Posted May 31st, 2007
by Rahoul Baruah
Further to the speculation over Grant Holt’s future, the Evening Post are reporting that Charlie McParland has left the club: “Both McParland and Reds chief executive Mark Arthur declined to comment”. And the NEP comments board attached to this story suggests that Gary Fleming has also left.
No confirmation from the club as yet regarding the futures of any of the above three – the longer there is no word, the more frenzied the speculation will become and the more angry fans will get.
So where are the Chairman, Chief Executive, or even the Press Officer to respond to this speculation?
Posted in General
Posted May 31st, 2007
by Rahoul Baruah
I’m not normally one for slating the manager, especially when he has only been in place for a single season, but with our fantastic form and even better PR over the last ten years, the club has pretty much exhausted my patience.
Which is why I’m amazed (but ultimately not surprised) to hear that the only one of our players I actually like and one of the few with the talent to make it in the Championship wants to leave.
You better have someone bloody good lined up, Colin (and I’m not sure that Leon Best is good enough).
Posted in General
Posted May 30th, 2007
by Rahoul Baruah
Yesterday I had a kickabout with my work colleagues for the first time in a couple of months*. As you can imagine, living in the West Midlands, I am surrounded by Villa and Liverpool fans (I work within sight of Villa Park, as for the scousers, don’t ask!). So I am used to the “why don’t you support a good team?” type of comments – all good-natured stuff I should add.
But when I was packing my kit, I felt a little tinge of trepidation – could I really pull on the garibaldi without shame? Having witnessed the players and manager (and some would say the chairman and chief exec) conspire to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory over the last ten months, would it be possible to wear the not-so-famous-anymore red shirt and still hold my head up high?
Well the good news is that as soon as pulled the shirt on, I felt reassured. I stopped short of touching the badge, but I am still proud to be a Red. The players may be a bunch of overpaid prima donnas, the chief exec might well be out of touch with the fans, and the manager may have shown tactical naivete beyond our wildest nightmares, but:
Nottingham Forest is still my club.
* Incidentally, there was all kinds of shouting and allegations at the end of our so-called “friendly”. I have written about it here, and would appreciate your thoughts.
Posted in General
Posted May 25th, 2007
by Rahoul Baruah
I still cannot face talking about last Friday. I think I will bury my head in a bucket of sand while this Sunday’s final is on.
Anyway, in light of relegation (well, it feels like it), Forest have announced reductions in season ticket prices. If they didn’t, there would be trouble, as the debate on Through the seasons before us shows.
In other news, the Evening Post reckons that ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr could have played for Forest! To be honest, even in his 40s, we could do with his creativity on the right wing…
Posted in General
Posted May 24th, 2007
by Rahoul Baruah
I’ve never had a name or number put on the back of my replica shirt. I only tend to buy (or be given) the shirts when they are sold off cheap so it didn’t really make sense. But there was always a player whose name I would have had on there …
However, as I said to myself I would get “X” put on there but I can’t afford it, X would leave the club. And it’s happening again … I would get “G Holt” put on there but I can’t afford it. And now it seems that he’s on his way out. Bugger. Maybe I should just shell out for the letters.
Posted in General
Posted May 22nd, 2007
by Rahoul Baruah
According to BBC Nottingham, the list of retained players will be announced today.
In my view, bye-bye to:
- Krissy (not as big a loss as one would think – never fit and recently been playing well, just as his contract was due)
- Gary Holt (had his best match in a Forest shirt in the first leg against Yeovil, had an absolute stinker in the second)
- John Curtis (what point is a full-back who won’t tackle?)
- Rune Pedersen (I think he is out of contract – if so, good luck to you wherever you go)
- Wes (not out of contract, but in my opinion is not good enough and would deservedly be behind Breckin and Chambers in the pecking order)
I would like to see Jack stay (and possibly play in midfield next year), but am not sure whether he will get a new deal. I think it goes without saying that we will say goodbye to Nicky Eaden and John Thompson.
I have deliberately kept quiet for the last few days, both literally and metaphorically (lost my voice on Friday night, only just coming back now). It is very rare that I say “I don’t want to talk about it”, but that is exactly how I have felt…
UPDATE: I forgot about our loanees – I wouldn’t mind “Mini-me” Alan Wright signing, the question might be whether he would get any better offers; as for Prutts, I think he managed to finish his own Forest career with that red card.
Posted in General
Posted May 21st, 2007
by Rahoul Baruah
He saw the great red engine, lying on its side. It was unrecognizable as the proud creature he had met at Crap End, the one that had scattered his wits with its hard-edged beauty. … Now the engine lay twisted and mangled, its old rotten heart ripped out and scattered among the trees, a charred and helpless remnant of something which burned brightly only in the memories of old men. … And then the sadness of it all crashed over Strum like a great wave, and he sobbed like a child. He cried for a very long time, there in the moonlit forest by the misty river, until there were no more tears in him.
Posted in General
Posted May 21st, 2007
by Rahoul Baruah
Psycho for Manager says the News of the World. Bollocks. Not going to happen and we don’t want it to happen – defensive, not enough goals, no adventure.
Rosenior lasts ten minutes in his new job – I said before that he came across as a nice guy. Shame.
Robson to manage the Blunts – whatever you think of Colin Wanker at least you could say that he got results.
Manchester United raise their season ticket prices by an astonishing fourteen percent. That’s right – now you have to pay £ 475 to see the Champions of England – or you could spend about the same to watch some shitty Third Division side.
Posted in General
Posted May 19th, 2007
by Rahoul Baruah
“There is a correlation between stability and performance. Clubs with fewest managers over the period, such as Manchester United and Charlton perform better than clubs which have had most managers … Managers do better if they are given time and can learn from past experiences. “
say the academics.
Currently we are averaging a manager every two seasons – no wonder we are in decline.
So, for all his faults, CC must stay.
Posted in General
Posted May 19th, 2007
by Rahoul Baruah
Rant first: their number 3 is a dirty cheating bastard and Graham Poll is a joke.
I hold Paul Hart solely responsible for our last play-off defeat. If he had started with his regular centre-half, Jon Hjelde, instead of his pet, John Thompson, I cannot imagine us conceding four goals in the way that we did. In the same way, I hold Colin Calderwood solely responsible for yesterday’s debacle. We were doing OK – not comfortable but looking odds on to get through till CC decided to take Jack off and put Wes on. Reshuffle the back four and try and hold on – or watch as Wes makes two mistakes putting us through to extra time with nine men (Prutts for a dodgy tackle on the aforementioned number three and Wright who was carrying an injury so he could not run). No point in sacking CC now (stability blah blah) and to the morons chanting for Psycho – this is the same Psycho who took an inconsistent but entertaining Man City side and turned them into non-goal scoring cigar-stubbing bores. But I fully understand why the Northampton fans love him so …
Well done to Yeovil and their fans.
Well done to the players – you can’t fault them – they played to the best of their limited ability.
Well done to us – we were magnificent.
And you better fucking learn from this one Colin ….
Posted in General
