HarryfromBath assesses the mood in the opposition camp ahead of Saturday’s game at Portman Road by delving into their forums.

“These are worrying and depressing times”, “We’re in deep trouble, aren’t we?”, “Make no mistake. We are heading into the relegation zone in the next few weeks”, “I’m lost for words at the state of us right now. One thing I would say is that this season has relegation written all over it.”

“What a shambolic team we are.” Forest went into the international break with a 1-1 home draw against a QPR side who subsequently sacked manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. The point gleaned was scant consolation following straight defeats at Reading, at home to Cardiff and at Blackburn.

“Get strapped in, we’re in for a battle.” With one win in 12 games, East Midlanders are fearing the worst. “It’s a major worry when you can’t beat absolute dross like QPR at home, even when they are down to 10 men for an hour. We had a pretty soft run of fixtures and completely screwed it up.”

“The club is rotten from the inside out, from an owner who doesn’t care to a team incapable of keeping a clean sheet”, “I have seen too many Forest relegation seasons to see the warning signs”, “If anyone is happy with Nottingham Forest at the moment, I would question their sanity.”

Fawaz Al-Hasawi

“We have suffered long enough with this club being run as a shambles”, “We were taken over by a complete clown and have paid a heavy price”, “Fawaz’s parting gift is a relegation team, an awful ragbag of leaderless loan signings and the never good enough”, “I’m ready for him to go now.”

The 48-year-old Kuwaiti owner is currently trying to sell the club, with American millionaire John Jay Moores set to complete a £50 million takeover according to the Nottingham Post. Fans have questioned his judgement in the past but two recent events appear have caused an irretrievable breakdown.

“The final nail in the coffin was the Oliver Burke sale [to RB Leipzig with no sell-on clause for a reported £13 million on August 28th]. Everything was running smoothly but one action from a money-grabbing chairman threw the feelgood factor out of the window and started a spiral of decline.”

Fans were also angered when a Guardian article published on October 19th by chief football writer Daniel Taylor listed the personal terms Fawaz had been seeking from potential buyers, including a £1 million annual salary, player bonuses and a cut from future profits.

“The latest article in The Guardian is the tipping point. His demands seem those of a raving lunatic. He’s no longer wanted here, that much is bloody obvious”, “The latest Guardian piece shows what a wretchedly greedy man he is”, “A worthless chancer who is best shot of as soon as possible.”

Philippe Montanier

“Poor old Phil has fallen into the problem most of our managers have after a while, looking for new excuses after matches. The raft of reasons why the wheels are falling off is getting pretty thin and he will soon have to go back to some of the old ones”, “He sounds out of ideas, blaming it on bad luck.”

“What exactly is his philosophy?” The 52-year-old former Stade Rennais boss “should have started with a solid Championship shape and experimented from there, hoping to improve performances. Instead he has gone gung-ho, chopping, changing, altering and going totally new from day one.”

“I can see what he is trying to do in creating a passing ethos but I don’t think we have the players for it.”, “When he gets the correct players to suit his style we can go for it, but we’re not Newcastle right now”, “He has not left because of the takeover, this has given him time to try and get things right.”

No Steel and No Midfield

“This group doesn’t have one bit of fight in them. They are gutless and useless”, “We haven’t got the character to match and then dominate teams”, “Teams know that we will melt if they put us under pressure”, “Who in our squad can stand up and be counted for more than three games on the spin?”

“This lot are weak.” Fans have constantly lamented the lack of resilience in a side which has regularly thrown away winning positions, most notably in their most recent game when they were a goal and a man up against QPR. The midfield has consistently been viewed as the weakest area in this regard.

“The defence looked like they knew each other and were fine against QPR. The midfield dropped and started trying to walk out of our box with the ball because they weren’t further up the field to pass to. Ten QPR men pushed us back, closed us down and forced us into errors. Embarrassing.”

“Why were we sitting back against 10 men?”, “The middle three completely disappeared after the break against QPR”, “We need midfielders capable of putting in a decent shift and getting up and down, not show ponies”, “We lack leaders and a decent midfield. We have no identity or shape.”

Formations

“We need a proper midfield general, someone who can influence games and provide a kick up the backside to some of our pampered footballers”, “We are in the dire situation where our two holding midfielders don’t support the attack play enough and they get played through too easily.”

The starting XI against QPR (above) contained the three central midfielders who have been most criticised by Reds. A lack of width in the squad was also highlighted by Montanier’s use of wing-backs for a second game running with natural right-back Eric Lichaj starting on the left flank.

“The defence is made of tissue paper”, “Going 19 games without a clean sheet is pathetic.” Fans have also become weary of a regular pattern of defensive errors which have cost them points.

“We concede some shocking goals. If we were outclassed you would accept it but free headers at corners, losing the ball in your own corner, a keeper not coming for or flapping at the ball, these aren’t really to do with style of play. It is just poor play and poor decision-making.”

Injuries have hampered Forest lately. Left-backs Danny Fox and Daniel Pinillos, centre-back Michael Mancienne, midfielder David Vaughan and striker Nicklas Bendtner on the verge of returning to the side after layoffs. Of all these returnees, Vaughan’s tenacity in midfield would be most welcomed.

Forest 1 — 1 QPR

“This feels like a defeat”, “We should have buried QPR in the first half but didn’t”, “The midfield stopped closing down, stopped winning balls and couldn’t push forward with the ball to start attacks or play in the strikers in the second half”, “We had them on the rack but gave them a route back.”

Britt Assombalonga rounded the keeper to put the hosts ahead on 38 minutes, four minutes after the Londoners’ Karl Henry had been dismissed following a second yellow card. The game turned when Forest’s Hildeberto Pereira was dismissed for the third time this season on 71 minutes.

Fans feared the worst as this sparked a late Rangers rally and weren’t surprised when substitute Idrissa Sylla stole in to glance a headed equaliser five minutes from the final whistle. “One worries that these are the games you look back on in May and wonder was this where we threw it away.”

Reading 2 — 0 Forest

“Another weekend ruined”, “We huffed and we puffed a bit but Reading didn’t really need to get out of second gear”, “Another disappointing day along with the feeling you have been there many times before”, “Two of my favourite players in recent times have sunk us today, it’s appalling.”

The Royals enjoyed a routine win with goals from Garath McCleary on 10 minutes and Chris Gunter on 62. They kept up a pattern of former Forest players scoring against the side this season with Jamie Paterson having struck for Bristol City in their 2-1 home win at the beginning of October.

“That will be a 5-4-1 with no pace, little creativity and inviting Reading on to us.” The starting line-up (above) was the first time that Forest had switched to a three-man defence and most fans felt that this was an attempt to grind out a result. “It seems like Montanier really wants that clean sheet.”

“Even when we set the team up to keep it tight, we still concede soft goals.” Reds were especially critical of Vladimir Stojkovic for parrying the ball to McCleary for the Royals’ opener. Once Gunter added a second, the hosts saw out the game comfortably. “Ah well, onwards and, er, downwards.”

Forest 1 — 2 Cardiff

“Cardiff are a pretty terrible side but their game plan seems to be ‘let Forest make mistakes and take advantage’ and it’s working a treat”, “Cardiff did the best job on us defensively I have seen any side do this season. They restricted us to long range shots and stopped us working our way into the box.”

Aron Gunnarsson opened the scoring for the Bluebirds with an unmarked header on 28 minutes and Joe Ralls added a second 11 minutes later. Thomas Lam was red-carded on 58 minutes for a foul on Anthony Pilkington and Henri Lansbury scored a stoppage-time consolation penalty for the Reds.

“Teams who cannot defend go down.” Fans were angry at the unmarked header, the loss of the ball by the corner flag and the casual defending which cost them two goals and a red card. “Our defence doesn’t know the basics or can’t do them”, “I am lost for words at the state of us at the moment.”

“That team looks dreadful on paper and we know from experience it will be dreadful on grass. I have already written this one off.” Fans were unhappy with a starting XI (above) that included a struggling Nicolao Dumitru on one flank and Ben Osborn in a less effective role out wide across the pitch.

“What was Britt doing before the penalty?” “The penalty debate sums up club now.” An argument between Assombalonga and Lansbury over who should take the late penalty was one of a number of incidents mentioned in an article on The Loving Feeling website, a good read which captured the toxic post-match mood among fans.

Goalkeepers and Defenders

“With each week going past, my confidence in Vladimir Stojkovic dips. It baffles me how he makes top class saves but then spills routine ones.” The 33-year-old summer addition from Maccabi Haifa “can be both a cult hero and a complete failure in the same game”, “The jury is still out on him.”

“I’m not sure if Vlad is being beaten by worldies or is exceptionally slow reacting”, “He has his flappy moments”, “My worry is that he makes every save look contrived. When you are struggling at the back, you want your keeper to be conventional but I find myself watching him from behind my seat.”

“I would rather see Lichaj, Mancienne or a traffic cone than Danny Fox at left-back”, “He looks exposed when widemen attack him.” The 30-year-old ex-Saint “gives me no confidence when he is on the ball. He gets caught out of position time and again and doesn’t have the pace to recover”.

“Daniel Pinillos is almost ready to play again.” Reds have welcomed the news that the 24-year-old ex-Cordoba man has returned after a knee injury picked up last December to play 45 minutes in an U23 game against Sheffield Wednesday. “He is a key player at left-back. We have no viable replacement.”

“Eric Lichaj is a good solid player for where we are as a club.” The 27-year-old former Villa right-back “is expressive going forward but he can allow opponents too much space”, “He put in a good solid shift at left wing-back against QPR and played with tons of energy but was less comfortable there.”

“If the brief is to play the ball out of defence, it is certainly lost on Matt Mills. Pretty much every out ball from him is an aimless hoof.” The 30-year-old ex-Bolton centre-half “just doesn’t seem to fit in since Dougie Freedman departed”, “His distribution is poor and he has at least a couple of mistakes per game.”

“If it’s a poor diagonal you want, step forward Matt Mills. The guy is a donkey when he is given some time to think”, “He doesn’t suit playing out from the back and has done little all season”, “He is superb in the air and puts in good challenges but is wasteful passing the ball out of defence.”

“I would play Joe Worrall in every game now and see how he does.” The 19-year-old youth product broke into the side at Reading. “We have been crying out for a no-nonsense defender. He has very good positional sense, awareness, strength, speed and an ‘if unsure put it in Row 26’ approach.”

“Worrall is a good prospect”, “The pick of the lot and looks like an absolute tank too. I don’t see him being bullied any time soon”, “He’s a big lad but composed on the ball”, “For a young lad his decision-making is better than the John Stones wannabes we currently have masquerading at centre-back.”

Damien Perquis

“Perquis is head and shoulders out best centre-half.” The 32-year-old summer arrival from Toronto FC “is usually very good passing from the back. He is technically good in possession too”, “He has to start every game, he’s rock solid”, “Outstanding aerially and one of the best passers in the team.”

“We have been crying out for a defender that stops attacks dead and doesn’t just back off”, “Perquis has been decent but needs to know when to just defend or pass to a red shirt”, “He makes great interceptions, tackles, blocks and a lot of the time is one step ahead of the play which is crucial.”

Central Midfielders

“Patjim Kasami is the worst player I have seen in a Forest shirt in a very long time.” The 24-year-old one-time Fulham man is on a season-long loan from Olympiakos. “He has the shooting ability of my three-year-old daughter”, “He’s an allegedly talented player who cannot pass to a team-mate.”

“My heart sinks when I see Kasami’s name in the starting line-up”, “Lacklustre, lightweight, tediously slow and doesn’t get his head up”, “Could be imposing but just isn’t cutting it”, “A non-contributing passenger who doesn’t do anything at all but still picks up a wage”, “He’s a major luxury player.”

“Chris Cohen is a revelation at centre-back but a waste of a shirt in midfield.” The 29-year-old club stalwart and former Glover “is worrying. He looks was off the pace and has made a catalogue of late mistimed challenges and misplaced passes in midfield”, “At least you can never fault his effort.”

“Play Cohen at centre-back or not at all. Pairing him with an out-of-form Kasami is simply asking for trouble”, “Those two together have the pace of a Darby and Joan outing”, “A wonderful servant to the club and talismanic to have in the changing room but probably not up to it in central midfield.”

“Imagine the lack of effort without Ben Osborn in the team.” The 22-year-old youth product “never fails to put in a shift even if things aren’t happening for him on the ball”, “He closes down opponents at every opportunity. He is the best player in the squad at continuously pressing in this manner.”

“Osborn does the work of two players, but needs to add more goals and assists to his game. His goal return for a player often involved in attacks is pretty poor”, “He looks for intricate passes that others don’t try”, “He is constantly trying to make things happen but we often lack numbers up front.”

“Pray for a fully-fit David Vaughan.” The 33-year-old ex-Sunderland man has missed the last three matches with a rib problem and his absence has been keenly felt. “He is tidy on the ball and breaks up play”, “The timing of his tackles when there is little margin for error any more is really excellent.”

“I like Vaughan. He reminds me of Ian Bowyer, not one of your flair type players but sits and dictates in midfield and always puts a shift in”, “How important he is to have in our side, pressing, tackling, possession and movement. Vaughan ticks every box that a defensive midfielder should have.”

Henri Lansbury

“We know Lansbury scores from the edge of the box, but why he isn’t there is mystifying to me”, “He’s just not dynamic enough. We need to be a goal or two up for him to find that spark to get into dangerous positions”, “He seems to be struggling to rise above the mediocrity in recent games.”

“There is something about Lansbury that typifies the inability of our team to see things through. He has ability but also has a very large self-destruct button.” Many believe that the 26-year-old former Arsenal man has flattered to deceive in his four years at the club. “He flits in and out of games.”

“I would get rid of him.” Others are more cynical. “As long as he posts pictures of himself kissing the badge he will barely get criticised. He has the lot of you around his little finger”, “I have him down as a technically-gifted player, but one to raise the tempo and motivate others? Not for me.”

Wide Midfielders

“I know he’s exciting and all that but Hildeberto Pereira is a total liability.” The right-sided 20-year-old Benfica loan signing is suspended for Saturday’s game and will be missed. “He’s continues to be our most exciting player. He creates chances and can hurt teams from anywhere on the pitch.”

“Don’t get me started on Nicolao Dumitru.” The 25-year-old Napoli loan signing “doesn’t look like a footballer”, “He offers no attacking threat, no pace, strength and weak hospital passes”, “I’m not convinced Dumitru is actually a footballer. It looks like he has been pulled out of the stands.”

“A highlight of the Fulham game earlier in the season, Dumitru receiving the ball in a good position, losing it and getting a yellow card”, “It seems like he has some technical ability but decision-making leaves a lot to be desired”, “I’m not convinced he ever actually played football before coming here.”

“Armand Traore is a bit lazy, isn’t he?” The 27-year-old summer signing from QPR “is slow and full of mistakes”, “He looks off the pace. He is awkward on the ball and gives it away much too cheaply”, “He is too casual and has absolutely no end product”, “Armand Traore is the new Danny Fox.”

Traore was heavily criticised for his role in giving the ball away near the Forest corner flag in the build-up to Cardiff’s second goal. “But again Traore, every time I see it, it gets funnier because it is so half-baked”, “That is some of the worst defending I have ever seen. Traore is an absolute idiot.”

Strikers

“Apostolos Vellios reminds me of Gary Birtles in how he plays.” The 24-year-old one-time Everton striker’s “goal-poaching instincts remind me of our Gary”, “He plays sensibly and without theatrics, simply a bloke trying to play football”, “A cracking hold-up striker whose goals are a total bonus.”

“Vellios rarely gives freekicks away, something almost every target man is guilty of. He knows he can run in behind as well. He has a fair bit of pace so he doesn’t have to constantly rely on his strength”, “He has that knack of being in the right place”, “The one piece of brightness is the current gloom.”

Nicklas Bendtner

“Bendtner looks an absolute unit, albeit one who has a lovely touch. Once he gets fit and finds the pace of this league, we could have some player on our hands”, “He has the nous of a player who has played a level above, probing, dropping deep, looking for space and dragging defenders with him.”

“An absolute monster in size and agile too.” The 28-year-old September signing from Wolfsburg and one time Arsenal man missed the last four games with an ankle injury. Fans have been impressed with the glimpses they have seen. “Bendtner is a Rolls-Royce up front with some sublime touches.”

Britt Assombalonga

“Good to see Britt back for a start today after his serious injury”, “He is building match fitness and looks like he could lose a couple of stone”, “He gives us a bit of quality with his runs but he is well out of shape”, “He was exhausted after an hour of the QPR game and should have been taken off.”

The 23-year-old ex-Peterborough striker “completely bullies centre-backs. If the ball is played to his feet, he holds it up and pushes defenders around. When played in behind, he spins and runs away from defenders”, “Britt never gets knocked off the ball when up against some big defensive units.”

“Britt’s antics against Cardiff were a disgrace and he needs to lose some weight. All that being said, he’s our most valuable player”, “He seems a joy to be around, but it was disgraceful of him arguing for the penalty and made worse by him sulking to the halfway line when everyone else was ready.”

Forest Fans’ Views on ITFC and the Game

“Who an earth is picking the games”, “What a bizarre game to put on TV. I'm not sure why Sky chose this one”, “This could be the first game in history where both teams end up on minus figures”, “It won't be a classic, that's a certainty. Ipswich aren't much cop and neither are we.”

“Ipswich look to have turned it around just in time for us”, “It will be 2-1 Ipswich. Portman Road isn't a good hunting ground for us in recent years.” With 68 per cent of Reds going for an Ipswich win and 18 per cent backing their own side, the mood is pessimistic. “We'll lose this because we’re rubbish.”

“What we really need to do is accept that trying to play an open fairly attacking game is not always the way forward. We need a more pragmatic approach, try to kill the game without the cacophony of moans coming from fans who presumably would rather we got beaten while we try to attack.”

The curse of the former player has caused anxiety. “We could be in the relegation places before this game kicks off. It will be 2-0 to Ipswich with Chambers and McGoldrick scoring”, “I can take Gunter and McCleary doing us over for Reading because they are good players, but if this happens... Christ.”

“David McGoldrick looked like he was drunk when he came on for the Republic on Saturday. I've not seen a sub play that bad since George Weah's fake cousin came on for Southampton”, “Not as drunk as Leicester must have been to offer £8 million for McGoaldrought”, “Or McCarthy who turned it down.”

Despite some churlish comments about David McGoldrick’s recent appearance for the Republic of Ireland in their win in Vienna, Reds were gracious about the honesty of his comments about his time playing at the City Ground in which he admitted he “wasn’t good enough”.

“Fair play to the lad”, “I always felt McGoldrick had talent but we just couldn't get it out of him”, “I never rated him that much personally and he knows his limitations. It’s very refreshing to hear a player saying it how it is”, “He’s definitely a player which others have got more from.”

Others were less kind. “There’s a statement of the blindingly obvious. There are a few thousand Forest fans who could have told him that”, “I have a feeling this is really tempting the gods of the returning player to bite us in the backside on Saturday.”

Websites

The busiest Forest message board is the polite and friendly LTLF Forest Forum.

@HarryFromBath

Photo: Action Images

BlueHarwich added 11:58 - Nov 18 Quite ironic that 'David Mcgoldrick looked drunk when he came on the for the Republic of Ireland on Saturday'! As a Pis*ed up Didzy would walk into your absolute dire team and still be your best player!!
6

LankHenners added 12:05 - Nov 18 Thanks Harry, hopefully we've played badly enough to allow ourselves a bit of the underdog tag again - we've seemed to have played better under that condition in recent years. Sounds like we should be able to bully them about and get the win. Another performance similar to Sheff Weds and we could get something on the verges of a comfortable victory. Their comments about McGoldrick always amuse me - they really must have seen a completely different player to the one we've got and it seems that some of the them are so blinkered by what they saw of him that they can't accept that he's become a great player and subsequently look down on us. Makes a victory all the more sweeter when you know that fans will react like this.

3

theipswichman added 12:10 - Nov 18 Forest fans are clueless when it comes to Mcgoldrick, he's class and by far my favourite current town player. I also don't see what he did wrong when he came on for Ireland, didn't he contribute to seeing out a 1-0 win?
2

TR11BLU added 12:32 - Nov 18 Spot on the comment about why this is on TV....bizarre scheduling Those who call for ME to leave should take note... Tops as ever Harry, Cheers
4

Bluebell added 16:53 - Nov 18 Thanks Harry. Let's hope Didzy gets a hat trick after those comments. Weird when his family are in Nottingham and I have always thought he might go back there. After our result at Wednesday, with most of the same team, we should win tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to the game especially as there was no game last week.
2

sgtlargent added 16:58 - Nov 18 Does you make you wonder with regards to that statement, "would rather we attack and lost", how long would we put up with it down here for? Alright bringing this "young and hungry" or foreign manager I constantly hear cravings for but they rarely cut it in the champ. Its become a graveyard of experience. And I doubt very much anyone could be happier going home lost 4-3 than winning 1-0.

2

JimmyJazz added 17:12 - Nov 18 I believe Sky picked this fixture after the first weekend of the season, when we scored 4 against Barnsley and Forest scored 4 or 5 against Burton
2

CambridgeBlue added 20:59 - Nov 18 "We need a more pragmatic approach, try to kill the game without the cacophony of moans coming from fans who presumably would rather we got beaten while we try to attack." Something some Town fans could do with learning.
3

DanLyles added 08:24 - Nov 19 Watching the goals they have conceded, Forest look particularly vulnerable from crosses. Hopefully Lawrence and Ward will be able to exploit this. If Cohen and Kasami are as bad as their fans suggest in the holding roles then Didz and Bishops dribbling ability should also be suited to the occasion. Hoping we can put on a bit of a show but you never know in this crazy league. Frustrating times for Forest. Burke has been a revelation at Leipzig. With Osborn on the other flank, Lansbury and Vaughan in the middle, Bendter alongside Assombalonga, they would have had an excellent front six. Luckily for us only 3 of those are likely to feature. I hope Lansbury stays quiet as he can run a game when in the mood. Would love Assombalonga and Osborn at Town, great players who could do us damage today if they get the right service.

1

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls