Nottingham Forest: Just Football League Team of the Week

When Billy Davies was Derby County manager in 2007, The Times described him as “an old-school scrapper who could make copper wire from a row about a penny.” Well whatever he is, its working. In little more than a year under the guidance of the diminutive Scotsman who makes Gianfranco Zola look like a beanstalk, Nottingham Forest are completely unrecognisable from the two-bit rickshaw of a side they were before Davies took over – a team that won just twice in 19 league games under Colin Calderwood and were slumped near the bottom of the league.

Fast forward a year and after a majestic 3-1 win away at West Bromwich Albion it might be time to sit up and take notice of Forest again. The Reds are flying high.

After all the flash moneybags posturing, former England manager courting and Hollywood signings, 2009/2010 was supposed to be a black and white year in Nottingham. The year when the other Nottingham club catches attention and wins plaudits. Notts County are still just about on track despite what turned out to be the Munto mirage, but at the moment this town is painted red.

Nottingham Forest’s 3-1 win at the Hawthorns was as emphatic a result as it was a statement. Forest have been performing admirably for a number of weeks now. They are unbeaten in 18 matches, the only team in England’s top four divisions yet to lose away from home and, before conceding against WBA, went over ten hours of football without conceding a goal.

As impressive as all these statistics are though a trip to play West Brom, a team strongly fancied to bounce straight back into the Premier League and the best attacking team in the Championship, represented a huge test of Forest’s recent progress. They passed with flying colours. Playing with vim, vigour and a cool swagger that hinted at an increasing sense of self-belief, Forest looked the real deal.

The tactics were spot on. A five man midfield hurried and stifled the Baggies’ passing midfield players, forcing them into untidy errors. The eminently sturdy back four of Nicky Shorey, Kelvin Wilson, Wes Morgan and Chris Gunter showed exactly why Forest are so tough to break down these days, with some stalwart defending to frustrate the home side’s usually productive forwards. And when the chances came, Dexter Blackstock and co snatched at them like children at a sweet jar. Radoslaw Majeski’s goal in particular was sublime – a sweetly struck left foot volley that echoed Van Basten and might win goal of the season.

The win lifted Nottingham Forest up to 2nd, leapfrogging their opponents into an automatic promotion spot and turning the heat up on league leaders Newcastle United, but Billy Davies has been keen to play down Forest’s rich vein of form. “It’s a great three points for us and West Brom will know that as well, but there are too many games ahead,” Davies said after the game. “We’re pleased with the win, but it’s three points and no more[...]We’ve still got a lot to do and we know that.”

He would say that. In part to keep his players grounded, but also partly as a defence mechanism to stop himself from getting carried away. The 45-year-old still bears the wounds of a bitter end to his time at Derby County, who he transformed in a similar way he has Forest, a club that hasn’t tasted top flight football in nearly 11 years. Derby were another club living off past glories when Davies took over in June 2006.

Within 11 months of his appointment he led them back into the Premier League after a four year absence. “We’ve no right to be here” he said at the time, while Derby were in the playoffs (which they won). “The club was on its knees.” You can see the parallels with Forest now. Despite the fairytale story and the premature successes though, Derby sacked Davies the minute signs of Premier League struggle were forthcoming the following season. This time he’s keeping cautious.

“My experience has taught me, quite simply, that you’re better getting promotion in two steps,” Davies, named Championship manager of the month for December 2009, told The Guardian. “I think if you do it in one step you find it’s too early and the squad, infrastructure and everything else isn’t quite ready for it.”

Given Forest’s magnificent run of form and effervescent recent performances, he may soon find both himself and the club skipping directly to step two a little quicker than he would like.

English Championship, Football League Team of the Week, Nottingham Forest