eighteensixtyfive

Forest sign player on deadline day shock!

Dexter Blackstock has joined us on loan (with no recall) until the end of the season. Well, we have been a striker short all season (no I don’t count Andy Andrew Cole as a striker as he was obviously not interested), so this has to be a good thing. Blackstock’s goals-to-games ration this season is apparently pretty good, although he has fallen out of favour under Paulo Sousa and has apparently lost some confidence as a result.

Let’s hope that having the “different type of striker” that Billy Davies mentioned will help the team, and help the lad get his career back on track as well. If Forest stay up and Blackstock impresses, there may be a chance of a permanent deal.

Tags: dexter blackstock, nottingham forest, qpr   Posted in News, Rumours, Transfers

Colin Calderwood to Newcastle?

As many of you regulars will be aware, I quite liked Colin Calderwood. I thought he was a dignified man who was doing his best to get us out of trouble, and while I have no doubts that the current run of form is a reaction to the departure of the bronzen one, as well as the stewardship of Messrs Pemberton and Davies respectively, I still thought that the level of performance would probably see us safe at the end of the season.

That is, of course, all hypothetical now.

I don’t think I have explicitly said it so far, but good luck to you Colin. You are going to need it if you really are going to join the coaching staff at Newcastle.

Don’t forget to vote for Nathan Tyson as Player of the Round before the FA vote closes at 9am tomorrow. There are rumours of Derby fans hijacking the vote so that the Forest Green player wins it, so you need to get on as many different computers/PDAs/mobiles as possible to vote for our Tys.

Tags: billy davies, colin calderwood, fa cup, john pemberton, nathan tyson, newcastle united, nottingham forest   Posted in General, Rumours

No Big Sam

Blackburn have appointed Sam Allardyce as their new manager.

Who does that leave for us?

Our Nigel – if the step up from League One to Championship is too much for CC why would Nigel be able to make an even bigger leap? Plus there are many rumours that he dislikes the club for how the board treated Sir Brian.
Roy Keane – did well at saving Sunderland in the Championship. But would he want to come back here and would we let him, given his departure?
Neil Warnock – he obviously has a soft spot for Forest and is a great manager; provided he’s on your side and not the opposition’s. But would we accept his dirty tricks and style of play?
Billy Davies – did well at Preston and at first at Derby (I reckon he was shafted by their board a bit). But not popular with either sets of fans now, which probably tells a tale.
Paul Ince – I think he’s got the makings of a great manager … one day.
Johnson, Martinez, Coppell – never gonna happen
Brian Laws – see above
Colin Calderwood – better the devil you know?

Tags: billy davies, brian laws, neil warnock, nigel clough, paul ince, roy keane, sam allardyce   Posted in Rumours

News Roundup: Calderwood resigns?

Our longest running manager in recent years to Swindon with Big Sam moving here? http://www.forest.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=134292

UPDATE: Roy Keane is available

Tags: colin calderwood, roy keane, sam allardyce, swindon town   Posted in Rumours

Davies a done deal? (Updated)

Billy Davies will be appointed as the next manager of Nottingham Forest, at least according to our esteemed local rag.

I don’t want Davies as manager. As I have said in previous posts, I don’t even think that sacking Colin will achieve that much. For those of you who think that Davies would be good choice, have a read of this article, which is admittedly partisan, but also have a look at the comments. An egotistical manager who relies on defending a lead, and whose team displays a distinct lack of leadership – if all this is true, would this really be an improvement on Colin? All of these accusations have been levelled at the bronzen one by disgruntled Forest supporters in the recent past.

Finally, players like Robert Earnshaw have stated that part of the reason they enjoy life at Forest is because they feel wanted (I cannot be bothered to look up links, but have a read of the official site or the NEP shortly after Earnie signed). How do you think our best striker will feel if the club appoint the man who signed him, then never played him when they were at Derby?

Update (27/11/08, 12.30): Brian Laws has just signed a new contract at Sheffield Wednesday.

Tags: billy davies, colin calderwood, derby county, nottingham forest, Robert Earnshaw   Posted in Opinion, Rumours

Big Sam

The Daily Mail is again reporting that Big Sam is being lined up to replace Calderwood. This seems to be a story that won’t die and, to be honest, if Doughty is looking, then Allardyce has to be a candidate.

Do we want him though? I like him as a manager (although he did shit on Notts) – especially his use of psychology, sports science and modern training methods. And he did especially well at integrating a diverse dressing room full of “difficult” characters.

But there is the problem. We have a young, mainly Notts-based squad, playing for the most part attacking, stylish passing football. My Bolton-supporting mate says the hoofball thing was made up. However, before Sam, Bolton achieved promotion scoring over 100 goals. With Sam they were reknowned for grinding out one-nils with a team of old, over-the-hill misfits. Although admittedly, pre-Sam Bolton couldn’t stay up. I also remember reading an article showing that (using Opta statistics) Sam’s Newcastle had an average pass length of 20-30 yards (up from 5-15 yards previously).

So where does that leave us (apart from in trouble)? We have had “direct” managers before; some have even been popular (Harry Bassett, Paul Hart – the football at the end of his reign was “direct” to say the least). But in the back of my mind, I can’t help thinking Big Sam might be the wrong man at the wrong club (just like the current Bolton manager when he was here).

Tags: sam allardyce   Posted in Opinion, Rumours

If Calderwood is out, then who comes in?

Division remains amongst fans about whether CC should stay. I personally think that there would be nothing to gain from his departure; Kinnear left because the football was abject and results were poor, likewise Megson. Paul Hart was the only manager who united the fans in recent years, and yet there was division over his departure; I was one of a few who expressed relief, as despite the much-heralded footballing ideals, the standard of play was not good enough, and we had the familiar problem of no goals. Under CC, the football is still (mostly) good, the players are still putting in a decent amount of effort, but there are no goals at one end, and cheap ones conceded at the other.

A few years ago, I lived in London and was surrounded by Liverpool fans (don’t ask). They were all clamouring for Houllier to be replaced, and yet if I asked three different “fans” who they thought should replace him, I would get three different answers.

And that is the problem at Forest – there may never be a manager who will unite the fans, probably not even Clough Jr or Pearce; many Reds seem to have doubts over why Nigel has not made the step up already, and after a promising start, Stuart’s time at Man City ended in fairly ignominious fashion. Secondary to that is the fact that Stuart has got himself a decent job with the England set-up, and Nigel may fear the obvious connotations to do with his surname; so it could be that neither would be willing to come.

Some people talk about Sam Allardyce – I cannot, at this time, imagine a more divisive choice as far as Reds fans go. Allardyce’s success at Bolton was built upon a very, erm, pragmatic style of football, and with the exception of Kevin Nolan, the team was composed largely of ageing, highly-paid foreign imports; rightly or wrongly, I cannot see the Forest supporters taking that kind of thing to their hearts. Radio Nottingham did also point out that the club described the Sam Allardyce rumours as “rubbish”.

Others mention Alan Curbishley, and I am of the opinion that he did a marvellous job at Charlton – but would our supporters be as forgiving as the Addicks’ if we yo-yoed like they did? I also think that he massively underachieved at West Ham, given the amount of money and number of players he signed, including a whole team’s worth of injured players – even CC hasn’t signed that many crocks! It it also worth noting that at the time of Kevin Keegan’s departure from Newcastle, Curbishley’s name was mentioned, but a BBC correspondent (might have been Mike Ingham) told Radio 5Live that he is still in legal wrangles with West Ham over the terms of severance – so he may not be available for work anyway.

If anyone can think of any other candidates, then please feel free to mention them; however, I think it is far from constructive to shout “CC out” without first thinking of realistic options to replace him.

For what it’s worth, I feel that the problem lies mainly with the players, rather than CC. Of course, he still must bear overall responsibility, but I feel that changing manager now would be a knee-jerk reaction, and fear that if this were to happen, we would only go through the same upheaval again in twelve months’ time, if not before. Also, as we saw under Joe Kinnear and Big Ron, when a short-term manager comes in, discipline on and off the pitch does not seem to matter anymore, player turnover is high, it will damage any semblance of stability and cost lots of money. Finally, and I speak from experience on this last point: if your boss at work changes, it is very unsettling as an employee (and on this one, I don’t think it matters if you earn £16k per week or £16k per year). I can’t help but feel that it would only do more harm than good.

Tags: alan curbishley, colin calderwood, nigel clough, sam allardyce, stuart pearce   Posted in General, Opinion, Rumours

Earning respect

Robert Earnshaw has already mentioned to official sources how happy he feels at the club, which is not unexpected for a new, big-money signing. I stumbled across another interview, broadly concentrating on his first appearance against Swansea (remember, he made his name at Cardiff), but where he states:

My Forest boss has put a lot of confidence into my game over the summer period

It makes for interesting reading, if you have the time.

Aside from this, following the glut of rumours, the NEP and Daily Mail suggest that Lee Martin will sign for Forest today, on a half-season, or season-long loan, depending upon who you believe. While this may be true, there is (at the time of writing) no confirmation on the official site that this has happened.

People leaving comments on the NEP site make a couple of interesting observations: firstly, that it was disappointing to see that, having just signed for the Reds, Paul Anderson stated about how he wanted to be a success – for Liverpool; secondly, let’s hope that Martin does not end up like our last Man United loanee, the frankly awful Michael Stewart. Unfortunately, in the time that it has taken to write this, the NEP have taken down that link, but I still regard these as interesting thoughts.

In the meantime, following the news that an English Forest fan is now plying his trade for Derby and Scotland, NFFCSporty provides my quote of the day:

The only reason Commons has got a connection with Scotland is that he visits McDonalds a lot

Tags: lee martin, Robert Earnshaw   Posted in General, News, Rumours

I heard a rumour – part 347

Two bits of gossip today:

• Lee Martin of Manchester United (presumably not the one who scored the winning goal in the 1990 FA Cup Final); he is apparently a winger, although I am not sure whether he is more at home on the left or the right. Although he hasn’t played a league match for United, he has experience with Royal Antwerp, Rangers, Stoke, Plymouth and (last season) Sheffield United, and is apparently attracting attention from Birmingham City. Presumably CC would look to sign him for at least a few months until Paul Anderson regains his fitness.

• Bruno Berner, a Swiss international, recently of Blackburn Rovers (no, I haven’t heard of him either). A left-back, it seems that Festa, Norwich and West Ham are also interested in him. An international player with experience with some of the better known Swiss clubs (Grasshoppers, FC Basle), if CC is interested, it would be to provide experienced competition for Jules (although maybe this is less urgent following the emergence of young Joe Heath).

Tags: bruno berner, colin calderwood, joe heath, julian bennett, lee martin   Posted in Rumours

One stays, no-one joins (for now)

The good news is that Luke Chambers is staying with Forest, having agreed a new three-year contract. While there are tales of Chambers’ conduct off the pitch (like many rich young men, he apparently likes a jar on a Saturday night), I have been pleased with his contribution on the pitch. He was solid in the end of the play-off season, and despite being a centre-half, made a more than adequate contribution at right-back last season, and scoring a few in the process. One of CC’s proteges at Northampton, I think Luke will be a serious contender for the Forest captaincy in the future, and alongside the usual bland statements about wanting to be part of the club’s future, also said that he has “never been happier in his football career”!

The player not joining is Crystal Palace’s Ben Watson. As usual, Forest never made any official comment on their interest in the player, although the NEP report that his wage demands provided the main stumbling block. These Lahndaners, eh?

A player constantly being linked with Forest is Nottingham lad (and friend of the Forest “Meadows Mafia”) Leon Best, but he is injured now, which I suppose means he will fit in perfectly with Messrs Cole, Garner, Tyson et al…

Tags: ben watson, leon best, luke chambers, new contract   Posted in General, News, Rumours