Stand up if Kuwait Derby: Two years of the al-Hasawi reign

Article by e-Nottingham Forest Correspondent Chris Cave

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July 10th marked the two-year anniversary of the al-Hasawi family’s ownership of Nottingham Forest Football Club. After saving the club from uncertainty following the death of Nigel Doughty, the al-Hasawi’s have enjoyed an eventful couple of seasons both on and off the pitch. But has their ownership thus far been a success or failure?

This article will reflect on the key areas of chairmanship and give a fair assessment of the al-Hasawi’s time in charge at the City Ground, mainly focusing on Fawaz’s reign as Forest chairman.

Financial Backing The first thing I want to dispel is the completely ludicrous rumour that the al-Hasawi family have no money. If you believe that then you may as well stop reading this article now, because you’ve already made your mind up on them.

In fact, the family is one of the wealthiest in Kuwait, with Fawaz’s own fortune said to be in the region of £1.4bn (not bad for a bloke with no money).

Despite this, it is true that Forest have faced a number of off-the-field dramas when it comes to finances since Fawaz succeeded his cousin Omar as Forest chairman in 2012.

Several winding up orders have seen Forest taken to court, whether for an unpaid catering bill or a tax debt. All outstanding monies have eventually been paid, and these winding up orders are not as serious as they sound, however it is never nice to see the club in the papers for the wrong reasons.

The payments of players’ wages for May 2014 were also delayed; the news of which was blown out of proportion in some areas of the media. A public holiday in al-Hasawi’s native Kuwait was the reason for the delay, a matter that was swiftly dealt with by the club, causing no reason for any major concern.

In terms of financial backing for the man in the dugout, al-Hasawi has been nothing but supportive. Millions of pounds have been made available so that Forest can bring in the desired transfer targets of the man in charge.

Simon Cox, Jamie Mackie, Adlene Guedioura, Henri Lansbury, Kelvin Wilson, Djamel Abdoun and Rafik Djebbour have all commanded sizeable transfer fees to bring to Trentside – meaning Fawaz cannot be criticised for his lack of spending.

Managerial Decisions In the summer of 2012, the al-Hasawi’s stressed the importance of securing, in their words, an “iconic” manager to lead the club onto bigger and better things – something that later came back to haunt them.

The achievement of keeping Forest in the second tier was not deemed enough to secure Steve Cotterill’s future in the managerial hot seat at the City Ground; and he was dismissed swiftly after the Kuwaiti’s took control of the club.

There were mixed feelings towards the departure of Cotterill – some felt he should have been afforded the chance to manage the club in more favourable circumstances than the disastrous season prior to the al-Hasawi takeover – yet it was probably the correct decision.

Cotterill had overseen the worst spell in the club’s history in terms of results, and many of the performances under the former-Burnley boss were underwhelming to say the least.

After reports that Mick McCarthy (amongst others) had turned the job down, the man charged with leading Forest was not one you tend to associate with iconic status in football management.

The softly spoken Sean O’Driscoll, whose riveting interviews were almost enough to send you to sleep, signed on the dotted line to administer the al-Hasawi’s “3 – 5 year plan”.

After chairmanship changed hands from Omar to Fawaz, O’Driscoll was bizarrely relieved of his duties after an impressive 4-2 home win over Leeds United on Boxing Day 2012.

It seemed the plan had changed from five years to the here and now.

Fawaz then incurred the wrath of a number of Forest supporters with the appointment of Alex McLeish; a man who had recently been driven out of struggling Premier League outfit Aston Villa.

McLeish’s reign as Forest manager did not last long, but was not without controversy.

The Scot resigned his post after the failure to secure the services of George Boyd, who infamously failed an eye test causing his transfer from Peterborough United to fall through – bringing an end to his time in charge before it had even begun.

With the business end of the season fast approaching, Fawaz gave in to majority of supporters’ wishes to bring back former manager Billy Davies.

Known for his disagreements with several other club owners, not least Forest’s previous chairman Nigel Doughty, many thought it was just a matter of time before there were fireworks between the two.

If the al-Hasawi’s had shot themselves in the foot with the earlier comments about hiring an iconic manager to lead a 3 – 5 year plan; Fawaz was surely soon to become the football chairman equivalent to Oscar Pistorius by stating he wanted Davies to be “Forest’s [Alex] Ferguson”.

Davies had lambasted the previous regime for a lack of financial backing at crucial times, but this time the fiery Scot had no excuse.

After a promising start, in true Billy Davies fashion the performances seemed to fizzle out towards the season’s close.

Davies hid behind the extensive injury-list excuse for as long as he could, but after a 5-0 demolition at fierce rivals Derby, his number was up.

Davies was arguably not a mistake of Fawaz’s judgement, more a mistake of his desire to please the Forest faithful.

With no more feet left to shoot though, the Kuwaiti may have finally hired the man who will lead Forest back to the big time in club legend Stuart Pearce.

It is far too early to determine whether this will prove to be the right decision or not, but for the first time since the al-Hasawi takeover of the club; it seems Forest supporters are unanimously happy with a managerial appointment.

Communication The increased communication between club and fans has been a breath of fresh air since the al-Hasawi’s purchased the club from the Doughty estate.

Although nobody is questioning Doughty’s affection for Nottingham Forest, it’s fair to say that, at times under his ownership, the supporters were left in the dark.

An avid tweeter (twitterer, whatever you call it), Fawaz has improved the speed that information regarding the club gets relayed to supporters no end.

Forest fans now eagerly anticipate a ‘Fawaz tweet’ regarding transfers and have been promptly informed about off-field matters.

Although these are the advantages of social media platforms such as this, Fawaz has also been subject to much abuse from ignorant ‘fans’ who are left in disarray as to why we have not yet nailed down Pelé on a five-year contract.

In times of anguish, the ambitious owner has even taken to Twitter to explain his actions – something that he is not obliged to do whatsoever.

One of the fans: Fawaz poses for a photo.

Fawaz has also organised a number of events that have made the fans feel part of the club again – open training sessions, inviting all into our magnificent trophy room, and even taking up part-time work in the club shop – all little things that ensure the relationship between club and supporters is a healthy one.

Posing for pictures with a bunch of drunken 40-somethings desperately trying to squeeze an extra syllable into a chant that’s having none of it, cheering like a maniac from the director’s box when Reidy smashes in another screamer, and constantly reaffirming his love for the club all lead to the same conclusion: Fawaz really is one of the fans.

This behaviour can conjure up some criticism when rough times hit the red side of the Trent, however.

Having his picture taken with supporters or kissing new-born babies at the QMC can backfire when the club is not doing so well.

Fans lambaste him for concentrating too much on the fun aspect of owning our fantastic football club instead of spending time hiring the right manager or paying off debts.

In short – Fawaz experiences quickly the fickle nature of football fans.

Verdict The two-year al-Hasawi ownership of the club has been a roller coaster ride to say the least.

Two chairmen, five managers and millions of pounds have all been forced upon the lives of all Forest supporters as Fawaz chases down our dream of a third star – and perhaps more pressingly our long-awaited Premier League status.

And perhaps therein lies the problem the Kuwaiti’s have been faced with thus far.

Instead of looking too far into the future, Fawaz needs to concentrate on current matters.

Despite his generous backing in the transfer market, we are no better off (in terms of league status) than when he arrived.

His communication with us, the fans, has been fantastic, but he needs to think carefully before making such brash claims regarding the future of managers and appointments of CEOs (of which we desperately need).

As he has cruelly found out, football fans are a fickle bunch. They want it all and they want it now. And if they don’t get it then someone needs to be blamed: manager, chairman, Dan Harding – it doesn’t matter who, but someone.

Time and patience will be the key, and hopefully he has found the right manager in Stuart Pearce to take the club forward.

The man has a heart of gold and I am extremely grateful to have him as chairman of our football club.

We will taste success, eventually, and there will be no one happier than Fawaz when we do.

There will also probably be a great deal more twists and turns before glory returns to the City Ground, because nothing is ever plain sailing as far as Nottingham Forest is concerned.

So, for the mean time, you best just strap yourself in and enjoy the ride.

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