Tree Seasons looks back upon the season and asks, what is Forest’s missing ingredient?
The season is over, the final points are in the bag, and Forest are back in the Premier League for a third consecutive year – just.
Going forward, what will Forest need to do to ensure that the fans don’t suffer the same woeful season in 2025?
How will we remember Nuno? Will he be known as the manager who should have done more, or will he be revered as a manager who encouraged progressive play and a more attacking style of football that earned Premiership survival?
Add a sprinkling of a new manager?
It’s been a difficult season for Forest fans to endure but, ultimately, Nuno has done enough to maintain Premier League survival for another season and, maybe, that was all that was required of him.
My thinking is that he should be given the time if he wants to continue the job at Forest; let him have a pre-season and see where he can take us before the end of the year.
We might never know exactly what was expected from the Portuguese supremo but we can be sure that, in any other season, Forest would’ve been relegated.
Managers have already been linked with the Forest job and there are quite a few jobless managers out there at the moment, all weighing up their opportunities with Nuno also being linked with a couple of teams in Europe.
-33 isn’t a goal difference, it’s a life-threatening sub-zero temperature.
The bottom three teams were so appalling this season that a mere 26 points and a goal difference of -32 was enough to keep the 17th-worst team in the league for at least another season.
From one place above mid-table, all teams have at least doubled Luton Town’s points tally. We all know how tough the Premier League is, with arguably the best teams in world football competing in an arduous winter season, but this season couldn’t have been any easier to survive.
I seriously doubt that next season will be so lenient with some big clubs coming up with premier league experience, including a very dominant and settled Leicester City side.
Leicester could face a points deduction before a ball is kicked but it may not hurt them as much as we imagine. Everton recovered well from their punishment and Forest survived the 4-point deduction which coincided with inept officials to ensure that any further advantage would be whipped away with one unjustified, dog-shit decision.
One of the worst teams in Premier League history.
This season we go down as the one where a team could survive relegation with less than 30 points and the precarious league position will resonate with Forest fans all summer.
Of course, we bring into question the competency of the manager because Forest certainly have the makings of a good squad, but what went wrong and what will the squad look like after the Euros?
The set-piece issues, the schoolboy errors at the back and the missed opportunities in front of goal will certainly haunt the perpetrators as much as they do the fans but we can’t forget the fiasco of VAR, the deductions of PSR, and the strain of the AFCONs.
VAR, PSR, a lack of clinical finishing in front of goal, and a lack of concentration from corners and set-pieces has ensured that Nuno has had to organise the squad to avert the danger of unexpected f#%*-ups.
Is a good manager Forest’s missing ingredient?
Can we blame Nuno for the plethora of inconsistencies or has he just been let down by players, club politics, and officials who haven’t done their job properly?
If Forest’s missing ingredient is a high-profile manager we have to remember that these guys are hard to find. And, when you do find a good manager who is between jobs, they don’t necessarily want to be embroiled with high-maintenance clubs like Nottingham Forest.
The job of being a Premier League manager is hard enough as it is without dealing with added PSR pressures, a potential relegation battle for a third season running, and ground location speculation.
There have been rumours circulating about Di Zerbi leaving Brighton due to recruitment policies at the club and possibly considering a job at Forest. It’s no secret that things aren’t much better at the City Ground, so why would Di Zerbi want to come to Nottingham when he can get better pickings at a much bigger club abroad?
I think most people agree that the Greek father should stick with what we have right now and give Nuno a good pre-season and enough time to showcase his capabilities.
It could be that Nuno has reached his level – Premier League mid-table mediocrity – and he just got lucky at Wolves with a set of players who he could bond with; complimenting his style and ambition.
After all, the current team mainly consists of Steve Cooper’s boys. Nuno has his favourites but the majority of the squad was built around Cooper’s low-block tactics and Nuno has had to make do with Cooper’s sloppy seconds.
With the possibility of another FFP breach on the summer horizon, if we can’t fill a hole by June 30th, I doubt there will be the availability of substantial funds to add a desired wish list for Nuno without the sale of the team’s best players.
Hot players targeted by Spurs
We are conscious that Murillo and Hudson-Odoi may be targeted by big clubs next season whilst Forest’s playmaker Morgan Gibbs-White has, allegedly, already had talks with Forest’s ‘feeder club’, Tottenham Hotspur. And if it wasn’t literally Morgan who drove down the London, I’m sure his agent would already be sniffing for deals.
Both Cooper and Nuno have built their squad around MGW so if he were to leave this summer, there would be a massive hole to fill, and the rebuild cost would be extortionate.
Morgan’s assist stats stand out like Kyle Walker’s list of illegitimate children, and you can guarantee the wolf will be at his agent’s door to offer Forest some PSR relief – “Look how big my chequebook is, little football club.”
You could argue that a replacement for a Murillo or a Callam Hudson-Odoi is a quick fix but a No.10 with flair and vision is a rare commodity. If MGW leaves, the present system collapses.
Forest’s missing ingredient as we see it.
Despite the ambitions of Mr Marinakis, Forest are a feeder club at best. As soon as Forest unearths a Murillo or a Brennan Johnson, and Morgan Gibbs-White consistently provides the second-most assists in the league, Forest’s games become a shopfront for the rest of Europe.
Considering the imminent departure of the aforementioned Brazilian and MGW, Forest have some skilful boots to fill next season.
We have already mentioned how great Forest’s player-of-the-year Murillo has been since his arrival but it has also been a question of who he should partner at the back. We joked how Murillo had received more partners at the back than a Kardashian, and it has been the inexperience of Omabamidele versus the vast experiences of Boly, Niakhaté, and the Brazilian veteran, Felipé.
Boly and Ola Aina are with us for another season but, if Murillo leaves for Madrid, Merseyside or Milan, we have two centre-halves to consider at the back, and my preference would be for two more battle-hardened veterans at the heart of our defence. I don’t think you can beat experience in that position.
For me, a lack of maturity at the back does leave teams vulnerable and, despite his excellent performances and commitment to the cause, Murillo has often shown naivety in key areas. Whilst his goalmouth tackles and clearances have saved our blushes and valuable points on the day, there is a reason why he has had to make so many last-ditch, acrobatic challenges in the first place.
From what I understand, Murillo hasn’t been very successful in aerial challenges this season either and he has allowed the time and space to open up in front of him for the opposition to exploit, leading to a last-minute dash to intercept and help the keeper out.
Therefore, for me, Forest’s missing ingredient at the back would be not one, but two centre-halves as we cannot rely on Boly’s legs to last more than a dozen games.
With consistent assists and determined attacking play, MGW was perhaps worthy of the ‘Player of the Season’ status and only missed out to the Brazilian gem they unearthed last year. Although Murillo deservedly scooped the award, players like Morgan are worth too much to lose but, at the same time, he’s also too expensive to remain at Forest for another season. The problem is, he’s too much of a Premier League asset for Forest to handle right now.
Midfield’s Missing Ingredient
Considering his departure, Forest are not only just looking for a shiny new No. 10 next season, they will need another consistent midfielder to take charge and build play from the back.
Danilo and Dominguez have been very inconsistent and Yates lacks a certain quality that would elevate his worth. We know the potential of Sangare – there is no doubt that he has the potential – but whether he turns into the other player we all anticipated or flops like a Gary Glitter reunion concert, we will need to solidify that position with players that have consistency and the Ryan Yates-esk kind of commitment.
Another area where we have concerns is the illusive striker role. We all pointed it out before the January window opened: we need another striker. Again, like good managers. No 9s are hard to come by these days too.
Forest’s Missing Ingredient is the Goal.
Despite his goals and that impressive ratio since Nuno took over, we can’t rely on just Chris Wood and Taiwo. Taiwo looks so fragile that, if he was an economy, the UN would be dropping him international aid.
Chris Wood has helped us out considerably with his 15-goal contribution – and we are more grateful for those strikes than we might think.
There is no ambiguity in this area because Forest only managed 49 goals all season, 8 more than Burnley and 3 less than Luton. Only the Hatters, Everton and the two teams that finished bottom scored less than Forest.
You can’t even blame the points deduction on Forest’s inability to hit the back of the net. This is why, for me, another quality striker is crucial to the spine of the squad next season. Chris Wood didn’t feature for half the season and so that 15-goal Premier League tally is just about guaranteed for the Kiwi veteran.
At one point, his strike to goal ratio was so good that it put City’s Haaland into 2nd position, and international managers across the globe were checking Wikipedia for Wood’s legitimate nationality.
If 15 goals per season are nailed on for Chris Wood, an equally impressive partner would ensure that Forest remained mid-table for a change, and nearer to some sort of stability, providing that the leaks at the back and the broken midfield are repaired in time.
What do you think is Forest’s missing ingredient? Is the goalkeeping situation sorted? Do we need another right-back? Would you have Jedd Spence back at the club or is Steve Cooper the only person who can make him work? Should MGW have made the England squad? Please let us know your thoughts.
Also, whilst on the subject of fine ingredients, for those foodies amongst you in Nottingham and the East Midlands, try these guys for all your catering needs – https://citreuscatering.co.uk/ – including weddings, funerals and sporting events.
