Forest Boffin

Perhaps the most unheralded reason for The Championship being so fascinating in 2012/13 has been the cunning and guile of the men in charge: the managers. Forest Boffin would like to take this opportunity to throw a little praise their way for the tactical efforts that have enriched this season in particular. Malky MacKay, Steve Bruce and Ian Holloway have taken the spoils and will be plying their trade in The Premiership next season, but the volatile nature of The Championship has ensured there are far more success stories than these three. Forest's own Billy Davies has scored the second most amount of points per game ( see league table, right ), and from watching Forest we all know how good a job other managers have done in tweaking their tactics to make it difficult for supposed 'better teams'. This is why the division has been so unpredictable - managers have done a great job in closing the gap between ability and making up the numbers. Davies racked up 1.73...

Few players at Forest have proven so divisive as our Irish International Simon Cox. A toothless predator, or the trigger for a successful hunt? Cox has been involved at every stage this season, and win or lose, he has been an important figure. Cox's detractors have pointed to a poor goal-scoring return from the Irishman ( see his stats, right. They are enlargeable if clicked ). His arrival, although slightly overshadowed by that of Billy Sharp, was highly anticipated, and five goals does seem low for a player of his reputation - a player who has himself stated his personal dissatisfaction with this. To iterate this further, Cox only scored, on average, one goal every 598.2 minutes he was on the pitch - roughly one every six and a half full games. So if goals aren't what Cox brings to the team (from his own boots at least), what does he do for Forest? His tireless work rate is probably the most touted of his abilities amongst Trickies - something that will naturally gain...

The time is 14.20 on Saturday the 4 th of May, anguished groans echo through the Trent End as over 14000 eyeballs stare aghast at the backs of four Leicester players rampaging almost unopposed towards the Forest goal.   Wood receives the ball. He lays it off to Knockaert. There is an instant of anticipation – like waiting outside the headmistresses’ office for punishment. Goal. Season over.   Moments earlier, Forest had been on the attack, looking for the precious goal to propel them back into the play-offs, when Radoslaw Majewski attempted a highly ambitious through-ball – which was intercepted. With Forest committed going forward, the error proved costly. The Foxes raced down the pitch and dispatched unlucky Forest. It is testament to the popularity of the young Pole that his mistake didn’t result in any murmurs of disdain from the fans. It was clear at the final whistle he was as upset as anybody, and in truth he deserved some slack because of his contribu...

Forest welcome Leicester City to The City Ground as the season reaches a frantic climax. At Forest Boffin , we're in a state of ambivalence: there is dread at seeing rekindled hope kicked into touch by the boots of David Nugent, tinged with excitement at the glittering hope of Forest overcoming the odds and somehow making the playoffs after all. At one stage it appeared Billy would have secured those extra games before now - while disappointed this was not to be, we must not forget that after the first two thirds of this season, anything from here on is a bonus. Leicester come into this final game on abysmal form. After magnificent start to a season full of promise, they have faltered since the end of January, winning only two of their seventeen games (in all competitions). Canvassing their fans has been more difficult than usual as they have been mostly tight lipped - I have even been accused of being Natalie Jackson spying for Billy - a lighthearted accusation, but one ...