Wednesday 10 November 2010

Yes Billy, but...

Here we go again. Billy Davies has lashed out at the board once more regarding the lack of signings in the last two transfer windows. Davies said his job had been put on the line because of other people’s decisions and that Forest does not at present have a squad capable of a top six finish. Comparing our situation to Liverpool FC, King Billy added that a club needs “stellar signings” to get into the top six. Liverpool have not made any and look where they are, is the gist of Billy’s argument.

The thing is, that comparison doesn’t cut any wood. First of all, contrary to Liverpool, we have at no point in this campaign been in the actual drop zone. Second, we are not the subject of a massive sale or no sale situation which hangs over the club like a black cloud, with undoubted effect on team performances. (Also, Liverpool have just won a number of games on the trot and beaten the league leaders. If that is what Billy intends to do, I’m all for it, obviously…) Sure, some “stellar signings” would be fantastic. A good signing lifts a club, from squad to coffee lady. But the list of players recently targeted goes a long way towards explaining the problem. Billy aims high and rightly so. And the club have tried their best to get his targets to come to the City Ground. Pratley, Whittingham, Moses, Shorey, name them. But two preferred to play Premier League football, which you cannot fault them for. And the other two were not allowed to leave at their respective clubs, which is fair enough as well. We wouldn’t let Lewis McGugan go to a direct rival either. So unless you have some other options, a plan B, a compromise signing or whatever you want to call it, you can’t really blame the board for any of those. If the 10/10 players are out of our reach, try to sign some 8/10 ones. And stop being so stubborn about loanees. Just look at the number of goals scored in our division by players on loan from the Premier League. A decent extra striker on loan right now could make a massive difference. Oh, and by the way, Billy, we did get Majewski, who is a more than decent player.

Then there is the top six thing. The current squad (minus Bertrand) took us to third last season. And they have taken us to within a single point of the top six, so quite clearly they should be capable of finishing within that top six again, given that we have more than half a season to go. It’s only a matter of sorting out our away form. Because, dear Billy Davies, THAT is the real problem at this time. While you moan every time you show your face at the City Ground (which appears to be not very often), you should be trying to do something about that. One win in the last 22 away games or something in that region. That is nothing short of pathetic. And I cannot for the life of me imagine that it has to do with anything other than confidence. By now, the players must be shaking in their boots for every trip away from Nottingham. And it is a manager’s job to do something about that. If you can win nearly all your home games, surely you should be able to get some more points away. If we had got only three extra points from the away games this season (which is not a lot to ask given some of the opposition, with respect) we would be comfortably in the play-offs positions. Hey, if we had got some more points out of last season’s away games after January, we’d have been promoted.

I still have nothing against Billy Davies as a manager per se. I must really point that out. After all he did give us a fantastic season last year and got us as close to the top tier as we have been for some time. You have to love him for that. And I don’t even mind the fact that he speaks his mind. I am very much the same sort of person in that respect. But Billy has to open his eyes to a couple of key factors. First of all, he is an employee of the club and should at least try to act like one, rather than constantly attacking everybody around him in what seems like a nifty way to cover up his own shortcomings. Second, Nottingham Forest FC does not currently have the cash or the pulling power to attract the top players, not even in this division. They either want to play at a higher level or are not allowed to leave, as we have seen again and again. And the third thing? Timing. I mentioned a black cloud earlier. All this surely can’t help the dressing room atmosphere. With the next transfer window coming up, would it not be wiser and more constructive to sit down with the people he shouts at, and try to see what is what for January, rather than rake up their past disagreements and maintain and fortify the stand-off? Maybe it’s just me…

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