FFP And Moving Forward

Next season will be harder to achieve the aims of promotion. You cannot just throw money at the issue anymore. On that same counter hand, if you have a good manager and Billy Davies has shown he is more than capable then surely its good a chance as any. Because no-one can splash the cash you won’t get a few cash rich clubs chucking money around to try and get up.
That said it makes it harder as it involves financial income and spending x% of it. Clubs who are coming down from the Premier League will have parachute payments.It does make you wonder what QPR and all their extremely high waged players will do.

What you have to consider as part of this is that Ishmael Miller and Matt Derbyshire have quite excessive wages we are about to lumbered with. As it stands now they aren’t on our pay roll, their loan clubs taking that burden on, so that’s best part of £30k a week in wages being swallowed up. That’s a sizeable chunk of the financial leeway taken up.

It is surprising how many Premiership squad fillers are on wages big enough to make us baulk, and apparently Gonzalo Jara Reyes is included. Face it he’s an international player with a reputable nation in the top flight, of course his wages will be artificially inflated. I laugh when people reckon these players would come to us “for footballing reasons” no no, it’ll all be about wages.

That said, there might be a cooling on excessive championship wages, but that will just mean less players willing to step down from the Premiership, and therefore an even weaker Championship.

There are the loop holes of course that many mention. How about naming rights, sponsorship deals and suchlike. Yes there have been huge deals for some club. Manchester City tried circumnavigating rules with the impressive £100 mill deal for naming rights of their stadium by Etihad Airways. Coincidentally the ownership structure at both Etihad and City include the same big hitters. What is weirder is that that said airline as never turned in a profit in the 10-12 years it functioned before the deal, so how it afford that deal? Naturally very rich people with more money than sense. But that deal immediately flagged up this potential not just to clubs, but to the rules makers. It is said that there will be panels appraising any deals to see that they are market value and not skewed by club owners basically sponsoring the club vast sums to pump in cash. So no, I doubt we’ll see the al-Hasawi Kuwaiti Refrigeration Corp. sponsoring Forest. That Etihad deal will also potentially get round the rules by being for a vast complex of facilities as well the Stadium. Something we wouldn’t be able to explore, unless the extremely vague rumours of Fawaz targeting land on the other side of the River for development purposes.

These huge sponsorship opportunities are only open to huge clubs, but if we want the best and want to squeeze every penny to maximise our financial might then extra shirt sponsorship (above the names on the back) and Corporate branding of stands may be the next call. We are sadly limited in our earning scope. We don’t have a state of the art stadium to pimp out to various concerts or other sports to use for their own means for our financial gains. Yes, we did it before, but that was close to 10 years ago, and a lot more high spec stadiums exist now.

Now, we can’t try to find loop holes, although it’s clever, it’s also fraught with possibilities of retrospective action. Instead of fans suggesting this and that method to avoid paying that requisite % on wages, or trying to artificially inflate it, let’s just collate a talented fairly paid set of players. So let’s trawl lesser divisions and leagues for players to bring in, rather than Premiership squad members on way too much money.
Yes other clubs have flaunted rules before. Leicester with their administration to avoid paying full amounts of balances owed (and some clubs, I don’t know if Leicester did this too, but some avoided paying Charitable or Volunteer groups such as the St John’s Ambulance which I find deplorable)
So wastes of space in the squad really need to be shifted on and sharpish. But if you are Ishmael Miller why would you be expected to do your job elsewhere for less because of a new regime not liking the deals of a contract you signed and was agreed on? I love this argument fans have “oh he’s greedy because he wants to sit here and take money when he could go elsewhere” but no-one in their right mind would accept less money to do a similar job when they don’t have to.

What happens remains to be seen. There could be wholesale changes again, but that said a few teaks here or there could see this squad good enough.

Where Do We Go From Here?

I swear this isn’t the first time I’ve used this title, and shamelessly ripping off a Filter title too. Anyway, we are in a sorry state of affairs tonight. The world is officially laughing at us after Alex McLeish ended his 40 day tenure as manager. Loan signings he made will have longer Forest careers. His tenure will now surely go down in history as one of the worst mistakes the club made.

So we are again managerless, rudderless and evidently clueless.  Quite what this does for a player’s mindset I’m not sure. On the one hand maybe it makes not much difference but it must be a time of confusion for a squad just getting used to one guys ideas. And as for the backroom staff too, again confusion as to what they do now. Namely Peter Grant who I haven’t seen mentioned what’s happening with him.

Was this all doomed to fail from the beginning? Probably. I was never comfortable with this appointment. For me he isn’t good enough, and he never had a large portion of fans on his side. There are rumours he was only was here as he is a Ferguson acolyte and Fawaz is keen to develop links with him. Sounds feasible, also sounds like utter rubbish. Anyway, he’s gone, many fans wanted this, but it feels to me like many of those same fans are now up in arms about the disarray, which many tried to cultivate anyway. This somewhat puzzles me. On the one hand fans want to have their say, but it appear when the chips are down, in reality, what they want after all is stability.

Now the whole sorry issue is out for all the national media to have a field day. A lot of what will be written read and broadcast will be hearsay, speculation, conjecture and more utter tosh. Some out there have an agenda. Why people insist on constantly citing Daily Mail articles is beyond me. This paper is the worst paper out there. Horrendous right wing dribble for grannies and racists, but some are lapping up what they have to say. Surprisingly about foreign ownership they aren't keen. In their early days of the Hasawi reign they were claiming all sorts, and when that was disproved came up with a new load of twaddle.

My main sources on these matters have stayed a little more removed from this. Perhaps because they don't know what’s happening, or aren’t comfortable with blind speculation I’m unsure. I am not for one minute saying what’s out there are lie. I am merely suggesting it’s an embellishment of the truth. Or perhaps because they don’t have a desire to push stories for attention, more for their accuracy and quality.

There is desperation to believe anything and the in particular the very worst gossip right now, because for some reason a panic and headless chicken mentality kicks in Someone tweets a made up rumour and before you know it’s spread like wildfire. It’s hilarious yet terrifying. This isn’t the worst state this club has ever been in. Not even the worst state it’s been in for a year. So for some to be claiming so is naive and to misunderstand the perilous state of our finances in the summer.  And never forget the state of affairs under Nigel Wray and Irving Scholar. We had to take this offer, we couldn’t wait. To wait would have been suicide as we’d had to start to jettison players. We aren’t there. Yes it embarrassing, yes it’s a mess, but we are still mid table. The playoffs aren’t out of the question.

Remember most of the uproar was because we backed out of a deal with a player many people didn't want. Ok there were promises of a few players but you have to agree deals. Fawaz was perhaps naive in his dealings with clubs. He will learn. And it will be the hard way.

And hopefully he has learnt a lesson in appointing managers here. He will take time over this appointment rather than the rather rushed McLeish one. Maybe he won’t. Maybe he will rush an appointment and panic. And if he panics, there will be one name he can pluck out the hat to try and appease fans, and hopefully make sure he can ride out a storm.

William McIntosh Davies. Regular readers know I am not his biggest fan. Ok he had successes, but his legacy hasn’t been great. Remember he was instrumental in disbanding the reserves and developmental squads. He was vocal in wanting new players and not wanting outside interference. Something he clearly won’t get here. So to call for Davies is to not look at this bigger picture. He wastes a lot of money too and a few of his signings were expensive errors. Was Adebola worth £5k a week? What about the expensive loan signing of Konchesky? David McGoldrick? He isn't the great financial wizard some make out. In his first full season we spent a lot of money on players.  .Around £4-5million and tats on fees alone. Ok, so he does appear to be a good man manager, and that might be what we need now, but he wouldn't last 40 days with this board either, unless he is really desperate for work. Additionally he has a huge point to prove. But that said he fluffed his lines before in the playoffs.

However, what other options are there? Will Adkins who has just been burned y a hands on chairman want another such deal. After the way he was treated by Southampton, which seemed very akin to O’Driscoll he would be right to have his reservations. After that, the list gets grim quickly. The top bets even include Roy Keane, who doesn’t have the greatest record.

We’ve been here all too often lately. What we need is an I’ll say it time and time again, not someone who was “Proven” because for a start they have no loyalty. They also have aloof ideas of themselves. We need a young hungry manager eager to make his mark. It worked for Norwich, it worked for Swansea. Both these managers played football too”! But who is out there? Well I’m not the expert on lower leagues I might be so I am not sure. Karl Robinson was linked before and has MK Dons doing good things. We don’t have the plethora of ex player’s names to pluck from. Laughable I have seen people seriously tweeting Martin O’Neill’s name. Not going to happen ever. He’s at a bigger club, in the top flight, and the club he supported as a boy. To think he’d come here is downright stupid. Nigel for me is still a question mark over his ability. He’s starting to show some signs of working well on a budget, but he's been blessed with a few vary talented youngsters to supplement that. Apart from that there are none likely. Psycho is a mere pipe dream.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is being linked with a quick return as a caretaker. I’m not sure. It seems a bit Joe Kinnear to me. Insofar as to get a guy in who will cheer up the dressing room as apparently Jimmy is very popular. Does he have managerial acumen? Well there's only one to find out, but do we really want an untried manager after the last time under Platt? Well maybe. Platt was an idiot, not all new managers are idiots. Hasselbaink knows the squad and knows this division now.He might work out. He has something to prove.

But what does this all mean for the club. People say no-one will want the job. But there have been far worse chairman who managers have gone and worked for. There will always be an option. Maybe a depleted field, but a field nonetheless. We need patience this time.Don't appoint the first manager you can think of. It was clear they wanted McLeish in before they even sacked O’Driscoll before maybe now it will force the al-Hasawi clan to take stock a little. Have patience. Look around, though there will be calls from some fans for a quick appointment. There are those fearing we will see Fawaz in the dugout at the next game. I don’t think it will get that far. It’s happened before though at other places. No, what we need is for them to realise this was all a mistake and to move on. Maybe the whole Boyd thing was an attempt to get McLeish to walk. Aah no, now I’m doing blind conjecture, you got me doing it too now folks.

Changes to City Ground Coming?

Fairly cryptic messages circulated in the last few days from the usual Kuwaiti sources about the fact that change is coming to the City Ground, and after a bit of a reveal from Dr Tarek, it appears this is likely to be a bit more razzmatazz at the City Ground.

For one it will be Big Screens. No club worth its salt doesn’t have these. The rumour goes that they will be in the corner of the Trent End and Brian Clough Stand, and the opposite corner, perhaps above the Bridgford End, which sounds dodgy at best to me.

Between a corner of the Trent End makes sense, and the corner between the Main Stand at the Trent End is fairly well used by the Ground Staff on a match day so I can’t see them blocking that totally off. Also as a Trent Ender either corner by itself would be horrendous, immediately missing off half the ground should this rumour be right.

As a traditionalist I am not a fan. To be honest I don’t think we need them. Admittedly I have missed goals in the past, by looking away or suchlike, when it seems nothing is happening, notably way back when Gary Crosby headed the ball out of Andy Dibbles hand is maybe the most memorable.

It’s not even that much a drama when you know that within 3-4 hours you’ll be able to see a repeat of the goal anyway, but because everyone else has them, it seems we will follow suit and embrace the 21st Century. They say it enhances the experience for Fans to have clearer screens and replays. In reality it’s a revenue maker.

The fact you have more potential advertising space between the replays, or half time rolling adverts would bring in cash. The worry there is you get to the ridiculous levels where every facet of a match day experience is “bought to you by...” somebody who wanted to pay for it.

A capability for electronic advertising for televised games has also been mentioned, again increasing revenue streams, which is all well and good and does bring in money but I find them annoying to appoint of distraction when on TV. I guess with premier League aspirations it is a must these days, but still, it makes us like every other ground. A gradual move to a further sanitising of the match day experience.

I would rather we invested by sprucing the ground up in its exterior appearance, the moss on the Trent End, a lick of paint on the Brian Clough stand, general efforts to make it a more appealing environment, as there are dated areas and corners around the site. And in the ground, we could look to improve Concourses (admittedly hard in a number of ageing stands) Lowering food prices would also be welcome as the Meal “Deals” are hardly deals, but scams or rip offs, vastly inflating prices for substandard products.

A decent PA system too would be nice, but maybe thats included. Too often it’s inaudible. And substitutions aren’t made clear, whether this is the PA or a mumbling announcer though I’m not sure.

This will all be peanuts in essence. Hardly likely to chip into Transfer budgets which I guess many a fan would moan about if they became disgruntled. I can see it now if we missed Promotion or playoffs by a slim margin people would claim the money spent on a Jumbotron should have been spent on a new defender or suchlike.

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

Friendly Matches Show Team Coming Together

So now the season is getting closer to the start and we have played Villa and County is recent friendlies, the teams starting to take shape, though what the starting line up versus Bristol city is still not 100% clear.

Against Villa the game had been equal for the first half before we showed a bit of class and Villa fell apart. It was a very poor Villa team, but a heartening sight was Lewis McGugan looking like he remembered what it’s like to score a goal.

The midfield for now looks like it will be narrow, there is a lack of width in the squad, so Guedioura played a bit wide, but was often inside the pitch, which lead to Villa having a ridiculous amount of space down the left, and the introduction of Moussa to play a natural wide game cut this out in the second half, and Villa had nothing to offer attacking wise after this.

This sums up perfectly the requirement for natural width. Moloney had been targeted and had Warnock been able to control a ball last Saturday things may have been different, the left back so often failing control passes to atatck the right back. That said, admittedly more a change for seeing what a player can do, and not so much tactically it shows that S’oD is aware tactically and can close a threat off.

Now we have Ayala, we might start to see a more senior defence, with Halford in his accustomed right back slot, Moloney although capable is perhaps a League One starting right back, handy as a backup, but not really a starter for a team of our aspirations.

The midfield is looking crowded, full off options, but all of them central. Gillett, now signed is the Paul McKenna figure, does all the unseen graft and hard work that so many people fail to grasp. Without this type of player last season we were lost. Moussi is inconsistent, and not really a ball player. He’s more a destroyer, a de Jong, than Gillett’s Deschamps ball carrier type player, dropping deep and making things happen.

Around then we have creative options, Lewis, looking good again and Radi, still for me so inconsistent, there are those who laud him, and yes he is capable of wonderful performances, he is also capable of disappearing completely form a game. Cohen too is to come back fully, whether he is the same player is unclear, we could implement him on the left, but Reid is looking athletic out there, rather than pushing Reid into an advanced role to support a striker (a role Majewski occasionally took on)

We have a plethora of options up front, with perhaps another signing to come. Blackstock is definitely a first choice, with Findley, Miller, McGoldrick or Derbyshire to play off him. Tudgay is more a Blackstock back up, but every time I deride him, he comes good and proves me wrong. We look to be perhaps signing Simon Cox, who would signify the end surely of Derbyshire’s Forest career. Also perhaps the signing of Bader al-Mutawa, as this is unclear at the moment what is happening provides even more options.

The defence now has balance, and some cover, though very youthful cover. Lascelles has a big season ahead, try and break in the team, and he will get chances, the very nature of that position means suspensions are going to happen, as well as injuries (Ayala has a chequered history)Lascelles needs to graps these chances. As said Moloney can cover right back, and perhaps Freeman at left back. Fenton appeared last night against County, and perhaps he will play a part, but surely this would be too much too soon for him.

Camp has the no.1 jersey and we have not seen much since the first few friendlies from the Kuwaiti keeper Khaled al-Rashidi, rumour has it some of the Kuwaitis have been outright refused work permits, and the only likelihoods would be al-Mutawa and al-Rashidi.

So, all in all close to being there, options exist, but a true right winger would be nice, McCleary is a big loss there, and Anderson could have covered, the problem was Anderson was spent here, his fighting and fall outs last season, and general lack of any kind of final ball. It has been a joke for a while that we had a winger who could neither cross nor take on his man. So that’s my one focus, with maybe more cover at centre half. Loans can be used wisely here, once Premiership squads have been finalised and players miss out on a final 25 berth.

Optimism is definitely my key word here.

The Art of Spinning the Truth

The Mail on Sunday yesterday went with a story that suggested Sean O’Driscoll is no more than a stooge in the scheme of some rich foreigner’s evil plans to flood our game with cheap dirty foreigners. As is their agenda to portray anything non British as inherently dangerous.

Suggesting additionally that funds were not in place to the tune they had suggested, soon Nottingham will be awash with cheap imported middle eastern players, and with the Mails rhetoric at least 2 of them will probably have links to Al Qaeda, Saddam Hussein, Colonel Ghaddafi or failing that is a scientologist who hated Princess Diana.

In short it was thinly veiled racism, which is what they specialise in pedalling.

The problem is here is that it makes for very easy copy. And people believe this twaddle. I would like to make it clear here that there will be quoting of extremely dodgy comments by fans of other teams, so I apologise for its content. I think it needs to be made clear these are the few of a few random nut jobs.

One Derby fan suggested that they can’t wait to see our team of “Paki’s” fail, and that it will be like watching Baghdad Sunday league. Sweeping generalisations and racist slurs in the space of a few minutes. But it sums up what an article like that can bring out in people. This unsavoury element always under the surface. It underlines complete ignorance (and a level of Geographic failing so amazing it confuses me)

They also laugh because they are from unfancied nations not rated highly in the world, which again is meaningless. Derby themselves have had a number of players unheralded before but turned out to be good, Paolo Wanchope for one. Additionally the ranking of a nation has no bearing on an individual. Look at George Weah, or Georgi Kinkladze.

One comment on their story from a woman from Doncaster bemoaned how Nottingham Forest look essentially like they are running an illegal human trafficking system if this happens and should be investigated and shut down. It beggars belief the flights and fancy and connections people make from the new owners simply wanting to use players they know, and like and see if they can help at the new club they owned. To suggest we are simply going to be a gateway for a multitude of Arabic based footballers is stretching the truth a whole lot. If that’s the case why not install a Kuwaiti manager instead of O’Driscoll? Why are we being linked with just as many English and European players, and these “floods of Arabs players” total 7, who are on trial, with no obligation to buy.

And why the hell does it matter? Look around the football world, and the English game, foreign players exist in great numbers, many teams fielding less English than none, so why make a big deal out of it being us.

And since I first drafted this earlier further evidence of the lack of journalistic integrity has been proved by Forest splashing the cash on Guedioura in a deal believed to be worth£750k. Hardly a bunch of cheapskates.

O' Its Sean

So the chase for a manager is over, and after all that has been said and done, it’s someone who was here last season. This isn’t exactly news of course; anyone who doesn’t know by now must have been living under a rock.

Many have been venting frustration, that after all the names mentioned and after all the promises of iconic names and experienced managers who can lead us to glory, they have stumped for a less than glamorous name. For a safe name.

This is no bad thing in my book. You want someone who knows the division, knows what players to get, knows our current players strengths and weaknesses. We went for the name last season in McClaren and look how that panned out.

Many of the big names linked and mentioned were frankly never on the agenda, Redknapp as I repeatedly said was never a contender, we may have spoke to him, but it would take something special for Redknapp to go north of the M25 to manage.

Look at the successful managers at this level over the last few years. Rodgers at Swansea, Lambert at Norwich, McDermott at Reading, and Adkins at Southampton, all of these are relatively unattractive safe managers. Two of these have now moved to “big clubs” and all of them were promoted. Compared with the big names, Eriksson, McClaren, Sousa, these have struggled to make the grade. They have success before and maybe will again, but they don’t know this division.

When you see the names who succeeded above, they were all in their second, third jobs, having been at a relatively smaller club before getting the reins at a larger Championship club, this is exactly what O’Driscoll has, so hopefully he can replicate those successes.

The appointment has apparently been largely player influenced. Maybe somewhat to do with the fact they experienced a large name sweeping in the guise of McClaren; they prefer the approach of an O’Driscoll. Dexter Blackstock certainly seemed delighted on Twitter and having a manager players want to play for is such a bonus, they will go the extra mile.

O’Driscoll has a hard task now though in creating a new defence from scratch. Whether he works with the youngsters available to make up at least a part of that, if not the backup, that remains to be seen. Hardened pro’s who know the division would be more than adequate.

The appointment itself has started to be mocked by fans of other teams. I don’t think they realise the fact that our board has listened to the players, and took a wider look at the situation. Rather than the initial promise of the big name, after looking at the situation and appraising what we need, they decided to go for the guy the players themselves say is good. It shows certain humility that new regimes often lack who go in all guns blazing and then fail to listen to what others recommend.

It has been pointed out by a few the similarity to what Blackburn did, in firing the recognised a manager and bringing in his assistant, but it doesn’t quite flow like that. Our man has experience, Kean didn’t, and he had left the club for another managerial role, not promoted from below.

The next few days will be key as we see the kind of players we are chasing and what kind of players sign up, how much financial backing O’Driscoll is given. Many have speculated because we have chosen a “budget” manager that it indicates the funds are significantly lower than first indicated. That is pure guesswork, conjecture. Others are saying he’s purely a yes man to be able to be dump Arabian players on, and that others had refused because of this, again guesswork. Does it matter as long as they cut the mustard?

As I say, an interesting week or so ahead as the new look squad is built and assembled.

Why Billy Would Not be the Right Choice

People are once again clamouring for Billy Davies to return as manager, as I write this Mick McCarthy has seemingly turned down the job, and the reasons are not fully clear yet. Now that the likely option has been and gone, the pro Davies gang are out in force again.

However Davies would be a horrific choice right now and I shall explain why. Not just that Davies burned a lot of bridges with the previous regime and does with every board that he has ever worked for, and not for his commuting from Glasgow.

It essentially boils down to the fact it will not end well at all. Davies likes, in fact demands control over transfer activity. We saw that all too clearly when he clashed over the now infamous Acquisitions Panel and David Pleats role in that. There were wars over the fact Davies wanted players that the panel didn’t agree with and that the panel provided players Davies didn’t want. George Boyd is an example of this.

Now one thing that is clear is that the board will be involving themselves heavily in transfers and would look to bring in some Middle Eastern players. Davies does not like this. So in any recruitment phase when they ask the Scotsman about this, I am pretty certain he would make it clear he is against it, as some are saying McCarthy has done.

Ok, he doesn’t have to play them, but under Doughty he pretty much had free reign over the players he had in his squad, we still don't know if there will be board level input into this. Davies would have board level liked players foisted upon him.

Davies is a fiery character who doesn’t like interference, to be honest who would, and I cannot see him being given free reign here. There are reports of deals already being done and Davies is pig headed enough to potentially ignore these players regardless as they aren’t his.

Davies holds this aura amongst some fans that puzzle me, they claim it was always good football under him, and yes sometimes it was, but there were times it was bloody awful too. His abrasive personality makes him notoriously difficult to work with. Any new regime would not want someone who questions their decisions or judgement. They’d want a more complimentary figure, someone who sings from the same sheet as them. This is not Davies. And that is why he would be an appalling choice to work with the al-Hasawi family.

The Press Conference

Yesterday saw the Al Hasawi's hold their first, highly anticipated press conference since taking charge of Nottingham Forest.

With a few hundred Forest fans turning out for such a momentus occasion, there was a general feeling of excitement and positivity - one I personally haven't felt for a good while around the City Ground.

A lucky 100 season ticket holders had the opportunity to meet the owners and ask questions in the 1865 club. Those who didn't have a ticket needn't have worried as the Al Hasawi's left the Robin Hood lounge multiple times throughout the day to meet the fans. Each time they did, they were greeted with jubilant cheers, applause and chants.

Its here I must add, one of these chants was the ever grating 'we want our Billy back'. It's a shame even with a new beginning, some people still see him as the be all and end all to our problems. It is also these very people who chant this song that don't see Mick McCarthy as a good option due to his PL record. I'll say no more.

To briefly summarise the press conference:

Al Hasawi's on the new manager
* Hope to appoint a new manager within a week.
* Currently 4 to 5 'iconic' names on their list of people who will be interviewed. Selected best in business to help us who have experience at this level.
* Have been approached by many and made contact with several.
* Have not spoken to Glen Hoddle.
* Didn't deny they had spoken to Harry Redknapp.
* New manager will be given traditional style of English football management and will be in total control.

Al Hasawi's on the board
* Everyone on the board will work as team. This means we will have no chairman.
* Frank Clark will become an ambassador for the club.
* Mark Arthur will continue to play an active role in the club.

Al Hasawi's on their business plan
* Currently reviewing a 3 to 5 year business plan to take the club back where it belongs in the Premier League.
* Main focus is to develop the clubs back bone.
* Also looking at other developments elsewhere including raising revenue off field.
* They will practice want they achieved at previous club. This was a smaller plan which took 2 or 3 seasons to set up the team.
* Acknowledge the investment in the academy has been excellent and want to continue this.
* One day would like to be with Manchester City and United in the top flight.
* If investment was unsuccessful, they will stay at the club as their ownership is about passion, not profit.

Al Hasawi's on why they chose Nottingham Forest
* Have been approached by many clubs but were picky with who thry decided to choose in the end.
* Forest is very important as it is a great club with lots of achievement and history.
* They have fond memories of the club from studying in England in the 70s and 80s and it will be good to bring them back.

Al Hasawi's on the transfer budget
* Immediate concern is to develop the team so they can bring back glory.
* Have a budget for the new manager but will not reveal this figure at this stage.

Al Hasawi's on Arabic players
* Have plans to bring some Arabic players to the club for a trial but it is the managers choice if he wants to sign them, not theirs.

And that was that. A positive press conference, with the Al Hasawi's saying all the right things regarding the future of the club.

Maybe there was some contradictions, particularly how the new manager will have full control but they will be planning to bring over Arabic players for trials.

I'd argue the manager should have total control to the point of who comes in on trial. Remember last season when Pleat organised trials for players without the managers consent? It resulted in McClaren turning up to one training session with no idea who some of the people were and losing his rag.

Either way having a night to sleep on it, my initial scepticism has gone and I do feel encouraged we have some owners who have good ideas and plans, with realistic time frames to achieve their goals.

Prepare yourself for a busy week ahead.

Follow me on twitter @benando_torres

The Candidates

So enough with the conjecture. There has been a fantastic amount of guesswork going off on Twitter and Facebook and forums about the new boss. We review the potential candidates being pushed forward (seeing as most of our names we included the other day are no goes)

Mick McCarthy
Well, the outspoken and often entertaining (for a quote anyway) Yorkshireman is one of the fore runners. Basically since Wolves he's been on pundit duty, and would probably relish a new chance to have another promotion on his CV. I personally like McCarthy, his football can be a bit agricultural admittedly, but he gets results at this level.

Roy Keane
If it wasn't for his club connection I'm not sure if this would be met with the same interest/ His record isn't fantastic, he struggled with Ipswich, but he is the "iconic" type of name the Kuwaiti's want, and he is ex Forest. He does also have a massive point to prove after recent failures.

Keven Keegan
This one was from left field. I never thought it was a possibility, or even entertained the notion of it. Keegan has his detractors, but projects like have bough out the best in him, initially when Newcastle first got John halls cash, and then with Al-Fayad at Fulham before England came calling. The question is I guess is he still relevant? Is he someone top players would want to play for? That would remain a doubt for me.

Glenn Hoddle
Diamond Lights aside a pretty successful career in all he has done. Swindon, Chelsea and Tottenham were all largely good periods, and although England crashed out in Euro 2000 early after almost beating Argentina in World Cup 98. I think had we won that game people would remember Hoddle a lot differently. Problems are that of course he became infamous for comments about the disabled, Eileen Drewery, and his love of Kenny G.

Diego Maradona
If you told me a week ago this would even be mentioned never mind almost seriously I'd have laughed in your face. But no, its out there as a possibility. He's available after a spell in the middle east and would again be that "iconic" name. The question is is he nay good. Argentina might have done better in spite of him at the last world cup. Can he speak English? That's another potential barrier. But for shear headlines and media attention.... Couldn't be bettered.

Phil Scolari
Oh yeah the Forest "fan" from Brazil. He's been with the Hasawi's before in Kuwait so they know him well. One major stumbling block, he's employed with Palmeiras. Who are doing rather well (they just won the Brazilian Cup) Why people think he'd come back to England after his spell at Chelsea I am unsure. I think it's a case of putting 2 and 2 together and adding up to 27.

Other names mentioned in passing, Graeme Souness, Darren Ferguson (still), Bryan Roy, Laurent Blanc, Dougie Freedman

Cotterill Gone..... And Probably Clark and Arthur

Well this is shaping up to be a very hectic few days, made all the harder by my home computer being out of action. So Cotterill is no longer the manager of Nottingham Forest. Which to be honest I remain indifferent to. On the one hand I don’t think he was bad and was never really given a chance, but on the other he never really excited me as a manager.

Yes he had a good record in the market, and bought us two cult legends in Elokobi and Guedioura. However, there were often strange selection choices and questionable post match interviews.

It also marks a huge moment in the new ownership. After a day or so and 2 days of pre season training and 4 days before the squad head to America, we are now rudderless. I expect a very quick appointment. I.e. they already have their man lined up and ready to move in to the role. I hope so anyway. I have no idea who that man may well be.

I have spoken at length about some of those options, and criticised some of those linked names. Now the likelihood of some of them increases (though in Redknapps case I doubt it.)What it immediately spells out to me is the new regime are not afraid to chop and change where they see fit, this partly worries me. I don’t want a chairman who always has his finger on the trigger, ready to sack a manager on any old whim. This doesn’t necessarily mean that, they perhaps do want a long term legacy, just not Steve Cotterill. So let’s see what happens there.

Cotterill was divisive figure amongst fans. Many disliked him, many supported him. He didn’t unite the fans like some and that always counted against him.
I am writing this in the immediate aftermath before any real news or gossip begins to emanate about replacements or the actual reasons why. There will be speculation. I have already seen that it’s the new bosses already buying in players above the manager’s head, needing essentially a yes man. Think Abramovic, but also think Venky’s.

A huge moment in this regimes fledgling tenure. I say tenure, it may be a dynasty. Who knows?

And now after I have written this and don’t want to edit it looks like, and somewhat expectedly Mark Arthur and Frank Clark are going to be also relieved of their duties. Wholesale changes appear to be going on today at the City Ground. Almost fees like a City Ground Night of the Long Knives.

Manager Merry Go Round?

Considering we haven’t replaced the manager, confirmed the manager is leaving, or for that what the Al Hasawi family intend, it beggars belief to see the names that have been banded round as potential successors to a man who is still very the incumbent in his job.

Steve Cotterill achieved his one target he was set last season. Keep the club up. In the end we did this relatively calmly. Which as many of the fans were adamant we would NEVER stay up with this man in charge is funny. Also considering that his trading had been effective too. People cite some selection choices as odd, but he achieved what was asked, no more, no less.

I have already vaguely covered some of the silly season rumours, mainly players but covering Harry Redknapp, who has never worked for a more northerly club than Spurs, and how that isn’t going to happen in a year of Sundays, never mind a month.

However some of the other names chucked at this have been odd. Or peoples suggestions on Twitter and Facebook about who the next manager should be. |I have kept a mental note of some of my favourites, but also some of the more saner balanced ones (which even then seem a bit outlandish)

Mick McCarthy
I’m going to put my cards on the table here and be honest that I actually like Mick, his no nonsense style is what I like, his press conferences are often a bit odd, and anyone who stands up to Roy Keane is going to be able to deal with some of our prima donnas. That said, people already aren’t’ happy with Cotterill, and for my money McCarthy isn’t a whole sale different change. He uses a lot of players a criticism some point at Cotterill, and if the aim is promotion, then sure Mick’s good at that, but he struggles to keep a team up. If Cotterill was replaced with McCarthy I wouldn’t be unhappy per se, I just think perhaps we could do better.

Neil Warnock
This is one rumour that won’t go away. Perhaps down to any Paladini involvement, despite being assured he isn’t involved, and that he himself was accused of tapping up Ferguson jnr. Anyway Warnock and Forest haven’t had the best history. For one being ex County doesn’t help. Then there was the Sheffield United run ins. Warnock and Megson had some angry war or words (and I was told, and I stress this is pure rumour, that Warnock had called his goldfish Megson and Forest because goldfish sink) He seems like he’s trying to build something at Leeds, and keeps saying this job will be his last in Football. Plus I can’t stand the guy.

Michael Owen
Oh yes, not content enough with linking him as a player, I saw a few people (yes a few, not one or two) suggest, by tweeting at him directly he should be our next player manager..... Yes because that worked so well with David Platt didn’t it. The very idea of an entirely untried manager scares me so much, that the mind boggles. I know people need to cut their teeth, but not in such a risky environment. A Gary Neville type figure, maybe if we’re desperate, but do we really want a guy who’s still got playing aspirations? I know it’s just a few random nuts tweeting, but please shut up.

Steve Bruce
Well done for missing out completely he has another job, unless they merely assume he will give up Hull after 1 month and not managing a game. Bravo, idiot.

Stuart Pearce
Simply not going to happen anyway. However, come the start of the season and of course therefore the next few weeks he is managing Team GB, you really want to start a season with a manager who is In Absentia, thus not being able to either a) sign the players who he wants. B) Coach the squad how he wants to play. Or C) Give it any of his focus whatsoever? Yeah what an ingenious plan that won’t lead to us being in trouble whatsoever. Seriously, do people stop and think before throwing this crap out there? I’m also going to go out on a limb and suggest he isn’t a very good manager anyway, what did he spend on Giorgos Samaras? How long did City go without scoring at home? Exactly. Sorry Stuart, you’re a legend, but to retain that legacy, it might be best to not come back and potentially ruin it. Not that I am saying he would fail, but his record hasn’t been as Billy Davies would say, “stellar.”

Billy Davies
Lets leave the past in the past. The fact that a decent proportion of fans don’t want him back, admittedly with an equal number wanting him back, I am not sure it would all end in roses. For a start I would demand he move down south permanently instead of commuting from Glasgow, or whatever he did. You’d have to try and keep him on a tighter leash to the press. I don’t think it’s ever a good idea to go back in football, yes there are successes, but then there’s Kenny Dalglish.



Discuss this and more at the Forest Forum on Soccer 24-7

Fans Need to Remain Grounded and Patient

I have warned repeatedly over the perils of the foreign takeover not always being what it seems. Beware of people selling you magic beans and all that. This isn’t so much as one those pieces, but more a reminder to fans that wealth investment do not always = success.

What we need to is for fans to remain patient, I fear seeing peoples excitement and happiness around the takeover that there are also a number who seem to think that Ladbrokes might as well close the book on promotion already.

It isn’t that simple. It rarely is. Leicester had large investment with poor results. Other teams will be similarly spending sums to go up and with a better starting point than us. Bolton, Blackburn and Wolves will be seeking promotion. Wolves midfield is strong enough for them to let Adlene Guedioura at least out on loan last season and probably to sell this season. He was one of our, if not, best players last season. He’s a reject now there. Contenders for sure.

Additionally it will take time for a new squad to settle in. A whole new defence near enough needs to be signed. New wingers need to be bought in. Our squad may be long term competitive, but will need stability. Which won’t be people calling for the managers head half way through the season. Especially with potentially trigger happy new owners, we don’t know if they will be hire and fire them people, like you get in Italy, or trust and give time to a manager.

Any current players we have may be looking over their backs in early games, fearful that they might be replaced any time (if there are significant funds) Ok this sometimes gee’s up some players and makes them perform week in week out, others get nervous and jittery. It can work both ways.

The fans were sometimes mentioned by players (notably Chambers in that infamous post match interview) as being too quick to get on the teams backs. That need to stop. It cannot continue. I get hat last season fans were frustrated and that yes you pay your way into the stadium so should be allowed to deride them if you feel. However it’s not productive, it’d be better to channel that same energy into supporting the team, spurring them on rather than detracting from them.

And all in all the new board will take time to settle, to perhaps understand what it is to run a football club. Al Hasawi has run them before in Kuwait, but that is simply not going to b the same type of entity as Forest is. For that reason they may take time to adjust to see where funds need be allocated better (wages, transfers etc) and how to channel all this into this aim they have of a new stadium somewhere. And they key to that is making sure it is in Nottingham, and not out of town in the middle of nowhere, those developments feel removed from the place they represent.

5 Things the New Regime Could Do to Get Fans Behind Them

WIth the new regime about to possibly take over, here we have put together 5 things that any new regime could do to get the fans behind them.

1. Sack Mark Arthur
Which would be largely a token gesture, as I am sure any new regime would replace him anyway, but he is largely vilified by fans and would certainly get quite a number on side immediately.

2. Sign Adlene Guedioura
A cult legend already at Forest the signing of a player largely attributed with saving our bacon last season would certainly send a message to fans and other clubs of our intentions, whilst pleasing us with a player we all love.


3. Sign a left back
It’s what we have been crying out for year for. And never as happened. Solving this problem would immedately show good intentions and also the knowledge to know where a vacuum in the team needs filling

4. At least look into either redeveloping City Ground or moving.
There are parts of the stadium that desperately need some touching up. The Main Stand is a shed and the Brian Clough stand is starting to age badly. Putting some investment into the ground would make the City Ground a better place, or if we do need to leave shows planning for the future and that you aren’t here for the short haul.

5. Retain a Forest Connections
Whether that is keeping Frank Clark on board, or appointing a new manager with club connections (Billy Davies?) We need to show this isn’t just Money Bags FC from anywhere. Keep this clubs identity at heart. It could even involve a huge marquee signing of an ex player, for which I mean Jermaine Jenas.



Talk About this and have your say on the forum clicking here

"Imminent" Takeover And Other Things

OK so since last week and the potential news of the Kuwaiti take over and the various back and forth's over whether it is or not happening things have almost pretty much reached a head. There were days the deal was definitely on and those it was definitely off. Now today has come the news that a takeover is close. This is good news, but we still don't know exactly who, though the Kuwait deal is still the most prominent and only real known offer. But no-one really knows. Mark Arthur says no-one at the club knows. The journalists don't know. Nobody knows. But there are plenty pretending to, people on Twitter being adamant they know the truth.

And that’s the crux of this whole sorry situation. People trying to point score whilst pretending to have an inside mole to get info. If you’d believe these people then all that happens at Forest is shadowy secret conversations. And like Hamlet, People hiding behind the arras listening in. Well Forest is not the Danish Royal Family. Otherwise we might have more money.

Journalists on twitter are a welcome presence. Often they provide good insider knowledge of what may or may not be happening. They know the insides of the club better and how the various machinations work. Usually.

The problem is, the general public, those with no access to any inside sources etc, rely on these people for their gossip. So when they “don’t know” or are rather vague people get angry because they are now used to having this information almost on tap. It doesn’t help when these journalists often present this authoritative air of we know what’s happening, only to be obviously flailing in the water on this particular subject. It is a double edge sword though. Comment, and get shown up to be out the loop, or stay quiet and have people angry for them not commenting.

I don’t profess to be in the know. We seldom try to report news, usually just our opinion on what is going on, occasionally I or one of the other writers will come across some information we pass on, but usually with more than a pinch of salt. So to see other sites constantly proclaiming various things ARE happening as news (and even though I did write about the Kuwaiti takeover happening, it was mainly my views on this) it is ridiculous. If Vital throw enough shit at a wall, some of it will stick.
The question of whether this news is happening is almost being over shadowed by the attention and aggression being caused by those angry at the journalists for failing to provide concise answers. In an environment where concise answers don’t exist.

Now it’s like there are two camps like with the anti Doughty and pro Doughty days. Believers and non believers. Those who do think this Kuwaiti is a knight in shining armour. And others are seeing him as a lying charlatan. Add in to this an undertone from some fringe loons trying to still claim this is all still Doughtys fault, like in some way they blame him for dying. The extreme anti Doughty crowd it seems remain extreme.

Either way if he does wrest control of the club, then it’s not starting a regime under great auspices. When apparently Leeds turned his overtures as he wasn’t wealthy enough. We aren’t in a position to be so choosy should the decision arise. I do question the fact that we are apparently his third choice. QPR and Leeds were his preference, so Forest isn’t his love driving this. SO what is? A need for success? A need for glory? Or a need for profit?

As I said previously, interesting times ahead.

Fawaz Al-Hasawi Interviews Translated

Thanks to forum member Scholesy who translated these for us/

Twitter comments translated

Went to as recent as 22nd May, not much in the way of content in terms of the acquisition of the club or mention of Forest/Leeds. Seems there was a falling out at Al Qadsia and he resigned, his tweets are basically trying to make out as if he's not in the wrong and been victimised by way of cryptic and direct tweets. A few people saying they take his side etc. A lot of club politics though I imagine this isn't what what most of you are interested in. Also wishes the club well in the future several times, says Al Qdsia will remain dominant.

"Brother, I've left it to them and this is my last season at Al Qadsia" Before he suprisingly resigned.

"We will go to the Premier league"

"And the worst thing is they got angry when I told them i'd resign"

"Hello, hello to all of the English" Assuming he's referring to the sharp increase in no. of followers. That's the most recent one.

And then there is this Youtube Interview

In Video linked in thread that I posted earlier: Get asked why leave early? With only 4-5 months left? Responds there were a lot of issues, one after another and another, I wasn't able to wait any longer. But make no mistake it was really tough for me to leave Al Qadsia. So I leave my brothers to their games if they are happy with them.

Gets asked, there's a lot of talk you were not close to the coaches, you don't sit with them, you don't talk with them about their needs resource wise, how true? Responds, I don't think I fell short of my duties for any game, and actually a month ago I was with the coaches and we discussed all their needs, and all their requests I complied with, but it was too late in the season if you ask me.

Guy in black t-shirt then goes on to say I feel he has not just been influential for Al Qadsia but Kuwaiti football as a whole. It really hurt me his departure, as I've entered his house, eaten in his house etc (loool) and i've stayed with his father, mother, sisters etc.

Guy after that says big loss to Al Qadsia and a great guy.

Guy after the other guy (lol) critcises Fawaz somewhat saying he should have completed the months remaining

Fawaz gets asked, why didn't you take a holiday to consider your position etc? Responds, laughing, holdiay for what? Says this is not the first of incidents of it's kind. Problem after problem, I wasn't able to take it anymore. I've been at the club for 15 years, since 1997, we've had worse problems but we were together not like this time.

Goes on to say he was paying the players personally at one point for a while, which isn't right, also denies trying to profit by using Al Qadsia, says Thank God I don't need it. 2.3m dollars was apparently the budget he gave at the beginning of the season.

I stopped at 30 mins cause it's too long Sorry guys, but on the right hand side I found a short one where he talks about the club the he's acquiring.



The English club, tell us about it. Responds, The English club, we have an agreement between us and them, and hopefully God willing after 2 weeks everything will be clear.

What's the club he gets asked again?

Responds It's an English club! I won't say the name. Division? Ofcourse not the premier league. No Brighton, No Watford.

QPR? they play in the premier, it is none of them. It has a great history.

What is Jamal's role? Jamal will become part of the president's office (laughing) I actually went to QPR with the guy in black besides him, we went and saw the stadium and went inside, but in terms of shares, I was expecting to be sold 52%, two days before the signing it went to 30%, the current club? It will be 100% yes.

The kuWait is Almost Over for a New Chairman

I know, worst pun ever in a title, but the strong rumour is the Kuwaiti billionaire Fawaz Al-Hasawi is taking over Nottingham Forest. It’s not certain yet that it is us being bought by him. He has confirmed that he is in the process of buying a second tier English team with a rich heritage. Basically it is or Leeds. The vital part is that he is buying 100% of the club apparently, and from what I have seen from Look North, Leeds fans on forums, a bit from media, and the fact he is a megalomaniacal power monger, Ken Bates is not selling his entire stake. So in essence it potentially rules out Leeds, leaving err, us.

Many who read this page know that I am deeply sceptical about rich foreign owners. Their motivation, long term plans and vision always need to be questioned. Basically why the hell do they want to buy us? In this case there appears no clear motive other than he wants to own a club. Well Ok, fine, but I don’t want the club to be a rich man’s toy. For every Man City there is a Neuchâtel Xamax (we signed Thierry Bonalair from them), and if you don’t know what happened with that Swiss club, basically they got bought out by a rich chairman, who turned out to be a mental war criminal. The club imploded, in a way that Notts County nearly did, being declared bankrupt and excluded from the Swiss Super League.

The news has reported he wants an ex QPR coach as manager, most have assumed this means Warnock (once again pointing to us, as Leeds already have him) but it could mean Ian Holloway. Or Gerry Francis, where’s he these days? Either way it doesn’t look promising for Cotterill.

Now the next assumption everyone makes when being bought by rich Arab oil sheikhs is that they will splash the cash. Like at Man City, Paris Saint Germain etc. Remember Portsmouth has a rich sheikh. Who was actually broke and whose wealth stemmed from POTENTIAL earnings from property. I have no doubt this guy may be genuine, but just pointing out a few problems. There may not be vast swathes of cash spent. We do need some cash spending. The midfield and defence have been ravaged by contract expiries and departures. McCleary has gone, Anderson is on his way out the door, Chambers is probably off and Lynch, well that’s still unclear. But even if there isn’t that much, it’s still better than Frank Clark checking behind all the club sofa’s for discarded change, or mugging people under Trent Bridge.

People have cried foul about the fact we haven’t been feeding back to fans what’s happening. Well for one it’s not the club handling this potential sale. It’s Seymour Pierce. No doubt the club are up to date and what not but they aren’t controlling this, and neither should they. Get professionals to do it. Additionally keeping everyone informed is simply not how this is done. You don’t tell everyone all your business dealings, and yes people want to know before buying a season ticket, but sorry, this is just the way it goes. You have to retain an element of secrecy, basically because that’s business. In fact as I write this and have checked Twitter the club have indeed commented. This speaks volumes. They never did about the Irish supposed take over, or the Canadian one from the Maple Leafs group. Now they have. This does mean something afoot, but whether we are adding 2 +2 and coming up with 17 here is unapparent.

I have seen it said elsewhere that Mr Al-Hasawi puts a lot of stock in youth development, and that is certainly something that pleases me. It means he might not want to just buy a new starting XI. However a lot of top clubs claim to have top youth development, but in fact just sign other clubs youngsters and polish these diamonds rather than actually mining them, just look at Patrick Bamford.
There was a lot of contention about a comment suggesting he wanted to bring in Kuwaiti players. And people were unhappy about this. But wait, why? Are they assuming that these players who probably aren’t good enough would be forced into the team? Why would he buy the club and then enforce that, it would devalue the club. No it’s more likely he will use our facilities to help train them and develop. And if we do sign some, so be it, they might be good enough after all, and would certainly sell a few shirts in Kuwait. Remember we can only have 3 non EU nationals in the team, and they’d have to get work permits to transfer here.

As I said, rich foreign takeovers make me nervous. I have covered this extensively before, but right now we have little choice as we cannot continue in limbo, seeing players walk out the door for free. We need investment. Let’s hope that if this comes off, we don’t become one of these rich brash obnoxious clubs, claiming we’re going to win it all. He will be welcomed in regardless (even if one pillock tweeted to him last night get lost we don’t like Muslims, I hope this guy gets kicked off Twitter, he doesn’t speak for us.)

Interesting times ahead at the City Ground if this is all true. We need this situation resolving as soon as possible, What has been entertaining is how little people commenting on the net about this understand business. And if this goes through I will miss laughing at peoples misguided attempts

Where Do We Go From Here?

Forest stand on the edge of a precipice right now. If nothing were to happen it’s quite logical we could end up plunging into economic meltdown. Rather like Portsmouth, and rather like ourselves before after Platt, having to jettison high earning players.

On the counter hand should the rumoured takeover that has rumbled on for a while, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future as these things aren’t concluded over night. The last rumour of the Canadian billionaire seems to have calmed down again, not meaning it’s not on, but its lighting up Twitter and Facebook as before.

Regardless of any rich sugar daddy coming in, we need to be sure of keeping the wage bill down. For instance Miller, Derbyshire and Greening combined take around £2.2 mill out of the budget. This is for players who come end of last season weren’t first team. They have largely failed. Now I still think Miller and Greening for instance with the right direction might start playing well, Greenings played at the top for a long time, and Miller is a powerful striker. However, simply because of their wages they need to move on. You can’t have people on those fees. For one I believe it breeds indifference.

If we remain in our state of flux, that’s money we could desperately do with. If we get taken over, well remember takeovers aren’t always as they seem. Even if we tried to retain those wages it’s still a drain on resources that if we did a Cardiff and continued to fail to go up, any chairman might become disillusioned and your left with large wages again like Portsmouth. It’s this legacy of paying too high wages left many clubs to plummet. Bradford case in point, all those funds made from the Premier League wasted on over paid indifferent players.

Yes, we could get this Canadian billionaire or any other from the great host of countries billionaires we were connected with (last count, 7. American, Chinese, Kuwaiti, Norwegian, Irish, Canadian) and that not be an issue as they will cover it, and at the end of the day as long as they are in place we can forget the long term planning, and just spend now. But this also goes against all Doughty tried to create of a self sustaining club with an academy rolling out fresh batch of top players. I am almost excited at the thought of with the new age of austerity that we will HAVE to produce our own players. Kieron Freeman, David Morgan and Jamaal Lascelles hopefully stepping up this summer. On the other hand, they do need to be good enough. Those 3 years in League One left us in a position where we were quite far down the pecking order for getting top youngsters to sign, and the legacy of that is only really clearing now.

So yeah, it is a vital time in the long happy history of Nottingham Forest. I say happy, it has been mostly. I feel this take over more than others before will define where we spend the next period of history. We need to avoid a quick cheap take over designed around selling off once we are up. There is no long term planning in this model. Cardiff and Leicester are examples I have cited many times before. Cardiff’s Malaysian regime wants to dispatch with the clubs history, and colours to sell the club to a Malay market. Are people there going to want to cheer on a mid range team. I have been to Malaysia and they all supported the at the time top teams of Man Utd and Liverpool, that’s probably been supplanted by Chelsea now. Why would they all now support Cardiff City just because they play in Red. Seems like the guy just wants his team to play in Red so is moulded the club as his play thing. A dangerous game. People get bored of toys. Clubs basing success on cash injections form sugar daddies rarely maintain success. They need to be a big club with a history of success to churn over the revenue, the shirt sales, and the gate receipts. Blackburn won the title but has never approached level of success with investment. New owners flashing the cash initially and then it drying up are more common then you’d want to know. That initial interest and excitement followed by a few years later austerity. Birmingham, Aston Villa, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn, Portsmouth, West Ham, are all top level examples of false promises, or short term successes and long term losses.

Indeed look at the lower leagues and non leagues for teams who got investment, started spending, and when the money which seemed plentiful dried up, shrank away again. Non league for instance is scattered with these (usually a money laundering operation though) and the lower couple of leagues of the league structure. Scotland has its examples, in Livingstone for instance, but also the likes of Hearts. Clubs with money but no infrastructure to back it up are not going to succeed. You create a bubble that will burst. And the larger you let the bubble grow, the worst the explosion.

Don’t get me wrong, we need a takeover, we need new owners. What I am saying is we need to be careful what we get. Someone who is willing to carry on the good groundwork of Doughty, we need that money in to keep the players we have. But then we also need investment on new players. Not a vast sum. Some clever buying would see us right. We chased names last summer and that got us nowhere. Do as many of the clubs going up have done; buy League One or Two players, who are young and hungry. Have a couple of old heads to steady the ship, and go from there. If we need several loans, then so be it. It only ever seems to be a market we play in desperation, not as an actual tool for bringing in talent. We’ve proved its worth, with Guedioura, what we need is something like this over the whole season, maybe someone like Henri Lansbury. Young players at top clubs not getting a look in, wanting to prove themselves. We seemed to have been burned and chastened by when we tried this with Michael Stewart, but that need not be our whole reference point.

We still have good players. Talented individuals in McGugan and Majewksi, A solid keeper in camp. The defence is going to be unrecognisable and will need work, a chance for Lascelles to shine, and we have Blackstock up front. The wings also are ravaged by contracts expiring this year. What we need is people to fill the other spots. We need cover for Reidy who cannot do it week in and week out. Moussi is still solid enough despite having a mare at least 1 game in 4. He just needs a Guedioura alongside him. To keep him in check. Up front, it depends on what we do with Miller and Derbyshire, Harewood I assume is off.

This is football though. It’s never just as simple as this. Is it?

O Canada

If you believe the hype. Might even become a Maple Leafs fan. Though it might annoy my my Canadian buddies.

Incidentally none of said Canadian buddies have heard a single shred of evidence to support the supposed imminent take over by Maple Leafs owner Larry Tanenbaum. In other news I mildly enjoyed the Royal Tenenbaums.... Weak tie in

The Ownership Question

The Ownership Question



With the latest update appearing on twitter that nothing appears to happening from yet another "in the know" internet sleuth, the tongues again are set wagging about what is set to be happening Trent Side.

Make no mistake the confusion is mainly lying in the fact that people are constantly making stuff up to look like they were there first. Anyone who would be in the know would be sworn to silence or simply would stoop so low as to feed tit bits of information on the internet.

So those that crave attention from everyone falling over themselves to speculate on the information they unique source that can't be revealed, start to evolve stories. It must be an Arab, because there was a Halal meal ordered in the board restaurant. (This is actual real logic followed on another site. Hang on, they ordered burgers, Americans love burgers right? Maybe it’s Americans.

They become so desperate for any sign to mean anything that they see reasoning where there is none. Whatever happened to just waiting? Everyone feels we have a right to know, well at the end of the day we don't. We feel we do, but we don't get to have any say.

And the problem with the likes of Twitter and Facebook is that these now spread like wildfire. The forums often run with it. I've seen some forums who will literally believe anything said on Twitter. Now Twitter is a great tool at times, but just look how often there’s a rumour of a famous death goes round, and you see that all it takes is one silly rumour snowballs.

Everyone wants to believe.




With the new media people feel they have ownership of news too, being able to report or spread. So it's easy for rumour to become gospel quickly. Some more unscrupulous sites exploit this. All you have to do is realise that the way spammers entice you in with a title or theme that looks amazing, the same with Forest news, "we know who the new owners are" that’s right, before its ever been reported so you click, I myself do, to see what’s being reported. Some are more reliable than others though, as 24-7 law says, if the Mirror reports it, it usually isn't true.

I don't have any information on the new owners; I won't tease you with reports of it being said consortium from wherever. There are fanciful reports of it being a Billionaire, which frankly is unlikely. The first question you'd ever have to ask is why they would buy the club. Other than being a fan there is little point, unless they are seeking to build us up in the Premier League to then sell. To profiteer.

Many will say OK, if that’s what they want it involves them making investment and wanting to further us for profits. True, but is also implies no real connection to the profit. Players would be sold and cheaper loan alternatives who do a job but with no long term link bought in. Additionally, if and when it all starts to go wrong, they again don't have a connection so would be liable to jump ship.

We will be sold, and we will have new owners and I have written repeatedly before, beware of strangers baring gifts. To be honest I would query why anyone would take this mess on, other than simple love for the club. Just remember Irving Scholar and Nigel Wray. That lesson should speak volumes just within our semi recent past about what new owners can do.