Field Notes

• West Ham might be planning on getting revenge for the recent 5-0 drubbing we dished out to them by poaching Billy Davies according to the Daily Telegraph. Naturally the news has surprised Hammers and Forest fans alike, although other names being suggested in the papers are probably realistic. Davies, after all, recently signed a long-term contract with Forest so wouldn’t be easy to prise away from the City Ground. Sam Allardyce’s days, however, do seem numbered and it could just be a case of lining up a realistic replacement for the West Ham board.
• One person who will be taking a special interest in Allardyce’s future is the famous crying child who is apparently now a bigger Hammers fan than ever. Young Callum told his dead after the game, ‘I suppose I’ll have to get used to this’, which was prescient considering the result at Man City a few days later. Meanwhile other children threatened with the prospect of growing up as West Ham fans are starting to make their feelings known at a younger age.
• Djamel Abdoun has certainly impressed in recent games and is hopefully settling into his football in Nottingham after an uncertain start, but comparisons with Messi and Ronaldo are probably a little premature. Meanwhile one columnist has sagely warned it would be dangerous to get too sentimental about someone who is clearly a mercenary with ‘flair for hire’.
• Arguably more deserving of lavish praise than Abdoun is Jamaal Lascelles who has been named the club’s player of the month for December. Billy Davies was nominated for the Championship ‘Manager of the Month’ award but lost out to Steve McClaren. Hard to disagree after Derby won six out of seven last month, but happily they have lost both games of 2014 so far.