All Out Peace Set To Break Out At City Ground?

To say that Billy Davies is unhappy with how things have been going on behind the scenes at the City Ground since January, would be an understatement. But, Vital Forest believes that peace is about to be brokered between the manager and the much maligned acquisitions panel.

Davies feels he's been let down badly since January, when the team were at one stage level on points with league leaders Newcastle and looking good to make a serious push for an automatic promotion spot. As everyone now knows, both Newcastle and West Brom strengthened and Forest didn't. The rest as they say is history, but despite naming his targets, the club failed to land a single one of them.

Billy Davies' annoyance, frustration and claims that David Pleat has too much influence, stems from the fact that he had a list of 9 players for the panel to go at. Davies expected them to land 3, of which Swansea City's Darren Pratley was the major target. At the time, Swansea said he wouldn't be going anywhere for less than £2.5m. We've been told that an offer of £1.75m would have landed the player, but the acquisitions panel would only sanction an offer of £750,000. This amongst other failings, has led to all the problems between the manager and the panel.

With the two parties at loggerheads and Davies' future in doubt, it's being said that CEO Mark Arthur has been the man to find a solution to the problem. Chairman Nigel Doughty was apparently prepared to let the manager walk, if it meant him being made to disband the panel and do away with it completely. We believe that Mark Arthur has found a way to let Davies have a greater say on the way players are brought in, their price and the transfer budget as a whole. The acquisition panel will remain in place, but it will be led and controlled by Davies himself, under the watchful eye of Doughty.

From what we've been told on this so far, it has yet to be ratified but it is expected to be the way forward. This should be enough to placate the moody Scott and if it does, he's also expected to be offered a contract extension over the summer, regardless of whether the team go up to the Premiership this season or not. That can only be good news for us all and would be a sure sign that any grievances behind the scenes are once and for all sorted out. It would also put to bed any rumours of the managers imminent departure....for now at any rate.

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