing as the water carrier, the role and name made famous by Didier Deschamps in France 98, it’s a role many don’t understand as it does all the parts that don’t get attention. The quieter sides of the game. Moussi can’t do this role at all. He plays it more as an enforcer, strong tackling, like a De Jong, or in a Forest context Paul Evans. Like Evans he has terrible distribution once he wins the ball so is forced to tackle back again. Gillette plays it more like McKenna, drop deep, get ball, play the ball, look for the outlet again, and keep play moving, stop any stagnation we often saw last season, when Chambers or Morgan would get the ball, look up, see no options, pause, still see no option and launch the ball forward. Often to the opposition. Now the defenders always have an outlet and we retain possession. It’s a simple difference, but a huge difference.

It does mean that the 4-4-2 we play, is often more a 4-1-3-2. Meaning the 3 play narrower than a usual 4-4-2, so we don’t have the need so much for traditional wide men. This though has seen us get stuck in Cul-de-Sacs up the middle of the pitch, making it easier to defend a single pronged arrow, rather than a multiple pronged attack. The full backs do try and support but often end up exposed. This forced Gillette back more defensively at times, playing as a proxy centre half. And very narrow, meaning we can ironically get beat round the sides, as illustrated by derby’s goal so very succinctly, but also King’s goal for Birmingham.

So in essence, yes the football has been better but there are a few tactical creases that need smoothing out to enable us to get to the top of the table. This is a case of using what we have to our benefits. O’Driscoll might have seen Jenas someone who can do this. We have barely seen anything from JJ yet, but he is starting to get some fitness and form together. Cohen’s return has been a breath of fresh air in the midfield as he too is the perfect foil for Gillette as he can get box to box more than someone like McGugan or Majewski who doesn’t ever track back. Guedioura is a similar role but he has struggled for form. Whereas though Cohen is a ball player, Guedioura has a bull dog like approach, looking to get forward and power a shot in, or splay a wide pass. Cohen is a shorter game player.

Its funny, I have spent this entire article focussing on the midfield. But that’s where this team is going to make or break. Cox has shown he is class, and Sharp has good legacy in this division. Blackstock we know and love for what he can do. The defence, well the only real debate is Ayala in the middle or Hutchinson or Halford rotating at right back or centre half. Ayala had been a little wobbly but he looks like he’s coming good again. Hutchinson has long term injury issues so he is never going to be a long term fixture in the side. What role we will eventually see from Lascelles isn’t clear yet, but at this stage he needs football, so a loan again might be a good option.

All in all I am heartened by our start. There’s enough to be positive on even if there are a few problems with the team. But that’s the same with any team, there are always areas to improve and yes there are a couple of problems with defence and we still don’t know our best midfield configuration. This will become clear now that all the midfielders are fit. The likes of Coppinger look like square pegs here, and there are at least 3-4 surplus players in addition to the players out on loan. Moussi, Greening look to have served their time, Coppinger hasn’t found a role. Majewski to me still stands as a surplus luxury player.

All this said, I do think we will be up in the mix this season. I do think the two years the al-Hasawi’s earmarked might be an accurate reflection. Some said it was to deflect pressure away from the manager, but I think it’s an honest accurate marker of changing this squad into one that can compete and get promoted.

Summer of Love for Forest Fans

Looking back over what has now become a summer of love for Forest fans it’s funny what a difference a month or two makes. The takeover which at times seemed protracted and caused many to panic that we’d left it too late seems a lifetime ago. There were cries from the usual array of doom mongers on the Internet that it would cost us, we’d struggle.

The next panic came when the Kuwaiti’s announced as preferred bidders also announced their intention to trial a number of Kuwaiti or wider Gulf area players. This started another new wave of doom mongering. We’d have a squad filled with third rate Arabic players, and struggle. The team would lose identity.

Panic number 3 was when some news services reported Cotterill would be staying. I for one never had an issue with him per se, I like to say to thus far I was wrong. The Evening Posts Paul Taylors vehement support for Cotterill at this stage lead to a great deal of mocking, calling it a “bromance” between the two. 

Then when the takeover was finalised came the manager question, Cotterill was as we all know removed from his duties and the new regime announced an iconic manager would arrive, which sent tongues wagging, and a host of names that no-one could ever agree on. Names varied from the never going to happen in Harry Redknapp and Martin O’Neill to the downright silly, with Paul Ince volunteering his name forward. Of course O’Driscoll was announced, and many fans were happy, but opposing team fans all laughed. We remained quiet on that front, wait and see, wait and see.

 And then came the Daily Mail piece, after the sale of Gunter which suggested, as there is a cut price manager and few signings, there is clearly no money. The fact there were 7 Arabic players on trial clearly demonstrated it’s all an attempt by the al-Hasawis to weasel they’re friends into the UK and one public commentator on the piece suggested this was people smuggling and Forest should shut down. The Mail suggested there was no money, and that this whole takeover looks a bit of a sham. This probably boils down to them being foreign and the Mail being a bit jingoistic at even the best of times. However it made many fans believe them, there is no money!! We’ve sold Gunter (despite this deal being all but set up first) and now all we have are 7 Arabs. Time soon proved this hilariously misguided.

The signings we all know well by now, that we have 11 new players. I even did an article comparing possible sides, one from new players one from old, located here. The whole “Iconic” thing has started to fade away as people realise we have quietly, studiously, and diligently built a squad that is pretty formidable for this level. It’s certainly top 6, but it has to gel, so far we are riding the crest of a wave. Let’s see what they are like when things start to go bad.

The Arabic players were refused work permits anyway, which anyone with a brain said would probably happen, but that doesn’t sell copy so the Mail weren’t worried about that. The more foolhardy predictions of a team of Kuwaiti players never came true, as it was never going to happen. The al-Hasawi family has shown they know what they are doing; you don’t buy a club to see it fail, unless you’re the Venky’s. They seem clued up, the Kuwaiti players was just because as well as run a successful club they’d like to include where they are from in that success. Is that a crime?

 Yeah this summer has been a story of ups, after the usual Forest doom mongering that it’d be all downs. This is just a mixture of our being conditioned to expecting the worse (even more so when Gunter left) But it also feels like a new dawn. A new dawn with a very nice Sun rise, and misty overcast, or fog, or anything else bad. A nice big sunny sunrise of a new dawn. There will still be the nay-sayers. And yeah there is an element of racism coming over from a few which has been thorn in the side of this takeover. Some opposition fans, obviously through jealousy, dubbing us the Camel Fuckers. Yeah that really bothers us. In fact in all of this, and the 5-1 win aside last weekend Derby have never ending entertainment this summer. Blowing large leads against teams, signing Connor Sammon, claiming they have a better team. My favourite was the Derby fan criticising us for selling out to foreign owners, neglecting the very fact that Derby's owners are American, bravo genius. Of course there’s the guy who claimed he’d get Twat tattooed on his forehead if Forest signed Lansbury for £1million. Well we signed Lansbury for a million (I got his number on my home shirt)

 So that’s where we got to, in one of the most eventful periods of the clubs history no doubt. Kuwait has a lot of love from Nottingham now. Might as well twin Kuwait City to Nottingham!! It remains to be seen what will happen with the Arabic players, namely Bader al-Mutawa and Khalid al-Rashidi, and whether work permits will be finalised. I hope so, if only for giving something back to Kuwaiti football, which is currently giving something to us. It’s still early days but things feel and look so positive that you cannot help but feel the warmth

Forest Look-a-likes - Cousin Omar

Ok so in a special one off of the Forest Lookalikes specials that are greatly enjoyed, our forum members passed on these lookalikes we did of Cousin Omar.

Omar


First off is Baron von Greenback from Danger Mouse


Next up is Telly Savales, good old Kojack


Boxing Referee Joe Cortez



And finally, Fonejackers very own Terry Tibbs