Posted March 6th, 2010
by Rahoul Baruah
A six-pointer against the team in fourth place. Lose and their game in hand puts them in pole position. Win and we gain some breathing space.
However, Billy was forced into some changes today;
Campo
Gunter Morgan Chambers Cohen
Anderson McKenna Moussi Boyd
Majewski
Blackstock
Wilson and Earnshaw had both injured themselves in training yesterday, meaning we essentially ended up playing our away side at home. New boy Georgie Boyd slotted in on the left wing, finally allowing left-footer Chris Cohen to take the left-back slot. But disaster struck early as McKenna sustained a serious injury, only to be replaced by Lewis McGugan who had a point to prove.
And if you’re travelling to Preston next Saturday, you can book yourself a coach; and if you’re making a night of it you can find yourself a hotel (or travel to Bristol in April).
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Tags: chris cohen, chris gunter, dexter blackstock, george boyd, Guy Moussi, Lee Camp, lews mcgugan, luke chambers, Paul Anderson, paul mckenna, radoslaw majewski, wes morgan Posted in Match Reports, Podcasts
Posted October 1st, 2009
by Rish
I am once again joined by the Maradona of the Midlands for a discussion on the joys of three points, two goals and another clean sheet. I also give him the chance to atone for his post-Hillsborough Man of the Match controversy (my choice would have been Goldie even though he only played the second half) … make up your own mind!
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Tags: billy davies, david mcgoldrick, dexter blackstock, joe murphy, Lee Camp, luke chambers, nottingham forest, Paul Anderson, scunthorpe united Posted in Podcasts
Posted October 1st, 2009
by Rish
Billy Davies made two changes to the line-up, with the injured Adebola and Wilson replaced by Anderson and Chambers respectively:
Camp
Gunter Morgan Chambers Cohen
McKenna (c) Majewski
Anderson Garner Tyson
Blackstock
Subs: McGoldrick for Garner, Moooosssse for Madge, Lynch for Tyson. Not used: Smith, McGugan, Earnshaw, Adebola.
It was great to not only get a win, but a relatively comfortable scoreline with a clean sheet and a bit of daylight between us and the opposition. While Forest were worthy winners, with a strong performance and lots of chances created, occasional heebee-jeebees at the back meant that 4-1 might have been a more appropriate scoreline.
Forest attacked from the off, and Messrs Majewski and Cohen have clearly been working on their delivery from set-pieces, as there were three “oooh” moments in the first couple of minutes, all from corners. However, the best chances fell to Chambers (excellent save from Murphy, followed by a goalmouth scramble where somehow the ball stayed out of the net), Ando (cracking header inches wide into the side netting – a proper training ground routine from Majewski’s corner), and Garner (snatched at his mid-range shot just like he did at Plymouth on Sunday). In other news, Scunny keeper Murphy was booked for handling outside the area, but was lucky that the ref did not penalise him for dissent as well (throwing the ball down like a stroppy teenager, then refusing to come when called, like, erm, a stroppy teenage).
0-0 at half-time was OK, but seemed familiar. I was rather disturbed to see the players brought out for a warm-up, much like you would see before the match. I had disturbing visions of a Phil Brown half-time team talk, when I texted the absent Rahoul with this news, he remarked that he preferred the vision of Big Neville Southall having a good old sulk!
Goldie was introduced for the disappointing Garner at the break, but I guess the most disappointed would be Joseph himself, as he has now played everywhere across the front line, except for centre-forward, which I thought was his position (and he probably does too). However, the substitution was a masterstroke, as Goldie was here, there and every-bloomin’-where, and making incisive passes and movements in a way that Garner just hadn’t been able to. I guess this is why we have competition for places!
The ability of Wollaton’s finest to play little throughballs from the “hole” behind the centre-forward meant that the other front men were really able to break through the Scunny defence. Tys in particular burst through a couple of times, but displayed his irritating tendency to have a leaden-footed second touch, on one occasion allowing the keeper to smother, and on another pushing him wide enough that he could only shoot past the angle. Another Goldie throughball led to a collision between Dex and Murphy, which eventually saw the painfully slow withdrawal of the Scunny custodian, but not before he made a fine, point-blank, reflex save from Gunter who must have wondered how it didn’t go in.
So far, so much like all the other games where we create chances but don’t score any. However, a sustained period of pressure from the Reds finally paid off, when a succession of crosses into the box from open play and corners led to Chris Cohen’s fine delivery being decisively headed home by Luke Chambers. Relief. Only a few minutes after that, Ando took a really heavy touch when clean through, it looked as though the chance had gone, but it gave some of the others a chance to catch up with Mr Speedy Gonzales; when he got the ball back he played a cracking cross, hard and low into the box and Dex poked home from all of a yard out. Great.
Billy then pretty much shut up shop, including putting only four men into the box for a corner, and Kenzie heading to the corner flag with about five minutes left(!). Campo picked up a stupid booking for dissent (not giving the ball back when he conceded a throw-in). Mooooossssse and Lynch were introduced as subs and there was a hairy moment when Jonathan Forte (who had given Wes a decent game) bundled through before getting in a shot which Campo got a touch to; in slow motion, it looked for all the world as though Scunny had pulled one back but the ball bounced back off the post and Campo gathered it in his arms.
In the end, a very good result against a relatively high-flying team, and Billy and the players and fans were pleased as punch. Post-match, the wee man alluded to the moaning minnies in the crowd, and Mattyboy has left an interesting comment on NFFCBlog about the, erm, “interaction” between crowd and manager. Actually, although it was a bit quiet, I thought the Forest fans were generally very positive (or at least they were in my part of the Trent End), and I think that this will only get better if results continue to reflect the performances.
Tags: billy davies, chris cohen, david mcgoldrick, dexter blackstock, joe murphy, luke chambers, nottingham forest, scunthorpe united Posted in Match Reports
Posted September 19th, 2009
by Rahoul Baruah
Hard to beat. That’s us.
Apart from on today’s showing.
Earnie got his wish and made the starting line-up – with recalls for Tyson and the Moose.
So Billy selected:
Campo,
Gunter, Morgan, Chambers, Lynch,
McKenna (c), Moussi,
Cohen, McGoldrick, Tyson,
Earnshaw
To be honest, it didn’t really work. Although we did make chance after chance after chance.
And, finally, as we were leaving, one of the TVs in the Trent End was smouldering – resulting in the fire brigade being called out. Which was nice.
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Tags: blackpool, chris cohen, chris gunter, david mcgoldrick, Guy Moussi, joel lynch, Lee Camp, luke chambers, nathan tyson, nottingham forest, paul mckenna, rob earnshaw, wes morgan Posted in Match Reports, Podcasts
Posted August 29th, 2009
by Rahoul Baruah
Good grief. What a game.
Firstly, sorry – no tweets during the game as O2 decided to fail big-style. But even if I had a signal, I doubt I would have had time to report much as it was pretty action packed.
Sport Billy picked a side packed with forwards (unsurprisingly), lining up as follows:
Campo,
Gunter and Cohen at full-back,
Morgan and Chambers at centre-half,
McKenna and Majewski in the middle,
McGoldrick, Garner and Tyson playing just behind Dexter Blackstock up-front.
A truly fantastic first half strike by Madge put us ahead within two minutes and we were three up by half time. A fightback by the Sheep had us nervy and worried throughout the second but Billy’s antics gave the team enough “fight” to hold on for three points. And then Nathan Tyson sparks a near riot after the final whistle (we <3 you Tys) prompting an FA investigation.
If you weren't there, what were you doing? This was unmissable!
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UPDATE (Sunday 30th August 19:30): from the reports I've been reading (from people who weren't at the other end of the pitch) and having seen this video of the incident, I’m now of the opinion that Tys was trying to run between A Block and Victor’s Veranda. This was somewhat foolish as he did run in front of the Derby fans, but I don’t think he was trying to go anywhere near them (he is clearly the right side of the six yard line). However, he was then pushed by the Derby player, which is what kicked the whole incident off. If the Derby player hadn’t reacted this would have been little different to Savage’s celebration last year (which didn’t bother me – surely players are allowed to celebrate a local derby victory).
Reports of Savage inciting our crowd before the game seem to be balls and griping on our part; at least from the videos I’ve seen.
The ever-excellent NFFCBlog has an alternative video of the incident here.
Tags: billy davies, chris cohen, chris gunter, david mcgoldrick, derby county, dexter blackstock, joe garner, Lee Camp, luke chambers, nathan tyson, nottingham forest, paul mckenna, radoslaw majewski, wes morgan Posted in Match Reports, Podcasts
Posted July 15th, 2009
by Rahoul Baruah
Dexter Blackstock is happy to remain at QPR.
However, it looks like Sport Billy is leaving the strikers and concentrating on the rest of the team.
At the back he’s tabled a “cheeky” bid for Danny Fox (that article really rates our chances this season) and an even cheekier one for Danny Hone. Staying at the back, Davies looks like he may want Luke Chambers to be captain, at least every now and then. Despite his sometimes torrid performances under Calderwood, I don’t have a problem with this – Chambers never was and never will be a right-back, but in the middle, I think he has enough about him to be a decent (if quiet) captain.
And in midfield, it looks like Gary McSheffrey may be on his way out of Birmingham – although is it to us? Billy admits that the Pole, Radoslaw Majewski is on his shopping list, whilst also making another bid for Paul McKenna.
Finally, a quiet revolution is taking place a few miles up the M1. I’ve met Lee Strafford a couple of times (long before he became Wednesday’s chairman) and he’s a really smart, passionate guy who understands how to get things done and more importantly, how to bring people with him. Football needs more people like him.
Tags: danny fox, danny hone, dexter blackstock, gary mcsheffrey, lee strafford, luke chambers, nottingham forest, radoslaw majewski Posted in News
Posted April 19th, 2009
by Rahoul Baruah
Billy chooses what, on paper, looks like a 4-4-2 but actually turns into a 4-5-1 for this “must-win” home game.
Smith in goal, with a back-four of Gunther, Morgan, Chambers and Perchio. In midfield, Anderson, McGugan, Cohen, Osbourne and Garner and Dexter Blackstock leading the line.
We forgot to mention it during the actual podcast, but we give the man of the match award to Luke Chambers. It was pretty close run, between McCleary, Blackstock, Chambers and maybe Cohen – but given the torrid season Chambers has had, this game (where he played in his favoured position for the first time) showed what a decent player he can be.
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Tags: chris cohen, chris gunther, coventry city, dexter blackstock, isiah osbourne, james perchio, joe garner, lewis mcgugan, luke chambers, nottingham forest, Paul Anderson, paul smith, wes morgan Posted in Match Reports, Podcasts
Posted March 20th, 2009
by Rish
It seems as though a lot has happened since Forest had a good week with victories against Reading and Preston and a creditable draw against diving Swansea. Needless to say, we need as many points as we can get, but with the back line and keeper looking more and more jittery every week, and the fatboy drunkards (allegedly) still populating our team, confidence is pretty low.
Assuming that we still have a dearth of fit centre-backs, I don’t see why Perchio or Moloney cannot play right-back and Chambers at centre-half. Lewis may be a tubby p*sshead (again, allegedly), but he is our most creative player and, like it or loathe it, we could do with his spark in the middle of the park.
I spoke to Wolves fan Matt Langham about this weekend’s match:
1865: So, how’s your season going?
M: It goes without saying that anyone would want to be in our position but, remarkably, there’s still an element of disaffection among the Wolves fans, with some feeling that Mick is intransigent in terms of team selection and only picks his “favourites”, and others that we should have the title sewn up by now. Most fans are level headed though; they realise that the run-in is going to be a nervous affair and are increasingly showing signs of unconditional support for the team.
1865: Who is the Wolves danger man?
M: Some of our most effective players have lost form since Christmas – before Saturday Chris Iwelumo hadn’t found the net in 17 games, Michael Kightly has been underperforming by his high standards of late, Matt Jarvis has struggled due to a niggling injury. One player who has been consistently excellent is Sylvan Ebanks-Blake – he’s quick, strong, good under pressure, committed and scores different types of goals.
1865: Who would win in a fight: Mick McCarthy or Billy Davies?
M: Mick every time! I think both would and have struggled with the exacting demands of the Premiership though.
1865: Will Wolves go up? As champions?
M: Well we finally capitalised on Reading dropping points last weekend which will give our players a morale boost and now you’d have to think that the 10 point gap is too much for them to make up. I’m honestly not bothered about winning the League as long as we make it, though having topped the table for so long it would be nice!
1865: Do you think that Forest will get relegated?
M: I really hope not, but think it’s going to be tight. Charlton are gone, but everyone up to Doncaster in 14th have cause to be looking over their shoulders. Another good run should see you safe and hopefully we’ll do our bit by beating Barnsley and Southampton for you!
1865: Finally, what’s your score prediction for Saturday?
M: I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion by any means. Forest will be smarting after their thumping at Burnley and many of their players will also have a point to prove following the outcome of the reverse fixture in August. Still, I think a scrappy 1-0 win to Wolves with Ebanks-Blake on the scoresheet.
I personally find it hard to see anything other than a comfortable win for the men in Gold and Black, so let’s hope that Billy and the boys can surprise everyone (a la Reading) this weekend. Thanks to Matt for taking the time to speak to us and good luck to Wolves after Saturday!
Tags: james perch, lewis mcgugan, luke chambers, michael kightly, nottingham forest, sylvan ebanks-blake, wolverhampton wanderers Posted in General
Posted March 18th, 2009
by Rish
It looks as though Through the Seasons Before Us has got something of an exclusive, as a reader reports that several Forest players were out on the lash in a less than subtle way:
Adam Says:
You guys are p*ssed off?? Imagine being out in Nottingham last night at BZR, seeing half the forest squad P*s*ed out their tree being arogant and ignorant despite 5 – 0 at Burnly only days before. To be told in their by players that they don’t give a sh*t about the club or BD. They were an embarasment and should all be sacked!
In a later comment, Adam says that the players involved were Ian Breckin, Wes Morgan, James Perch, Robbie Earnshaw, Lewis McGugan, Luke Chambers (couldn’t have guessed that), Julian Bennett and possibly Guy Moussi, joined by a sober Leon Best who was discouraging the players from misbehaving.
Now obviously, we only have one side of the story so far, but Adam’s suggestion that the players said that they don’t care would be hard to refute. I wonder if Perchio was one of them, after his interview at the weekend?
If you look at it from a different perspective, a bunch of friends who are in their 20s and 30s who don’t have to work very much and go out to get drunk together is not that surprising. However, even as someone who tries to find balance in every story, I do think that they are foolish to go out on the town and be seen “enjoying” themselves in the wake of a disastrous week and a half (funny how these stories always emerge after a heavy defeat – I seem to remember the same happening after the 5-0 at Oldham). Sometimes, you would be better off keeping a low profile (especially in light of the manager’s “lifestyle” comments)…
Tags: Guy Moussi, ian breckin, james perch, julian bennett, leon best, lewis mcgugan, luke chambers, Robert Earnshaw, wes morgan Posted in General
Posted March 18th, 2009
by Rish
NFFCBlog has, in his usual eloquent way, spoken of the malaise and negativity that goes with being a Forest supporter; just after things started looking up, they are now looking right back down, through the trapdoor into League One. Although we have now dropped back into the relegation zone, I remain confident that we are not one of the worst three teams in the division, and that this will be proven come the end of the season. I will confess, however, that I am erring more towards hope than expectation these days.
I was lucky enough to not be at Turf Moor (not that I would ever go back there having visited a few years ago, watched an unjust defeat and got bullied by both aggressive Burnley fans and the Lancashire Constabulary), nor was I within radio range. Every time I checked the score, I got more and more annoyed. Not just because we were getting thumped, not just because the post-match reports said that the performance was thoroughly inept, and not just because of Billy Davies’ decision to have a highly inappropriate (in my humble opinion) public rant pointing the finger at individuals. It is because, as Rahoul as commented a number of times, because we seem to have gone backwards; at least under Calderwood you could see the effort and the style of football was pleasing (if largely ineffective). Now the players have the fear and Davies doesn’t seem to recognise that Forest only score when they stroke it about a bit (you know, the way that a certain dearly departed ex-manager used to say that football should be played).
In my job, I work with a number of staff who are about the same age as many of the Forest players (19-23ish). If you use a stick to beat them with, they lose interest and become stubborn, because it is human nature at that age. If I were to publicly criticise them, then some of them would walk away and not come back. I would speculate that if you take that kind of attitude with a well-paid and apparently big-headed young footballer, the response would be to sulk, rather than knuckle down in training (and it also knocks a zero off from Lewis’ transfer value). Although Paul Smith is a “grown-up”, he is clearly lacking in confidence, partly in my opinion due to the City Ground crowd knocking his every mistake but not giving him credit for the parts of his game that have improved – ironic cheers every time he catches a cross won’t help; yet Billy bawling him out in public won’t do anything to improve his confidence. We saw Smudge look big and strong and yelling at his defence when he came back in following some healthy competition from Campo, and he is a shadow of that man at the moment…
I don’t think Billy Davies likes working with young players; in his time here, it seems as though he has only played the likes of Moloney, Heath, McCleary and Garner if it is the only option left to him, and while one could argue that none of them are ready for regular first team action, the two young full-backs have proven to be largely capable and frequently better than their senior counterparts. To be fair, Chris Cohen, Paul Anderson and Lewis have all enjoyed spells in the team (although if Billy’s rant is to be believed, he doesn’t actually want to play Lewis at all).
Referring back to Rahoul’s point about Andy Reid and Keith Foy, I am going to repeat a comment that I made – as I understood it at the time, Paul Hart sacked Foy in order to protect the career of his drinking buddy. If you read the messageboards (and indeed interviews with the players), it seems apparent that Lewis and Luke Chambers are partners in crime and drinking buddies; yet Luke Chambers continues to play, out of position and out of his depth at right-back, while Perchio plays anywhere but right-back and young Brendan kicks his heels in the reserves. Until Lynch is fit again, I imagine that young Chris Gunter will continue on the left, and yet it has been obvious all season that Chambers cannot play at right-back!!! Could Billy will think laterally and drop Chambers for Lewis’ benefit?
Just as many questioned Colin Calderwood’s tactical nous, so I question Davies’; Colin had finally unlocked the secret of pretty football that created lots of chances (although the vast majority were spannered off target and we have been leaky at the back). Under Davies, the good football has largely disappeared, as has the team spirit that was evident early on, but crucially, the results are not improving, and our league position now is worse than when Davies took over as boss.
This is not a defence of Calderwood (although heaven knows I played Devil’s Advocate to defend him at the time), but merely a statement of my concerns that Forest have not progressed under Billy Davies. Of course some of this is clearly down to the perennial lack of activity in the January transfer window, and some of it is down to inheriting a thin squad; but both Derby and Preston fans warned us that when things go well, it is down to Billy Davies, but when things go wrong, it is everyone else’s fault.
Oh, and by the way, to everyone ringing up the idiotic Radio Nottingham matchline, we cannot sign Lee Camp on loan anymore – he has done his 93 days for this season – the only way we would have got him was on a permanent deal in the transfer window, and QPR were clearly not keen to release their only fit keeper (at the time) from a long contract. Slightly tangential, but a point that I wanted to make – if we want another keeper we will have to look elsewhere…
Tags: billy davies, brendan moloney, chris gunter, colin calderwood, Lee Camp, lewis mcugan, luke chambers, nottingham forest, radio nottingham Posted in Opinion
