Tuesday, 23 August 2011

Wycombe v Forest - A wally? Don't you believe it!


The Chairboys will be looking to bounce back from a poor weekend home defeat to Bury when they take on Championship outfit Nottingham Forest at Adams Park.

It will be first visit to Buckinghamshire this season and it will be interesting to see find out how Wycombe are coping with the demands of life in League One following their promotion last season.

On paper, the results would suggest that they haven’t been overawed and have chalked up one away wine and draws away and at home. They also edged out Colchester in the first round of the League Cup on penalties and so while confidence won’t necessarily be high, there shouldn’t be an air of despondency about the place either.

Boss Gary Waddock told the Buckinghamshire Advertiser:

““They are still a huge club and when I began playing football they were English champions and conquering Europe so it is always exciting to be playing them.

“The fact they have been able to attract a former England manager shows just how big Forest still is in British football and we can't wait for the game.”

Forest also squeaked through into the second round via a penalty shoot out against city rivals County and they have also notched up two draws, a win and a defeat (last Saturday) in the league.

So similar results by two clubs separated by one division.

Former England boss Steve McLaren is in charge of Forest now and any Wycombe fans who have fallen for the media image of a “wally with a brolley” may end up being rudely awakened. McLaren has bags of experience and is still widely respected in the game – and of course he also won this completion with Boro back in 2004 – the only silverware in the club’s history. He was also Sir Alex Ferguson's number two at Manchester United and tasted a little success there as well.

When he first joined United he was relatively unknown to the wider world and was introduced by United chairman Martin Edwards to the media as "Steve McClaridge". This probably says more about Edwards than McLaren. By the time he left to pursue his own managerial career, he had helped Fergie to win the treble - The Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League. Less wally with a brolley than walley in the boardroom then.

McLaren has been quoted the Nottingham press as saying:

“We will focus on how high we can finish in the league and the cups will be used to build up fitness in certain players, to bring back injured players and to try out the squad.

"But it is also about building momentum. When you are associated with Forest, you have to go out to win every single game. If you don't, that is not good enough."

Forest are again likely to be without Andy Reid, Paul Anderson, Garath McCleary and Guy Moussi.
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4 comments:

  1. Anonymous23 August 2011 at 10:59

    Fair comments and nice to see someone from the opposition side looking beyond the tabloid caricature of SMcL. Its also fair to say that Forest have not clicked as a unit so far this season although the frontline pairing of Miller and Findley shows some promise. I wouldn't be surprised at an "upset" if Forest don't settle down early on. Good luck for the season (except tonight of course).

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  2. Jeff Taplin23 August 2011 at 11:50

    Thanks for the comment, but I assure you I'm a neutral. I merely cover games in this geographic area and so any posts tend to lean towards those clubs in coverage if not support.
    Having said that, I have a soft spot for Forest as the spread of food in their press room is the best I have seen (and had). On my one and only visit to the ground I must have put on about two stone. Who ate all the pies? Me and very nice they were!
    I don't think Steve will lose too much sleep if Forest bow out of this competition. The Championship is, by far, the biggest priority.
    Have a safe trip down if you're going to the game. Wycombe's a friendly club and it shopuld be a pleasant evening if the rain holds off.

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  3. Anonymous23 August 2011 at 12:04

    Cheers Jeff. We can always fall back on that old chestnut "we're concentrating on the league". Shame - the league cup used to mean something once - now even the FA cup is viewed as a hinderance to the "big clubs" and their never ending quest for the Euromillions jackpot. Football's lost its way a bit.

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  4. Jeff Taplin23 August 2011 at 14:24

    Agree. I think that the problem might be that the people who control the game now are those who have short term financial gains to make and don't necessarily look to the long term (i.e., owners, agents, players at the very top). None of them seem to have the long term interests of the game at heart (or maybe can't 'afford' to have them at heart). I fear for the lower league clubs and this is a shame because I find the further down you go, the more honst the game is in so many ways.

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