THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE did their best to ruin Nottingham Forest's festive spirit by slapping a transfer embargo on the Championship club on Christmas Eve.
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| Sam Byram salutes the Leeds fans after his equaliser at Nottingham Forest |
It was the second time in successive years Forest had breached Financial Fair Play rules. The ban will run until the end of the season and means Forest will have gone 18 months without paying for a player - not that they need to.
Manager Dougie Freedman insisted back in February his squad was strong enough to cope without buying new recruits. And they were here - for a time.
Freedman won seven of his first 10 games in charge to push the side towards the top half of the table, but a lack of fresh faces eventually told as the club ended the season winless from eight outings.
Leeds rose and slumped in the same fashion with Neil Redfearn in charge after also enduring last January's window under an embargo.
This term, without any summer recruits, Forest have been just as inconsistent. Bursts of form bookmarked an autumn period where they again went eight games without a win and were looking nervously at the drop zone.
Freedman's men are recovering well from that drought and, just like Leeds, are playing catch-up on the Championship play-off places, although yesterday's draw will help neither side in that pursuit.
Last summer Freedman brought in three men on free transfers. Attacker Jamie Ward, from Derby, has kept his place, as has former Bolton defender Matt Mills.
But it was promising Spaniard Daniel Pinillos, a free arrival from Cordoba, who has most impressed at the City Ground - and who will be sorely missed after his season was ended by a cruciate ligament injury before Christmas.
Michael Mancienne moved left to fill in for Pinillos yesterday, with Jack Hobbs partnering the impressive Mills.
Leeds looked the brighter side in the opening stages, striker Chris Wood seeing a free header cleared off the line. But Forest took the lead when Mills split Giuseppe Bellusci and the out-rushing Marco Silvestri to hand forward Nelson Oliveira a tap-in.
Mills could have scored himself as Forest sought a second after the break but, like Wood, his header from a corner was cleared onto a post.
And it was a vital block for Leeds as Sam Byram slammed home the equaliser with 10 minutes left, the 22-year-old drilling into the bottom corner from 25 yards.
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| Byram will be a transfer target for Premier League clubs in January |
Substitute Ward hit the post in the last minute but it was a reprieve Leeds deserved considering their fightback.
The point continues Leeds' festive drought - they have not won a fixture immediately after Christmas since 2009.
Manager Steve Evans has an equally large task to navigate his club through January and out the other end thinking of promotion rather than survival.
Byram, their star full-back playing in midfield at the City Ground, is out of contract next summer.
He could leave Elland Road for the Premier League's highest bidder next month, with Leeds left to decide if they should cash in on him now or hold out for compensation in the summer.
Byram clearly has a taste for Premier League football - he was booked for diving 14 minutes in - but while his goal will lead this game's highlights package his overall performance won't have impressed any scouts watching.
Nottingham Forest: De Vries; Lichaj, Mills, Hobbs, Mancienne; Mendes (Ward 62), Lansbury, Vaughan (Burke 83), Osborn; Oliveria, O'Grady. Booked: Mendes, Lansbury, Osborn. Goal: Oliveira 17.
Leeds: Silvestri; Wootton, Bellusci, Cooper, Taylor; Byram (Coyle 90); Cook (Doukara 62), Bridcutt, Murphy, Dallas (Antenucci 77); Wood. Booked: Byram, Bellusci. Goal: Byram 80.
Referee: J Linington.
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