One Step Forward Another Back

“Keep us in the Premier League” was the desperate remit issued by Evangelos Marinakis when he hired Sean Dyche as Nottingham Forest Manager in October.

Tried, gambled, and failed, was the Ange-Ball era, the short successor to Nuno’s resilient Reds of defending deep and attacking like trojans with pace, power and formidable fluidity. Dyche picked up his perfect job with Forest sitting comfortably in the bottom three, it was the role he always wanted, not quite good enough to play first team football under the great Brian Clough and for the side he spent most of his youth career with, the crokey voiced Kettering born centre half would eventually have a stellar career with Chesterfield instead, but he returned to the City Ground, all guns blazing, many many years later, with a CV that boasted Watford, Burnley and Everton in management, some over-achieving campaigns amongst that solid but unspectacular resume of his, and a few relegation near misses along the way.

What we expected? Sceptics were instantly unconvinced, having heard the many moans of Everton fans for the anti-football style synonymous with Dyche during fifteen years already of management, many agreed it would be a step back, but perhaps a step worth taking to survive, following the clubs self-inflicted predicament. I myself was amongst few, who thought, with a ‘better’ squad, that Dyche had ever previously worked with, that it might open up newfound positivity in the ‘Ginger Mourinho’s performance? Whilst he operates similar solid defensive structure to Nuno, his style is completely different, the forward thinking not to the same levels of our favourite former Portuguese coach, not even to the levels of Ange, and against Leeds United, last night, not for the first time, his tactical tinkering came severely under scrutiny.

All be it, not entirely his fault, Forest without Sels, Williams and Murillo, three of their usual back five, adjusted to provide rookie platform at Elland Road, new signing Ortega given a debut in goal, Morato as usual coming in for Murillo, but after signing a left back in Luca Netz from Borussia Monchengladbach last week, a German youth international with over 100 Bundesliga games, he chose not to thrust him into the Premier League limelight, but to shuffle his playing pack following Neco Williams one match ban for getting sent off v Crystal Palace, right back Ola Aina moving to left back, young centre half Zach Abbott asked to do a job, again, down the right.

Those changes set a precedent against a team not bad at home, in Leeds, a side far from graceful in appearance and substance, they like to come at you with loud home support and if you sit off they probably quite like it, which is exactly what Forest did, against ordinary opposition, Leeds were made to look like Real Madrid.

It’s the style that troubles the Forest fans, how one week we can look ‘ok’ but the next resort to being awful, the wins picked up are largely based on defensive solidarity, a slice of luck or creation at the other end, just make sure you don’t concede?

Because when Forest do concede, especially first, they usually go on to lose, no plan B set up for when a team finally breaks us down, ‘stay in the game’ is all we seem to strive for.

I’m disappointed with Dyche, but I also expected to be so, never in a million years did I think he would take us up to another level, but I did think he would get us out of going down, and he’s still, despite last night, on par to do that.

Dyche however is skating on thin ice. Forest had chance to pull away from the pack below by beating out of form Crystal Palace at home last Sunday, they blew it, they had a chance to further do so by beating Leeds, a place above in the Premier League, they blew it, bottom of the table Wolves up next, blow that, and patience will have blown too.