comment by reddave (U8660)
posted about a minute ago
Not scored a goal at home since edging past Bolton 3-2, on 9th December. I have been saying for ages, I can’t see where our goals are coming from, and the fact we keep conceding the first goal, usually all too easily, is really hurting us. I rate AK as a manager but am still puzzled by some of his team selections. We are 6 points above the drop zone and are currently in free fall.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Can’t believe it has been that long. That is shocking. Murphy has been out for pretty much that whole period, though. The lack of goals from elsewhere in the team bar Dowell is alerting. He has gone off the boil recently too and is probably feeling the pace of his first proper season playing consistently.

Afraid so, that’s 5 games without scoring at home, I am sure any manager would have targeted somewhere around 10-12 pints from those fixtures, we got none.

Burton Albion and Nigel Clough will be rubbing their hands when they read the scout’s report from today’s game...

Reading and Birmingham are the next 2 home matches, With Burton and QPR away, these 4 games are literally season defining, by some miracle we need to avoid defeat in ALL4 games and possibly target 8 points, ambitious I know, but they are the facts. Our goals against is almost worth an extra point, but even this is becoming borderline.

No improvement from the PNE game despite six players being shipped out and ten coming in, some of them impulse buys I'm sure.

There are some who started today who are serial losers. They've had their chance to impress the new manager. They'll now be left out the 18. Next week's squad should consist of as many of the ten newcomers as the rules allow, plus Bridcutt, Lichaj, Worrall, Cash Smith, and a couple of academy products.

Start with

Pants

Lichaj Worrall Figs Fuentes

Colback Watson

Cash Pep Tomlin

Murphy

(unless I have too many loanees)

Full backs don't cross the half way line. DMs stay goalside. Ensure we keep a clean sheet.

I'd take six points from the next four games (1 win, 3 draws). Four games unbeaten would do wonders for confidence.

Only King Billy can save us!

I'd send my season card back. He still takes a big share of the problems we have had in the last five years

Karanka believes ‘we were beaten the moment we conceded’, he obviously has very little confidence in this group of players. Good job we don’t have transfer deadline day everyday, or we would have another raft of players arriving and departing the C.G. I am finding it very difficult to see how he can turn this round. I am not doubting him as a manager, more the ability of our players to be motivated. I believe he brought enough quality in to save us, but they need to start gelling very quickly.

comment by Nottmtrucker (U7327)
posted 55 minutes ago
Only King Billy can save us!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wash your mouth out with soap!

comment by reddave (U8660)
posted 1 hour, 21 minutes ago
Karanka believes ‘we were beaten the moment we conceded’, he obviously has very little confidence in this group of players. Good job we don’t have transfer deadline day everyday, or we would have another raft of players arriving and departing the C.G. I am finding it very difficult to see how he can turn this round. I am not doubting him as a manager, more the ability of our players to be motivated. I believe he brought enough quality in to save us, but they need to start gelling very quickly.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It’s quite a confess to make about how he rates the confidence of the team at the moment. If he really believed that, why didn’t he make changes earlier? I get that he has to speak to the press and the players should be able to take a bit of criticism but that kind of comment is surely a bit too counterproductive.

After the Preston game both Fox and Mancienne needed dropping.

They still need dropping.

Fox is, was and never will be a LB!

Can one of the 300,000 or so people in Nottingham let him and AK know, that if they have any desire for us to stay in the Championship to please not play Fox!!!!

Hopefully Raphael Fuentes (sp ?) the left back just brought in from Spain will be involved very quickly to replace Fox, Mancienne is not commanding enough to be either a centre half or captain, basically we need some of the transfer deadline day signings involved and performing very soon.

Fuentes has been without a club since last summer, I believe, so he will need a bit of work on the training ground to do before he can be considered.

Pinillos played 90 mins for Barnsley today...🤔

Fox at LB for Forest:

13/14 - P14 W3 D5 L6 GF16 GA25
14/15 - P22 W7 D7 L8 GF35 GA34
15/16 - P2 L2 GF1 GA3
16/17 - P9 W3 D2 L4 GF17 GA17
17/18 - P5 W1 L4 GF3 GA8

Total: P52 W14 D14 L24 GF72 GA87

Average points over a season with Fox in the side as LB: 49.5! We've lost nearly twice as many games as we've won...

Fox at CB for Forest:

13/14 - P0
14/15 - P5 W3 D2 GF14 GA6
15/16 - P6 W2 D3 L2 GF8 GA6
16/17 - P14 W3 D3 L8 GF17 GA17
17/18 - P3 W2 L1 GF3 GA8

Total: P28 W10 D8 L10 GF42 GA37

Average points over a season with Fox in the side as CB: 62.5.

So, either play him at CB or never play him again!!

In the last 3 seasons at LB: P16 W4 D2 L10 .....thats 40 points a season on average. He needs to go.

Lichaj at LB: P38 W14 D9 L15 GF52 GA54 ....points average: 62 points a season. Obviously Lichaj isn't the long term answer, but he is better than Fox.

Darikwa at RB: P13 W6 L7 GF14 GA19

Darikwa at RB...64 points a season average!

Whilst we don't have a fit recognised LB I think I have found a solution. Only took four season of watching Fox and 25 minutes on TransferMarkt....

If we keep waiting for players ‘to get match fit’ it will be too late, these are supposedly professional footballers who earn their wages ‘playing football’, not watching it. It’s time for some of them to ‘man up’ (not sure that is pc anymore), but hopefully you get the gist of what I am trying to say.

A message to Fox:

Dear Mr Fox,

If you are ever asked to play LB again, please politely refuse and point to the above statistics. State that you love Forest and the fact that they have paid your wages for being an awful LB and an average CB.

That you would like to see out your contract and get a lovely free transfer. Playing at CB will, after all, result in a bigger payday and will help Forest avoid relegation.

Cheers
Your worst and most consistent critic.

Ultimately the buck stops with the owner.

In retrospect McParland and Warburton had a strange relationship, if he was a director McParlands first loyalty should have been with the Board Of Directors, but it obviously wasn't, he was Warburton's man. The recruitment strategy should be agreed by the board after all, not cooked up between the two of them and then telling the B.O.D afterwards.

So the new owners have made some mistakes and are continuing to make mistakes by dismantling the team in midseason under a new manager.

I can understand why Traore and Cummings left, but not Clough & Walker. They were match fit and committed to the club, but possibly not any more.

Karanka is committed to 'his' new players just the same as the board is committed to Karanka. Let's hope it doesn't all end in tears.

Just watched the low-lights, didn't play as a team, first goal looked down to Geddy to me. Still passing the ball to defenders who don't want it.

Awful

A point worse off than this time last year...

Guess we are going to struggle to make the play off’s then 😁

Struggle to keep out of the bottom four more like.

If they put in that sort of disjointed performance against 'you-know-who' then the crowd will turn against Karanka .

Bear, I agree with much of what you say about the club's recruitment strategy. It is the board's responsibility to agree the strategy and for the DoR to execute it in collaboration with the manager and coaches at all levels.. My understanding was that the board wanted an emphasis on youth both via the academy and from other leagues/divisions. This was the strategy that FP/MW executed in the summer. They were also offered some of the Britt transfer money if needed. The summer signings weren't entirely successful hence the boards apparent change of strategy in January and MW's recent comments that the board moved the goalposts.

FM had been working since the previous window closed until January to freshen up the squad based on the boards original strategy and had a list of targets, some ready to sign as soon as the window opened, only for the rug to be pulled from under him. Little wonder he walked.

My opinion is that the board's change of strategy, manager, and the recent signings have been a big mistake, taking a very short term view. The squad we have now is less balanced, less fit, and will need a complete overhaul in the summer. We also cannot plan for the summer window until we know which division we will be in.

It's all starting to look a bit Fawazesque.

It is easy to think that way, I guess. The recent Warburton interviews have lifted the lid and it appears on the face of it that Forest have another set of owners who don’t have the requisite patience to set a plan out and stick with it. I really don’t believe Warburton would have had Forest this low in the table and would have been very interested to see who he would have brought in during the window.

I also think Warburton would have targeted players who would have been playing regularly and thus match fit. Karanka’s picks have at best featured sparingly for their previous clubs this season. He therefore has a raft of players who aren’t match fit. It is a big gamble on his part to suppose they’ll pick up match sharpness quickly. They have proven quality, most in the Prem too but if they take several weeks to get up to speed then he will be in a tough position.