Salvation through relegation?
29/04/05 | by Alan Fisher

Rewind to last season, around this time – after a bit of ‘promotion form’ following the arrival of Mr Kinnear, we were pretty much safe having upset Wigan’s play-off aspirations and about to go and take a leak on the rather stale promotion ‘celebrations’ that were going on at the Hawthorns. Can you remember the sense of jubilation and optimism that coursed through us in such a heady concoction? Johnno scored a blinder against the Baggies. Next season we were going to carry on this form and we were surely going back to the big time.

Of course, t’was not to be – it was another false dawn in a decade or more of false dawns. Kinnear proved to be nothing more than the briefest of flashes in the pan and we were soon treated to his complete ineptitude as a coach and manager. Now, as we look much more set to take the plunge, as long as there’s that glimmer of light we once again find ourselves daring to imagine the thrill of survival – the celebrations, the renewed optimism that will fill us all with unbridled over-estimation of our chances next season. Thing is, we’ve been there before, and we really should know better.

If we had been relegated last season we would have had a wholesale clearout – and that is what the club needs. If it takes a humiliating descent into the third tier to achieve this, then so be it. Kinnear rightly took credit for being a saviour, but he was another compromise – a manager that the powers-that-be installed as a quick-fix solution and backed wholly until it was irrefutable that he wasn’t up to the job. Had we been relegated, we would have probably not retained Kinnear or half the playing staff who’ve let us down so badly this season and we would have had a clean slate.

Whilst I certainly don’t see Megson as another Kinnear – he’s a man I’d like to see in charge at Forest next season and beyond – I can’t help but think that if he pulls off the biggest challenge of his career to date that it gives Doughty et al yet another excuse to continue their l’aissez faire regime of this badly-run outfit. Survive, and I can’t help but think we’ll be in for another couple of seasons of struggling, before Megson loses his patience and doesn’t renew his contract, and the cycle will continue.

Get relegated and give Megson free reign to clear out the squad and replace them with players he wants (within sensible financial reason, of course!) and I really do think we have a chance to create a much more disciplined and professional outfit, blow apart the destructive cliques within the playing staff before they ensnare any more promising youngsters, and force Doughty to put his money where his mouth is – it’s been shown quite easily that as a collective we put more cash into the club than he does, he needs to respect that and give us some honest answers.

It’s a big gamble. We could do anything ranging from a ‘Sheffield Wednesday’ and languish or a ‘QPR’ and return (albeit slowly) – but either way, surely that’s more interesting than scrapping in this godforsaken division for all eternity. And you never know, with our fan base, a decent manager and with proper backing – we might just do a ‘Manchester City’ (and no, I don’t mean end up with Psycho in charge!)... now there’s a thought!