Nottingham Forest v Southampton Preview
Posted on | May 2, 2009 | No Comments
A few weeks ago a lot of people thought this would be a fixture that decided which of these sides would be playing in League One next season. As it turns out though, both have their futures now resolved, with Nottingham Forest securing their survival earlier in the week while Southampton were relegated last Saturday having been hit with a ten point penalty.
Nottingham Forest had a truly miserable start to the season and with that, their fans should be ecstatic that they’ve managed to stay in the division. Under Colin Calderwood they were bottom of the league for many of the opening months, but Billy Davies has revived fortunes at the City Ground and following Norwich’s defeat on Monday, it’s now impossible for the club to be relegated. Davies said when he took over that it would be a remarkable achievement to stay up considering the lack of experience at his disposal and now, the former Derby boss can concentrate on building a much more competitive side for the next season. It’s been recent form that’s been the key in keeping them up though, with Davies’ side unbeaten in five having won two and drawn three in the last few weeks.
Southampton’s fans must be feeling pretty gutted at the moment although in the end, at least it wasn’t the ten point penalty that sent them into League One. However, their failure to escape the bottom three means that they will now start next season on minus ten points and with the club in financial disarray, that’s a terrifying prospect for supporters. The club tried to revamp their structure during the summer and brought in Jan Poortvliet as head coach, but these moves simply haven’t worked and Saints’ future really is in jeopardy. There are rumours that they have even applied to the Conference just in case no new buyer is found and they are unable to start next season.
With their future now secure, Billy Davies is not expected to take any risks in this one and that means the likes of Nathan Tyson and Iain Turner will both sit out through injuries. Southampton are in a similar boat although Mark Wotte may give a few youngsters a chance, with Wayne Thomas, Olly Lancashire and Lee Molyneux all now fit and looking for a start. However, Paul Wotton and Lee Holmes will not feature as the duo recover from a fractured jaw and ankle injury respectively.
Both of these sides have nothing to play for and with Forest now secure, there will be something of a party atmosphere at the City Ground. We think this will encourage the home side and they will just about nick this one with a 1-0 victory.
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