MAY THE BEST MAN WIN

I can just imagine Freedman with that smug look on his face at his Forest interview ' Listen it wasn't me, it was a right setup at that Bolton' shaking his head. Blaming we're bottom of the League because it was an impossible job etc etc.

scottjames30 wrote:I can just imagine Freedman with that smug look on his face at his Forest interview ' Listen it wasn't me, it was a right setup at that Bolton' shaking his head. Blaming we're bottom of the League because it was an impossible job etc etc.

He would be missing a trick there. Coyle publicly claimed the glory for Dougie's first win in his first game as manager. Funnily enough he kept quiet during the series of draws that followed before we went on that amazing run to the playoffs.

I can't really let Florists victory over high-flying Bournemouth pass without comment as it's a great result by any standards and maintains Dougie's unbeaten record for now. Forest are still 12 points off the playoffs but fair play to Dougie for having such an impact at a club that was going down faster than a 10 buck hooker under Psycho.
Puts this thread and the ease with which we automatically blame (and praise) the manager when there are clearly so many other factors at play in making a football team successful - especially at BWFC IMO.

I am hoping that the usual suspects don't give the Pavlov's Dog response if Lennon flirts with relegation as we need a period of stability under one vision to get back on track and that means having patience - not firing manager after manager as we have done in recent years.

I read some comments from him before the game, he said that against us it was all about pressing high and creating chances whereas Bournemouth were a different proposition and they'd approach differently, this resulted in 24% possession (sounds familiar) but all the match reports I've read have said Forest controlled the game after the first 20 minutes or so. 

Thought this was interesting for a couple of possibilities, either he's learned something from his time here and he's more flexible tactically or he (quite rightly) rates this Forest side much better than he rated us and trusts them to be able to play a high pressing game against weaker opposition  but versus a very strong side like Bournemouth he's more cautious. 

So either our perceived lack of quality made him think we weren't capable of playing a more expansive style, or he's recognised that to be successful he needs to be a little more ambitious.

Dougie inherited some good players at Forest, just as he did at BWFC.

Give it time and he'll have to bring his own players in - that's when you'll see the true Dougie and how he couldn't spot a good player in a Real Madrid shirt.

bwfc1874 wrote:
So either our perceived lack of quality made him think we weren't capable of playing a more expansive style, or he's recognised that to be successful he needs to be a little more ambitious.

Good points but I'm not so sure about the last one because at one stage he tried to get us pressing higher and playing more expansively but the players weren't up to it.
Having had players like Bolassie and Zaha at Palace I reckon Dougie thought he could play the same way, but had to resort to a more defensive approach when it didn't work out with the remnants of our squad.
Forest players are up to the task - they are the same players who were kicking butt at the beginning of the season so assume Dougie had no hesitation in setting up the way he did.
The way he's going, he may end up with the job permanently.

wessy wrote:No question in our minds Freedman = Wanker, Lennon = Saviour

Well looking at the present league table both managers start on level points DF gets a 3 goal advantage, we will have a definitive result at by the end of next season we should see for sure if NL is the real deal and DF is exactly what we thought he was ? The table never lies?

So since that comment was made Forest have beaten us easily...

But more interestingly than that they have gained 10 more points than us and are 10 places above us in the league table. They are also now 17 goals ahead on goal difference instead of just 3.

Ouch.

Freedman cant wipe that smug look off his face apparently.

Can't deny Dougie all the way at the minute, i agree with Nat that we need to judge both at the end of next season for a true picture. if NL is the motivator we think he is then he will turn it around, if Dougie repeats his off field antics like splitting the kids away from the first team then it will go toxic.

So well done DF however he started well here, but when the wheels came off it was a real train wreck. to early to call.

wessy wrote:Can't deny Dougie all the way at the minute, i agree with Nat that we need to judge both at the end of next season for a true picture. if NL is the motivator we think he is then he will turn it around, if Dougie repeats his off field antics like splitting the kids away from the first team then it will go toxic.

So well done DF however he started well here, but when the wheels came off it was a real train wreck. to early to call.

You tempted fate before the game Wessy but I do agree that Forest will fall short of the playoffs and maybe they'll then lose interest. Freedman is only contracted for 3 months anyway but if he does get an extension I suspect he won't last too long seeing the expectation that Forest fans have and his lack of time to develop stuff.
Lennon needs to start again with us so I hope he hangs around for at least a couple of years, but he's ambitious so that might set us back. My worry is that if he doesn't intend staying with us he'll continue to seek short term solutions in the transfer market rather than the steady rebuilding of the squad that we need.

There were good reasons why Dougie split the camps. Itk.

Its a one horse race.