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The demise of Forest

ladyram

By ladyram
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HeyHudson

HeyHudson

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Good piece from Paul Taylor in the Nottingham Post

 

http://www.nottinghampost.com/Paul-Taylor-column-Billy-Davies-care-people-think/story-20791366-detail/story.html
 

Why Billy Davies should care what other people think

It is something of an understatement to suggest that, when it comes to the fate and fortunes of Nottingham Forest, it is rare for the French revolution to provide a potential source of inspiration.

But, as he attempts to maintain his own brand of evolution, rather than revolution, at the City Ground, Billy Davies might do well to consider the words of Napoleon Bonaparte.

"Public opinion is the thermometer a monarch should constantly consult," said the former French emperor and Italian king.

For 'King Billy', the tide of the war he is fighting, to secure a place in the Premier League, has taken a bad turn in recent weeks, following several debilitating losses in the Championship.

Cast out of the FA Cup by League One Sheffield United, Forest have more recently been outclassed by Burnley and Wigan and outfought by previously bottom of the table Barnsley.

With second-placed Burnley now having stretched out their advantage over Forest to 14 points, with 12 games remaining, automatic promotion is now essentially out of reach.

It may be mathematically possible, but the reality is that it is too big a chasm to close, in such a short space of time.

Instead, the very real goal now is to pick up a few wins; a few positive results to ensure those of a red persuasion can cast their eyes upwards again, rather then nervously over their shoulders.

The play-offs are still an achievable goal. But it is still a time for unity and togetherness; for a rallying of troops; for positivity. Yet still the Scotsman seems intent on taking on yet more battles.

His response to a five-match ban for making physical contact, in the form of a barge, and swearing at referee Anthony Taylor amid a half-time confrontation in the tunnel at the City Ground, during the draw with Leicester last month, might have been to show some contrition over his actions.

They could, after all, have a significant impact on Forest's promotion hopes, as they head into what Davies has himself frequently referred to as being the most critical stage of the campaign, with their manager confined to the stand.

Instead his reaction was a self-imposed media ban, robbing fans of their already limited opportunities to hear from their manager. But that only came after he had recorded another television interview with the BBC, in which he adopts an increasingly familiar, combative tone.

"I really don't care what people say or what people think," he said. "I am in a football manager's role, where, as a public figure, people can open their mouths and let their belly rumble. They can talk a lot of nonsense without fact, or without knowing what is going on or what the situation is.

"Quite simply, we are all about doing our jobs very professionally, we will keep working hard and keep trying to win football matches.

"But, with regards to anybody's portrayal or anybody's opinion, or what anybody thinks, I could not care less.

"Why should I care what people think? Why should I care what people's opinion is?

"As a public figure, I know that people can say what they like about me whether it is true, false, good or bad. I accept that is the position here. I come in here every day, do the job, with a very good staff, to the best of our ability.

"We work with a very good squad of players. We work very hard for a chairman and the people at this club who want to get promotion. We will do that to the very last day of 2017, when the contract ends."

Well, to be entirely blunt, there are numerous reasons why Davies should very much care what people think.

Not least the fact that he is entirely correct when he says that he is both a public figure and a football manager – and more specifically the public face of a club with a proud history.

Public relations duties may not exactly be included in the job description, but a duty to maintain the reputation of the club should be a prerequisite.

Davies, for all his flaws, is a leader, an inspirational figure in the dressing room. Players will go into battle for him; they will give their all to try to secure victory.

He is a decent Championship manager. But he could be an outstanding one.

He has a long record of top-six finishes with Preston, Derby and, of course, Forest. His attention to detail is famously in depth; his teams are always meticulously prepared for any challenge.

But, along with that track record, is a history of unpredictable behaviour; an ability to turn things into a circus.

Currently, it feels as though the ringmaster is clearing his throat, ready to bellow 'roll up, roll up', at any given moment. The tent has been pitched. The popcorn is warming.

Davies and his advisors will place such suggestions in a file marked 'media agenda'.

But, as Davies himself might put it, the majority of the negative press he attracts is based on 'fact', rather than media fiction – and, more significantly, largely through his own actions.

The touchline ban Davies is currently completing was earned because, for the second time this season, he angrily confronted a match official.

There was no media spin involved. Nor did the media make up the vague, undignified threats of 'vengeance is a dish best served cold' and 'the innocent will not be harmed' that were issued via the Twitter feed of his cousin and advisor, Jim Price.

They did not schedule a bizarre post-match press conference, prior to kick off, ahead of the biggest game of last season. We were not responsible for the latest, self imposed media blackout, at a time when the benefit of Davies' voice being heard could be greater than ever, heading into a flurry of vital games.

There are no rules preventing manager's speaking during touchline bans. Nor any obvious legal pitfalls.

Ultimately, his relationship with the media does not matter. As long as he produces the goods on the pitch, nobody will care how many interviews he does or doesn't conduct.

It will not influence the fate of Nottingham Forest one bit.

But the opinion of another group of people will. Because it absolutely matters what fans think. Their opinion holds more weight than anyone's.

Fan opinion was what ended Steve McClaren's short time at the City Ground, when supporter protests led to the departure of both he and former chairman and owner, Nigel Doughty.

Supporter opinion also hung over the head of Alex McLeish, like a noose, during his entire, brief tenure, with Forest fans doubting his appointment from the start.

In contrast, Davies' subsequent return to the City Ground garnered a largely positive response. There was the odd dissenting voice. But, generally, the elapse of just a short space of time had added a sepia tinge to the memories.

Fans remembered the Davies that was the most successful manager the club has had since Paul Hart. They remembered the man who took the club into the play-offs two years running.

And, initially, that is exactly what they got, as he inspired a remarkable run of form that had Forest flirting with the play-offs, until they fell away when the pressure was on – winning only one of their final eight fixtures.

Now fans, increasingly – judging by the passionate reaction on the Post website and on social media – are becoming frustrated with his attitude.

When Davies returns to the touchline, Forest will again have eight games remaining – he should also be armed with reenforcements, in the form of the return of a few injury casualties; a few key players like Andy Reid and Kelvin Wilson.

But, if he hopes to retain a sense of positivity heading into those vital games, the Forest manager must realise that what people think does actually matter. It matters a very great deal.

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Ewetube

Ewetube

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Even Fat ken's having a pop:

 

"Kenny Burns: Is Billy Davies still the right man for Nottingham Forest? At the moment, no

 

BILLY Davies is looking an angry man, a sad man, an unhappy man just now.

 

I don't think it was very clever of him to come out and say he's not going to talk to the press on the advice of his legal team during his ban. He's just alienating himself from the supporters. They want to hear from him.

 

Is he still the right man for the job? At the moment, I would have to say no. For one thing, he's in the stands at the minute, not on the touchline. Players want a manager on the touchline, telling them what to do. Also, Billy doesn't seem a happy man. I don't know if he's happy there anymore.

 

Once again, in Barnsley, we've gone to a club at the bottom of the table who are fighting for their lives and they've turned us over. I don't know if it's because the players think, 'we're in the play-offs and they're at the bottom of the league, and we deserve to be there'. But we don't deserve to be there. We're they're for a reason – because we went out and played well against teams and got wins. That seems a long time ago now. There should be enough experience in the team for that not to happen.

It was a disappointing performance from the whole team against Barnsley.

 

I just thought we had too many players, once again, who were off form and didn't seem to be up for the challenge.

That has to come down to the players themselves. They are the ones who come out and play, not Davies or Ned Kelly.

Those two have to keep on at the players, telling them what to do and trying to gee them up, but it's the players who have to stand up and say, 'I'm a grown man, I know what I'm doing'.

 

If someone doesn't do their job then they deserve to be told off. And they should be given a telling off.

If you do that, then the players will know where they stand. That's why Roy Keane at Manchester United was so great. He used to do it all the time, give players a roasting. I can't remember seeing anyone getting yelled at at Forest. It's not helped with Billy having his touchline ban.

 

We've not got the momentum now. If anything, we've fallen away and other teams that are coming up behind us have got the bit between their teeth. The form we're in at the minute is relegation form. Obviously we can't go down, but we can slip out of the play-off places.

 

Have our players got it in them? That's the big question for me. At the moment, you would have to say, no. I don't think they're up for the fight. I don't know why Billy plays with just one up front in Simon Cox and five in midfield, especially when four of them can't do a job. Jamie Paterson is the best player we've got at the minute. He's the only one who's scoring goals.

 

He should try playing Darius Henderson up front with Jamie Mackie or Cox. Or even put Matt Derbyshire up there, he's done nothing wrong. Cox and Mackie have after all, had their chances and haven't been scoring. But I would hate to be a striker at Nottingham Forest just now because the service they are getting is poor.

 

I can understand why some supporters booed on Saturday. They'd paid their money to go to Barnsley and had to watch a team with no fight and no passion.

 

Something has to change. If that's the chairman coming out and saying he doesn't want to back the manager, that's fine.

If someone comes out and says they've spent all the money and there's no more money to spend, that's fine, come out and say that.

 

If they come out and say the manager's got money but not spent it, then that's a different cup of tea. If they haven't got players in because they don't want to come to Forest, then we have to ask why.For me, the right course of action is just to look at the next game. The players need to know they are playing for their futures at this club."


http://www.nottinghampost.com/Kenny-Burns-Billy-Davies-right-man-Nottingham/story-20787227-detail/story.html#ixzz2vePl46zb

 

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Archie

Archie

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Even Fat ken's having a pop:

"Kenny Burns: Is Billy Davies still the right man for Nottingham Forest? At the moment, no

BILLY Davies is looking an angry man, a sad man, an unhappy man just now.

I don't think it was very clever of him to come out and say he's not going to talk to the press on the advice of his legal team during his ban. He's just alienating himself from the supporters. They want to hear from him.

Is he still the right man for the job? At the moment, I would have to say no. For one thing, he's in the stands at the minute, not on the touchline. Players want a manager on the touchline, telling them what to do. Also, Billy doesn't seem a happy man. I don't know if he's happy there

Once again, in Barnsley, we've gone to a club at the bottom of the table who are fighting for their lives and they've turned us over. I don't know if it's because the players think, 'we're in the play-offs and they're at the bottom of the league, and we deserve to be there'. But we don't deserve to be there. We're they're for a reason – because we went out and played well against teams and got wins. That seems a long time ago now. There should be enough experience in the team for that not to happen.

It was a disappointing performance from the whole team against Barnsley.

I just thought we had too many players, once again, who were off form and didn't seem to be up for the challenge.

That has to come down to the players themselves. They are the ones who come out and play, not Davies or Ned Kelly.

Those two have to keep on at the players, telling them what to do and trying to gee them up, but it's the players who have to stand up and say, 'I'm a grown man, I know what I'm doing'.

If someone doesn't do their job then they deserve to be told off. And they should be given a telling off.

If you do that, then the players will know where they stand. That's why Roy Keane at Manchester United was so great. He used to do it all the time, give players a roasting. I can't remember seeing anyone getting yelled at at Forest. It's not helped with Billy having his touchline ban.

We've not got the momentum now. If anything, we've fallen away and other teams that are coming up behind us have got the bit between their teeth. The form we're in at the minute is relegation form. Obviously we can't go down, but we can slip out of the play-off places.

Have our players got it in them? That's the big question for me. At the moment, you would have to say, no. I don't think they're up for the fight. I don't know why Billy plays with just one up front in Simon Cox and five in midfield, especially when four of them can't do a job. Jamie Paterson is the best player we've got at the minute. He's the only one who's scoring goals.

He should try playing Darius Henderson up front with Jamie Mackie or Cox. Or even put Matt Derbyshire up there, he's done nothing wrong. Cox and Mackie have after all, had their chances and haven't been scoring. But I would hate to be a striker at Nottingham Forest just now because the service they are getting is poor.

I can understand why some supporters booed on Saturday. They'd paid their money to go to Barnsley and had to watch a team with no fight and no passion.

Something has to change. If that's the chairman coming out and saying he doesn't want to back the manager, that's fine.

If someone comes out and says they've spent all the money and there's no more money to spend, that's fine, come out and say that.

If they come out and say the manager's got money but not spent it, then that's a different cup of tea. If they haven't got players in because they don't want to come to Forest, then we have to ask why.For me, the right course of action is just to look at the next game. The players need to know they are playing for their futures at this club."

http://www.nottinghampost.com/Kenny-Burns-Billy-Davies-right-man-Nottingham/story-20787227-detail/story.html#ixzz2vePl46zb

Turncoat.

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