Posted February 7th, 2010
by Rahoul Baruah
After last week’s setback (and its subsequent fallout), we finally get back in action in front of nearly 4000 Wednesday fans.
A couple of changes see us line up in a 4-4-2:
Campo
Gunter, Morgan, Wilson, Perchio
Cohen, McKenna, Moooooooooose, Tyson
Blackstock, Earnshaw
This saw Tyson replace Anderson on the left (probably giving Ando a rest) and Moooooose replacing Majewski in the middle – a controversy that Billy brought to everyone’s attention in the post-match interview. As you’ll hear, we have our own feelings on this; Billy and the club are both playing a dangerous game.
As for the game itself, it was pretty poor from us, Wednesday looked well-drilled and organised, but the match really belonged to the officials who were as poor as anything I’ve seen in a long while.
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Tags: billy davies, chris cohen, chris gunter, dexter blackstock, Guy Moussi, james perch, kelvin wilson, Lee Camp, nathan tyson, nottingham forest, paul mckenna, rob earnshaw, sheffield wednesday, wes morgan Posted in Match Reports, Podcasts
Posted December 28th, 2009
by Rahoul Baruah
Another game undefeated for Billy’s men.
Five changes from the draw at Watford saw us line up, initially as a 4-4-2, but later as a 4-3-3 (Cohen moving to left midfield and Tyson joining Dex and Earnie up front).
Campo,
Gunter, Morgan, Wilson, Shorey,
Cohen, McKenna, Majewski, Tyson,
Earnshaw, Blackstock
Coventry set out to make life difficult for us and it worked – for most of the game, things were pretty dour. But two fantastic goals, pretty much out of nothing sealed yet another victory for us.
Points to note: both Earnie and Dexter were outstanding, Raddy got his own chant as he was substituted and McCleary, Lewis and Dele terrified the knackered Coventry players when they came on at the end. But it was the defence winning the plaudits today, with both Morgan and Wilson truly outstanding.
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Tags: chris cohen, chris gunter, coventry city, dele adebola, dexter blackstock, garath mccleary, kelvin wilson, Lee Camp, lewis mcgugan, nathan tyson, nicky shorey, nottingham forest, paul mckenna, radoslaw majewski, rob earnshaw, wes morgan Posted in Match Reports, Podcasts
Posted November 20th, 2009
by Rish
Reports suggest that one of our crocked strikers, Dexter Blackstock, could make a return in tomorrow’s match at Middlesbrough, but also that Nathan Tyson will remain on the sidelines for a few weeks yet. Chris Gunter missed Wales’ match last week but should be fit to resume tomorrow.
For all you stats fans, Forest are now the only team in all four divisions with an unbeaten away record (and will hope that the horrible new blue away kit will not jinx that record). Lee Camp will hope to continue a remarkable record of no away defeats in fifteen matches for the Reds, including his loan spell last season.
Finally, the Daily Mirror continue their campaign to wind up Reds fans. Have a look at the link, talking about Wee Billy Davies being linked to the Scotchland job, and see what you think.
Tags: billy davies, chris gunter, dexter blackstock, Lee Camp, nathan tyson, nottingham forest Posted in News
Posted October 18th, 2009
by Rahoul Baruah
Sorry folks – the late kick off meant that we didn’t get chance to record a podcast after the game yesterday. So you’ll have to make do with a traditional match report.
On the way to the ground, Radio Nottingham announced the line up as a 4-5-1: Campo in goal, Gunter and Cohen at full back with Wes and Wilson in the middle. All the Ms in a midfield trio of Majewski, McKenna and Moussi, with Tyson and Anderson out wide and Dex as the lone striker. My immediate thought on hearing this was that it was one of those 4-5-1/4-3-3 things that never seems to work and Billy had his heart set on a point.
Luckily, I was wrong. It was much more of a 4-4-1-1, with Madge playing just behind Dex. And, for the first twenty minutes or so it really really worked. My brother commented that Madge could win this game for us single-handedly and this “in the hole” position suited him. We were making all the running and forcing saves from Harper.
But as the half went on, Newcastle became stronger. In particular, Smith (who was outstanding) and Nolan took control of the midfield and Carroll started to get the better of Morgan and Wilson with his niggly fouls and constant complaints to the referee. In fact, by about thirty minutes in I was looking to the bench. We were getting very little out wide and the two Newcastle players had the centre of the pitch sown up. But despite that, the chances were falling to us, which made me even more worried – was it to be another of “those days”? (Especially as Marlon was playing against us – old club syndrome and all).
Well, no. A nice bit of passing play resulted in a defence splitting pass for Dex to run onto. He took it around the keeper and shot agonisingly slowly into the back of their net. One nil up, just before half time. Newcastle looked angry and had us on the back-foot for the remaining couple of minutes before the whistle.
The second half started and Newcastle continued where they left off. Smith and Nolan bossed the midfield and their physical, niggly play took us out of the game. The game was really narrow – Tyson and Ando were switching flanks regularly but neither could really get in to the game – and when it went through the centre, Newcastle just snuffed out any of our threats.
By now, Madge had faded out of the game and was replaced by McGoldrick, who was outstanding. Not only did he support Dex but he was also involved in several amazing tackles in the centre of the park, snuffing out Newcastle attacks before they reached the back four.
The Geordies made a change, bringing on Gutierrez – this changed things slightly as now they had an outlet on the wings. And actually it probably worked in our favour as the centre became less congested. However, it has to be said that if they had anyone who could finish (sorry Marlon), they would have been three up in the second half. As it was, the corner flags and Row Z were in the most danger from their shots. But eventually they did get the ball in the back of the net – although the linesman ruled it out for offside. I, personally, thought it was good; the replay on the TV that night showed the official was correct.
Ando got clattered and was replaced by Lewis and I was fully expecting to see Dele Adebola replacing the now-knackered Blackstock. In fact Dele stripped off and was stood by the fourth official when Newcastle took Marlon off, replacing him with Ranger. Marlon left the field to a standing ovation from about half the Forest fans (which I was very pleased to see, as I still love him as a player) and the Forest coaching staff immediately called Adebola back to the bench. A few minutes later, McKenna was replaced by Garner, who promptly got his customary booking. I thought this was really interesting – Adebola was the obvious substitution – play it long and he can hold it up – very useful when you’ve been under the cosh for forty five minutes. But bringing Garner on instead suggested we wanted to play it and control the game more.
And that was probably that. Newcastle could feel aggrieved to come away with nothing, especially after their second half performance. But their finishing was woeful and their physical play was annoying (and very un-Calderwood).
For us, I think there were a few negatives. McKenna and Madge faded very quickly, suggesting a lack of fitness. Tyson wasn’t really in the game today (at one point he tried to take Enrique for pace and Enrique just strolled past him) and Camp looked very short of confidence (especially after the ref gave him a talking to following an incident with Carroll).
But the positives outweigh the negatives. Firstly, we beat the best side I’ve seen this season. Smith, Nolan, Enrique and Khizanishvili were the four best players on the pitch (Smith the best by far) yet we still took the three points. Despite extreme provocation from Carroll, Wes and Wilson dealt with their strike-force. Cohen proved why he is now first choice left-back with some excellent positional and passing play. The Mousse was outstanding, covering the entire pitch and rarely misplacing the ball when he had it. Ando worked really hard for little reward and David McGoldrick was a revelation. And Dexter, what can you say about our top-scorer? He just quietly goes about his business, with no fuss, getting the odd goal and working really hard for the team. What a man.
But the absolute best thing about yesterday was us. When Billy Davies had yet another rant about the negativity at the City Ground I just wanted him to shut up. But fair play to the man – when he speaks, even if it sounds like bollocks, it’s always for a reason, always designed to plant a seed. And today, even when we were struggling, the fans never turned on the players, barely even let their nerves filter through to the pitch. And it showed at the final whistle as the players, once again, made a point of thanking us for their support. So, it has to be said, that this was my best game of the season so far and truly Billy Davies’ victory.
Tags: chris cohen, chris gunter, david mcgoldrick, dexter blackstock, Guy Moussi, joe garner, kelvin wilson, Lee Camp, lewis mcgugan, marlon harewood, nathan tyson, newcastle united, nottingham forest, Paul Anderson, paul mckenna, radoslaw majewski, wes morgan Posted in Match Reports, News
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 September 17th, 2009
by Rahoul Baruah
Roy Keane is impressed with us and thinks we’re a decent team.
The “outrageous goal celebration” debate rolls on. Personally, I feel Adebayor has a better defence than Tys, with regards to the celebration – his provocation was during the game itself. Unfortunately, that will be ignored because of the stamp. And because a lot of people in and around the game would prefer it if players were replaced by robots.
We look set to gain a winger – Marc Albrighton is apparently on his way from Villa on a month’s loan.
UPDATE: Check out the comments on “Through the seasons before us” about Albrighton – if he’s half as good as they claim we’re in for a treat!
But as one winger joins a former winger leaves. Forest favourite, Darren Huckerby, is forced out of the game by injury.
Tags: darren huckerby, emmanuel adebayor, marc albrighton, nathan tyson, roy keane Posted in News
Posted September 16th, 2009
by Rahoul Baruah
I couldn’t face listening to the game on the (much-improved) Forest Player, so here’s a quick roundup of reaction to last night’s draw – a game played without Nathan Tyson or Radoslaw Majewski.
The best place to find out about the Ipswich match is the ever-excellent Through the Seasons Before Us – who also kept up a full Twitter commentary during the game.
The Mail singles out Rob Earnshaw for praise and concentrates on the pressure laid on the shoulders of Roy Keane, who has now matched Bobby Robson in going eight games without a win.
Earnshaw himself wants to start – and given the type of player he is, I completely agree that he could do with a decent run in the side. I’m not so sure Billy thinks the same way though.
Davies does, however, think that we are becoming hard to beat – which is the pre-requisite for playing decent football later in the season. And on this count I totally agree – stop conceding, then worry about the pretty stuff, is the way to build a side.
Tags: billy davies, bobby robson, ipswich town, nathan tyson, nffcblog, radoslaw majewski, rob earnshaw, roy keane Posted in General
Posted September 1st, 2009
by Rish
Thanks to NFFCblog for drawing my attention to the Billy Davies interview on Radio 5live last night. As with all iPlayer content, I would imagine it will be live for a week or so.
Billy states the Forest case, and does it in a calm and factual manner, which was welcome in light of the pasting that the national meeja (the BBC included) have given Tys and the Reds over the last couple of days. In fact he implores the FA to look at the facts, and watch the videos available not just from this match but from the previous encounter (apparently there are many available on Youtube to back up Tys’ case). Billy also not unreasonably states that it “is the intervention of coaching staff and players that caused the flashpoint”, while praising both sets of fans.
You can also read Billy’s opinion in The Guardian, although as we have come to expect the headline is lurid and suggests that the manager is trying to defend Tys for war crimes or something.
In the meantime, the Derby Evening Telegraph has attempted to justify the fighting that was instigated by the Rams’ players and fans, with factual inaccuracy (as pointed out in the many comments made by Reds’ fans).
Finally, it is very rare that I publicly encourage others to do naughty things, but if you go to their home page, you can vote for a certain Kris Commons as Derby’s man of the match on Saturday – go and do it. Now!! 
Update (1/9/09, 11.45am):
I have just come across this article from When Saturday Comes which is the first non-Forest site to actually look at things in a fair manner. Well worth a read.
Tags: billy davies, dean leacock, derby county, gary teale, kris commons, mark clemmitt, nathan tyson, nottingham forest, radio 5live, robbie savage Posted in General, News
Posted August 31st, 2009
by Rish
I am happy to admit that I got a couple of things wrong in the podcast: despite it being decidedly foolish of Garath McCleary to pile in on Robbie Savage, the ref did the right thing by producing a yellow card (the TV footage showed Savage falling down rather more easily than you might expect from someone of his height and build, and I am sure that the official took that into account). Amusingly, on the TV, it showed Tys doing his bit to wind up the Afghan Hound, who squared up to him then bottled it, leaving the Forest man laughing out loud! On the subject of Tys, despite it being foolish of him to hold the flag aloft in front of the Derby fans, I was wrong about Dean Leacock, who clearly went to Tys looking for a fight, rather than to try and alleviate the situation.
To concentrate upon the match, well done to the Reds who played really quite badly for most of the second half but Derby still barely managed a shot on goal; occasional commenter The Maradona of the Midlands pointed out to me that their first goal had nothing to do with Miles Addison’s attempt at an overhead kick, as Chrissy Cohen tried to head it out for a corner, except it hit Wes and dribbled in. Livermore was credited with their second goal, but it was clear to me that McKenna’s foot made the crucial intervention. As Rahoul mentioned in the podcast, MOTM goes to Billy Davies for stirring the fans up to get us over the finish line (Campo did his bit too).
Then there was what happened afterwards…
Just like Rahoul, having seen some more evidence and witness testimony from the Reds’ fans, it seems as though Tys was doing a lap of honour, starting at C Block. It was foolish to go in front of the Derby fans but he was not “waving” the flag as some meeja outlets have suggested, and he was beyond the six-yard line, so it is not as though he was just inches away from the Rams’ support.
The pictorial evidence suggests that although the Derby fans were not happy, there wasn’t too much danger of there being any violence. If it hadn’t been for Dean Leacock’s intervention, then Tys would have made it to Victor’s Veranda within a few seconds and been on his way. Instead, Leacock and Teale pushed Tys towards the Derby fans, which meant that the stewards and police had to intervene to prevent fans and playing staff mingling; to Robbie Savage, this action by your own team mates is what would have caused a riot, and I didn’t see you breaking it up.
In fact, not content with that, Savage then proves his hypocrisy and (dare I say it) stupidity:
People might think I have got a big mouth … but I know what is right and wrong. What happened at the end is nothing short of a disgrace. The kid [Tyson] has never even played in the Premier League and he is giving it all that.
Firstly, Robbie, what difference does it make where Tys has played? I don’t remember Premier League status being a prerequisite for celebrating a victory over your team’s local rivals (especially when you have scored the winning goal). Secondly, I seem to remember reports of a certain R Savage inciting the A Block with his scarf waving (in fact, a certain Kristian Commons joined in too, but that wasn’t provocation, was it?); so, Robbie, was that right or was it wrong?
Derby’s Chief Executive has also joined in:
… There were no complaints made by Nottingham Forest about the conduct of any of our players or officials last season, so we find it puzzling that issues regarding those fixtures are being aired now in relation to the events of this weekend.
Well, Mr Glick, as Billy Davies clearly stated immediately after the match:
I remember the last time Derby were here and Robbie Savage was waving a Derby scarf around. There was very little made of that and we hope it will be the same for this. We never complained about it or made a fuss because we understood that Derby should enjoy the victory they had here.
Does that answer your question? We didn’t like it but never made a big fuss about it, our players and fans did not react to the provocation, unlike your players and coaches (and let’s not forget that your coach had already been sent off) who waded in and started a big fight. I would also reasonably point out that it wasn’t particularly clever for Savage to point at his Derby badge and make gestures towards the BC Stand and Trent End after the incident with the G-Man (and others have suggested that he was making gestures during the wam-up). In the meantime, Billy has rather sensibly decided to call for clarity on what is and isn’t acceptable.
Since I started writing this post, I thought I would take another look at the BBC highlights and although the actual match coverage doesn’t give much away, Steve Claridge’s awful, imbalanced and uninformed analysis not only suggests that Tys is doing some kind of corner flag pole dance wearing NFFC underwear in front of the Derby fans, but the pictorial evidence shows that he was not waving the flag, and was barely even glancing at the away end. Some of their other footage clearly shows the Derby players pushing the Reds’ men towards the away end, and also clearly shows Bywater and a mystery Derby player (don’t know who as he was wearing a training top) throwing punches at Dex, who did well not to fight back apart from deflecting the blows.
Just to conclude, it is clear in my mind that there would be little made of this if it wasn’t for the obviously organised violence by “fans” at Upton Park earlier this week – this had NOTHING to do with that sort of disgraceful behaviour. Our blogging colleague nffcblog has come up with his message to the FA on this matter, and is also encouraging Reds’ fans to write to the FA (although I have tried it and they don’t make it easy). In the meantime, I think we should also take a minute to praise the Derby fans, and this well-balanced post accepts the role of possible provocation from both Savage and a handful of Derby fans (I didn’t hear any of the chants to which he refers).
As far as I am concerned, Tys was silly, the Derby players overreacted, but it was a storm in a teacup. Let’s forget it and move on.
Tags: billy davies, dean leacock, gary teale, nathan tyson, nigel clough, nottingham forest, paul mckenna, robbie savage Posted in Match Reports, Opinion
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
