LTLF would like to pass its condolences on to the family of former Notts County and Mansfield Town player Keith Alexander. Best known in the East Midlands as recent Lincoln City and Peterborough United manager, Alexander was born in Nottingham and began his playing career with Notts. He had survived a brain aneurysm in 2003 but sadly passed away at the age of 53 today.
When Billy Davies arrived at the City Ground in January of last season, he inherited a side struggling for form and low on confidence.
However, the little Scot instilled a sense of belief and togetherness, which was absent from his predecessor Colin Calderwood’s talented but inexperienced side.
Nottingham Forest make the short trip across the midlands this evening to face Coventry City at the Ricoh Arena. The Reds got back to winning ways on Saturday, beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 thanks to Dexter Blackstock’s brace.
The victory was a much needed antidote for the doom and gloom around the City Ground following the previous week’s defeat at the hands of local rivals Derby County and it means Forest have still lost only once in 21 league games.
Another transfer window slams shut. The cheque book sits untouched on Nigel Doughty’s desk. And after the summer’s spree, that’s perhaps unsurprising. Nicky Shorey’s loan to Fulham is frustrating. Martin O’Neill was clearly content to see him playing elsewhere for the rest of the season, but if Shorey harbours an ambition to represent his country again, Fulham may offer a better option. It will be interesting to see how frequently he starts for Roy Hodgson’s side.
American author Napoleon Hill once wrote, “Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life”. As the aftermath of the latest game against our rivals plays out in the public, I have found myself wondering what has happened to Nigel Clough.
Son of the much loved and historic figure for both clubs, Brian Clough, his conduct of late has been nothing short of insulting to all connected to Forest. Sly backhanded comments to the press regarding the club, a failure to appreciate how much Forest have come on and how they play and you realise as each interview with him plays out, the bitterness towards a club that made him the great player he was.
Football’s a funny old game. If you’re old enough to remember ‘The Saint and Greavsie’, then you’ll know where the popularisation of that particular stock phrase originated. It wasn’t a great show in all honesty, but was as good as it got in an era when TV punditry was primarily about humour, albeit of the cheesy, Tarbuckesque variety, rather than slick Sky’s every-angle-covered gizmo-fest.
They do say that you learn more from a defeat than a victory.
From the two games against Birmingham, Billy Davies will have learnt a fair deal about his squad as a whole and also about some of the individuals within it.
Thanks to MrTomNFFC for sending us this clip of Robbie Savage tying himself up in knots on Radio Derby. Savage starts on the offensive over some admittedly slack journalism from his BBC colleague Colin Gibson, but quickly loses the upper ground, unable to explain Derby’s recent poor form – except to suggest that the fans better get used to results like losing 4-1 at home to Scunthorpe and the only way Nigel Clough could turn things around would be to replace his entire first 11.
We’ve heard rumours, Robbie, that you’re a bit of a twonk…
The transfer window is now upon us and it is time for the speculation to begin on who is coming in and going out of the City Ground.
The Reds spent big in the summer and many people are expecting more arrivals in this window. However, with the side playing so well this season is there a need for further additions?
This week saw many of the players sent out on loan by manager Billy Davies to gain first team football, return back to the City Ground.
Youngsters Brendan Moloney, Joe Heath and Matt Thornhill have all returned to the club as has midfielder Arron Davies from their respective loan spells.
Breaking news: Kleenex supplies in Derbyshire have just run out.
“It’s a bigger outrage than when Diego Maradona punched the ball past Peter Shilton in 1986. It’s a bigger disgrace than when Zinedine Zidane butted Marco Materazzi three years ago,” fumes the Derby Telegraph on its tear-stained pages.
The strains of mournful violins can be heard across the city.
The new Left Back podcast from Left Lion, featuring myself and Rich Crouch representing LTLF, is available now. What with all the palaver over the Trent this week, we and regular Notts County correspondent Jacob went head-to-head to thrash out all the details of local football, including what Tord Grip will do for money if the Pies go out of business, why Jeremy Clarkson wants to ban Forest fans from Top Gear, and a Leicester fan who showed us her good points. Download it or listen online here.
Nigel Doughty is a man who knows exactly what he wants from life. The millionaire has conquered the business world in his generation and has seen his private equity business Doughty Hansen collect total assets of around £8 million.
The Newark born man has also pumped around £50 million into the club of his dreams, Nottingham Forest. But it is only now that people are starting to realise his dream of taking Forest back to the Premiership, and take notice.
December is traditionally a time for reflection – a chance to assess triumphs and failings as the year winds down to its end. A new one waits in the wings, filled with the apparent possibility that we can address those failings and conjure new triumphs; but now is a time for totting up scores.
It doesn’t work like that in football though, does it? The season doesn’t begin in January and end in December; nothing’s ever won before Christmas, so the old adage goes. Which, for Forest supporters, is a bit of a shame when you think about it.
“I’m quite shy and retiring in private. I don’t have much self confidence and I never swear.”
At last night’s Audience With… session at The Approach, which I’m sure will remain a talking point for several days, Billy Davies showed he was a master of irony.
Another splendid “Audience With…” evening at The Approach, this time with Forest’s own WMD – Billy Davies.
“Don’t believe anything you read,” Billy advised us, “…or half of what you hear. Cos it’s bulls**t!”
To be honest, I was expecting the evening to be very diplomatic, filled with very carefully practised responses – after all you could hardly expect to Billy to go off on one at his current and recent employers… well, how wrong can you be!
Arriving on stage to a resounding chorus of “Billy Davies is a Red…he hates D***y”, the twinkle in his eye revealed that this was probably true, and as host Darren Fletcher led the first half of questions, it proved to be the case.
Kelvin Wilson is no stranger to Nottinghamshire football. The Nottingham born defender has turned out for teams either side of the Trent, in Notts County and Nottingham Forest.
He is also a man held in the highest regard by his current boss, Billy Davies, who signed Wilson for Preston North End and then for current club Nottingham Forest.
When Colin Calderwood guided Nottingham Forest back into the Championship after a three year exile in League One, the Scot knew he needed to add some firepower to his squad if they were going to live up to his ambition of producing back to back promotions.
The £2.65 million acquisition of Robert Earnshaw certainly got the fans’ mouths watering, and this sense of anticipation was maintained when former England striker Andrew Cole joined his hometown club, with the message that he wanted to finish his career with promotion- with Forest.
However, as it turned out the Reds struggled for goals and found themselves in a relegation scrap.
Under the sure setting in of Autumn’s darkened skies, and with the country’s fireworks primed for the evenings festivities, Nottingham Forest found themselves, once again, facing an opposition from the upper reaches of the Championship, themselves hoping to light the very skies for the City Ground faithful, with a victory and three points that would see them leapfrog their opponents, Bristol City.
The great Dylan Thomas once wrote, “Wales is the land of my fathers, and my fathers can have it.” Under Cardiff Skies, it was clear that the inhabitants were somewhat more passionate with the fans in good voice ahead of their side, Cardiff’s tie with Nottingham Forest.
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American author Napoleon Hill once wrote, “Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life”. As the aftermath of the latest game against our rivals plays out in the public, I have found myself wondering what has happened to Nigel Clough.
Another splendid “Audience With…” evening at The Approach, this time with Forest’s own WMD – Billy Davies.
