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From being a young, aspiring lower league player with plenty of potential, to one of the best wingers currently in the Championship, Garath McCleary has deservedly received the Championship Player of the Month award for March. Whilst it might for some players, be a regular, taken for granted award, for McCleary, it couldn’t be more different.
Since his move from lower-league side Bromley, McCleary’s ride to being a weekly inclusion in the Nottingham Forest starting line up has been far from smooth. He showed glimpses of quality from the very start of his Forest career, soon flaunting his fine ability of taking on players, using his speed, coupled with his skill to parade past them. Having joined for a mere sum of £25,000, expectations weren’t high for the winger, and he certainly showed exceeding these low expectations would be a breeze.
However, injuries and lack of first team oppurtunities were a momentus part of why McCleary’s Forest career didn’t kick off completely. Often declaring his obvious talent in the few chances he got over the years, McCleary, and the majority of the Forest fans were left wondering why he wasn’t being given more chances to showcase his talents.
If there is one word that has stayed with McCleary during his time at Forest, it’s been ‘promise’. By some, he was labelled as the ‘super sub’, and nothing more, because in seasons gone by he’s rarely got a run of 3/4 games, where he could establish himself, and unveil himself so Forest fans could make an accurate assessement of his ability.
In his place usually in previous seasons was the energy of Paul Anderson, who was a Billy Davies type player, hence why he was favoured over the hungry and patient McCleary. Anderson was, and still is, more of a runner than a footballer. Brilliant at tracking back and helping the full-back when he could, but when it came to forward play, he was a figure to make up the numbers, rather than actually producing the goods with the ball at his feet, frequently shying away when gifted the chance to take on a player and produce a cross worthy of trying to challenge optimistically for.
In defence of Billy Davies though, it worked. As the saying goes, ‘If it’s not broken, don’t fix it’. Without a doubt, it wasn’t broken. It was just a matter of whether Billy had it in him to gamble on McCleary, with the fear that it may damage the way the team was currently playing, which was rather successful, managing 2 consecutive playoff places. In addition, it was occasionally evident that Billy didn’t have faith in McCleary, which reflected in McCleary’s play in patches of last season, every so often not parading past a player, when it was ever so blatant to fans McCleary had all of the attributes to do so.
This season however, has perhaps summed up his Nottingham Forest career so far. Starting the season injured, missing the whole of Steve McClaren’s reign as manager, therefore meaning McCleary sadly couldn’t impress, because McClaren was out of the door quicker than McCleary galloped past Leeds’ Carl Robinson in Forest’s recent 7-3 thrashing.
With McClaren having resigned, McCleary must’ve been thinking what could’ve been, as McClaren spoke weekly of his love for typical wide players, and his intention of discovering some, failing with attempts to sign the likes of highly rated Dutch winger Wesley Verhoek, now at FC Twente with McClaren, and reportedly missing out on last resort Lloyd Dyer, currently plying his trade at Leicester City. We will never know if McCleary was fit, whether he would’ve been the solution to all of McClaren’s problems, but if he was, he would’ve prevented the travesty that has been the 2011-12 season at Forest.
With Twitter rumours flying around hinting McCleary was set to retire, because of the seriousness of his injury, there was a definite element of confusion surrounding what was wrong with McCleary, as new manager Steve Cotterill was in desperate need of reinofrcements. With the degree of uncertainty, came an element of caution. It was vital McCleary wasn’t rushed back into things, because we didn’t know how quickly the injury could flare up once again.
Chris Gunter, the Welsh right-back was handed the job of covering for McCleary at right-midfield at times. Gunter, being an enthusiastic young player, also a type that would do anything for the team, happily obliged. Despite being a vital part of the side that beat Middlesbrough at home, during Cotterill’s honeymoon period, it was still apparent Gunter was there as a temporary figure. Unfortunately for ‘Gunts’, he’s been unfairly thrust into the right-midfield position too often this season, being an enemy of his own flexible nature.
Welsh full-backs will never make it as wingers anyway, will they?
When McCleary finally got back to fitness, it was well worth the wait. The player that fans had seen endure a rocky ride for a few years, was eventually getting a run of games to show what he’s made of. Being an integral part of the group that beat the likes of Birmingham, Ipswich, Coventry, Leeds and Crystal Palace, scoring some beauties along the way.
Steve Cotterill, to some, has been horribly guilty this season, but McCleary’s form is largely down to him. Being a weekly fixture in the team was something McCleary was desperate for, meaning he could finally transform his promise, into concrete, undoubted ability. The highlight of McCleary’s ressurgence was the 4 goals against Leeds United. The factor that maked this performance all the better, was the fact by this point, McCleary was a marked man. McCleary’s form had become public, and started to feature highly in the thoughts of managers as they prepared to face Forest. Paul Robinson, an experienced Premiership defender who has turned out for Bolton and West Brom, was the Leeds player given the job of coping with McCleary. The old-fashioned left-back, who is typically known to like the physical aspect of the game, also liking a hard tackle or two, was left shaking in his boots by the undefendable form shown by the magical McCleary on the night.
If that hadn’t woken the nation up to McCleary’s talents, nothing could. With McCleary’s contract ending in the summer, many Premiership clubs have been keeping tabs on the in-form man, and with Forest’s financial future uncertain, it may be a matter of ‘who’ to depart to, rather than ‘if’.
Whatever happens with McCleary, it’s been great to revel in the brilliance of of the man, even if it does prove to only be for a short period of time. What also becomes continually clear is that it’s his attitude and determination that got him in the position he is in today, and judging by what we see on the pitch, and the language used on Twitter, he is ready to strive further, to progress his career.
If that’s with Forest, then all Forest fans will be elated. If he finds himself elsewhere next season, I will be eternally thankful to him for being an important part of the Forest revival, which has seen them close to rescuing themselves from what was a daunting situation earlier in the season.
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