Steve Wright looks at the developing identity under Sabri Lamouchi and wonders whether this is the beginning of something special for Nottingham Forest.
I have talked on the podcast about the sense of confidence I have felt as football has restarted, but I think that in reality it is actually something more than that. What I really feel about Lamouchi’s Forest is more akin to contentment, happiness. This is something new for me, I have long wrestled with many aspects of both the game and the part we play within it, but recently I have felt much more at peace, at least with my club.
I have always made a big play of the need for a football club to have an identity. At times, this has been conflated with the specific way that I would like to see Forest develop on and off the pitch, but it has always mattered more to me that the club has a clearly defined identity than specifically that it is the one that I prefer. Sabri Lamouchi has managed to put something in place with remarkable speed that provides us with the cornerstone on which to build and it is the prospect of that journey that I am now enjoying, whether we achieve promotion this summer or not.
I am not naïve enough to assume that this is now a long-term vision that will feed a consistent strategy for the development of the club, it is fragile and could easily be lost, but there is finally hope that we are on the right path after years of rudderless travel. We are demonstrably different to the Forest we have watched over the last few years. Lamouchi has quickly instilled a personality into his squad, a determination and focus on a shared goal that has been sadly lacking in recent years. Some stable leadership and decision-making can now build on that.
A warning. I am going to talk about Brentford. I know that the relationship between Forest and Brentford fans has not been great over the past couple of years, but they are an excellent example of a club that knows what it is and has followed a consistent strategy to improve over time. Financially they are a small club, supported by a wealthy owner and a recruitment strategy that has seen them consistently buy low and sell high. Obviously, it requires knowledge and experience, not just words, to deliver, but Brentford have stayed true to their long-term plan and not been distracted by selling their best player or losing their Head Coach. They build that into the plan.
Brentford have a clearly defined way of playing, a very attractive way of playing too, that remains consistent through changes in the coaching staff. They are able to recruit to that style, knowing what they need for different positions on the pitch, and keep a tight squad of around 20 players that ensures their limited resources are all on the pitch contributing. With a tight budget, they have closed their own youth system, a potentially controversial move, and have instead focused their attention on scouting. Their geographical location means they have access to a pool of players that is not able to make it at the elite clubs and can provide a second chance to those just below the mark.
Each year without fail, they sell at least one leading player but they do not miss a beat. Last summer it was Neal Maupay, bought for £1.6M from St-Etienne in July 2017, sold in August 2019, 41 goals later, for £20M. Ollie Watkins, who also arrived in July 2017, for a reported fee of around £1.8M from Exeter, has stepped into the void with 23 goals in 40 league starts. None of this is easy, nor can it guarantee success, but by having confidence in their scouting and keeping their resources tight so that they get to play and improve, Brentford have continued to move forward.
I am not saying we need to do what Brentford are doing, that is not the point. Another season the model club was Swansea, another time it was Southampton. This is not about looking at a successful club and copying what they do, that would not work. It is about finding your own identity, planning your own strategy, appointing the people you think have the skills and experience to deliver and having the confidence to let them put it into practise.
What Lamouchi has done at Forest looks nothing like Brentford, but it does look a fair bit like Forest. Over time it would be great to see us have the ball more and play it with more confidence, especially at home where it is “sacrilege” for the opposition to have more possession. You sense from the manager’s interviews he would like that too. Our best teams, however, were built from the back and counter attacked with pace and precision. Strong, no nonsense defenders prioritised clean sheets and then gave the ball to the better footballers, who could play.
Whereas Brentford are ideally suited to focusing their player development on older age groups dropping out of other academies, Forest have always brought through a core group of their own. It gives them an opportunity to shape them as people as well as players. It is a miracle that Gary Brazil has made our academy thrive under the difficult circumstances he has worked through, a great example of trusting talented people to do their jobs over time. It has provided money and players over the years and Worrall, Cash, Yates and of course, Dawson provide a vital core to Lamouchi’s determined, focused and ambitious squad identity.
Sabri Lamouchi celebrated the anniversary of his appointment just last week. It is too early to tell whether he has just been very successful at bringing his own personality to bear on his squad, or whether this will form part of a greater vision for the club. If this developing identity is as precarious as the position of a Head Coach in the Championship then it may be nothing more than a false dawn, but it does feel like we have an opportunity to begin shaping a new future for the club.
This is where my new sense of contentment comes from. I am enjoying watching Lamouchi mould this squad into a lean and focused unit and I am excited to see how we build on the foundations he is putting in place, both with him and beyond. The experience of a football fan is built from three elements, glorious individual moments, the ups-and-downs of a season and the broader narrative of a club through time. For years, Forest fans have lived off the scraps of moments, but now we have the enjoyment of a season long drama and the hope of a journey worthy of the grander narrative of Nottingham Forest.
Merci Lamouchi, je suis content.
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