Forest remain unbeaten going into Matchday 6 but Fulham will be the real test this month,
Forget Chelsea in a fortnight, Forest will need to get that first home win under their belts to convince all football fans that Forest are serious about becoming an established Premier League outfit.
Fulham gained promotion the same season as Forest but we have since been looking up to the West Londoners, hoping to replicate their mid-table comfort.
The agony of points deductions and the annual relegation battle against mediocre sides makes Fulham’s respective 10th and 13th place finishes look highly respectable in the eyes of Forest fans.
Our Current League Position
Mid-table mediocrity is our idea of heaven and, so far, Nuno is shaping the side to look like a respectable mid-table team.
Our current league position of 8th has not come easy either. If you had told me last season, at any point, that Forest would beat Liverpool at Anfield and take a point away at Brighton to remain in the top ten, after just the first five games, I’d have encouraged you not to waste your money betting on such ludicrous outcomes.
After all, Brighton have become the established top-flight team who have been hard to beat, home and away, and Forest hadn’t beaten Liverpool away since 1969. Even I wasn’t born then.
Even Cloughie couldn’t do what Nuno did
I vaguely remember the optimism of the 0-0 European Cup draw at Anfield to secure qualification into the next round. Even the great Brian Clough couldn’t do at Anfield what Nuno did.
Following a convincing 2-0 victory at the City Ground, with a first-ever Forest goal for Garry Birtles and an uncharacteristic yet clinical volley from Colin Barrett, this victory caught the attention of every football fan.
The first leg daylight was a clear indication that Forest had just beaten, arguably, the best team in Europe and they could actually go on to win this thing.
Looking back, the significance hits home when you consider that this victory was equivalent to Ipswich Town qualifying for the Champions League this season and beating Real Madrid next year.
Forest remain unbeaten and it comes at a cost
Forest remain unbeaten and this has come at a cost. No Nuno commanding the lines and Forest’s creative midfield talisman, Morgan Gibbs-White, received a second yellow card for a fairly innocuous challenge on Joao Pedro. Consequently, Nuno will have to get instructions across very clearly before kick-off and Morgan will now miss an opportunity to replicate his sterling performance against The Cottagers last season.
I’m all for protecting players and keeping them healthy but when someone like Richard Keys – a man who grew up at a time when you had to punch someone, stamp on their face and spit on the ref to get sent off – suggests that MGW should’ve received a straight red card for that challenge, I have to question what his opinion was of Liverpool legend Graeme Souness when he was at the peak of his career.
You can’t tackle gently and it’s not a non-contact sport……yet. I just feel that if this challenge is now the marker of a yellow card, we are going to see games without any players left on the pitch after an hour.
During the aforementioned European Cup game at the City Ground, in 1978, Souness was booked for a knee-high challenge on Eastwood’s Tony Woodcock which made MGW’s obvious desire to play the ball look like a mere flirt.
If you think today’s game is too physical, I can only encourage you to watch the full force of challenges from the likes of Souness, Roy Keane, Vinny Jones, and the ‘Dirty Leeds’ team from the mid-70s, and then consider what really warrants a red card.
I remember playing as a winger in non-league football in the late 80s, before my cruciate ligament decided to give way, and I relished the idea of receiving challenges that weren’t above the knee, didn’t take me out two seconds after playing the ball, and without the intention of putting me through an advertising board.
I think the penalty was soft if I’m being completely honest. If the Ashley Young penalty debate from last season concludes in a fair challenge, there is no way Rob Jones rules in favour of Callum Hudson-Odoi.
It could’ve been easily overturned on another day but that’s football for you. It was possibly Rob Jones wanting to compensate for Boly’s ludicrous, early dismissal against Bournemouth.
Forest Versus Fulham
Following the away thrashing at Fulham – possibly the game that sealed Cooper’s fate – Fulham came to the City Ground rather off-colour.
Taking nothing away from a superb Forest reply with sublime displays from Gibbs-White, Danilo and Chris Wood, Fulham weren’t at their best.
Most of Fulham’s attacks come through Adama Traoré, and he’s gonna be a handful for our defenders. With his speed and strength, he will be the driving force on Saturday if we can’t keep him at bay. If he could improve his finishing, he could be the ultimate threat to both defenders and goalkeepers. Instead, the Spaniard is a bit like the Empire’s Death Star: his lack of fire power leaves his team vulnerable to attack.
With Marco Silva at the helm, we can expect anything from this Fulham side.
Can Forest remain unbeaten? – the prediction
Forest remain unbeaten of course and I’d love to see Forest edge this game but I can seriously see it concluding in another home draw at the City Ground.
I don’t think it will be without goals. Fulham are looking for their first away win and it could be a thriller. I am going for an exciting 3-3 conclusion with Chris Wood bagging a brace.
Of course, if Forest are continually defending a resolute counter-attack, I may be overwhelmed with that familiar, ominous in-game feeling of being stabbed in the chest with an antique letter opener as Fulham continually pepper our defence with fast, counter-attacking force.
An early goal could calm my nerves and I wish I could be more optimistic about a convincing, first home win of the season but, alas, this is Nottingham Forest we are discussing – COYR!
