Remit ✅ Plan?

Pictured: Forest owner, Evangalos Marinakis

It’s Friday night in West Yorkshire and the Nottingham Forest players trudge off the pitch in Huddersfield after another defeat which makes Forest, winless in 10. Despite nearly changing the whole side on this particular evening, the result is still the same. The performance is also vastly similar. No tempo, no link-up between the midfield and attack leaving striker, Lyle Taylor completely isolated, no urgency to get back into the game and most importantly, no points along with no goals and not even a shot on target when Forest went behind. The Reds have faced QPR, Cardiff and Huddersfield in the league so far and haven’t yet even managed to lay a glove on any of them. Without the wins against Forest, these 3 have took 1 point (QPR’s home draw with Boro) out of a possible 18 from the rest of their games. The reading is far from good.

The Reds hangover from last season’s dramatic and quite unbelieveable fall out of the play-offs on the final day is still quite evident. Many felt, myself included, despite the horror show against Stoke and the few games before, that Sabri Lamouchi had earned the right to ‘go again’ on the basis the Reds, after investment in the transfer window, would have a more attacking style of play and things overall would change. Record signing, Joao Carvalho looked to had been brought back in from the cold to go with this new philosopy but 4 games in, nothing has changed and unlike most of last season, Forest aren’t getting results. Carvalho has since been bombed out of the club on loan to Spanish side, Almeria. Manager, Sabri Lamouchi has surprisingly for most now, not been sacked yet and even then if he was to be, links with a manager who has already been sacked numerous times by chairman, Evangalos Marinakis at Olympiakos, doesn’t get fans chomping at the bit.

Most fans in the summer probably would have been looking at half a dozen additions you’d say, a few bits of quality and a few who can come in and make the squad more competitive. Forest have gone on to sign double that amount with 12 players coming through the door, with more possibly to follow before the window shuts. Some players just aren’t needed. Most of this business has been good on paper but some also, looks strange. 5 CM’s, all quite similar in attributes, likely to be made 6 when Forest strangely swap Tiago Silva for defensive midfielder, Cafu in the coming days, if reports are to be believed. Attack-minded centre midfielder’s wise, Forest are left with just Luke Freeman, with Brennan Johnson and Joao Carvalho both out on loan, the latter Forest’s career looking finally dead and buried. Reports of a fallout between the Reds owner, Maranakis and super agent, Jorge Mendes has seen the Reds Portugese contingent look surplus to requirements with Tobias Figueiredo linked with a move back to his homeland (rumours of being homesick) and full back, Yuri Ribiero, cast to one side despite being a mainstay last season and a solid one at that. 

This might be just a case of coincidence but does seem odd that reports have surfaced of a fallout and then this certain group of players are being linked away from the club. Going back to Carvalho whether you love him or hate him, me being the former, seemed to be a transfer that could get everyone excited but with no plan of ‘can we nuture him’ or ‘build a team around him’ and he has fell by the wayside with 2 negative minded managers not willing to trust/pick him. Questions have to be asked whatever side of the fence you are on, for it to go that way just shows poor planning all round. A more than double our previous investment on a player has gone down the pan and for a Championship club, that isn’t good.

All the uncertaincy off the pitch along with the poor showings on it behind closed doors, has started to see fans become slightly disillusioned with the club. Questions are starting to be raised with the board, yes they are chucking money at it no doubt but former chairman, Fawaz Al-Hasawi did the same and it came to a abrupt and messy end for everyone concerned. They also have stayed out of the news for not paying bills on times unlike Fawaz but you’d expect that to be a simple staple in the business world anyway but with Forest fans having got used to so much rubbish recently, that is made to feel like a success. At times, it’s does feel that Marinakis club and one true love, Olympiakos will always be top dog when it comes to transfers. 

Since July 2017, Forest have signed 65 players, 47 permanent and 18 loans, many a waste of time and money, which is a reason for questioning itself especially when the club are relying on selling academy talent each season to avoid FFP. You’d feel if Forest didn’t have such a great academy that times would be more worrying. That amount of players through the door for several different managers with different styles, can’t be argued that it’s sustainable or positive. The remit is the Premier League from the top, we all know that but is their a plan in place to get there aside from chucking money at it? The answer you’d feel is no. It also doesn’t sit well with some supporters all these players on good money have been signed but a lot are wasting on the sidelines while the club stuttered to give fans refunds for away tickets during this pandemic and still for season tickets.

The Reds do now have a very decent and competitive squad but it’s increasingly looking like with the wrong manager in charge. The squad is also hugely inflated with a new ‘bomb squad’ being formed it seems again. Both of them could change before the end of the window but Forest will find it hard to ship players out on good money who have hardly played for the club. Lamouchi is looking like a dead man walking, a man who looks like he has lost the players, as seen by the performances on the pitch. No desire to bust a gut for him from anyone. Lamouchi talked about his great relationship with Albert Adomah last season but he is now training with the u23’s for one example, so you read into that and think surely must have been fallouts with players? 

Sky reported that Lamouchi didn’t speak to the players after the Stoke game until when they returned for pre-season which also seems vastly odd. His superb relationship with the fanbase has gone sour and downhill, it’s a shadow from the ‘until Sabri I was never happy’ banner, inspired by the Stone Roses song, Sally Cinamon being seen at the City Ground only this year. His selection, subs and tactics don’t seem to be helping himself, as well as the isolation and alienation of certain players. You’d think a rallying cry of let’s go again and put it right like Bielsa’s Leeds did last season after play-off woe would have been in order as motivation.

It does look increasingly likely, Lamouchi will depart if another poor result and performance on Saturday against early league leaders, Bristol City comes about. I’d love Lamouchi to turn it around but I just can’t see it due to not having seen any indication. Some do say he needs time for the new players to gel but that is on the essence, when you have a board who want quick results like all clubs nowadays it seems. If that does happen then the next candidate has to be the right fit. Someone who can utilise this squad to it’s ability, knows the league, how to get out of it and has a plan in place to build the club up over the coming years, whether someone is given time with that CV is another matter. With the investment, surely promotion is the remit this season but you also have to get the manager and recruitment right, otherwise it will be Forest stuck in the same division again, which has now gone over 2 decades since Premier League football and with that investment the board have made, that for them would be a crying shame but you need a plan with the remit to get there. 

Is this Forest hierachy going to get either right to finally end that stay outside of the Premier League? Who knows but at the moment, things don’t look promising. We all want stability but stability with possibly the wrong man in charge can turn very toxic quickly. Hopefully the mood over the next few week/games can turn back to being positive again.

Reiss Lane