Posted November 28th, 2008
by Rish
No manager will come out and say that he expects to be sacked, so (as with Casual Kelv) Colin Calderwood’s comments are no surprise.
To me, the main thing that has been proven this week is that people are quick to resort to hyperbole. The reaction from professional journos is entirely predictable, and can be justified by their need to sell papers (or get hits on their website or whatever). Some of the Forest blogging community are similarly provocative in their headlines, presumably in an attempt to increase their hit rate, either for personal pride or to try and get people to click on their ads (and I will admit to choosing my headlines carefully, if not “provocatively”). But look at the forums (fora?) and messageboards, and you will see people who have no such interests using very strong words, and (unforgivably in my view) often presenting opinion as fact.
Many blogs and messageboards have been outspoken, and people have a right to their opinion. However, whether you think he should stay or go, the club are in a much stronger position now than they were two and a half years ago, and Calderwood appears to have the confidence of both the dressing room and the boardroom. My opinion is that these are good enough reasons for the manager to retain his job, at least until the end of the season - if we go down, then I would expect the situation to be reviewed (as relegation would be a disaster not just on, but probably off the pitch as well).
Naturally, the chairman and hapless CEO are both under-fire as well. “Back him or sack him!” people cry. I think this illustrates the fact that, sometimes you just cannot win. If the chairman came out in support of his manager, people would only harp on about the “dreaded vote of confidence” and use that as a stick with which to beat manager, chairman and CEO.
Anyway, onto the match. Barnsley will still be missing Iain Hume who had a scare this week in his recovery from a fractured skull - I wish him all the best for a full recovery. For Forest, I am glad to see that Brendan Moloney (recalled early from his spell with Rushden & Diamonds), Matt Thornhill, Ian Breckin and Rob Earnshaw are in the squad. I can sense changes to the starting line-up, with these lads having a good chance of getting in the team.
We will be back with a podcast tomorrow - it feels like a lot has happened since the Birmingham match…
Tags: brendan moloney, colin calderwood, iain hume, ian breckin, mark arthur, nigel doughty, nottingham forest, rob earnshaw Posted in General, Opinion
Posted November 24th, 2008
by Rish
So there is once again talk of a protest at the next home match, although once again the jury is out as to whether anything will actually happen, and exactly what people would be protesting about. In this writer’s opinion, it would achieve precisely nothing, other than to give ammunition for Leicester and Derby fans, and several of the national newspapers, to have a chuckle at the expense of this once great club (author’s note: please remember that this was a long time ago, and unlikely to be repeated in the modern game).
In the space of 45 minutes, Colin Calderwood has gone from being on the crest of a wave (that is, some fans were actually not baiting him all the time), to being flushed down the toilet. Of course I think that he is responsible, but not because of tactical ineptitude; the main problem is that, with the exception of Rob Earnshaw, he failed to get some experienced players in. We could really do with a couple of big ugly grafters, ideally one at centre-half and one in centre-mid. It is ironic that a Bristol City fan’s report had us down as a bunch of chancers, timewasters and niggly cheats (I wasn’t at the match so don’t know if that is true or not), because that is exactly the opposite of what I have seen. The problems we had with referees earlier in the season actually highlighted that we are too nice - referees will allow a bit of needle (ask Tys, he has been the victim of several batterings by opponents), so why shouldn’t we give as good as we get?
I love having a team of kids - it really fills me with pride when I see them put in a decent shift and get a point (or once in a while, three), but it turns out that Alan Hansen’s prophecy is true for most teams (except Man United). CC did bring in Fletcher and Camp, players who are not ageing but have a good deal of experience at this level, but for all that Campo commands his area better than Smudge, that is no good if the defenders still won’t get rid of the bloody ball when it comes into the danger areas (Kelvin that means you).
The squad is obviously thin in certain areas - a defensive centre midfielder (although Perchio has been outstanding for much of the season), and at right back (although Perchio has been outstanding there in a couple of matches). In other areas, I am worried that CC may undermine certain player’s confidence by sticking with them too long - Kelvin, Luke, even young Garath are looking weaker for it.
Of course, ultimately it is all the manager’s responsibility, but still I don’t want him sacked. One, because until Brian Laws leaves Wednesday, I am not sure that there is anyone out there who would be able to do a better job; two, sacking the manager is usually a “sticking plaster” approach and rarely a long-term solution; three, the current squad were almost all bought, or brought through under Calderwood’s stewardship, and I get the impression that they like and respect him; and four, because I really want him to succeed as Forest manager, playing the kind of football that we have seen most weeks this season - I just wish we could get some points as well.
Finally, I completely understand the booing on Saturday - I just cannot condone it. In any workplace, if you have young staff and you yell abuse at them (no matter how well paid they are), it will only depress their level of performance. The way they played against Norwich was poor, but you could see they were still trying at least, and I have seen too many Forest players not bothering over the years (did someone mention Andy Andrew Cole?). The situation is dire, but let’s be grateful for small mercies…
Off-topic: Does anyone know what happened to the muppets trying to drive down Trentside at full-time? By the time we got past them, I was half-expecting to turn around and see the three cars floating down river - I hope no-one got hurt and nothing got damaged. After a frustrating home defeat in the bitter cold, the drivers should really have known better…
(Updated 24/11/08, 10pm, to include links)
Tags: colin calderwood, james perch, kelvin wilson, Lee Camp, luke chambers, muppets, nottingham forest, rob earnshaw Posted in Opinion
Posted November 20th, 2008
by Rahoul Baruah
CC says Forest will avoid the drop and we should respect the referees.
Whereas Lee Carsley reckons our comments spurred Brum on against Charlton and is looking for revenge when we go to their place.
We have been looking at Rangers’ winger Chris Burke as a potential January target - presumably to replace Martin or Anderson when their loan spells are up.
And Robbie Earnshaw (is a red) hopes to be in contention for the weekend’s game against Norwich.
Tags: birmingham city, chris burke, glasgow rangers, lee carlsey, norwich city, referees, relegation, revenge, rob earnshaw Posted in News
