OPINION: FIckle Nottingham Forest fans are at it again

I was very disappointed at the fickleness of some of our supporters following the heavy defeat by Norwich City at the weekend.
Forest blogger Lee Clarke is calling on fans to roar the team to Championship survival.Forest blogger Lee Clarke is calling on fans to roar the team to Championship survival.
Forest blogger Lee Clarke is calling on fans to roar the team to Championship survival.

No sooner than Gary Brazil and Jack Lester had been officially given the managerial role until season’s end, the knives were out.

Yes, it was an embarrassing defeat but you have to look at the bigger picture here.

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For starters, three of the five goals that we conceded were absolute belters from outside the area. Add a horrible injury, no Michael Mancienne and a sending off to the mix and you have the ingredients for a really bad day at the office.

The turning point was the second goal after 16 minutes by Josh Murphy, Fox was caught ball watching and Henderson was then beaten easily at his near post. Poor defending all round it has to be said, at a time when the Canaries were really flying.

Going two down in such a manner is inexcusable but it was the only one of the three first half strikes that you could condemn. Stephen Henderson badly injured his Achilles tendon in trying to prevent the killer third goal, and will now spend months on the side-lines.

It’s a real shame for the Dubliner, because he was just finding his best form of the season and answering his critics in doing so.

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Norwich were not lucky to win this game by any means, but when do you think you’ll see three goals of that magnitude, in any Championship game again this season?

The yellows were by far the better side and the fact they’re just two points off the play offs is no fluke either.

To think that their own boss Alex Neil, was rumoured to be in danger of being sacked not so long ago is madness. More reason to laugh at those who are already picking at Gary brazil, when you consider how much worse we were under Philippe Montanier.

There were a few positives to take out of Saturday’s defeat though; such debuts for Tshbola, McCormack and Jordan Smith. Ross McCormack lived up to his reputation by scoring an obligatory goal after great play by Clough in the build-up.

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When totally fit and hopefully paired with Assombalonga, you will see one of the best strike forces outside of the Premier League. Jordan Smith was somewhat thrown into the fray, but coped well under the circumstances it must be said.

I do find it odd however, that Dimitar Evtimov has once again been over looked, especially when you consider that his loan spell in Portugal has recently been terminated. What does this guy have to do to get a game in the first team again?

The reason I’ve been banging on about keeping Brazil and Lester till the end of the season is simple, they will keep us up and in doing so finish higher than Montanier would have.

They also select players in their appropriate positions and have the respect of everyone at the club, even Fawaz. I implore people to cut them some slack and let them do their jobs.

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Imagine if we’d recruited a new manager last week? It would be all change and chaos regarding team selection. Most importantly of all, we need to get the owner out as soon as possible. Let’s be honest though, that’s not going to happen until May at the very least.

Given that Mr Al-Hasawi is still in charge, it was pointless to bring in an external appointment just now.

So, get behind the guys we’ve got and don’t go judging them on a nightmare at Norwich.

Off the top of my head, I couldn’t remember more than one win at Carrow Road for some considerable time. December 2008 was the last win down in Norfolk but when I called up the stats, that was the solitary triumph in the last 21 years. There is your indelible proof that no matter who we’ve had in charge, it’s almost impossible to win down there. Even when Brian Clough was in charge, I always remember us having to battle for any kind of result at Carrow Road, the FA Cup Quarter Final is one occasion that springs to mind. I spoke with Norwich season ticket holder James Wroth after the game; he said “it was definitely the most complete performance of the season by Norwich”. Add that sentiment from a City fan to the perennial jinx and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who’d manufacture a Forest win at Delia’s den.

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The nightmare was capped off with two second half goals by Norwich and a debatable sending off for Eric Lichaj. The final whistle couldn’t come soon enough but in my eyes, it’s just one of those occasions you’ve got to forget about; like Donald Trump’s inauguration!

I fully understand that whilst the Owner remains at the helm, the club is not in safe hands.

However; some fans need to get a reality check and understand that supporting Brazil and Lester is the sensible thing to do. The irreparable damage has already been done and that manager has been dismissed; so, get behind the current management team and stop being fickle.

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