Your Thoughts On The Current Nottingham Forest Manager

[Redgirl]

Totally agree RB and a Striker we have a good shout at the playoffs but you never know, depends on a lot of things, injuries, suspensions etc not just for us but for our rivals

[Strawberry Avenger]

Lucky. We mustn't discount that. But sometimes you make your own luck. Preparedness meets opportunity. ...and Forest have most certainly done that with the mother of all transfer windows, back to back, bringing in 20(!) players and, for the first time ever, a proper pre-season and A+ recruitment?

Forest have had massive injury problems in the past. But Forest now have competition for almost all places now and a new club Doctor.

So maybe, Forest's 'luck' will improve in that regard...

SA.

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"Regardless of wether we get promotion or not this season I’ve not felt so much confidence in a manager at #nffc since Clough. Throwing money at promotion won’t necessarily work but given time I’m certain he’ll do it."

From 'Mathew' on Twitter after the posting of the 'relaxed' Karanka in Athens photo.

SA.

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"With Aitor there you'll get to the Prem within the next 1-3 years I guarantee it"

Says 'Ben' on Twitter.

...and those two quotes sum it up for me. Stick with a quality manager for 2-3 seasons and you'll get there. It has to be the right man. Karanka is. Probably the 1st man since Clough that fills me with that sense of confidence.

But even Clough said, 'Time...'

SA.

[optimistic_red]

Interesting article in today's Mirror. Failure to secure promotion is not an option.

Article reads like we never sell out away tickets usually, and 20,000 season tickets is a record. Is it a record or just the best since leaving the Prem?
Hopefully if we have a slow start Marinakis won't get the shotgun out too early.
Surely a top 6 finish is enough for Karanka to keep his job. I think it's about time we ended the season with the same one that started!

[Duncan Mckenzie]

I haven't checked but I believe that Karankas record at Forest now is:

Played 27, won 6.

Please correct me if I am wrong. I heard it somewhere yesterday.

Not great is it?

[Paplane]

Nope. He's going to be under big pressure from fans and from owners now. The BB sale is massively contentious with fans too and so that's not going to help him in the short term.

If really like to see some evidence that his coaching is making a difference and is beyond the likes of, say, a Gary Monk.

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Also think he got the ream completely wrong yesterday. You can't take the energy of Osborn and Lolley out the team when Geddys also not available and have Colback, Watson and Murphy plodding along at thrir own pace.

I just don't know what the game plan was at all.

[Username]

The absence of Geddy and Grabban were enforced. Can’t blame the manager for that.

Geddy has been slow on the ball for the last two games.

[Strawberry Avenger]

The absence of Geddy and Grabban were enforced. Can’t blame the manager for that.

Geddy has been slow on the ball for the last two games.

Aye.

Can't blame Aitor for Geddy and Grabban for being injured.  (...however, Murphy did get a goal.  Something Grabban hasn't got in previous games...and Geddy had been targeted, slow and off the boil for two games?)

Forest spent £13.5 on an ACM.  I'd rather they'd have gone 8-£10 on Vuk and spent the other £4 million on an ACM.

For me, DCM was the pivotal role.  

People thought we had plenty of cover at DCM.  But if Watson is finished, Geddy is injured, we're down to the unfancied Bridcutt and young Yates.  All of a sudden, the options don't seem that plentiful.  The problem appears to be that Forest have a 'flat' DCM of two players who are two similar, too slow, too sideways too lacking energy or expansive game style.  ie.  It's not complimentary to Colback...just 'the same?'

SA.

[Strawberry Avenger]

I haven't checked but I believe that Karankas record at Forest now is:

Played 27, won 6.

Please correct me if I am wrong. I heard it somewhere yesterday.

Not great is it?

It's not.  True enough.

However, Forest hastily assembled ten players in January to scramble enough points to avoid relegation.  Which they did.  Without that, they'd be down.  Buy in haste, repent at leisure.  Some may feel that way about eg. Watson.  But he served his purpose last season.  He didn't have a great game yesterday.  Most of the games 'not won' have to be viewed through the lens of a very poor Forest squad that was assembled by at least 6 managers and a defensive line that had been here since Dougie?  Forest were on a 3rd successive season with a bomb squad relegation team...made up of a party Susan patchwork of journeymen.  

I think reading the the comments on the NEP from a Hull fan re: Dawson.  He said he was great two seasons ago but last season, that was it.  His legs had gone and had become mere shadow.  Perhaps you just reach that point at 34 ish and you're body says, that's enough.  See: Murphy, Dawson, Watson.  Are they anywhere near their prime?  I know I can't run like a 21 one year old anymore! :P

Following a good clear out then and over this Summer (with more to go...)  It shows just how dysfunctional Forest were last 3 seasons and the results under Aitor show a manager gradually getting his own men in and trying to turn a relegation team around.  Because that's what Forest were last time around.

The 'actual' transfer window this Summer is more reflective of Karanka.  A pre-season.  Genuine quality added.  But that's going to take time to bed in.  High risk signings like the Portuguese were and are a gamble.  Quality Premier plays who are not fit because they weren't playing in the Premier eg. Hoff and Byram.  We're barely a month into the Championship.  This is Aitor's first true season in charge and building a team with that 'holy grail' of 'click' and chemistry is something Wigan, Boro', Leeds and others are further ahead in.

£25 million.  Could it have been spent better?  If it was that easy any manager could get promoted.  Do you go for five quality £5 million class players?  Or over haul the entire 24 man squad?  That's what's been attempted over the last two windows.

In the culture of now, it's hard to assess Aitor so far.  He came into a relegation team in freefall...a spiralling circle of doom.  He kept Forest up.  The results from that need to be disregarded.  This is his first pre-season, transfer window proper and it's a new team.  Some players will come off.  Some legs will have 'gone' (three 34 year olds.  Make shifts until Forest can afford to buy eg. a Flint for £7 million.  Boro' are in that position.  Forest are not building on a good squad depth.  They didn't have the higher vantage point of Boro' or Leeds.)

In short, I'd argue he's had less than a month.  Frustrating as hell with yesterday?  I am.  And the ones that preceded it.  But it took Brian Clough 2 and half seasons to get Forest promoted from this league?

But when you're building something, anything, of course it's frustrating.  It's not linear.  Forest don't buy a new team/squad and romp the league.  What if a handful of the 13 players don't work out?  What if Watson is 'done'?  What if the Portuguese don't adapt to English football?  (Two of the subs were part of last season's team and got Forest the result yesterday along with Murphy for the goal.)  It didn't quite work out that way for Wolves, Cardiff or Fulham.  They all had periods of frustration.  Warnock had to stabilise Cardiff to beat the drop and then build momentum the following season.

Forest, despite three successive shocking 1st halves, are unbeaten.  They play to the end.  Byram and Robinson have started.  Car', Lolley and Os' came on and super subbed.  Murphy got a goal.  Grabban is injured.

That's football.  Slowly, slowly catch a monkey.

Through the lens of this season, Forest are 13th.  Lost 0.  Won 1.  Drawn quite a few and come back to make sure they did.  If they win their next game they may go top 8.

SA.

[ThePromisedLand]

I haven't checked but I believe that Karankas record at Forest now is:

Played 27, won 6.

Please correct me if I am wrong. I heard it somewhere yesterday.

Not great is it?

Nolan won 8 league games in 2018.
AK has won 6.
Not for a moment looking for a change - but Marinakis is not known for patience.

[Madforit]

I just wish that he would stop tinkering with the team every game, for us to get some momentum going, he should by now know which is his best starting 11 and stick with them.

[Strawberry Avenger]

This season, with his squad, his team (still unfinished in terms of building, mind...)

Won 1.
Lots of draws.
Lost 0.

His first full season with his players.

Less than 1 month of competitive action in the Championship.

Early days.

SA.

[Sunny]

Karanka will be judged on the job he does this season. The end of last season was about preparing for this. EM will expect a promotion challenge, but he didn’t sanction the big spending in the summer to suddenly panic after a handful of games. It isn’t a great start, but it isn’t a poor start either. New members of the squad are still settling in and the manager will be learning more about them with every game.