Q – How long have you been following Forest and what was your first game?
Ironically, I didn’t follow Forest growing up in the European glory years – I was a ball-boy at Arnold FC. I got interested during the Paul Hart era, but began going regularly from 2006 in league 1 under Calderwood. Think my first live game was 1997 at Reading – the Steve Stone worst miss of all time.
Q – What are your most memorable moments as a Forest fan? Good and Bad.
Bad was throwing it all away at home to Yeovil second leg playoff having travelled down to see the first leg. Good was also Yeovil: The improbably fourth win in a row 3-2 to come second and secure automatic on the last day of the season. The city ground atmosphere that day was the best I’ve ever experienced, the team played well (despite wobbles) and four months of close season joy to bask in. Sublime.
Q – Since you have been following Forest, what would your best starting eleven be? And who is your all time favourite player?
Camp in Goal
Gunter, Dawson, Des Walker, Stuart Pearce (although since 2006 it would be Bertrand)
Fat Boy Commons, McKenna, McGugan, Anderson
David Johnson & Marlon Harewood were the best strike partnership (49 goals between them I recall)
Q – In your opinion, what is the best goal you have seen Forest score?
McGugan vs Ipswich. No question.
Q – Best and worst away ground visited?
Norwich best (despite the long road to nowhere to get there) – a good old fashioned ground. Worst – Brizzle City: Awful wooden benches, a blocked view of the pitch which had more sand on than Blackpool pleasure beach, and slopes!!
Q – Which player(s) would you like to see us sign this summer (realistically)?
I’d go for a 20 goal striker like Maynard.
Q – All seater stadia. Good thing, or a bad thing?
Good I think. As a kid I found the standing areas pretty intimidating and it put me off big league football.
Q – What are your thoughts on how Forest did last season and how did it compare to your expectations?
I think we did well to finish at the same stage as the previous season as I think we weren’t as strong a squad.
Q – What are your expectations for next season in the Championship/Where will we finish?
I’d be amazed if we can out-do The Bagamoney Swede, or Big Sam’s lot. Playoffs, but hopefully we get to Wembley this time.
Q – Was it right for the club to sack Billy Davies?
Wrong question to ask really. Was it right to replace Davies with McClaren? I think so. But the chance to capture someone of McClaren’s pedigree as a championship club comes along once in a lifetime. If McClaren hadn’t been an option then Billy should have had one more year.
Q – What’s your opinion on the appointment of Steve McClaren and will he bring success to the club?
He has already shown himself to be a great leader (Flying to France to keep Moussi) and much better at PR (The club let him speak ‘for the chairman’ and we’ve had more stories from the CG in the last month than the previous year). Everyone in the game says he is second to none as a Coach, and out-doing PSV and Ajax with a small spending club in Holland is not to be sniffed at. Even his England record would have got him 5th place in the premiership in terms of points per game, although everyone accepts he was promoted to that job too early.
Q – Acquisitions Panel. Good thing or bad?
Hard to know what the real picture is. I do believe in putting power and responsibility in the same place. If the manager will bear responsibility for results you need to give him the power to acquire the players he needs. If not, then it is the TA committee members (Particularly Pleat) who should be prepared to lose their jobs if results don’t come. I don’t blame Doughty for setting it up given the Platt financial disaster that the club has taken years to recover from, but what IS clear to me is that the club is poor at closing deals for players. Whether this is the panel or just some of the execs like Mark Arthur I don’t know – but something has to change as we are outdone by our rivals in this key area of the running of the club.
Q – Where do you sit/stand at the City Ground?
Main stand D block – half way up behind the player tunnel.
Q – Name the celebrity whose back doors you’d most like to smash.
I’m not a ‘celeb back door smashing’ kind of guy – I’m sticking with my very patient ‘football-widow’ wife! But who are the prettiest celebs around at the moment? Hard to look further than Emma Watson or Natalie Portman.
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