Steve Cotterill came to Nottingham Forest with one prime aim, to save them from the drop, and to build a squad ready to challenge at the top end, once again. It’s been far from easy for the much criticised manager, but finally, he can relax.
He arrived with the reputation as a bit of a firefighter type manager, having been through the lowest of the low in charge of Portsmouth. When Frank Clark appointed him, some Forest fans felt a little let down. With reports circulating Paul Hart was set for an emotional return back to the club, to work closely alongside a young manager, with Karl Robinson and Paul Tisdale linked, it appeared as if Forest had a long term plan. That’s not the direction the club went, though.
With Cotterill’s firefighter image, and to many, being a short term option, it was evident Forest seemingly weren’t looking further than the end of this season. When Cotterill’s honeymoon period passed, Forest were to go on and struggle, and struggle to a huge extent. Cotterill kept up his own tradition of forcing hoofball upon his teams, and Forest looked lost for ideas. Cotterill was asked weekly, after each loss, how the team was supposed to bounce back. He normally responded, by pointing out Forest had a great spirit in the camp, and it’s just a matter of keeping confidence high, and waiting for the moment performances on the pitch mirrored what was happening in and around the club in the week.
Another thing Cotterill spoke of, was his desperate desire for signings, with the current squad wobbling along, looking like they needed an extra injection of quality, to bring out the best in them. With January slowly petering out, signings were looking unlikely. That is until, an offer came out of the blue for Wes Morgan, seen by many as a hero, and a great servant to the club. After negotiations, Morgan was sold for £1 million to Leicester City, meaning Cotterill had money at his disposal, and he didn’t hesitate to spend it.
Bringing in the likes of Adlene Guedioura, an explosive, adventorous midfielder along with Danny Higginbotham and George Elokobi, two experienced defenders, coming into a group of defenders who were either on the treatment table, or playing like they had no competition for places. Also coming in was Scott Wootton, who added that extra security when needed, and has not let the club down when required in defence.
These signings followed arguably the most important signing of the bunch, Sean O’Driscoll. An individual lauded by many Forest fans, reluctant to give Cotterill any praise whatsoever. What Forest had now, was the ‘make them hard to beat’ approach from Cotterill, and the attractive brand of football O’Driscoll is known for, and has had him linked with Premiership clubs previously. With O’Driscoll speaking before at Doncaster about his dislike for the media side of being a manager, this was the perfect role for O’Driscoll, who could now do his work under the radar, without the pressure of the media.
During a long, patience-testing season, just before the moment O’Driscoll came in, Forest fans were resigned, especially at home games. Having taken all of their anger out earlier in the season at McClaren and the board, fans, at that point, seemed to concede defeat, not just on the game in progress, but the season as a whole. Forest looked doomed, and it needed major changes to stop the rot, and save the sinking ship from tipping further, making it an unresolvable situaton.
These signings did enter, thanks to Cotterill’s judgement.
With wins against Birmingham, Coventry and Millwall, things were looking bright. After this though, Forest lost to bitter rivals Derby County 1-0, with the negative, direct tactics back, fans were far from pleased. With two work-man-like strikers in Dexter Blackstock and Marcus Tudgay, and with Garath McCleary not playing well, Forest were lacking spark with Guedioura also going off injured. Tudgay went into a challenge rashly, and got himself a second yellow card; it didn’t feel it at the time, but it proved to be a blessing in disguise.
With Tudgay now suspended for the next game against Leeds, and Lewis McGugan and Ishmael Miller not doing enough to impress, a forgotten, much appreciated man was about to make a shock comeback. Raddy Majewski, referred to by many as the ‘Polish Magician’, is a player who wears his heart on his sleeve, and encourages the ball to be played on the floor. Majewski went on to have a good game, with Forest winning 7-3.
A few questions remained though. Was it a coincidence Majewski’s sudden introduction was at the same time as the recent good run, losing only 2 of the last 8? Also, was this great man management to bring back Majewski at this time, or did he have little other option, therefore stumbling across the consistent winning formula?
Whether it was luck or judgement, and despite making it harder than it should have been, with the quality of the Forest squad, Cotterill has achieved his initial aim. Accompanying this positivity, is the unwillingless for Forest fans to give Cotterill praise, meaning he still has a lot to do to win over the fans.
Cotterill comes across as a driven, determined man already, but he’ll be aware of his doubters, and be keen to prove them wrong. Which is why keeping him, giving the opportunity to prove he can build, may be the best thing for Forest to do in a position. After all, what’s the alternative?
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