Forest chairman expects ‘busier end’ to window
RANDALL SAYS REDS ARE IN GOOD PLACE AS THEY LOOK TO STRIKE RIGHT BALANCE
NOTTINGHAM Forest chairman Nicholas Randall QC is anticipating a “busier end” to the transfer window after a slow start.
A considerable clear-out at the end of last season saw 12 players leave the City Ground, when loan deals and contracts expired, while Fouad Bachirou, Nicholas Ioannou and Tyler Blackett have also since left.
By contrast, the Reds have brought in only three new additions – Ethan Horvath, Philip Zinckernagel and Jordi Oseitutu.
Boss Chris Hughton is eager for further reinforcements, with his options currently limited in certain areas of the pitch.
Meanwhile, there has been interest from elsewhere in the likes of Brennan Johnson, Jordan Gabriel and Joe Worrall – and Randall has admitted tough decisions do sometimes have to be made to comply with Financial Fair Play rules.
“At the moment, we’re in a good place. We’re complying with the rules,” he told the BBC when asked about Johnson and Worrall.
“Those decisions will ultimately be football decisions, and it’s about striking a balance.
“At the moment, I’m hoping neither of those decisions has to be taken.
“The business, at the moment, is relatively quiet – that may be a good thing. Everybody thinks it’s going to get busy.
“The market is readjusting. A lot of the money at the top of the game has gone out of the country, so it’s not actually flowed down the pyramid, which normally loosens up pieces of the jigsaws.
“But I think we all anticipate there may well be a busier end to the window than the beginning.”
Forest have traditionally made one significant sale most summers, to help balance the books.
Twelve months ago, for instance, Matty Cash made a big money move to Aston Villa after a sterling campaign for the Reds.
Randall says it can be difficult to be competitive in a league where relegated clubs benefit from parachute payments, while at the same time staying within the financial regulations.
“It’s one of the points that can be frustrating for those clubs which stick within the rules. Where you haven’t got parachute payments, you’re at a significant disadvantage,” he said.
“If you actually look in recent years, it’s been very difficult to be competitive if you haven’t got a parachute and you’re sticking to FFP.
“But that is the way we think the club should be run, and the way we try to run it.
“That means sometimes you have to make difficult decisions.
“How do you make those decisions? If you take a player like Matty (Cash) for example, we think Matty deserved the chance to go, and he wanted to go. I’m a great believer that you can’t hold players back.
“Indeed, if you hold players back, it prevents good players coming to you. It’s also important for the kids, as they go through the developmental stages, to know that it’s a club which will respect their wishes if it’s time to go.
“With Matty, we were able to get a wonderful deal. Ioannis (Vrentzos) did a brilliant deal on the financials.
“Matty has got huge respect for the club, and we have huge respect for him. He’s helped us out financially – it was a significant transfer for our budgeting and staying within the rules.
“Obviously there’s a great regret that he’s not still here, marauding down the wing for us. I think we did miss him last season.
“But overall, that’s the way we have to run the club. There will be other decisions as well. I think we have got to the position where there’s nobody who has left us who has then gone on to perform better than we anticipated.
“We always try to get best value for the player if we have to sell. It’s one of the most difficult parts of the job.
“For all of us clubs who stick within the rules, it’s one of the frustrations if you see other clubs not doing that – they avoid that tough decision and they avoid the implications for the club of taking that tough decision.
“But our target has always been to stick within the rules.”
Nottingham Forest have confirmed the departure of midfielder Fouad Bachirou on a free transfer to Cypriot side Omonia Nicosia.