Crushed at Craven Cottage, the Forest farce at Fulham is a worrying prospect for the club.
For those who thought you couldn’t witness a performance as woeful as the Everton game, Forest brought another level of failure to the table in a game that resembled a European qualifier between a quality, top seeded-side and a collection of part-time players from a remote Scandinavian village.
Forest were shocking!
The opposing fans even cheered when Forest managed to make more than one successful pass. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed that level of sarcasm before.
Let us know if you have witnessed fans cheering the opposition’s mediocrity before.
The Forest players might have been present on the pitch but they didn’t show up in terms of performance. You couldn’t even call that a ‘shift’.
Relegation Battle On.
Although the table provides the illusion of a cushion, Forest are well and truly now in a relegation battle.
Many people are saying that the problem started about three games ago but, in our opinion, it was orchestrated during the draw against Burnley.
A new system with a ‘more positive’, back-four formation was introduced against Burnley. A new attacking mindset from the manager just didn’t work, and Forest were lucky to take a point from the game. The longer the game went on, the more likely it looked that Burnley would win the game and take all three points.
Consequently, Forest’s stats look woeful under Steve Cooper. His win rate is almost lower than the team’s possession in the Fulham game.
Jimenez has been heavily criticised by Fulham fans recently and Forest made him look like Maradona, as he managed to find his way between three Forest players and cheekily back-heel past the Greek Ghost.
The players should be ashamed of themselves knowing that their manager’s job was on the rack.
In an insane league where £200million and 44 new signings will not guarantee success – it doesn’t even guarantee Premiership survival – Forest looked out of their depth against a side that should be below Forest at this time of the season.
So, what must Forest do to stop the rot?
I don’t necessarily believe that a new manager is the answer either. The timing is all wrong because we don’t need a project manager with a five-year plan that involves getting the club relegated prior to a reemergence before the end of the decade.
Unless there is a credible candidate with an immediate plan for a sustainable Premier League future, there isn’t a good scenario on the horizon.
Lost the loving feeling.
Some of the players just aren’t good enough, the spirit has gone and there are rumours of cliques, disagreements, and apathy. There is another away game on Saturday against Wolves, the transfer market opens within weeks, Forest will lose a lot of players for the AFCON during January, and it doesn’t give a new manager any time to stop the rot.
I think a lot of the players in the side aren’t good enough at this level. It’s difficult for Cooper to leave at the moment – it’s a massive mess – and we traded Brennan Johnson, who gave us goals, for a player (Sangaré) who can’t give us a string of good passes.
Sangaré doesn’t even look like he wants to play for Forest. He has the demeanour of a disgruntled member of staff at Amazon.
He’ll never get a career in acting because he can’t even pretend to care. Or is Sangaré still recovering from the foreign virus? Is he still struggling to settle in and understand the Nottingham dialect? I just don’t get it.
We hoped that Hudosn-Odoi and Elanga would provide skill and pace but Hudson-Odoi doesn’t look 100% and Elanga is too inconsistent. Elanga looks like a very good player at times and then there are times when he doesn’t look like he can even control a ball.
In fact, the word ‘inconsistency’ is a big problem at this level and it’s currently inherent at the club. You can’t switch off, make silly mistakes and miss too many clear-cut chances without becoming embroiled in a relegation battle.
Players who aren’t performing at a consistent level cannot be considered to be world-class in a league that is regarded by many as being the best league in the world.
The only consistency the club has is consistently losing. Even the captaincy isn’t consistent and we’re all lost for answers here.
If Cooper has lost the dressing room, the confidence was left at the Villa game, and things are going to end badly because that’s how things end sometimes.
I can’t see a new manager turning things around with the choice of mediocrity that will be available – or not – within such a short period of time. Even Sevilla have thrown in the towel for poor Montiel and requested his return in January.
Luton are creeping up the table like a lame, abandoned dog coming home for breakfast, and Bournemouth are looking revitalised. Everton have surprised everyone by beating Newcastle 3-0, and even West Ham are beating Spurs now.
Any new manager will have to be a master of motivation, first and foremost, and then he will have to master the tactics.
What about the coaching staff and the recruitment management?
If Cooper stays, does the club need to get rid of other staff? Forest are on a slippery slope and unless Forest beat Wolves, I can’t see Forest pulling up trees any time soon.
Sacking Cooper won’t solve a problem, it won’t be a time to celebrate; there will be no time for joyous rapture because Steve Cooper has done so much for our City.
We don’t believe that Cooper’s absence will eliminate the problems but, ultimately, we can’t see Cooper finding a miracle cure either. So, what is to be done?
Even when Forest are pathetic on the pitch, there is no magic wand. Forest need a miracle, and we are inclined to believe that Cooper won’t be parting the Trent and turning defeats into victories with a resurgence of results, any time soon.
Last year it seemed as if there was a collective effort and everyone was on board with Cooper’s ethos but now there are rumours of players training on their own and bickering about selection.
Let us know your thoughts.
All photos provided by @ritchiesumpter on Instagram
