What’s going on at Nottingham Forest?

Pogue Mahone

Closet Gooner.
Joined
Feb 22, 2006
Messages
137,844
Location
"like a man in silk pyjamas shooting pigeons
Currently third. The only team to beat Liverpool. Drew with Chelsea. Only lost one game in the league so far.

Is this them reaping the benefit of the crazy number of signings last season? Or is their new manager doing a great job? Or just one of those times when a relegation threatened team has a completely random very good season?
 
They will probably "bottom out" to top 10 at the end which will still be fantastic.

Never really got why the underwhelming attitude to Nuno's appointment was underwhelming. It may not have worked for him at Spurs but he was the perfect appointment for Forest.
 
One of the best transfer windows of any club in the prem.

Ironic considering the endless churn of the previous two seasons which created instability but they finally got it right this summer.
 
Nuno is a very good manager and he's managed to fill his Forest team with solid hardworking players from the back to the front...whilst still having a fair amount of flair and creativity.

Having Chris Wood in banging form helps but they've got players who can chip in if he goes off the boil so I can see it still going well

They are yet to play a lot of the big teams though so I'd expect they'd drop off a fair bit but can see them finishing 8th/9th.
 
Had totally missed what was going on there until clocking them in 3rd when checking the table at the FA cup game I went to!
Superb work.
 
Big man up top, plenty of pace on the break, and not giving a toss about pressing and passing teams to death is a style of football that very much still works when done well and with good players.

In a league where even teams who've just been promoted are trying to dominate possession against anyone they come up against, Forest are a pretty enjoyable novelty. I hope they don't drop off too much.
 
Yeah, refreshing stuff alright. They seem to have a really nice mix there at the moment, a couple of silky creative types, serious workers, big number 9 in the form of his life, a really good centre back pairing, Milenkovic has made a real difference, yeah, fair fecks to them. The worry is obviously what happens when Woods form drops off but good luck to them.
 
It’s November 2nd. A very nice purple patch will have you high in the league. They will finish midtable which is a good achievement for the squad they have.
 
Happens every other season. A lower midtable side plays really well for the first 10-12 matches, and then the performance gradually fizzles out.
 
Dancfc said:
They will probably "bottom out" to top 10 at the end which will still be fantastic.

Never really got why the underwhelming attitude to Nuno's appointment was underwhelming. It may not have worked for him at Spurs but he was the perfect appointment for Forest.
Click to expand...
The Spurs humiliation made everyone forget what he'd done before. Kind of similar to how the Germany debacle made everyone forget what Hansi Flick had done before. People have short memories, and managers seem to always be defined by the most recent triumph or disaster.
 
Kwabs said:
The Spurs humiliation made everyone forget what he'd done before. Kind of similar to how the Germany debacle made everyone forget what Hansi Flick had done before. People have short memories, and managers seem to always be defined by the most recent triumph or disaster.
Click to expand...

People also only rate a manager if they're upwardly mobile for the big jobs, a club like Forest and a manager like Nuno are a great fit.
 
Is it just a quirk of the fixtures? Outside of the Anfield win which was obviously impressive their wins have been Southampton (A), Palace (H), Leicester (A), West Ham (H). Draws against Bournemouth (H), Wolves (H), Brighton (A), Chelsea (A). Lost at home to Fulham.

A couple of good results in there but nothing too groundbreaking.

Edit: their next 6 games: Newcastle (H), Arsenal (A), Ipswich (H), City (A), United (A), Villa (H)
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Currently third. The only team to beat Liverpool. Drew with Chelsea. Only lost one game in the league so far.

Is this them reaping the benefit of the crazy number of signings last season? Or is their new manager doing a great job? Or just one of those times when a relegation threatened team has a completely random very good season?
Click to expand...
Their players are playing with freedom now they’re not managed be the ugliest man to grace a touchline.
 
The White Pele said:
Is it just a quirk of the fixtures? Outside of the Anfield win which was obviously impressive their wins have been Southampton (A), Palace (H), Leicester (A), West Ham (H). Draws against Bournemouth (H), Wolves (H), Brighton (A), Chelsea (A). Lost at home to Fulham.

A couple of good results in there but nothing too groundbreaking.

Edit: their next 6 games: Newcastle (H), Arsenal (A), Ipswich (H), City (A), United (A), Villa (H)
Click to expand...

It's certainly part of it.

Even the Liverpool win was nicely timed on the back of an interntional break with a Champions League match upcoming on the Tuesday for the scousers. Of course Forest have some internationals too but not as many and I think Diaz and Salah were running on fumes for that one. Liverpool edged the game too despite that, but Forest got the win.

Still, I've got to credit. They haven't been so consistently good at getting results against these sort of teams before. You can only beat what's in front of you as the saying goes too.
 
Nuno did a brilliant job at Wolves so he has runs on the board when it comes to success at a mid table club....good to see.
 
Zoo said:
Top guy

Click to expand...

That's great, thank you for sharing that. Seems like a top guy, as you say. It's good to get a reminder that sport is something more than just what we watch at the weekends every once in a while.
 
ItDoesntEvenMata said:
Nuno is a very good manager and he's managed to fill his Forest team with solid hardworking players from the back to the front...whilst still having a fair amount of flair and creativity.

Having Chris Wood in banging form helps but they've got players who can chip in if he goes off the boil so I can see it still going well

They are yet to play a lot of the big teams though so I'd expect they'd drop off a fair bit but can see them finishing 8th/9th.
Click to expand...

Finished 7th with Wolves twice and then they dropped off. Had them on 17 pts after 10 games, so it's 2 more with Forest now.

He's a good manager and he's signed some solid players. I'd put him in that same bracket as Moyes, he'll get you to to 6th or 7th with his style. But, his style wears a bit thin after a couple of years.
 
The White Pele said:
Is it just a quirk of the fixtures? Outside of the Anfield win which was obviously impressive their wins have been Southampton (A), Palace (H), Leicester (A), West Ham (H). Draws against Bournemouth (H), Wolves (H), Brighton (A), Chelsea (A). Lost at home to Fulham.

A couple of good results in there but nothing too groundbreaking.

Edit: their next 6 games: Newcastle (H), Arsenal (A), Ipswich (H), City (A), United (A), Villa (H)
Click to expand...

Chelsea was a great away point considering they had 10 men for the last 20 or so minutes. They also got a draw with 10 men at Brighton.

They can certainly beat Newcastle at home and we lost 2-0 at City Ground last season and playing them four days after CL match in Leipzig.

The big test will be after January when fatigue starts to kick in.
 
Lay said:
Really? I'm convinced they finished 3rd in the EPL one year

Edit: they finished 3rd in 1994/1995
Click to expand...
That's mind blowing to me and completely blanked out. In my memory, they had a rather poor team by the mid 90s.

Present day forest defend really really well. Gives them a platform for everything else.
 
Nuno showing he's actually a very good manager - may yet get another crack at a big job

Also shows all is not lost for us this season - a decent month and we could be right back in the mix
 
Rood said:
Nuno showing he's actually a very good manager - may yet get another crack at a big job

Also shows all is not lost for us this season - a decent month and we could be right back in the mix
Click to expand...
Think the type of football he plays is like Moyes in that it works at the non-big clubs but isn't how the top teams/top players want to play. It will likely level out and they'll be top 10 and perhaps pushing for the ECL spot.

Forest will finish comfortably now which is excellent for them as they were tipped to be battling relegation again. Job done.
 
They’ve got recruitment right, ultimately. Santo isn’t the idiot some people would have had you believe. His Wolves side were good for a good chunk of time.
 
SilentWitness said:
Think the type of football he plays is like Moyes in that it works at the non-big clubs but isn't how the top teams/top players want to play. It will likely level out and they'll be top 10 and perhaps pushing for the ECL spot.

Forest will finish comfortably now which is excellent for them as they were tipped to be battling relegation again. Job done.
Click to expand...
Ye they will surely be happy with top half and a crack at European places

Id expect Wood's goals to dry up at some point
 
You must log in or register to reply here.