Service Resumed

Apologies for the la st 2 weeks. I have been on holiday in Turkey and unable to to be able to blog but was able to keep up with all the news via a handy wireless connection for Twitter and the news. So yes I have seen Lichaj and Jara signing and the Wes Morgan news. These have been commented on a lot elsewhere so I won't add i my views as I was out the loop. But from now on we will be back to look at whats happening transfer news wise and hopefully finally the kit gets revealed so we can stop all the ridiculous photo shop efforts going round.

So, good to be back folks. Normal service resumed

Embargo?

Well today I have been quite surprised to read of the latest gossip surrounding the City Ground. We can't go a few days without bad news, or some kind of gossip doing the rounds.

The latest rumour is that of a transfer embargo being placed on the club. This is where any kind of clarity ends. Quite what the details of any such embargo if there is one are completely unknown right now.

The rumour has come about due to John Percy ad his never ending campaign of hatred against Fawaz tweeting that there would be bad news ahead for Forest of what he had heard was correct.

But another source on Twitter has been suggesting it may be in an in house embargo placed by Fawaz whilst some investigations are carried out. It seems that some in the "previous management structure" was fiddling the books and was on the take, taking some kind of commission on transfers and that Fawaz has imposed a strict ban on Transfers for the time being whilst this is looked at. This what bought about all the sackings before. 

This again is all conjecture and comes from one person. If it was a higher level FA style embargo then you’d think that something would have been in the news about it by now as these are usually fairly well published. And it’s not as if it you can sign players under these arrangements but with expressed permission. Like Watford and Portsmouth before.

Furthermore as has been pointed out, the news from last week about the new improved status for the Academy of now being second tier status, this would not be achieved if the club were in financial peril as their finances of the club are also considered in this process.

All in all it’s led to a lot of guesswork by people, and it may be like many of the rumours before that go round that have zero grounding whatsoever. Maybe Natalie Jackson just fancies some Gulf sun and is hoping to go interview Fawaz and his cars again in Kuwait. Or may be its all bitter ex employees leaking information to rock the boat. And many journo's lap up that information because they don’t get a lot from Fawaz. It just seems people still want this regime to fail, and are delighted when any news comes out about the club that’s bad news, I mean look at the Bridgford End saga.

No it is all still unclear what’s happening, but it leads a lot speculation and chatter on Twitter. People like a good gossip. 

The Art of Good Rumour Mongering

The announcement by Forest we had agreed a deal for a player who would sign in the next 14 days has set minds flying with who it could be. What it starts is a wave of people “in the know”, who claim that they have sources or suchlike and know all the precise dealings of the club. And now with the transfer window cranking into life it’s started all of this cycle off in earnest. There are many rumours that have been out there in the last few days and in previous transfer windows so are frankly so ridiculous as to be pointless.

Let me give you an example. 7-8 years ago in a previous incarnation of this site, me and a co writer decided we needed an attention grabbing article. This is before the days where I regarded quality as way above quantity. We scoured the few forum and rumour sites that existed back then, and went with a plausible rumour. Marcus Bent, we needed a striker, he was out of favour, and it looked possible. So we suggested it was. It went crazy. We got more than hits than ever for anything, the rumour started doing the rounds of more reputable sites and the club even issued a disclaimer stating that it was false. This is before Twitter, before Facebook, we relied on NewsNow, but it clearly got onto forums. The thing is there was never any truth to it. So that’s how easy it is to something out there as “news.” Now we have social media to fan these flames.

At Christmas time or so we were oddly linked with Joe Cole on a loan deal before he re joined West Ham. People genuinely believed this could happen, and it starts because a wave of people of people on Twitter or Facebook blindly believe whatever they are told from any old source without questioning it.

Then there are the people who try to qualify their rumours by claiming to have a friend or relative who works at the club and “knows.” I am unsure why they think shop staff or ticket shop staff knows the entire transfer dealings of the club. For a start a lot of business these days is done out of Wilford Lane rather than the club itself.

I do enjoy the folk who say I’ve just been in West Bridgford Tesco and saw X player in there; he must be signing for the club. This one’s always bizarre. Or their estate agent friend has a new client who turns out to be so and so player. The type of rumour that can’t be qualified by anyone at all.

These are lazy attempts. They usually try and qualify it by putting “#fact” after it or suchlike like them putting that at the end almost makes it unquestionable. It’s an adult equivalent of writing I.D.S.T. (if you don’t know what it means I pity your childhood) on a pencil case at school about some spurious rumour or teenage love affair.

And why people decide that they have to know now bothers me. This never happened in the pre- Social media era, we’d have to sit and wait, and be glad when Ceefax or Teletext told you in the news we’d signed someone. Or phoning up the Teamtalk or Clubcall Premium rate numbers for inane gossip.

Because it’s easier to put a rumour out there and to a vast source of people it gets people starved of attention to start getting that attention. People just chuck any old name out there and someone will believe it. This gets worse from July, as the season approaches people are excited, but then also the kids are off school, and have nothing better it seems than to spend all day on twitter blathering on about how we should have been in for player Y who went to a Premiership club, or that they really rate player Z as he is good on FIFA, not seeing the blurs between reality and fiction, and not also guessing that this player really actually doesn’t fit with the managers plans, never mind would want to come to the club in the first place.

A breed of rumour monger just seems to be getting lazier, and just links us with any player being released in the Premier League, or hell even a player transfer listed, never mind if its top bracket club, so therefore would move down the Premiership if not abroad, and would also want a very level of wage. It is just sloppiness in the extreme. (This week I saw Denilson of Arsenal mentioned)

The current name doing the rounds is Raheem Sterling. This kid was starting games for one of the top Premiership clubs last season. He would be ripe for a long loan to a lower Premiership club, a Fulham, Norwich, Southampton. Not Forest. There is just a complete leap between faith and reality where common sense is missed out. Does it seem too good to be true? Well therefore it probably is.

I tend to stick to linking to a collection of linked names and comment on what I feel the validity of these stories are. I think if we did a roundup of those transfer round ups less than 10% of those names actually ever sign because the vast majority are fairly out the blue.

Also people suggesting we should sign this or that player should remember contrary to what they think they don’t in fact know more than Billy, or the scouting staff. They will know that player already, but will either know he’s not right for the club, not available, not suited or suchlike. So you thinking you’ve unearthed a diamond and can’t understand the clubs lack of action is ridiculous.

The #ITK accounts are tiresome though. As if a football agent will sit there tweeting football deals going down. He’ll be actually doing deals, or trying to scupper deals. Anyone who has read the Secret Footballer will have a better idea of the vagaries of this art. An agent being overt in suggesting deals are going ahead isn’t going to be very successful, so ergo is unreliable as a source of gossip.

Anyone who claims to have an inside source is lying, as the club would have long identified likely sources of rumours. Remember these could well scupper a deal, letting others know a deal is being done or that the player in question might be open to claiming to the club.

So in essence, whatever you see out there as fact, unless from a recognised national paper reporting on us, it’s all lies. Even then with the likes of John Percy it’s probably still lies. As many now say on Twitter. Don’t believe it till Fawaz tweets it.

Potential Forest Departures

With Billy now getting a transfer window to tackle his squad, there might be just as many heading out of doors as coming in them. Partially to free up wages, clear out some dead wood and just to get rid of players Billy simply doesn’t fancy.

Potential outs

Dan Harding
Ok so our recognised left back, but the fact simply looks like he’s not good enough, and Billy doesn’t rate him. Whether that means sticking with ever reliable Chris Cohen, or shifting him back to midfield and getting a specialized left back in isn’t fully clear. However you would think anyone with any sense would bring in a proper left back and get Cohen back to where he is effective. Harding didn’t have the greatest of seasons, and should there be much interest I could see him being moved on.

Gillett

Simon Gillett
Genuinely thought he might be a Billy type player, very much in that McKenna mould, but again, Billy tends to want his own men in roles he see’s vital, and he doesn’t much seem to like Gillett. He flattered to deceive in the second half of the season, and O’Driscoll may come a knocking again for his erstwhile side kick. Don’t imagine we’d demand much of a fee either.

Matt Derbyshire
Please god someone take this waste of resources off us. He didn’t do much on either loan, and just seems to be content taking vast wedges of cash for his wife to splurge in the cinema. Really hope he gets shipped on. The only nagging doubt I have is that Billy likes a poacher, he might see Derbyshire as one of those, but I think also board pressure would want to see players like Derbyshire out the club.

Collins

Danny Collins
Might be slightly controversial this one, but Billy didn’t initially seem to like the Welshman. Additionally, the captaincy was removed from him. In that regard he might well get told he’s not seen as first choice and his age he may decide he’s prefer to look elsewhere for action. A lot of fans don’t rate Collins, I don’t mind him, but he is cumbersome at times. I don’t imagine his wages are cheap either.





Stephen McLaughlin
It’s funny we all this focus on a winger when we have rough and ready one in reserve, admittedly on Reidy’s side, but we don’t much about the Irishman. Now I base this all purely on the McCleary evidence but Billy never gave him his chance, he only blossomed under Cotterill. Is there something about these unpolished diamonds Billy doesn’t like? He does tend to focus on players who are the finished article, not having the patience to see someone develop fully. Might see him go or at least loaned out for 6 months.

Miller

Ishmael Miller
Hardly set the world alight with Boro but could quite easily be on his way. Expensive and not getting the returns on the investment it might be best to cut losses, or just simply take what we can and accept the loss. Some have said Billy could get him playing, but I think the ship sailed a long time ago on Miller. Just get him off the wage bill. Him and Derbyshire alone are taking up the pay we could get 4/5 very good players for. Hungry players. m There has been a number on Twitter saying we should give him a chance. These people clearly only saw him for West Brom







Dexter Blackstock
Yeah he has only just signed a deal, but there have been numerous occasions there has been chatter he could be off. If we did sign Carlton Cole I’d expect to see Dexter go, and lets be honest his form last season was pretty bad. It’s also one player we could get a fee to reinvest from.

Guy Moussi
Moussi is not first XI by any stretch and is so inconsistent. After his contract negotiations the other season i don’t suppose he is cheap either. He’s the type of player we might look to recoup some money on, and Billy doesn’t seem to like him as much as he did before.

Jonathan Greening
Like Derbyshire and Miller on a lot of money for no real returns. Offloading him, for free probably, considering age and poor performance, and we could ease off that £12 k from the wage bill he is swallowing up. Nobody will miss him, he seems to only serve the purpose of keeping the dressing room entertained these days.



All of this would maybe free up some cash on the wages front, that we now have to consider FFP wise. Consider that supposedly Derbyshire, Miller and Greening between them are on over £40k a week, which s a little over £2mill a year of our turnover we have to pay out to crap. We can’t let that continue. Players sitting on fat long term contracts has to end.

Sing When We're Moaning

I have often commented that the average Forest fan online only seems to be happy when he has something to moan about. This makes the life of a Forest blogger easy, as we either take sides or deride those moaning, all for easy hits.


But this week’s announcement of the biggest non story to hit Trentside since Wesley Verhoek didn’t sign, we announced that we are now not moving away fans after Forest fans asked the club not to. This is after the club announced they were moving away fans because the club asked them to do so. Confusing? Yes. Ridiculous? Even more so.

I did accuse a number of Bridgford Stand residents of a form of Nimbyism previously. Happy to see away fans moved but not if it’s in their back yard. Now it seems they will get their way and some other part of the stadium will perhaps be looked at to move the away contingent to.

This is all out of nothing. None of this needed to happen. We could quite easily have done nothing. But this is Forest. Why have a quiet peaceful time during a summer when you do something to pointlessly rile people.

So what now? Some of have said that they could go in the often left empty blocks in the Brian Clough upper and lower tiers, neatly forgetting a very basic element of not having enough exits. There is no way I can see away fans being put into the BC upper without some kind of remediation work that would see pointless costs attributed to the club to keep Mr Blogges of Upper Bridgford Tier happy.

The lower tier has catered to away fans previously, when in league e One with tiny allocations and when we renovated the Trent End. Some have said just give away fans that small section anyway forgetting that a large away following can mean extra revenue. It’s not like we sell out the City ground every week is it?

So now we have had the embarrassing escapade where fans are already moaning before the players have unpacked their suitcases after holidays. People are accusing the cub of not knowing what it’s doing, and yes I think they may have rushed this through, but this is what happens when you try to please a Forest fan. A different Forest fan moans. Now that’s life, different people like different things, but the moment you start to appease the vocal minorities, all you ended up doing is agitating and annoying the silent majority. And it is a majority. I don’t think the larger number of fans were contacting Fawaz to say shift the fans. Though he does get his fair share of embarrassingly misguided tweets sent to him. I do think Fawaz reacted to what people suggested, and that Billy wanted it to appease fans, and to make a happy stadium, and he is learning that this simply doesn’t work.

I’ve often spoken of a guy who sits near me who is never happy, if we win 5-0 he’ll be unhappy we didn’t’ get 6. There will be guys like him all around the ground, sitting moaning, being able to vent the frustrations they have in their lives at the ground as just another voice in the cacophony. These are the ones probably contact Fawaz with their “What’s wrong with Forest this week” lists. And so this new regime looks like it has set out to listen to the crazies. Now they know they are being listened to it might get more outlandish. Remember we had a previous regime that was fairly stand offish. Didn’t get overly involved, and now we swerved the other way, there might be more similar incidents.

But yeah in a nutshell, it just seems that people just love moaning. The latest wave seeing people moaning at the people moaning. This is all getting a bit Inception now on the moaning. Maybe this is a moan about moaning, about moaning. We’re in deep now people.

Roll on the pre season and making signings to take people’s minds off it. (Though people are moaning at lack of signings)





Moan Over.

Jimmy's Royal Call

Hasselbaink at Forest

Congratulations to former First team Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink who has got a manager’s job in Belgium with Royal Antwerp. The club are probably most famous as being a stamping ground for many a Manchester United youngster in the last decade or so, seeing as they have a long term tie in with United. Players like John O’Shea, Ryan Shawcross, Jonny Evans and Darron Gibson all had stints there as well as former Forest loanees Danny Higginbotham and Lee Martin.

Jimmy ‘s departure from the club was one that a number of fans lamented. He always seemed to have drive and grit and determination for the club, and was often seen hurtling down the line at the ends of games to collect a ball to quickly get it back in play, or haranguing a third official.

Bought to the club he survived the McClaren dismissal, staying during the Cotterill era, and then also retained by Sean O’Driscoll, he was culled during the McLeish take over. There had been rumours after McLeish dismissal he may have been offered the Forest job, which of course turned out to be false.

So good luck in the Belgian second flight Jimmy.

Righteous Indignation in The Bridgford Stand

I’ll make it clear from the start, I sit in the Trent End, so all the cling and clatter about the Bridgford End I find both interesting yet also quite bizarre.


The club revealed at the back end of the last season that after consultation and what with Billy’s wishes that they wanted to move home fans into the Lower Bridgford and move the away fans. A lot of people cheered when Billy said as much in his speech.

We have been assured that this was down to supporter pressure that this is what fans want, and most people seem to agree it’s a good idea.

However like most ideas it’s only good if it doesn’t adversely affect me. It’s nimbyism in the football ground. “I’d love to move the away fans, but can’t you put them somewhere else” seems to the sentiment.

I understand that people attachments to where they sit, I have sat in the same seat now for 8 seasons, after previously sitting in the same seat for 5 seasons, so I get the attachment. What puzzles me is that people seem to think they have entitlement and ownership of that place.

I was going to read my season ticket from last season to back this up, but I’m pretty sure any small print will discuss that the club has the right to move peoples seats around should the need arise. I can’t be sure, but I bet something along those lines is on it or in the small print when you buy it. After all it’s the club who own your seat, your just paying for a reserved spot every week to sit there. Just so happens to be the same reserved spot for ease or organisation.

People just don’t like change. Whether it be necessary or not. I’m sure there are those who rallied against the building of all seater stands, but sometimes needs overrides desire.

I do however think that this will make no difference. People discuss it maybe bringing us extra points, but I don’t see it. It does however seem that we will reduce away allocations as a result, which could mean loss of match day revenues for big games. Some fans have supported reducing their numbers, which is all well and good, but some of these always moan about the allocations given to us by other clubs. The fact is we rarely sold out the ground last season so reducing the numbers that might come to games is naive.

It seems that after all the PR disasters last season the regime wanted to bring more fans on side, prove they are listening, whilst at the same time not consulting with those directly affected. This would have been so much easier had they not sold tickets in that tier already and people who thought they knew they were sitting there might now not. Then they wouldn’t have a leg to stand on in any argument, and would just quietly chunter away.

There are usual suspects on Twitter who would moan about this regardless. I think we all know the people who just seem to moan for moanings sake. They are the ones constantly retweeting petitions and claiming the club have no right (they do) to do what they are doing. Righteous Indignation.

All this said, this might not even go ahead. There is a consultancy phase to go through and it might be rejected as just not doable. It has been pointed out having away fans above the home fans might not be a god idea as they could easily shower us with various missiles and liquids all game. Those mentioning this clearly have guilty consciences and this is precisely what some did to the away fans.

Additionally this is really the only place it can happen as the Brian Clough stand has no chance of being used. It has limited entrance and exits. It doesn’t have the chance to partition sections. It’s just not versatile.

Of course away fans always used to be in that corner on the terrace. My first game memories were standing on the Bridgford in 1988-1992 era often near to the away fans. SO for people to feign surprise are either young or forgetful that this where we thought to put them. History is on the clubs side.

The price factor has also been mentioned, which I guess is a far more valid point than any. But if people are concerned at price then come on over to the Trent End Upper dark side my friends. We might even get that stand jumping again.

It seems with Forest at times, as with any decisions, whether it be sacking managers, setting ticket prices, signing players, that you’re damned if you and damned if you don’t. The fans won’t be happy with either decision, but you know what? It’s not ours to make
.