Alex: a very good summary of a mystery that has been bugging successive managers, Chairmen and fans for several years. Here’s my take on it:
In a nutshell, I believe it is the concept of the team that is the most interesting and crucial. Forest are not cohesive and fully functioning because they are not playing as a team. Successive managers, I believe, have placed too much emphasis on the individual, signing this or that good player, with insufficient thought as to how they are all going to gel together. It is when a team is fully cohesive in this way that ‘teamwork’ becomes the 12th man, turning a bunch of talented individuals into an irresistible force.
But what exactly is playing as a team? It is when there is a method; a clear ethos on how we are going to play and an environment of discipline about where a player’s role fits within the whole. Having strong personalities in the dressing room, with good leadership qualities, is important so that players buy into the philosophy and are able to implement it. Against Bournemouth, WBA and Newcastle, there was consistently very good passing and movement, the like of which I have not seen from a Forest side for a while. Good passing and movement, IMO, is the glue that holds a good team together. Our closing down and pressing, with energy, was impressive.
Sadly, in the other games so far, Forest have been disappointingly disjointed, dour, lethargic and ineffective.
Of course, the concept of playing a consistent team over a period of time, highlighted by the article, plays into the idea of the’team’. It may in fact be the most important element.
Karanka must get it right. He has had more money than any previous manager but he is yet to prove he can marshal his chosen resources to build a consistent, winning team. I hope he is given that vital commodity of time to develop his Forest team. Has he got what it takes? Time will tell.
