The summer was an exciting one for Nottingham Forest supporters given that most days involved being linked with a new player in the transfer market.
One man who was on most supporters’ lips during the summer months was Newcastle United midfielder Jack Colback. The 29-year-old spent 18 months on loan at the City Ground and was voted runner-up to Joe Lolley in the 2018/19 Player of the Year poll.
Colback’s wages proved problematic though. According to Spotrac, he is being paid £35,000 per-week at St James’ Park and that has priced him out of move elsewhere.
Magpies boss Steve Bruce used Colback during pre-season but then cruelly left him out of his 25-man squad for the 2019/20 campaign. With the Forest fan favourite in limbo, the Reds were forced into a contingency plan.
Whilst some people struggled to foresee how Forest could possibly progress on the pitch without the ‘Ginger Pirlo’, the solution to any possible problem was right under the club’s nose all along.
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Ben Watson might have a few years on Colback but his form this season has ensured people are no longer pining for the return of the Newcastle maestro.
The 34-year-old has been like a fine wine this season. Some had written him off and many more were up in arms when Martin O’Neill restored him to his starting eleven back in January.
After being tossed aside by Aitor Karanka around this time last season, Watson is back with a vengeance and is arguably Forest’s most important player in Lamouchi’s counter-attacking style of play.
Integral
According to Who Scored, Watson has made 28 tackles and blocked 11 shots so far this season, which for a defensive midfielder is a pretty good average over the course of nine games.
Lamouchi has given Watson a slightly different remit to that which he had under Karanka and O’Neill. This season his game has been all about retrieving the ball from the goalkeeper, moving it to players who can get Forest up the pitch. Simple but effective.
Every team needs a player like Watson and alongside Samba Sow, he has looked like a completely different player to the one that was dropped by Karanka.
Nothing against Colback but there is plenty to suggest that his style wouldn’t really be welcomed in Lamouchi’s style of play.
The ex-Forest man worked well in a 4-2-3-1, but that’s not really the system that the Reds boss has deployed so far this season.
With Watson and Sow bang in form and Tiago Silva, Alfa Semedo, John Bostock and Brennan Johnson waiting in the wings, Forest have plenty of midfielders to choose from.
It is the ex-Watford and Crystal Palace man, however, that is ensuring Forest aren’t living to rue the decision not to stump up the cash for Colback.
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