18 November 2024
Forest Blossoming Under Nuno
When Steve Cooper was relieved of his duties at Nottingham Forest, the feeling with the fans was one of loss. The manager was well-liked at the City Ground and everyone wanted to see him succeed. Having brought in a wealth of players in the transfer window, he struggled to discover what his best team was and results suffered. Evangelos Marinakis is not known for his patience.
Since the summer of 2022, Forest have brought in 57 players to the football club. The majority being permanent deals, with some loan signings thrown into the mix also. One thing they have looked to do is capitalise on the failings of bigger clubs. Whether it be the inability to give a promising player game time or just a spell that didn’t work out at one of their Premier League rivals. Marinakis’ team have made that model work.
Bringing in Nuno Espirito Santo as manager, many wondered if he had what it takes to succeed under such a demanding owner. The Portuguese coach had a successful spell at Wolves before being lured to the bright lights of the capital at Tottenham. That went as well as Herman Goering’s promise to bomb London into submission. He then headed abroad where he won the Saudi Pro League title with Al-Ittihad. A return to the Premier League was always on the cards, Nuno felt he had unfinished business.
At times, the club have entertained the footballing world with some of their decisions. Appointing Mark Clattenburg as a refereeing consultant springs to mind along with the mental unravelling of whoever runs the club’s page on X (formerly Twitter) on numerous occasions. Those outbursts led to Forest being fined for questioning and threatening PGMOL. It seems for some people that the constant letters of apology from Howard Webb don’t cut the mustard. Imagine that.
As the international break draws to a close, Nottingham Forest are in a position of stability. Sitting fifth in the Premier League table, they have surprised many with the start they have made. Inflicting leaders Liverpool’s only defeat of the season at Anfield, people are starting to take note of Nuno Espirito Santo’s side. Fans are starting to dream of those European nights at the City Ground once again.
After all, this is a club with pedigree when it comes to the European Cup. Brian Clough’s team won the trophy twice in two years. Still to this day, Forest have won the trophy more times than the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham and Man City. Despite spending more money than the US government did to get to the moon, Chelsea have only managed to equal the same amount of European trophies as Nottingham Forest.
History shows the stature of a club but it’s the future where the focus lies now. After seeing clubs like Newcastle and Aston Villa make it to the hallowed ground of Champions League qualification, Forest feel it is achievable for them to follow suit. On paper, it still seems a stretch but all it takes for a couple of the ‘big six’ to underperform and suddenly the impossible seems very possible. It would still take a monumental season to achieve this.
In Morgan Gibbs-White, the team has a leader who inspires through performance. He became the first Forest player since Stuart Pearce to get an England call-up. When he is in the team, this side looks a completely different proposition. Adding Elliott Anderson and James Ward-Prowse in the summer just strengthened and gave them some depth to their squad. Nicolas Dominguez and Ryan Yates are keeping them both out of the team currently.
One thing that is often a struggle for any side is having a proven goalscorer. So many teams in the Premier League can produce stats for creating chances regularly but do not have the goals to show for their output. That is where Nottingham Forest are thriving thanks to the form of Chris Wood. Since Espirito Santo took charge of the club, only Erling Haaland and Cole Palmer have scored more league goals than the Kiwi.
If Forest are to do the unthinkable and break up the normal order of the top six, they need a big season from their striker. Not that he is their only source of goals however, they have plenty of players willing to pitch in on that front. The form of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga will play a big part in whatever they do this campaign. Wing-play is a key part of the side’s success.
For a long time there seemed to be a revolving door of goalkeepers at the club. The signing of Matz Sels very much went under the radar at the time. However, the Belgian stopper has made a huge difference to this team. He has added a solidity that they had lacked for far too long, which is now a foundation for them to build on.
In the heart of defence Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo have added a real spine to this team. They also bring a real presence for Forest when attacking at set pieces too. The full-backs are willing to get up and down the flanks and support the wingers at any given opportunity. That said, you will never see Nuno Espirito Santo’s side press high up the pitch. They know their game plan, sit deep and look to hurt you on the counter-attack.
The big test for Nottingham Forest will be maintaining this form for the entire season. To do that, they will need to stay injury-free in key areas of the pitch, but that can be said of any side in the Premier League currently. Their next five league games will answer a lot of questions as they face Arsenal, Man City, Man Utd and Aston Villa. By Christmas we will know just how much this Forest side can achieve this campaign.
Nottingham Forest have come a long way in a short space of time. The fact that we are talking about them and European football in the same sentence underpins that. Having been embroiled in relegation dogfights in recent seasons, it seems Nuno Espirito Santo’s project is heading in the right direction. As the great Brian Clough once said ‘Rome was not built in a day. But I wasn’t on that particular job.’
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