It wasn’t really much of a surprise to read on the Nottingham Evening Post website that Forest and Kris are putting their discussions on hold until our fate this season is decided. Removing any emotion from the scenario – basically, Kris wants more money than Forest will pay if we remain in League One, but presumably will consider if we reach the Championship. So in short, fail to get promotion, and Kris will seek his fortune elsewhere – probably Birmingham, Palace (Wolves? – Mick McCarthy was apparently at the Bournemouth game).
Hardly a shocking insight – it makes perfect sense from the point of view of both parties. Forest don’t want to sign him up on a lucrative deal only to end up stuck in League One for another year, with dwindling attendances and a measly income from TV and the like. Equally, Kris doesn’t really want to do that either – he’s reaching the point of his career when if he’s going to “make it”, then he needs to get a wriggle on and find a side at a level to suit his abilities.
On his day, Kris is at least a Championship standard player - with the potential to make the next step (with a lot of work on fitness, teamwork and consistency!) – we’ve seen him make Spurs look foolish, for example. He’s an incredibly gifted young man who could, in all honesty, probably benefit from moving to a club where he’d need to fight for his place a bit – too long his time here has been spent with him undisputed ‘talent’ in the squad, with no competition for his position aside from shoehorning Perchy in there, or recalling Bastians.
If he’s a difficult person to motivate (and I’m not saying he is, I don’t know him – but I get that impression from watching him play from the stands) then these are conditions that will nurture that lethargy. Let’s face it, if Kris is fit, Kris is in the team – we know it, he knows it, Smoulds knows it. It’s not a healthy situation to try to get him to push himself and develop further – so, regardless of whether Kris stays or goes (for the record, I hope very much that he stays), then we need to sign a new left winger – either to replace him, or to push him for his first team shirt and make him work for it.
It must be a slow news day or something! The fear is that Mark Arthur is involved in the negotiations, whether it be releasing Trigger without securing a replacement, or allowing Harris to leave only to sign for a team we’ve yet to play – it’s all rather amateurish really – it doesn’t give me much faith for any deals being struck at the moment by our less-than-illustrious chief executive!
Filed under: News
Good article apart from the business about mark Arthur. I know the bloke and can categorically say the decisons on Southall and Harris were not solely down to him. Indeed no transfer in or out is down to him.
The simple facts are he is the Chief exec and he is reponsible to the board (Nigel) for the running of the club on a day to day level. part of his remit is to report on the club’s finances. He will have his say on balancing the books as you would expect but he does not sell players. That is a footballing decision and falls to calderwood.
Lay off him a bit.
My understanding was that Mark wouldn’t decide on outgoings/incomings but will handle the terms of any transfers in and out – so he is pretty heavily involved, I wasn’t trying to suggest he decided to get rid of any particular players, but he would have had control over any terms or conditions of their releases or free transfers.
But I don’t know him, and you’re quite right to point out that my comments are based on largely ignorant assumptions – although the football club has hardly been a story of success under his stewardship, so I think he’s fair game for a bit of criticism!
If you know him can you ask him why we’re so shit?
This is where, as a third division club, we need a robust youth strategy and investment. We need to grow our own players, and sell them on (or take them up through the leagues with us). We won’t find an easy replacement for Kris – not a young one, anyway. If we could only get promoted, we could attract a better class of player. Sadly, I just can’t see it being this year. I hope I’m wrong. It’s just that I don’t believe we have the strength of character and consistency of form to get through the playoffs. The slightly good news is that neither do the others, bar Blackpool.
Well said nffc ! Arthur, let us remember, was responsable for the ‘we’re serious about promotion – are you ?’ slogan from a couple of years ago and then went on to prove he wasn’t !
I like many others feel that Arthur is out of his depth.