While the chaos and intrigue engulfing Liverpool and Manchester City in recent weeks has inevitably hogged the sporting headlines in England, an equally intriguing story is quietly gathering pace at former European champions Nottingham Forest.
In a country transfixed by the dramas of its’ biggest clubs, the attention will always linger far longer on City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United than it will on a relatively unfashionable outfit like Forest.
But the reawakening of a sleeping giant by the banks of the River Trent could become one of the most fascinating tales of the season.
After a decade in the doldrums, Forest, under the astute leadership of boss Billy Davies, have risen to third in the Championship — English soccer’s second tier — and look capable of returning to the Premier League for the first time since 1999.
Forest are unbeaten in 14 matches and the City Ground faithful, who regularly post attendances of more than 25,000, are finally able to dream about a brighter future for a club who have spent too long in the shadow of Brian Clough.
With Clough at the helm in the late 1970s, Forest — a provincial team who had rarely been able to compete with the game’s superpowers — embarked on the greatest period in their history.
Promotion to the top-flight was followed by a league title in 1978 and then consecutive European Cup triumphs in 1979 and 1980.
Those glory days are a distant memory and even surviving in the Premier League now would represent a significant achievement for Forest.
Many in Nottingham believe Davies, who led Derby to promotion from the Championship in 2007, is the man to help them do just that.
Forest are level on points with West Bromwich Albion, who currently hold the second automatic promotion place, ahead of today’s clash at Watford.
Yet Davies himself is understandably keen to keep expectations low at such a delicate stage in Forest’s rebuilding process.
“We are far from the finished article,” he said. “We’re a work in progress. I’m still developing the team.”
“Promotion has not been spoken of because I stand by what I have always said, that the aim, this season, is to achieve a strong mid-table finish,” Davies said.
Defeating leaders Newcastle and play-off rivals Leicester during their long unbeaten run suggests Forest should be aiming higher than that.
And Forest defender Chris Gunter said: “We are not going to focus on other teams. We are going to focus on what we can influence, which is our own performances.”
“And, with the quality of players we have got, we can aim for that [automatic promotion],” he said.
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