Storm Clouds Are Looming

Whilst Calderwood was calling for calm and patience from his players on the pitch, the supporters off it were a little more vociferous in their condemnation of the side and in particular Calderwood himself.

Forest have not had a win in 3 games now, which is by no means a crisis and in many respects the 0-0 draw with Doncaster can be seen as a decent result. The performance and work rate in that game can’t be faulted.

What is at fault though, especially after the two most recent results, is the manner in which we played. Lacklustre would be a polite way of describing the defeat at Luton. Prideless and passionless were words used on the message boards by fans. Similar could be said about the home draw with Oldham. We have looked short of ideas and have gone back to the much maligned hoof it style of last season. Much to the annoyance of the CG faithful.

The early season promises from the manager were that we were to adopt a more passing style of play. This showed in the early games and with one or two exceptions it was warmly greeted by the fans (some will never be happy until Nigel Clough and Stuart Pearce take control of the club. Don’t hold yer breathe). What has happened since then is anyone’s guess, but the confidence seems to have gone, as well as any sense of direction or purpose and we have been short of ideas.

The absence of Lennon will hit us hard. Opinion is divided as to his worth to the club, but my opinion is that he’s a massive figure for us, both on and off the pitch. Kris Commons has seemingly gone off the boil and not carried on his good form and the usually dependable Cohen has been falling short of the mark as well. Agogo could be yet another striker carrying a knock and Tyson looks set to be out for a while. The silence from the club regarding Ty is deafening. Holt as every man and his dog knows, needs the hernia op and now. Add to that the inclusion of club captain Breckin. A man incapable of passing the ball to one of his own team mates and you have the backbone of a side performing below par.

The players themselves have to take a large slice of responsibility for this downturn in form. They need to play with a greater sense of urgency and with a lot more passion. We have shown that when we play at pace we can really hurt teams. But they seem to want to just amble through games at the moment. It isn’t good enough.

The next two games, both at the CG will be important for many reasons. Win and it could send us on another good run. Lose and the numbers calling for CC’s head will be growing louder as well as in number. There were sizable sections of the crowd last night that booed the team off at halftime and again at the final whistle. The CG could become quite an ugly place to be in the coming weeks if the players don’t shape up. Calderwood should also take note as well. Much of the crowds displeasure was directed at him. A new striker on loan wouldn’t go amiss, but as we all know they are a rare breed. CC needs to get his tactics spot on over the next few games, not only to save the season, but maybe to save his own head. Still, it’s early days isn’t it? Just don’t leave it too long lads before you sort it out.