Couldn't agree more. Also, hear things aren't going as smoothly as we thought with the players. I reckon Dexter is on his way out which IMO is crazy whilst we are still in this league. Also, Camp and McGugan. Lewis to Fulham apparently.

Rumours being spread about as usual but it is unsettling

The players who are out of contract at the end of the season will all finish the season with us so they are able to negotiate a better deal when they leave on a free.

Dex, Lewis and Camp have been likely to leave for months. But players have to go so we can bring more in.

I thought Dex didn't have a great game against Palace so I could see why he was dropped. Saying that I've been calling for us to have a more settled side all season and off the back of two good performances it might of been better to stick with the same side.

Dexter is off to Leeds according to some reports. This is crazy. McCleish is going to offload decent Championship players. Players that a re capable in this league.

Dread to think who will be his replacement. Some Premiership journeyman?

It may be too early to ask this, but could those of you who thought after the Watford game that it was time for SOD to go, identify yourselves and say if you are happier now than you were after that match?

If Dex won't sign a new contract, then yes, we should sell him to the highest bidder. Absolute no brainer.

He was off to Leeds before McLeish came in. You seem a bit shocked/angry about it Webbo, it's not news.

This is the problem you have when you appoint managers the fans don't want. It's one of the main reasons I went nuts when we appointed Cotterill. When SOD was going to let Dex go we wanted him to stay but we'd have let it go, because on the whole we liked SOD. If McLeish makes the same decision he'll get slaughtered. The gaffer is always fighting an uphill battle in these circumstances and he nearly always looses.

I wouldn't have given McLeish the job, I wouldn't have sacked SOD, although had it been up to me I wouldn't have appoint him in the first place. It looks like I'm more willing to give AM a chance than a lot of us though.

He's got half a season to get us up. His records good at this level, as I said on a different thread. It could be worse. On paper at least AM is probably a step up from SOD. If you look at what they've achieved he's definitely a step up.

People might not be happy about that. They'll talk about style of football and stuff, and that's fair comment. But the football under SOD wasn't very good his recent record of wins at this level is very poor.

I suppose all I'm saying is I understand why AM is not liked or wanted, I agree. But I feel Forest fans are in danger of starting to think we sacked a brilliant manager and brought in a idiot. We didn't.

The sacking could unsettle a team that was gelling together (a players analysis)

No, I'm not shocked at the way Dexter is being treated, but selling to a rival will only help them and not us.
Getting promoted from this division means you have to have the right sort of player in your squad. At the moment Dexter is a "right sort of player" for our squad.
Cox picks up bookings and injuries and at the moment our loanee (Sharp) is banging in goals but he needs supporting with championship players.

No, I wouldn't of sacked SOD. He was unfortunate to have lost 6 in 24 and lose his job. The quality was not that good at times but he was also unfortunate to not have had a settled side (some of that his own doing) The defence is not full of quality and that has let him down along with not being able to have a settled midfield.

If McCleish doesn't get them winning quickly he won't last long. I'll give him a chance but picking the donkey yesterday in midfield did not help his cause.

I'm in agreement with Webbo here - we should keep hold of Dex if possible. He's such a good player at this level. If he wants to leave then absolutely, sell him to the highest bidder but make sure we have a very good replacement. Shame Wood went to Leicester but I cam see why.

Sutton....just out of interest; who would you have got in after the sacking of Cotterill?

‘identify yourselves and say if you are happier now than you were after that match’?

Essex Red Dog, Super Billy, Forest@mk and this classic from the Rev....


Get a grip or p!ss off

3 shots, 0 on target

Bloody unacceptable - and you SOD are responsible for this!

'The team is still gelling?' abolute b0llocks

I just hope our owners will be just as ruthless when the time comes...and IMO it's getiing closer evey game

AM has definitely inherited a better squad than SOD did even allowing for loanees. IMO if he doesn't get us promoted he will have failed. (Provided he gets backing in the January Sales)

After the elation of whooping Leeds, I feel totally deflated by our prospects now. Mcleish doesn't know what he's doing and I can't pretend to think that he does. Why the hell would you get rid of Dexter? He's already said that he'd sign a deal if he was offered one, but hasn't. The lad wants to stay. Mcleish is talking about signing Morison form Norwich, but why? Millwall have been better without him, and I personally think we'd surely be better off keeping Dexter or even Ishmail Miller ahead of signing this fella. AM is a sh=t manager, I can't believe we've hired him. He's been relegated 3 times!!! I think we must be cursed or something. He's not going to strengthen our defence, and he's talking about buying not wingers, oh no, but more attacking midfielders.

sutton --- I went nuts

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i agree

I don't think anyone's saying the want Dex to go. We'd all like him to stay. My point was this has been on the cards for a while, long before AM got here.

I didn't want SOD sacked but I could understand those that did and I thought it very likely he would be. All this talk of 3/5 year plans was always rubbish, anyone who could count could see that and I don't think the owners ever really wanted him. But as someone who's took plenty of stick for calling for a manager to be sacked in the past its fair to point out that's only half of it. It's unfair to say well you wanted to sack such and such it's your fault. Because the next appointment is the important part. As far as I'm aware no one ever said sack SOD and bring in McLeish.

Oddball

McCarthy would have been my first choice. But he turned us down apparently. I don't know if we could have done more to convince him. I wouldn't have minded Robinson from MK Dons. Hoddle was linked and I wouldn't have minded him, likes to bring kids through, plays good football and was a big name which is what the owners always wanted so he'd have probably got more time than SOD.

I'd have gone for Hughes this time round, RDM was never going to come and despite making a mess at QPR he's done well elsewhere. And was very highly rated, very recently.

After the elation of whooping Leeds, I feel totally deflated by our prospects now. Mcleish doesn't know what he's doing and I can't pretend to think that he does. Why the hell would you get rid of Dexter? He's already said that he'd sign a deal if he was offered one, but hasn't. The lad wants to stay. Mcleish is talking about signing Morison form Norwich

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And that differs from what SOD was doing how? This is what I mean. SOD was doing the same stuff no one was as bothered. Or it was the club not offering Dex a deal. Now it's all McLeishs fault. We all do it, I'm sure I've done it. But like at Villa AMs dead before he started.

Hughes is completely useless - the only thing I like about McLeish is that he isn't Hughes. Having said that, I don't think it's fair to blame McLeish for anything that happens with Dex, and, as much as I've made it clear I don't want him at our club, it's probably not fair to blame him exclusively for results in the next few weeks. The owners need to take their fair amount of blame for each of these issues.

Hughes is completely useless

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Based on?

One of the things that interests me most about football fans is how they form opinions on managers. I find some amazing to be honest.

Who was it the other week saying Ipswich would have been better off giving Cotterill the job over McCarthy? I just don't get out how people come to these conclusions

I'm not blaming McLeish for taking the job. Who wouldn't? It's the decision making behind the scenes that's the issue. There's something a little bit iffy about the manner we've gone about doing things. It's never really been clarified why Mick McCarthy turned us down only to take the Ipswich job weeks later. I am pretty suspicious to be honest. If the new owners were really ambitious, they would have hired Harry Redknapp in the summer, or the manager they wanted all along, Neil Warnock, who even now would not be expensive to release from his rolling Leeds contract. Neither the SoD appointment nor this appointment makes any sense. Add to that the failure to offer key players contracts, the crap defensive signings, and strange going ons re late payments etc, and theres a lot to be suspicious about.

SODs appointment makes sense to me. The owners came in on massive charm offensive. They did what would make them popular with everyone, not what they wanted.

99% of the reaction was positive when he came in. The players wanted him, I think Clark and Arthur recommended him. But the quest to be popular has back fired.

I think they tried to get Harry but he has to come north of the m25 for more than 12 hours he'll die. And I think Mick thought his stock was high enough to get a prem job. Ipswich is also a better job in manager terms. The owner there has a few quid and has stuck by his last two managers a lot longer than most other clubs would.

I don't think there's a lot to be suspicious of to be honest. A few bad decisions have been made. But everyone running football clubs makes a few of those.

Sutton...

I'm not sure I'd consider the Ipswich job a better prospect. They were rooted to the bottom of the league when MM agreed to go there.

True Dave.

Before SOD was sacked, when he took the Ipswich job he might have regretted not taking the Forest job. But I'm sure he'd have thought he'd keep them up easy, they're a decent side on paper or at least have some decent players. Then he's got time and few quid to work with. That's what managers want.

As a manager i suppose it's hard to see what's a round the corner. It's take or refuse the wrong job and you never know from week to week what job might come up.

Quote from sutton

Hoddle was linked and I wouldn't have minded him, likes to bring kids through, plays good football and was a big name which is what the owners always wanted so he'd have probably got more time than SOD.
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What we should of done is brought him in as a Director of football. Left SOD to do his bit and use Hoddle for the press and the link between youth , reserves and 1st team.

We've missed a big opportunity and now have McCleish who will tinker with the side trying to find a better starting 11 than SOD.

I would not put a bet on us going up this season. Simply because teams out there are more settled than ours

Also the SoD doesn't make any sense, now. At the time, like yourself Sutton, I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about it, but based on the reasoning that was coming out of the City Ground I could understand that the new owners wanted to instil a footballing philosophy, and take a sensible approach towards achieving their goals. All of which was obviously nonsense, rendering the SoD appointment absurd.