UPDATE: I think I’m over this now – still not sure what that interview was supposed to achieve but I’m sure Billy has a masterplan in mind. Bring on the Sheep!

The knives are out. Billy Davies, Mark Arthur, Nigel Doughty; no-one escapes the wrath of the Forest fan in the run up to yet another game against the Sheep.

And the source of this malaise?

The fact that our small, injury-ravaged League One squad is still struggling in the Championship, was not strengthened during the transfer window and the fabled new-manager effect simply has not happened (or at least was very short-lived).

Before Calderwood went I said a change (of some kind, not necessarily of manager) was needed; at the very least a big centre-half, a big centre-forward and someone to offer some leadership. Now, in February, we have a new manager but no new players. Fair play to Billy – watch him from the touchlines and he is offering the leadership. He went for Rob Jones to play at the back and Dele Adebola up-front. So it looks, on paper, like he had identified the same weaknesses as me.

But we didn’t get either and the consensus is that this is the board’s fault. Could be, I don’t know enough about what went on. Is Jones worth more than £600000 or is he another Lynch? Should anyone ever pay any money for Adebola? Were the board just tight or did they just not want to pay over the odds for players who may not be good enough to keep us up (can you tell which one of those two I feel falls into that category?) If they were tight then it’s definitely a false economy – League One will cost far more than the extra £400000 that was reportedly the difference between our valuation of Jones and Hibs’ (although I’ve also seen it written that we offered £1m for him).

However, for whatever reason, we didn’t bring anyone in during the window. So we have to make do with what we’ve got (and what we can loan in).

And this is where my problems begin. We know that they are young and inexperienced. We know that the Championship is a big step up from League One. We know that we have an injury crisis on, forcing us to play players who aren’t first choices. But that is the hand we have – unless we loan four or five players in tomorrow, then that is the hand we will have when playing Derby. We are where we are.

So why slag them off Billy? We all know that confidence is a vital component of success in football. Do you honestly believe that telling the only players you have available that they will never make it at this level is going to make them perform better this weekend?

In goal we’ve got Smith. The best thing that Calderwood did this season (apart from getting us to play some pretty football that had been sorely lacking for quite a few years) was bring in Lee Camp. Whilst some people think Campo is the second coming of Peter Shilton, I’m not so convinced. The defence needed a kick up the arse and Campo gave it to them. But in terms of actual keeping ability there’s not so much in it (Smith’s terrible kicking aside) – witness Campo’s flapping at a cross when we played against QPR.

At centre-half we’re looking OK. Breckin and Wesley are the first choice pairing; having Breckin back in the fold is a definite bonus, but Calderwood wasn’t lying when he said the old man isn’t fit enough to play every week. Wes has been immense after a dodgy start to the season. Chambers is an able deputy (note, this is centre-half) but Wilson appears to be getting worse under Davies, and he wasn’t playing great to start with.

At full-back is where the real trouble now lies. Moloney has been a breath of fresh air this season, but Davies does not appear to trust the youngster to do the job. Leaving Chambers to play at right-back and we all know it’s just not his position. Things are worse on the left with Bennett out injured – leaving Heath who tries hard but isn’t ready, Wilson, who looks like someone playing out of position (funny that) or Lynch. Nuff said.

In midfield, it’s no secret that I am a great fan of Perchio – he’s not the best defensive midfielder in the world but it’s a vital (unsung) role and he does it well. The Moose should be back soon and he had a great start to the season, but seemed to go missing for a few games before his injury. Cohen is many people’s favourite for player of the season – certainly his work-rate is incredible. Thornhill is probably my favourite of the youngsters – intelligent, beautifully timed runs with excellent passing. And then there’s Lewis McGugan. Probably our most talented player, certainly the one we could sell for the most money. But he seems to have gone backwards recently. Billy plays him a bit deeper than Colin did and he looks like he’s struggling with it – and when Lewis plays badly, Forest plays badly.

And then, up-front. Earnie’s out injured and this is a big loss, as our only Championship-quality player. Tyson works his socks off but isn’t an out-and-out goal-scorer. And he can’t do it all by himself. Leaving Garner. The target for Davies’ post-match interview and another youngster with obvious talent but not necessarily the work-rate or application Billy wants. From the little we’ve seen of him so far, he appears to be one of those who does nothing for 89 minutes then produces a piece of magic that turns the game. However, I can’t see much more magic coming from him under this manager.

We’re in the shit. We know that. The players know that. The manager knows that. The board (probably) know that. And when you’re up against it you need to be pulling together. Unity can make up for a number of deficiencies. Unfortunately, I don’t see much of that around the City Ground at the moment. Sorry to be so gloomy, but things aren’t looking good.