Source: Daily_Mail
Billy Davies starts Forest fire but the City Ground boss should keep a lid on it... for now
Billy Davies. Excellent football manager. Driven man. Passionate. Fiery. [LNB]For all the fact that I respect the work he has done at Nottingham Forest, I can't help but think he should now keep his own counsel about the lack of investment during January's transfer window. [LNB]It's looking increasingly like Forest will have to take their chances through the play-offs. [LNB] Plenty to say: Davies (centre) is never scared to put his point across[LNB]What Billy has to work with isn't going to change - unless he wants some of Portsmouth's cast-offs - so the time to have a pop is at the end of the season. [LNB]And if Forest are successful, it might be worthwhile savouring his triumph past the day of the Wembley final, too. [LNB]If he wants to criticise 24 hours afterwards, that's fine. It sullied his achievement when he laid into Derby's directors an hour after their defeat of West Brom. [LNB]Whatever the outcome now, he has performed excellently. Forest looked every inch relegation material when he took over. [LNB]You could argue that he has been backed financially. Fair point. But then so has Roy Keane. [LNB]By that yardstick, Billy's done a great job. Let's show a united front until promotion has been secured. Then, by all means, let rip. [LNB]....................................................................................................................[LNB]Had to laugh when I heard former Birmingham City bigwig David Sullivan on the radio talking about what a waste of taxpayers' money the new £530million Olympic Stadium was. [LNB]That maybe so, but this wouldn't be the same David Sullivan, new co-owner of West Ham United, offering to jump on to his white horse and gallop to the rescue of the white elephant by becoming new sitting tenants after 2012, would it? [LNB] More from Neil Moxley... THE MIDLANDER: I'm banking on Mick McCarthy guiding Wolves to survival11/03/10 THE MIDLANDER: 'Giants' Villa never won titles - so give O'Neill some credit!05/03/10 THE MIDLANDER: Warnock, phoenix from the Anfield flames, is just Fab25/02/10 THE MIDLANDER: Fans should be given sympathy after Notts County saga but Football League have lessons to learn18/02/10 THE MIDLANDER: Birmingham's owners must do everything in their power to make sure brilliant boss Alex McLeish signs a new contract03/02/10 THE MIDLANDER: All the best Clem, a top bloke in an era of gatekeepers and closed shops06/01/10 THE MIDLANDER: The good, the bad and the ugly: 2009 Midlands' awards23/12/09 THE MIDLANDER: Punishing McCarthy over selection is taking the Mick17/12/09 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE Thereby releasing cash from the sale of Upton Park with which to pay off the club's debts, thus having secured (effectively) a Premier League (?) football club for next-to-nothing, would it? Thought not. [LNB]And as for the notion that Gianfranco Zola and Steve Clarke might be pocketing £3m between them following their defeat by Wolves in some sort of pay-offer, hello. [LNB]What Hammers fans are seeing is what happened at Birmingham on a consistent basis. But due to the London-centric nature of the media it might not have been highlighted so often. [LNB]But Sullivan did not want to give manager Steve Bruce an easy exit after a 7-0 home defeat by Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-final in 2006. [LNB]He would had to have handed over a very large chunk of money. As it was, Sullivan's instincts proved correct. He received £3m by way of a transfer fee when Bruce joined Wigan Athletic. [LNB]So any notion that Gianfranco Zola is going to be handed a large cheque on his way out simply won't happen. [LNB]If you want that outcome, you'll need to vote with your feet, Hammers fans. [LNB]Cold, hard, cash is the only currency Mr Sullivan understands, I'm afraid. [LNB]State of the art: How the new Olympic Stadium will look[LNB]....................................................................................................................[LNB]I am starting to respect Chris Coleman more by the day. [LNB]After watching what was an inexplicably lifeless showing during the opening 45 minutes at Leicester on Sunday, the Coventry manager decided that his words from the touchline were having no effect. [LNB]There was a brilliant television shot of him, sat with his arms folded, chewing his gum furiously as he pondered delivering an almighty rocket at half-time. [LNB]Tough talker: Coleman[LNB]Afterwards, there was none of the usual blas?anager-speak. You know the sort of stuff: 'I can't fault the players for their effort' or 'We will take the positives and move on.' [LNB]No. Coleman went in and read the riot act. He openly admitted that one or two had been upset by his comments.[LNB] Good. The notion that a manager can 'lose' a dressing-room with one or two well-chosen words doesn't apply in this instance.[LNB] The result was a stirring fight back and a deserved 2-2 draw on the overall balance of play.[LNB]....................................................................................................................[LNB]Nice to welcome Steve Bruce back to the parish on Wednesday night. And even more pleasing to see he hasn't lost his sense of humour after his side drew with Aston Villa. [LNB]'Sit down potato head,' was the opening gambit from the floor of the press room, mimicking the words from the Holte End to their favourite former Birmingham City boss.[LNB] Bruce, as ever, took it in good heart. Whereupon he posed the question: 'Is that a Midlands' thing, this 'potato head' lark?'[LNB]A journalist who obviously wasn't working to deadline quickly Google'd the appropriate cartoon character and showed Sunderland's boss to which Bruce replied: 'Doesn't look anything like me!'[LNB]Naw, Steve. 'Course not.[LNB]....................................................................................................................[LNB]Finally, that 3-1 victory at Upton Park was the best Wolves result in the league I think I've seen since I've been covering the club. So, well done Mick McCarthy and his players.[LNB]Proof that honesty in a squad sometimes does count for something in the game.[LNB] Impressive: Kevin Doyle (centre) was on target for Wolves in midweek[LNB] West Ham 1 Wolves 3: Zola Hammered as mauling puts him in the dockHammer blow for West Ham's Olympic dream: stadium move could cost as much as £200m Nottingham Forest 2 Crystal Palace 0: Morgan rips Hart out of the EaglesAston Villa 1 Sunderland 1: Carew right on cue to keep top four dream alive[LNB] [LNB][LNB][LNB]
