A departure in style for my Left Brian column, partially because I can't think of anything more depressing than reliving the last few weeks, and partly because I have a big fat rant I need to somehow extract from my head - so I will use this as an opportunity to do so. The first time I've written truly original copy for Left Lion too, which in itself is a nice development, I think. So, onward with the rant. Should you want the lowdown on what has been happening at Forest from my perspective, then click here and here.
A dawning of realisation is starting to hit the good fans of Nottingham Forest, upon the appointment of Billy Davies (whom I initially didn't want anywhere near the club, I must admit) things started to look up. He was proven at this level, more than any other candidate, he said the right things, made the right noises - he won me round very quickly, although he would have my support regardless of course.
Now here I sit the day after my most humiliating experience ever as a Forest fan - and there have been plenty of them along the way. A 30 year record of not losing to them lies in tatters, the feat being achieved not once, but twice within a space of a mere 17 days. That is how low we have fallen. Billy Davies rightly bemoans the size of squad, the lack of signings, the inability to compete with 'the big spenders' (last time I checked, Forest spent £2.6m on Earnshaw, £1m+ on Garner!).
Billy Davies fails to explain how the same team, by and large, were able to compete and beat Manchester City 3-0, he fails to explain how we have singularly failed to address our limited numbers of players when our fellow Championship teams have done so - big spenders or otherwise. He fails to explain how a team that was competing if not excelling most of the time has become bereft of confidence, and seemingly the ability to kick a football.
Nigel Doughty and Mark Arthur fail to explain anything - they were apparently on holiday for the game yesterday, rumours that their absence further hinders the acquisition of loan signings - all in all, a shambles on and off the pitch. Even the bloody PA system - why would you play 'goal music' when Forest score a consolation goal, why on earth would you gleefully annouce a Forest player as man of the match? You just wouldn't, would you? The whole set up at Forest seems set up to ritually cause us as much embarrassment as possible.
I can't and won't blame the players for the debacle against Derby - it's true some of them can't cut it, but I don't doubt each of them put effort in to the game. It becomes a very bleak place very quickly for the fans - as once again relegation looms dazzlingly large in our rear view mirror, it is very hard to countenance a return to the football scrapheap that League One has become - even there, Leicester City are demonstrating with consummate ease what we could have done down there.
Were relegation to League One happen I fear the patience many of us have showed over the last ten years will wear thin to breaking point. This is why we are owed an apology and an explanation from Messrs Doughty, Arthur and Davies, because as a collective they have failed to keep their end of the bargain, to provide us with a team capable of competing at this level. And I want to know why.
Through the seasons before us - NFFC Blog
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