Forest Boffin

A recurring bone of contention since Billy Davies returned to Forest has been anxiety over the quality of our strikers; you will often hear fans musing that what Forest need is a 20 goal a season goal-scorer – it is apparent that Davies himself has been attempting to bring such a player in. Simon Cox in particular has been under pressure concerning the amount of goals he scores at Forest – and at first glance, neither he nor Henderson (Forest’s only two real options up front) score enough goals – they are on 5 goals each after 19 league games – in comparison, Ross McCormack has netted 15 already for Leeds United. However, McCormack has been on the pitch for each one of the 1811 minutes of Leeds’ season so far. As far as goals scored are concerned, a fairer reflection is gained when we ask how long does it take, on average, a player to score a goal when they are on the pitch? Looking at the stats for The Championship’s forwards, McCormack still has the best goal-scoring record – h...

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...

Since his return to Forest, Billy Davies has rescued a faltering campaign, and with an unbeaten run of 10 games has raised hopes of promotion. However, with those hopes come the customary nerves, doubts and questions – much of which has been aimed at our strike-force. Why aren’t they scoring? More importantly, is their goal drought harming our promotion chances? Match-line , Internet forums and conversations in public houses are repeatedly throwing up the same accusation: that Simon Cox et al aren’t scoring enough goals. Forest have played 17 games in 2013, during which our strikers have scored just 2 goals. Billy Sharp has been our most lethal striker this season, scoring every 261 minutes he’s been on the pitch  – perhaps a disappointing return considering his record, even taking into account the unsettling managerial and tactical changes at Forest. Simon Cox has managed a goal every 652 minutes. Crystal Palace's Glenn Murray has scored, on average this season, every 117 min...

Forest's recent good form has created plenty of talking points, one of which has been a continuation of a debate held all season long: are our strikers doing enough? The acquisition of Billy Sharp and Simon Cox served to assure Forest fans that the goalscoring puzzle was solved - they are, after all, proven strikers. Yet even during our last five games, where Forest have knocked in thirteen goals, our only complaint has been that Cox et al  have (if you're only reading the score sheet) been firing blanks. Is scoring goals the be all and end all for a forward?   During our run of 5 victories, only one goal has been scored by a striker ( see right ), leading to some fans questioning their input, and pundits in the media are now starting to pick up on this. Forest Boffin proposes that this is far too a simplistic view on the goal contribution from our strike force. The fact is: they have played a significant role in all but two of our goals during our run of victories. ...