This morning I woke up, had some weetabix and turned the television on to see a sports lovers delight; the yellow breaking news strap on Sky Sports News. It’s better than see the ‘lil red box of joy’ on Facebook. The first thing I saw on the rolling strap was Nottingh… In a split second I reminded myself it was the Carling Cup draw, and then prayed to a God that I don’t believe in that the next name was not Derby County. It wasn’t. Playing Forest has turned into a completely unpleasant affair since last season and I, along with many Derby fans who don’t let their pride and bravado get in the way, would rather not play them any more times than the compulsory two league fixtures. What in fact followed was Notts County. The grounds are the closest together in the country (a large goal kick away) and the gangsters that congregate around the Broadmarsh and Victoria shopping centres must already be planning ways in which they are going to be naughty on the match day. If memory serves me correctly there was a fair bit of crowd trouble the last time the teams met a few years ago in a pre-season friendly at Meadow Lane. It has got to be the tie of the round (although Leeds and Bradford fans will probably disagree) and no doubt Sky will pick it up. For those of you reading this and screaming at me that Derby and Forest couldn’t have been drawn together due to a seeding system, I know this now.
The sacking of the poison dwarf, as Billy Davies is affectionately known by the Preston and Derby fans, was a very bold move. There can’t be any doubting that wee Billy knows how to manage a team in the Championship and the last two seasons he took Forest very close to the Premier League. Some dodgy team selection and tactics in the playoff semi-finals proved his downfall. His prowess as a manager does not hide the fact that he is a thoroughly difficult man to work with though. To use one of Billy’s favourite phrases, he was ‘mischief making’ far too often for the board to put up with him anymore. The constant moaning about needing more transfer funds (despite him spending millions whilst in charge), must have been disheartening for the young Forest players who had done so well to get the club around the automatic and playoff spots. If he had shut his mouth a bit and focussed on what he had, he may still be in a job. Having said that, he won’t struggle to get another Championship job, for a year or two anyway, before he gets himself the sack, again.
So what about Forest’s new manager, for he was also appearing on Sky Sports News during my late breakfast? Steve McClaren, or Shteve as he is referred to by myself, is a very shrewd acquisition by the Forest chairmen Nigel Doughty. The reason I, and many others, refer to the former England boss as Shteve is due to his chameleon like approach to life. Wherever he finds himself in the world he adopts his accent (like a chameleon changes the colour of its skin depending on its surroundings). For example when he took over at FC Twente he started talking like a Dutchman (hence the Shteve). In his press conference today he was explaining a story he was telling to the Brazilian fitness coach he is taking with him to Forest. Usually when you tell a conversation as a story, you use your own voice for yourself, and change the accent to signify the other person. Not Steve. Astonishingly, he proceeded to explain Forest’s rivalry with Derby, Leicester and Notts County in a fantastic South American twang. Very humorous.
If you discount his record with England, no-one can doubt McClarens credentials as a manager. He won the Carling Cup with Middlesborough and took them to the UEFA Cup final, an incredible achievement considering the mess they are in now, playing in front of 15,000 people on a good day. He then won the Dutch League with FC Twente and led them to the Champions League. His stint at Wolfsburg was only a short one so it is perhaps unfair to judge this spell; managers need time to settle in (but 2 and a half years is enough settling in time Mr Clough). Aston Villa were about to interview McClaren until their fans did what they do best at the minute, complain. Having said that, the appointment of Alex Mcleish is shocking on every level so with that I can understand complaints. McClaren could have bided his time and returned straight to the Premier League; he would have got a job during this season. So why Forest? Well, in the press conference he listed a few reasons, and a point he made more than once was “This room…It smells of history and tradition”. Someone should take a bottle of Oust (or another brand of air freshener) to the City Ground and get that smell sorted. They should also tell Steve McClaren that the smell of a press room is not a good enough reason to take a job. My bedroom smells of whatever is being cooked in the kitchen below, but I am not convinced that the house was sold purely because of how my room smelt.
I think the point is that Forest are a big club, as much as it pains me to say it, and McClaren is in a very good position to complete a job that Billy couldn’t do. He will go about his business in a much quieter and dignified way. He will take Forest to near the Premier League again. He will also come back to haunt his old club, Derby, because that is generally what happens. Some Forest fans are not happy with the board sacking Billy; I can understand because I was disgusted when our board sacked him. The fact is that Billy has engineered his exit at all of his clubs. I predict two things; Forest will do very well under McClaren, and Forest fans will soon come to dislike Billy as much as the Preston and Derby fans do.
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