Notes for the New Season — Part Four: Forest, Derby and Watford Monday, 28th Jul 2014 11:33 In the fourth of a series of pre-season reports, HarryFromBath assesses the mood around the Championship clubs by delving into their forums. Nottingham Forest, Derby County and Watford are under the spotlight in today’s notes. Nottingham Forest — Give the Club Legend a Go! “Psycho is back. He’s put together a great backroom team and he’s bringing in players”, “He’s shipped off expensive dead wood and signed a few players cheaply with potentially big futures ahead of them”, “He has spoken honestly and openly, and said that he will be judged by results.” “He has identified the areas which need strengthening, and brought players in with minimal fuss, and he’s allowing the press access to the club and his management team in order to give fans the information they want in an open and honest way.” After the unpleasant end to the reign of former boss Billy Davies, supporters have been bewitched by the return of their club legend and by his open and honest management style. “This club is going places. We’re going to ride a wave of delusion and optimism all the way to the Premier League.” Stuart Pearce “Pearce loves the club and we love him”, “There’s a different mood than before, one of optimism. I think that we feel genuinely much better about the club, our future and ourselves. I trust the staff to have a Plan A and a Plan B.” “Pearce cares for the club, loves the club, knows what makes it special and what makes it work. He should get as much support as any manager can expect from a set of supporters, and this could be crucial. It’s worth a shot. We’ve been out of the Premier League for 15 years and exhausted every other approach.” One supporter hinted at an even more novel approach: “We know that Pearce loves the club to bits. Hopefully his love for the club will percolate down through the squad. This will foster an excellent team spirit which will produce good results, even if the tactics might not always be spot-on.” This love has percolated into the prediction polls. In one survey, 37% of Reds expect a top two finish and 70% expect the team to finish in the play-offs or higher. Transfer Dealings A parade of well-known players has left the City Ground this summer. Chilean defender Gonzalo Jara (to Mainz) and striker Matt Derbyshire (to Rotherham) have relocated, but Guy Moussi, Jonathan Greening, Marcus Tudgay, Ishmael Miller and Simon Gillett have yet to find clubs. Reds have been unnerved by transfer speculation linking defender Jamaal Lascelles to QPR and Henri Lansbury to Burnley. “Jamaal is a huge talent, and is our best or second-best defender.” However, the loss of ‘Angela’ Lansbury — “crucial to our midfield” — would be more grievously felt.
A poll showed that 90% of supporters want Lansbury to stay. “He is our most crucial player in the long term”, “I don’t think he should be sold. He’s a fantastic player and one of the most talented in the division.” Several Reds mentioned a minimum transfer fee of £5 million were he to leave. No fewer than five defenders have arrived. Danny Fox has joined from Southampton, 19-year-old Roger Riera has arrived from Barcelona, where he “captained at all youth levels”. Lewis Laing has come from Sunderland while Jack Hunt is at the City Ground on a season’s loan from Palace.
The arrival of ex-Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne for a reported £1 million fee from Hamburg has most pleased supporters. “We have a very strong squad, but our chances rely heavily on injuries. That’s why I am so happy with Mancienne, as he provides quality in so many areas.” Two strikers have been signed, Matty Fryatt from Hull, and 22-year-old Lars Veldwijk, who scored 34 goals last season for Excelsior in the Dutch second division. “If we are going 4-2-3-1, then Lars has to be the man of the moment. He is our counter-attacking option away from home providing we can sign a winger.” Reds have two major concerns with the shape of their squad, a lack of width and particularly a lack of pace. Sandicino Silva, a 20-year-old trialist winger who played for Benfica B, excited supporters hugely when he had a storming game for Forest’s U21s in a 4-1 win over Boston United. “I expect to win a lot of games 1-0 or 2-0 this season, with us keeping control in the last 20 minutes to see it out.” Fans don’t expect the love they feel for their manager to translate in any way into romantic football. Their hope is that a solid defence and a lack of brittleness could finally see them promoted. Derby County — We Must Be Sensible “Good people of Derby and the world, can you hack watching the highlights or the full 90 minutes of our unfortunate Wembley defeat at the hands of QPR?”, “It still hurts. I couldn’t bear it just yet. The heartbreak still lingers when I think about it.” Derby spent much of the second half of last season jousting at the top of the play-off places. There is a sense of realism among supporters ahead of this season. They know just how hard it is to achieve promotion after tasting the bitterness of losing so late in May’s play-off final. “My unread programme went straight in the cupboard”, “I never will watch it. If fate should put the pictures in front of me, I will close my eyes and cover my ears. Once was enough”, “I was going to the other day but couldn’t. I watched the 5-0 win over Forest instead. I was happy after that.” Steve McClaren “McClaren has been amazing for us in the coaching role”, “Let’s see who we can secure on loan once the Premiership teams have named their squads. I think we will get the pick of the bunch, as teams will want their future starlets to be developed under McClaren’s coaching.”
The former England boss is widely seen as some sort of training ground alchemist, given how he transformed the squad - both individually and tactically as a team — after their faltering start under his predecessor Nigel Clough last season. His judgement is completely trusted. Not Counting Chickens “If anyone thinks that a top six finish next season is going to be easy, they are quite simply nuts”, “We have a good squad capable of promotion, but it doesn’t give us the right to act as though we are pretty much up. These things come back to bite you on the behind.” “Given last season’s finish, it’s fair to say that anything outside the top six would be seen as a failure”, “The Championship is a long hard slog and you need slices of luck along the way. Nothing is guaranteed”, “I couldn’t take Wembley again.” Guarding the Crown Jewels “We have largely re-signed players who were ours anyway”, “We should not be over-excited based on the euphoria of not losing any of our Crown Jewels.” Much of Derby’s transfer work this summer has revolved around extending the contracts of their high achieving young stars. Defenders Craig Forsyth and Jake Buxton, and midfielders Jeff Hendrick, Will Hughes and Craig Bryson have extended their contracts by between three and five years.
One experienced player — defender Zak Whitbread — has arrived from Leicester, but new signings have largely been promising young players. Former Arsenal midfielder, 20-year-old Alban Bunjaku has signed, along with 19-year-old winger Alefe Santos (from Bristol Rovers), 21-year-old right-back Cyrus Christie (from Coventry) and Spain U20 international attacking midfielder Ivan Calero from Atletico Madrid. The Rams’ most important signing, holding midfielder George Thorne damaged an anterior cruciate ligament just five days after he joined from West Brom. Press reports suggest that he could be out for as long as nine months. This has done more to kill the mood than the Wembley defeat. The Thorne Ultimatum “Losing George Thorne is a huge blow. I really think that could cost us 10+ points this season. I’m gutted”, “It is cruel that this should happen after all the effort, negotiation and emotion invested in the protracted pursuit and eventual capture of his signature.” The 21-year-old’s ability to anchor the midfield and release his two central partners was widely seen as pivotal in Derby’s run to the play-offs after he joined on loan from West Brom in January. “We managed to get Thorne on loan last season, so hopefully another defensive midfielder is out there.”
A young loan signing is widely seen as the favoured option to cover Thorne’s loss, and there is no question of changing system despite his loss. “Our current 4-3-3 formation was working even before Thorne arrived. Everyone knows the shape, where to press and by now they know each other’s jobs.” Despite the Thorne setback, most Rams cannot wait for the campaign to start. “I’m still looking forward to the new season. We have a great chance of promotion but it’s a very long season”, “I don’t think I can recall a time when I have been this excited or expectant for a coming season. Bring it on.” Watford - Return of the King “It’s great to think that Watford are genuine promotion contenders without anyone falling off their chair in uncontrollable laughter. That to me is progress, and I’m looking forward to an exciting and very interesting league campaign.” “Things did go unexpectedly wrong last season, just as they went unexpectedly right the season before.” Most Hornets believe that they have an outstanding squad and they are hoping that last season’s mid-table finish was a misstatement of their ability. “We’ve certainly got the squad to challenge for the top two. It looks like Sannino is bringing the organisation and preparation that Zola lacked, and which served Burnley and Leicester so well last year”, “I think Sannino can organise the team in a way that will succeed in this division.” Beppe Sannino “Sannino had a patchy season. We went on a record run at home, but this was tied in with dismal form on the road”, “Beppe has much to prove. Graham Taylor always used to say, ‘look at who is managing the team before looking at the individual quality on the pitch’.”
The former Chievo manager steadied the ship after the Hornets made a poor start last season. Despite this, supporters are giving him little room for manoeuvre given the perceived strength of their squad. “I think the pressure will be on Beppe straight away. I expect the Pozzos to act quickly if we’re not challenging for the top two places early on”, “There’s no place for Beppe to hide if this season goes belly up”, “The team trailed off alarmingly last season. A continuation would hasten his departure.” No Pressure “Based on our potential and given that the squad have had a full pre-season together, anything other than promotion will have to be considered a failure this year”, “My minimum expectation is sixth. My hope is for automatic promotion.” “We are virtually there in terms of a squad capable of challenging for the title.” In one poll, no fewer than 82% of Hornets expect to see their team at least make the play-offs, and 31% anticipate automatic promotion. “We should walk this league with our team. I’m not stupid enough to believe that it’s a given and expect us to spin the play-off wheel of fortune”, “We all agree that last year was a disappointment. We fell below par in terms of expectations, let alone hopes. It has to be different this time.” Transfer Dealings Watford have been busy this summer. Four established players in their thirties — keeper Manuel Almunia and defenders Marco Cassetti, Nyron Nosworthy and Fitz Hall have not had their contracts renewed, and Albert Riera has returned to Udinese after his brief loan spell. Heurelho Gomes (from Tottenham) and defender Gabriel Tamas (from Doncaster) have signed one-year deals. Defender Craig Cathcart has arrived from Blackpool on a two-year contract and winger Lloyd Dyer has been signed on a three-year contract from newly-promoted Leicester. Former ITFC midfielder Keith Andrews has just joined on a one-year loan deal from Bolton, having been on loan at Brighton last season, and fans were pleased to see midfielder Daniel Toszer return from Parma on a two-year loan deal.
Many feel that the best summer business has been keeping last season’s 24-goal top scorer. “The attack looks awesome if we can keep hold of Troy Deeney up top”, “The best offer we’ve had for Deeney is an insulting £6.5 million”, “When will people realise that Watford are not a selling club.” The main reason behind Hornets’ confidence is the return of Matej Vydra. They have high hopes that he will rekindle his prolific partnership with Deeney, and this is further bolstered by having a fully fit Almen Abdi, the Swiss international having missed most of last season with a foot injury. Vydra is Back “Vydra has returned, which is a boost to everyone. This will bolster our self-belief.” The Czech striker was at the heart of Watford’s successful campaign two seasons ago, and has returned to Vicarage Road on loan from Udinese after spending last season on loan at West Brom. “Playing 3-5-2 didn’t work last season because we lacked Abdi’s and Vydra’s quality”, “Many of us are underestimating the loss of Abdi and Vydra. Abdi makes us tick, and Vydra forces defences to play deeper for fear of his destroying them on the counter attack.” “You need a target man next to Vydra, “A big part of Vydra coming back was the ability to play with Troy Deeney again, and he was told that Deeney was going nowhere.”
Most Hornets believe that Vydra cannot play the lone striker role, and this has led to debate after debate over which formation best suits the squad. “Ah, the annual formation thread”, “It’s so hard to pick a formation this year with the number of players we have.” “Playing three at the back works well when played with discipline, but certainly not in the manner we played it last year. You simply cannot afford to break with both wing-backs at the same time, and if a defender (eg Angella) goes up for a set piece, a capable midfielder has to cover for him.” Areas of Concern “Shutting up the defence has to be the number one priority”, “We still have essentially the same defensive personnel who have cost us so dearly over the last two seasons”, “Our centre-backs are too immobile and do not communicate well.” Hornets have anxieties about their defending. They are also nervous about a habit of conceding late goals which they acquired last season, and a lack of someone to take charge when under pressure. “The one area where we fall short is currently our lack of a leader in the middle of the pitch”, “We need an experienced head in the middle.” However, quiet confidence is the dominant mood. “We do have a chance of promotion, but it won’t be easy. We need to keep our prolific strikers scoring, greatly tighten up our defence and try to be more consistent in our team selections”, “If we get off to a good start, we could fly this season.” Message Boards The busiest Forest forum is LTLF and the most active Rams message board is Rams Talk, while the busiest Hornets forum is The Hornets’ Nest. On Wednesday, the spotlight will fall on the two West Midlands teams of Birmingham and newly-promoted Wolves, and I will head down to South Wales to see how Cardiff are readjusting to life in the Championship. You can find Part One of Harry’s pre-season notes here, Part Two here and Part Three here.
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