Take Forest. Over the last few decades, the stand out fans' favourite is Stuart Pearce. Is this because he is the most gifted player Forest have ever had? No. Is it that he scored a goal every other game? No. 'Psycho' left the legacy that he did because he put Forest before himself. Every time he took to the field of play his one and only motive was to offer his services to the club in the most faithful way he conceivably could. He was utterly selfless. His famous quote that he'd 'rather go on the dole' than ever play for Derby certainly adds to his image as a 'Forest legend', but his passionate commitment to the cause is the true reason that he is so adored by fans years after leaving the club.
That leads us to Billy Davies. Without doubt a solid Championship manager, Davies has successfully picked up the pieces from two unsuccessful predecessors in Colin Calderwood nearly five years ago, and then the combination of Sean O'Driscoll and Alex McLeish in February this year. He said a few years back that he considered keeping Forest up in the 2008/09 season his finest achievement in his managerial career, ahead of taking Derby County into the Premier League in 2007. To then go and and turn the club from relegation candidates to two successive play off campaigns was, without doubt, the work of a man who had an idea and acted upon it. It was the most successful Forest side in a decade, and to many of the younger fans he was the best manager they had ever seen at the City Ground.
When Davies returned for his second spell earlier this year, the vast majority of fans were ecstatic, with the exception of a minority who continued to believe that it was not a wise move. He almost immediately proved all his doubters wrong by winning 6 of his first 7 matches, taking Forest from mid table right into the heart of the Championship play offs, but it fell apart after a lacklustre end to the season which saw just one win in the last eight games of the season. But already at this point, the signs of a new Davies were beginning to show. A man well known to refer to himself in the third person, Davies' ego was always clear to see, but not to the extent that we saw creeping in in the latter stages of last season.
It started in the lead up to the crucial last game of the season against Leicester City, when Davies bizarrely chose to hold his 'post match interview' BEFORE the game. No real reason was given as to why he had chosen to do this, except that "This is one day where the fans come first". I believe I can speak on behalf of all Forest fans that not a single fan would have had any issue whatsoever with Davies conducting post match interviews, and that in fact we would have all taken great interest in hearing his views on either our triumphant entry into the play offs, or, as did occur, the heartbreaking last minute Leicester goal which ended all hopes of a return to the Premier League. There was a suspicion that he had an ulterior motive to act in such a strange manner, but it was a mystery left unexplained.
Over the summer of 2013, Davies was again heavily backed in the transfer window, bringing in nine players. But this was overshadowed by a worrying rumour that BBC Radio Nottingham, along with the Nottingham Post, were being targeted by the club (namely Davies and his cousin Jim Price) and that there would be some form of 'media blackout'. This problem became so extreme that just days before the season began, it looked as if Radio Nottingham were not even able to secure another contract with the club to provide radio commentary for the fans. Whatever it is that caused this fall out, the one thing that was clear was that it was a personal problem Davies had, or continues to have with certain figures within the media. He may think that it is just a personal feud, but the problem runs much deeper than that.
Although BBC Radio Nottingham were successful in their last gasp attempt to secure a new contract with the club, Davies refuses to be interviewed at all. No pre match interview, no post match interviews, nothing. On 23rd August 2013, it was taken a step further when the club announced a selective media blackout, in which they would not allow any player to take part in any interview before or after games. It was a pathetic and sinister decision by Davies and Price, and a decision which only disadvantages the people who want to hear from the club most, the fans. The only interviews Davies will take part in willingly are the ones conducted on the club's website, and any video interviews are only available on Forest Player, which requires a £4.49 per month subscription. In effect, it means that whether Forest win draw or lose, Davies no longer has any responsibility to face up to the press and portray his thoughts to the supporters who have paid good money to attend, or have faithfully listened online.
There are certain interviews which Davies has no choice but to attend. He still has to attend a post match press conference, but even in these compulsory interviews he has begun an arrogant habit of responding to any question vaguely resembling controversy with the short blunt answer 'no comment'. After the home win against Derby County, instead of using that press conference to embrace the pride that his team had restored over their East Midlands rivals, he chose to remark sarcastically that "I am most pleased because one club has been described as a shambles and the other has been described as making good progress. So for us to be competing with that club (Derby) I have to say, is very, very good. I am delighted with that situation."
It is this constant, arrogant, needless bickering with the local and national press that has led to the club being scorned upon by many. It is a circular problem which Davies has brought upon himself, and the club. The more he keeps up this petty, childish war of words with the media, the more extreme the criticism is when the club inevitably hits poor form. The longer the club remains in poor form, the angrier Davies seemingly gets. The spat with a Nottingham based photographer after the Millwall game at The New Den is bound to cause differences in opinion but, to be quite frank, no matter what happened that night, Davies should have the maturity and the stature to avoid these petty public feuds and to act responsibly while he is representing Nottingham Forest in the public eye.
He has always been portrayed as the 'poisoned dwarf' by fans of rival clubs, but it was generally believed that beneath the chippy persona was a pleasant man who had his heart set on taking Forest to the next level. However, with every angry episode with the media, not only his own image, but the image of the club as a whole decreases in the eyes of the public. Whatever Davies does, and however Davies acts is the way that the football community see Nottingham Forest. As it stands, it is a not an image to savour.
The problem many fans have with Davies is not football related. Indeed, he will be judged on results, and as a manager he has undoubtedly delivered some of the best footballing moments of the last decade for Forest fans. In fact, in each and every full season that he's been a Championship manager, he has reached the Play Offs on every single occasion, from his spells at Preston and Derby to his two previous full seasons at Forest. As it stands Forest are stuck in a rut, but by no means a rut that threatens to derail our season. With the financial backing that Al Hasawi has given to Davies, it may be slightly disappointing that we aren't currently in the top 3, but in football terms, this has been a good start. Especially considering that many fans felt that O'Driscoll's December 2012 sacking was unfair because Forest were just 'one point off the play offs' - as it stands we have only just fallen out of the play off places after sitting in the top 6 all season up until now.
To conclude, the behaviour of Billy Davies over recent months has deteriorated to the extent that supporters are beginning to get sick of his antics, and this quite simply has to stop. It is creating a problem which need not even exist. Clubs are all the more keen to beat us, and specifically Davies, which would be fine if we were in a position to brush teams aside, but we are not. Forest, like any other club, needs the support of the local press to build up a positive vibe around the city. Expectation levels at Forest have always been high and that will never change, but, by ruining the club's relationship with the local media over personal disagreements, he is building an even higher mountain to climb when things aren't going to plan.
Unlike true Forest legends like Psycho, Billy Davies has put himself ahead of the fans, and in true egotistical fashion, made himself the club. There should be an exciting atmosphere around the city, as Forest seem to have a squad more than capable of maintaining a strong position in the league, but at the rate it's going, I dread to think what the headlines will be if the season fizzles out into yet another disappointing anticlimax.
