Every Monday, Sky Sports experts will review the weekend's Football League action on FL72 Review. Check out Peter Beagrie's thoughts on the latest news...
Tuesday 9 September 2014 17:14, UK
BEAGS SAYS: I think realistically what you’ve got to look at is the last time they were at the Ricoh they were getting between 10 and 15,000. So that’s the realism of it all. Anybody who was there would have been affected by it. It was an amazing night, a tremendous experience and you could tell that the relief of the fans that went back. It was self-imposed, to stay away from watching their team and it’s a massive sacrifice but they were all there and it was a relief that they got a positive result. Peter Taylor was surprised, I spoke to him before the game, and he said they were expecting 25,000 plus, maybe even 27,000. ‘Dear me’, he said, ‘I’m so glad that they’re back here’. So it’s a sense of relief for everybody throughout football that it’s a win for the fans.
BEAGS SAYS: It’s a very young, vibrant team that they’ve got. They’ve decided between the manager and the chairman that they’re going to strip the squad bare and go for the young guns - and they’ve made a few decent signings over the past couple of weeks, Luke James being one of them from Hartlepool. When they do find players, they make sure the investment counts. Look at the profit margins involved. In a couple of seasons when James he has benefitted from first-team experience maybe they’ll reap the rewards on him as well. Fifty-two goals they had to replace – Lee Tomlin gone, Tommy Rowe gone, Britt Assombalonga gone – and they’ve brought people in who look as if, in League One in particular, they can flourish.
Paul Tisdale under pressure after Exeter's bad start?
BEAGS SAYS: People say the manager has a lack of ambition by not moving on because there’s plenty of people looking at the job he’s done. One of his quotes is 'big isn’t always better'. He seems quite happy to be there but they’ve conceded nine goals in six games and you have your work cut out. He’s been much admired for many years so nobody will be panicking, they know he’s a good manager and once the season settles down, let’s have a look at the 10-game period to see if it’s working and whether he needs to bring a few acquisitions in.
Nottingham Forest's summer spending spree
BEAGS SAYS: For me, it was the best recruitment. I think they spent about £9m - give-or-take - and brought in some real quality, people who are going to make a difference. Britt Assombalonga could be a 20-goal man, and real pace with Chris Burke and Michail Antonio, with craft and creativity. They’ve strengthened all the way through. Matty Fryatt can act as a partner or play as a lone striker. Jack Hunt, a pivotal player, with three assists already is doing great. A little bit of a bug-bear with Stuart Pearce was about the two players that they sold but they’ve got them back on loan – Karl Darlow is a great keeper, and Jamal Lascelles is a future England centre-half for me.
