lost that loving feeling - The Madness of King Marlon

At 6’1” and 14 stone, Marlon Harewood has the physique of a striker. His build, coupled with his lightning pace, should make him halfway there to being the 'Complete Striker'. So far in his Forest career, he has buried chances with both feet, cracked in shots from outside the box, beaten three players and tucked it away, lobbed the keeper and scored with his head - the Complete Striker? Well not quite.

If there has ever been a player at Nottingham Forest that has had as many admirers as critics for his performances alone, it is Marlon Harewood. Moments of apparent genius alongside pieces of apparent ineptitude is probably the best way to sum the lad up. 100% commitment to the cause one week, headless chicken the next. I am one of the Marlon fans. It is not because I believe he is a great player, but because I believe he has Nottingham Forest at heart and wants the team to succeed. Paul Gascoigne and David Ginola are players who can give their all to you, but you can also forget they are on the pitch. Their skills are not on show as much as players like Luis Figo or Zinedine Zidane for 90 minutes, but they are capable of winning you the match. Players such as Zidane and Figo are difficult to come by, not everyone is as gifted as they are and it is difficult to retain that level every week. If Ginola were capable of performing every week, he would not be going for free from Everton. It all comes down to expectations, and perhaps we expect too much from Marlon. So why all the love, anger and frustration around him? Simple. It is not because I believe he is a great player, but because I believe he has Nottingham Forest at heart and wants the team to succeed.

Michael Owen has something that no one can learn. Devastating pace is a great physical ability but there are players faster than Owen. Being small and nippy is not a unique attribute. The thing that sets Michael Owen apart from other players is a lightning brain to accentuate his lightning pace. Marlon should be onto every ball like a flash, expecting the defender’s error or the short back-pass. Okay, so sometimes Marlon struggles to trap the ball properly, but you can see why he does it. He is already trying to play the ball before he has control. Lee Chapman is a striker through and through. He proved at Forest he is fully capable of scoring goals, but there are a lot of snails who would fancy giving Chapman a run for his money over the 100 metres. No devastating pace and he were certainly not small and nippy. A good first touch and a good eye for goal are what made him a striker. With Marlon’s strong physique and height, he should be capable of being a “fox in the box” - a player who pops up with the vital finish from 1-18 yards. Chapman’s idea was to stand in the penalty area and eventually the ball will come to him. Not genius, but effective. If you haven’t got the pace, you have to find the space. Unfortunately for us, Marlon falls somewhere between Michael Owen and Lee Chapman.

It is unfair to totally pick the boy apart. He has had some great performances as a Forest player. No hat-trick for him yet as a first team player, but a few braces are not down to pure luck (although being the penalty taker now helps!). His pace is something that all managers have to guard against. Leaving a player like Marlon unmarked is suicide. His speed and willingness to run at players means that he can keep a team in their own half if not handled properly. So why does Marlon often get marked out of the game so easily and why does he manage to makes the worst out of a good situation? It is partly the brain thing again, although one player does not make a team. David Johnson is an example of this, and having been a Forest player, is the perfect example of this.

Any Trickies unfortunate enough to witness DJ and Jamie Scowcroft rip our defence to pieces on David Platt’s debut as manager will testify to DJ’s ability as a goal scorer and strike partner. Anyone who watched him play for Ipswich realises that this boy has the knack of rustling the onion bag. In the same way that players who played under Clough struggled away from the City Ground, the same appears to be true (certainly in the case of the forwards) since God’s departure, for incoming players. Stern John made his own chances and Pierre Van Hooijdonk and Stan Collymore were devastating power forwards, but the mere mention of Andi Silenzi, Bryan Roy (after Collymore’s exit), Neil Shipperley, Dougie Freedman and David Johnson has even the most optimistic Red crying in his beer. The connection between these five players was that they all thrived on one thing, service in the box, the one thing that the previous three did not thrive upon.

Which begs the question, is it really Marlon’s fault? 21 goals in 126 appearances (an average of a goal every 6 games!) sounds like the record of a decent midfielder rather than a forward, although he has come off the bench in 56 of those matches.

It pains me to say it, especially in the light of the resurgence of crisp passing that Paul Hart has brought back to us, but what is the point of being the best passing team in the league, if that league is Division Two? Points win prizes, lack of points wins relegation. I suppose it all hinges on whom Paul Hart wants up front and what he can afford up front. If Marlon is still to be our first choice striker, we need to play to his strengths. For me, I think Forest need to utilise a target man. The day I preach that any team starts playing the long ball is the day I give up watching the game as I would rather watch Forest in the Second Division than watch my beloved team pumping Scuds into the penalty area, so hear me out.

We have a decent defence, which has been weakened by the midfield not holding onto the ball. The midfield has been weakened by the forwards not holding onto the ball. The forwards are weakened by the lack of quality service into the penalty area. Too often we have expected the play to be started by Gareth Williams on the edge of our penalty area and to be taken forward by Marlon on the halfway line. A player who is capable of holding up the ball can relieve a lot of pressure on the midfield by allowing them to push up in support. Jack Lester is not a hold-up player, Adam Proudlock is capable of doing this, but it is not his best attribute. We have two capable wingers in Andy Gray and Andy Reid, but we tend to use the diamond formation and thus not using wingers. This leaves us dependant on through balls and quick breaks on the wings from the full backs. Which is not working. I fully understand that Paul Hart prefers to win 1-0 than 4-3, but we have been drawing far too many games (17 to date) through a sturdy defence and a lacklustre attack. A target man would be the perfect foil for Marlon allowing him to make his runs, and also make it possible for our defence to clear their lines and not have to prepare for the next onslaught from the opposition.

While we do not have the 'Complete Striker' in Marlon Harewood, we have a player who is capable of scoring goals and running with the ball at the defence. His dedication can always be seen, and I get the feeling that he drops out of the game through sheer frustration with himself. Stupid schoolboy errors and woeful finishing does not help his cause, but Marlon is capable of doing a job for Forest. He is not the brainiest player; he is not the fastest player; he is not the most natural finisher; he is not the most gifted in ball skills...

But it all comes down to expectations. We expect Marlon to score from 10 yards out, we expect him to look up now and again and see the player screaming in open space, yet it doesn’t always happen. But as I have argued before concerning Darren Ward, if he was the 'Complete Striker'/'Complete Goalkeeper', he wouldn’t be here. So let us appreciate the fact that we have a striker willing to give his all for the Super Reds and try and support him to score the goals that will give us a finish we can carry onto next season.

And watch Marlon bag his first hat-trick by burying the Sheep-Shaggers!