Sabri Lamouchi claimed his first point as Nottingham Forest manager with a 1-1 draw against Championship title-favourites Leeds United.
With 46 games, Tuesday night trips to Reading, QPR and Barnsley on a freezing December eve, managing in the Championship isn’t everyone. But Sabri Lamouchi is determined to give it a good go.
The former France international is certainly going to take a while to acclimatise to a scalding hot seat which has charred the managerial reputations of Philippe Montanier, Martin O’Neill and Dougie Freedman; Forest have stumbled out of the blocks with one point from two games.
But Lamouchi has more on his plate than a hectic fixture schedule. He has a 39-man strong squad with far more quantity than quality and a multinational dressing room complete with 12 new additions.
There’s also the small matter of high expectations coupled with 20 years of disappointment, a combustible cock-tail of emotions which makes Forest one of the Championship’s most unpredictable and ruthless of beasts.
Though Lamouchi is clearly a coach who cares. The two-time European champions might not have produced a performance worthy of Real Madrid or Barcelona in Saturday’s hard-fought draw at Leeds United but they were well-drilled, solid and, most importantly, a team worthy of the team.
The fact that veteran centre-back Michael Dawson picked up the Man of the Match award not only highlighted Leeds’ dominance but how well Forest dealt with the threat, keeping arguably the Championship’s most feared attack at an arms length in front of a partisan and increasingly irate home crowd.
Besting Bielsa
It’s not often you’re drawn to the other man on the Elland Road sidelines when the legendary Marcelo Bielsa is contemplating the action on his fabled blue bucket but Lamouchi succeeded in drawing the focus away from his Argentine opponent from his position in front of the West Stand.
Watching Lamouchi at close quarters (your correspondent was seated mere metres away) was a real insight into a man learning on the job. He micro-managed his team throughout, praising, encouraging and cajoling his players while giving the poor, put-upon fourth official an earful from start to end. There was noo shortage of passion or instruction.
Time and again Lamouchi would call over to Joe Worrall or Tiago Silva, altering their positions by the tiniest step or offering them tactical advice when Leeds were on top. Maybe it was the charcoal knitwear or the hairless crown but Lamouchi certainly has a Guardiola-esque presence on the touchline.
Clearly, this is a coach who understands that his players need direction as he looks to put his own stamp on a club who, for so long, have lacked an identity. Lamouchi, at the very least, should give them that.
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