Forest were catapulted into the limelight last season with big games that brought in big crowds and the plethora of big arrivals made big news.
Every positive result was massive for a club that hadn’t breathed Premiership air for 23 years. Premiership survival almost meant as much to Forest fans as promotion and it has culminated in frustration with high expectations and a fear of failure like an insecure teenager.
The only positive thing to come out of relegation will be no more VAR inconsistencies, and possibly the availability of tickets for home games against Plymouth Argyle and Portsmouth.
Forest on the brink.
Forest have no divine right to remain in top-flight football but the frustration for most of us is that, potentially, Forest field a group of players that shouldn’t be on the brink of a relegation battle.
The lack of quality at the foot of the table may mean that Forest won’t need the magical 38 points to survive this season. In fact, 28 points might actually do it at this rate.
The team has dropped valuable points against inferior sides and, from Boxing Day onwards, you would back five of the teams from the following eight games to beat us. Even the confidence of playing at home has gone now that the bubble has burst and been stamped into the cold, wet turf of the city Ground, beneath the feet of a supposedly revenant Dwight McNeil.
I mean, what was that all about? Who in the crowd had upset him? It’s the world-famous City Ground, for crying out loud, we are all friends here.
McNeil’s finish was clinical and was executed because he did something which Forest couldn’t do all game – get a shot on target. We got the result right on the night…but we just got the scoring team wrong – “It will be close, no doubt about that, but I’m going with 1-0 to Nottingham Forest – COYR!”
Should Murillo play a more attacking role?
As talented and as exciting as Morgan Gibbs-White can be – and he has a lot to carry on young shoulders – he is struggling to hit a barn door at the moment. It worries me that the nearest Forest came to scoring against Everton was when Felipe, a centre-half, hit the post.
As much as I feel some sympathy for Chris Wood – I’m sure he’s gutted with his stats since joining the club – I’d rather see Murillo in the No.9 position as he looks like he could play anywhere on the pitch at the moment. Why can’t Gibbs-White play as a false nine? He’s played there for England under 21s.
More shots on Target
Forest could still have been playing on Sunday and they wouldn’t have scored, and VAR probably wouldn’t have looked at any potential fouls when a Forest player is pushed and pulled around in the box.
The most creative player on the pitch is stuck on the wing and Forest can’t seem to shift it quick enough with any accuracy to dangerous areas where someone can get a shot on target.
It all sounds straightforward in theory – and I’m sure it should be for players on £90.000.00 a week – but it just ain’t happening.
Cooper In
I know there have been rumours about Cooper being sacked after the Fulham game but, let’s not be hasty here, let’s be realistic, who is going to come in and do a better job right now? Whoever comes in will have a string of difficult games in the New Year and an exodus of African players to contend with.
I say that we should stick with Cooper until at least Bournemouth at home. He saved us from relegation last year and I believe he can do the same again. The second-season expectations are far too high, and most of those people echoing a need for unrealistic success aren’t even Forest fans. We can’t expect Forest to be competing for European places after just one full season back in the top flight.
Support Forest and Stay Calm
I honestly think Steve Cooper will come good for the club. Just one more win right now will put us closer to mid-table mediocrity and everything will calm down again.
I wasn’t too surprised by the fact that there were changes from the Brighton game but I doubt whether this was the best side to face Everton. I thought Aina, Niakhaté and Dominguez were all very unlucky to be dropped for this game and I questioned the idea of starting with Chris Wood again.
The biggest surprise was Mull of Kintyre. How could it go so wrong? It was as late as a Vinnie Jones tackle. If it had started any later the players would have been listening to it in the shower. It started flat, the day was cold, and the result was miserable.
We are going to have to put all that behind us and move on to the next two away games at Fulham and Wolves.
It’s a two-game week!
Fulham (A) – Prediction: DRAW
Any team that can put three goals past Liverpool clearly means that they aren’t lacking confidence in front of goal. Fulham have won seven of the last nine games against Forest and they beat us twice in the Premiership last season and they are playing us off the back of arguably the best performance of the season.
Fulham have got goals in them. Paulinha can change a game; they’ve got a good keeper in Leno, and their manager has a superb understanding of how teams play.
Forest will need to use the wings well and, if Wood remains in the starting lineup, the deliveries to him need to be of a better quality. Forest need to help Chris Wood by playing to his strengths to enable to be more effective in front of goal.
What is the problem with Divock Origi? Is it fit to start? Does he want to start?
If Wood isn’t fit and MGW isn’t going to be shoehorned into a false nine role, he’s going to have to start because it’s clear to everyone that there weren’t sufficient signings to provide cover for the centre forward position.
Surely the January transfer market will see a quality centre forward arrive at the City Ground because Forest will probably need more than one if Origi goes back to Italy.
Optimism is like an elastic band: it will only stretch so far before it snaps.
We originally predicted a draw for this game and our optimism has gone so far that it can’t stretch far enough to predict a win at Fulham.
After the performance against Everton, I honestly think that it will end in a Fulham victory but we are going to assume that Cooper will low-block the hell out of The Cottage, put an extra defender at the back, and it will be another boring draw.
We’re not 100% about this game but neither is the commitment and belief of the team at the moment.
We’ll be happy with a draw and even happier if Forest can prove us wrong. They’ve got to go there, boss the Fulham crowd and get a win that will ease the managerial pressure until Saturday.
They are going to have to work hard and stay switched on for the full 90 minutes and beyond.
Willian would love to score against us following his minor denunciation of the club at the end of the season and he is always a threat going forward but I can’t see a rare away victory. The most exciting result I can envisage for this game is a 1-1 draw.
Wolves (A) – Prediction: DRAW
Fulham were lucky to beat Wolves with two goals coming from the aforementioned Willian, and I’m more worried about this game than the one at Fulham. Cunha also scored at Fulham and he has hit the sort of form which could see him score a brace against us.
Psychologically, if Forest get something out of the Fulham game they could go to Molineux and get additional points on the board. However, I think if they lose at Fulham, they will get thrashed at Wolves. On a good day, 2-2 is the sort of score I have in mind.
Again, a draw will do us right now just to keep the mood upbeat and to keep us on track for 38 points at the end of the season.
Ultimately, I just want to see a good performance and, as Steve Cooper will agree, if the players don’t want to perform for him, they should perform for the fans who travel down there to support their beloved team – COYR!
