I found myself quite intrigued with something Sabri Lamouchi said in the aftermath of the Charlton game.
Speaking to the club website after the match, he said:
We got stronger but at the end we are lucky to go back to Nottingham with one point because they played much better than us, especially in the first half… We came back in the game and we tried to take the three points but we are satisfied with one point as the performance was not like four days ago.”
We often talk about how a player or manager needs time to adapt to his new surroundings when they come to a new league. What these quotes by Lamouchi say to me, is that he has already picked up what it means to be in this league, and he’s done so incredibly quickly.
He already stated earlier in the summer how much he was looking forward to what he called ‘the worst league in the world’, comparing it to a marathon. But the fact that he knows how to get a result in this league, even when you’re up against it in the way they for most of last night gives me hope that he can use this as a learning experience and use it as a building block for the rest of the season.
I’ve spoken before how I think Nottingham Forest could be set for a big season this year, both with who they brought in on the pitch as well as in the dugout.
Despite only being 47, he has already had quite a managerial career, managing at both club and international level. However, the fact he’s managed to take to this league and country so quickly is such a positive sign. Let’s not forget that if it weren’t for two horrendous errors by Aro Muric in the first game of the season against West Brom, Forest would currently be sitting 7th in the table and things would be looking a lot more positive. Instead, he still has to deal with some negative comments from supporters.
If he can take what he has learned already, and use it to keep building the team whilst at the same time adapting to a new league, I think there’s every chance that Forest will find themselves finishing higher than they did last season.
