We Have To Trust Calderwood

Calderwood took over the reigns of Nottingham Forest in May, 2006, when the club was at it’s lowest point in living memory. After a succession of poor appointments, Calderwood’s was seen to be that of a steadying hand. He was/is a young, ambitious, up and coming manager. He guided Northampton to promotion prior to joining the Reds and his tenure couldn’t have got off to a better start.

After winning manager of the month for August, Forest went on an 8 game unbeaten run. They ran to the top of the table and when things were at there rosiest were 7 points clear at the top. By November though, the talk on the message boards was whether Forest were having a ‘slump’ or merely suffering a ‘blip’ in form. The answer was in truth neither, as we had in fact been poor all season, but somehow kept on winning.

This poor form has continued to date, with the side finding it hard to gain any consistency, except for being unpredictable. Despite this and despite the fact that the side does still have a real hope of automatic promotion, albeit at the demise of others, there are calls for the manager’s head on a stick. Surely this is madness? If we the supporters had been offered our current position in August, we would have took it without doubt. So, why the displeasure with Calderwood?

Yes his tactics, team selections and substitutions have been open to question, the performances and style of play have not been easy on the eye. But Calderwood has one very good and undeniable alibi and it is that none of this is of his choosing. he is not the one to blame.

When Calderwood took over, the club was on it’s knees. It was in free fall. He is the first manager since Paul Hart who looks capable of bringing on youth talent. He is the first manager since Paul Hart that looks capable of playing with the Forest ethos (there have been glimpses of the tippy tappy stuff, if you looked hard enough). He is certainly the first manager since Dave Bassett with a chance of winning something.

Getting rid of Calderwood if we fail to gain promotion will further set the club back. It would achieve nothing. What the club needs now more than ever is stability. CC is definitely a manager who will be successful in the game and hopefully with Forest. He will continue to annoy us with his supremely confident post match comments, he will continue to annoy us with his tactics and selections. None of these things make him any different to any manager at any club. So long as it brings success for Nottingham Forest, that is all that matters. The man needs time and he needs our support. Now, with 4 games to go and probably the playoffs would be a good time to give it to him.