Nottingham Forest - The Garibaldi - The Tricky Trees

[The Old Dark Navy's]

If you build it they will come.

It might take a while but if we have a thread and can update it, we might draw eyes.

In our 3rd season back in the Premier League, and sitting equal 2nd after 20 games, much to the surprise of everyone, we certainly deserve our own thread.

Currently on a 6 game winning streak, sitting on 40 points with a goal difference of +10, 6 points behind Liverpool (they have a game in hand), who are our opponents next game. Dare to dream!

Just rattling off our main team and subs who have contributed this season:

Matt Sels - Goalkeeper. Having a stellar season with 8 clean sheets so far this year, and only conceded one more goal than Liverpool, having played one more game. We have claims on the best defensive setup int the league.

Ola Aina - RB/WB - In many people's EPL team of the year so far.

Nicola Milenkovic - CB - What an addition he has been to the team this season. Tall and solid backline general.

Murillo - CB - The breakout star last season, he has only got better. Teams from all over the world are coming for him.

Neco Williams - LB/WB - Started the season on the bench, but has come in at the expense of Moreno and flourished on the left combining with Hudson-Odoi.

Eliott Anderson - CDM - Massive acquisition this season. Paid a premium but did it as a tactic to help ourselves and Newcastle with PSR. He has been a very handy pickup and a big part of our season.

Nicolas Dominguez - CDM - Flips between being a starter and a sub depending on opposition and form.

Anthony Elanga - RW - Has found form hitting the scoreboard and accumulating assists in recent games. His speed is a huge part of our game plan, which is all about defence and blistering counter attack.

Morgan Gibbs-White - CM - Having a great season. Has been handed his England call up as well. He's the creative force behind our season.

Callum Hudson - Odoi - LW - Not scoring as many goals as he did late last season, but he is assisting and helping out defensively a lot more.

Chris Wood - ST - 12 goals in 20 games this season, he is a real talisman.

Subs/Others:

Ryan Yates - CDM - Club captain who is also in career best form. Has started more games than not.

Morato - CB - Towering Brazilian who is a good luck charm. Has only started one game, but has come on as sub in plenty of games. We have only conceded 1 goal with Morato on the pitch.

Alex Moreno - Started the season in great form, but had a couple of weeks where he got exposed and has lost his spot to Williams. Only on loan at Forest.

Jota Silva - RW - Bit of a super sub this season. Usually comes on for Elanga.

Ramon Sosa - LW - Has subbed on for Hudson-Odoi several times.

Taiwo Awoniyi - ST - Overtaken by Chris Wood as our main striker while he was out injured. Usually gets a few minutes as a sub. Still a much loved player.

James Ward-Prowse - CDM - Came to us on loan. Started the season well, but lost his spot after a red card suspension. Only just starting to get used as a sub again. Depth.

Danilo - CM/CDM - Injured in his first game and has yet to return. Usually competing for a starting role when fit.

Ibrahim Sangare - CDM - Has been out injured the whole season thus far.

Carlos Miguel - GK - Massive Brazilian keeper expected to become out number 1 keeper when we got him. Sels' form has seen Miguel only play in a losing Carabao Cup game. It will be interesting to see if he gets games in the upcoming FA Cup.

Willy Boly - CB - Has been reduced to our 4th in line CB and only come on as sub a couple of times.

Harry Toffolo - LB - Hasn't had much of a look at EPL games this year. Just 1 or 2 sub appearances.

Eric Da Silva Moreira - W - Limited game time.

Andrew Omobamidele - CB - Now 5th in line for a CB spot. Hasn't kicked on this season due to the form of others in front.

Zach Abbott - CD - Just the one Carabao Cup appearance.

Emmanuel Dennis - ST - No game time this season.

Loaned Out:
Lewis O'Brien
Marko Stamenic
Omar Richards
David Carmo
Matt Turner
Josh Bowler

 

[Jars458]

Definitely deserved a thread.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

I probably should have mentioned the FA Cup 3rd round victory over Luton Town just recently. 2-0 result.

The only regular started who started this game was Ryan Yates, with super sub CB Morato playing a full game. Others such as Chris Wood, Nicolas Dominguez, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga were subbed on for 20 minutes or less, obviously saving them for Liverpool this week.

Morato was great. James Ward-Prowse was good with his set pieces. Carlos Miguel in goal was excellent, stopping 8 shots. Ramon Sosa scored a goal after some great work from Yates and Jota, and he also got the assist for our first goal from Ryan Yates, and it was an exceptional ball in.

 

[Jars458]

Great game this morning. Fair result.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Great game this morning. Fair result.

Yes, as always we like to play without the ball and rebound when we cause turnovers. That Wood goal was sublime.

Liverpool scoring from a set piece and by a player who had just been subbed on was unfortunate. I think that's the first goal we conceded from a set piece this season.

After that, we salvaged a draw because of Matz Sels. Pulled off some great saves.

 

[Ram-Man]

Good to see a Forest thread , been a long time fan since the eighties (despite being an NFL Rams fan ).

Unbelievable to think we’re currently second on the EPL table when we were bottom of the Championship three years ago prior to Steve Cooper.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Murillo contract: Nottingham Forest defender signs new deal until 2029

Nottingham Forest centre-back Murillo signs a new deal that will keep at the City Ground until 2029.

www.bbc.com

Murillo has signed a new contract until the end of 2029. Of course there are release clauses, but this at least guarantees that we will get paid well by anyone wanting him.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Nottingham Forest ready to make club record offer for Matheus Cunha

Nottingham Forest are prepared to break a club record in order to sign Matheus Cunha, however other Premier League clubs are monitoring the player - including Arsenal.

www.skysports.com

If we get him, how do we use him? He can play striker or he can play CM, but we will want him in a side with both Chris Wood and MGW. How will this affect our united team dynamic if it happens?

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Re: the Southampton 3-2 result. At the time I was worried. CHO injured in the first half. We had a goal disallowed with was just poor refereeing and more crap from VAR. Their first goal Sels was blocked. Having played Liverpool mid-week, we were clearly tired. I'm not going to read too much into it.

Bournemouth on Sunday, without CHO, is a massive test. They are as much a surprise story as we are.

 

[Ram-Man]

Nottingham Forest ready to make club record offer for Matheus Cunha

Nottingham Forest are prepared to break a club record in order to sign Matheus Cunha, however other Premier League clubs are monitoring the player - including Arsenal.

www.skysports.com

If we get him, how do we use him? He can play striker or he can play CM, but we will want him in a side with both Chris Wood and MGW. How will this affect our united team dynamic if it happens?

Think there will be a lot of competition for his signing. Didn’t he and MGW start the whole fingers in the ears thing?

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Think there will be a lot of competition for his signing. Didn’t he and MGW start the whole fingers in the ears thing?

At Wolves? No idea.

 

[Ram-Man]

At Wolves? No idea.

2-2 draw at the City Ground last year .. Cunha bagged a brace. Was a great game.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

2-2 draw at the City Ground last year .. Cunha bagged a brace. Was a great game.

I thought I saw MGW do it when he played for Wolves, but I may be mistaken.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Chris Wood has signed for another 2 years.

 

[Ram-Man]

That was a reality check for us. Ouch. Bournemouth were very impressive and we were dire. Elanga one of the few who can hold his head up. Not sure why Yates was taken off at halftime. Whatever Nuno said at the half didn’t work.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Elanga gets a 7 from me, Anderson and Williams get 5. The rest including Nuno get zero.

Honestly, Aina, Murillo and Milenkovic were dog shit.

I didn't understand why Aina was playing back post or standing in a CB position so often, while Williams was crossing from LB to RB constantly.

Murillo was so unaccountable.

Jota was a huge mistake. Should have been Sosa on the left and Elanga on the right.

Don't get me started on MGW. Tries to be so cute with the ball and gives it away so often.

We are 0-7 in scoring in our last 3 halves.

It seemed like we had zero discipline and were just off, BUT did they make us look that way because they worked out how to pick us apart?

It's crazy how much we missed CHO on the left. His pace and the way he draws in defenders are obviously underrated.

Our depth is exposed and we need to make signings in this window.

I'm not sure why Danilo isn't playing. He played FA Cup. Get him in.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Now that was a response to last week.

Forest 7 - Brighton 0

Wood 3, MGW, Williams, Jota and an OG.

Played a 3-4-2-1 formation with Morato starting with Murillo and Milenkovic, and Aina and Williams playing WB. Anderson and Danilo as CDMs with the latter getting his first premier league game since day 1 of the season.

Elanga caused carnage and fed Wood.

Sangare got his first minutes since being injured early in the season. Jota scored. Think that was his first for Forest.

 

[Ram-Man]

Now that was a response to last week.

Forest 7 - Brighton 0

Wood 3, MGW, Williams, Jota and an OG.

Played a 3-4-2-1 formation with Morato starting with Murillo and Milenkovic, and Aina and Williams playing WB. Anderson and Danilo as CDMs with the latter getting his first premier league game since day 1 of the season.

Elanga caused carnage and fed Wood.

Sangare got his first minutes since being injured early in the season. Jota scored. Think that was his first for Forest.

Was a great response. Glad you mentioned Elanga he was immense, his pace makes him very hard to stop and his delivery was excellent.

Some great coaching by Nuno, the change of formation due to CHO's absence enabled Morato to start, who would start for most EPL sides IMO, and naming Danilo was a bold masterstroke.

Having said that Brighton were very poor.

Jota's first in the League - he did score in our pen loss to Newcastle in the League Cup.

 

[Ram-Man]

Five Forest players in the team of the week.

Premier League Team of the Week: Nottingham Forest players shine after thumping victory | Flashscore.com

The latest round of Premier League fixtures have passed alongside a busy transfer deadline day, which means it's time to take a look at the best performers from the weekend in our latest Team of the Week.

www.flashscore.com

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Should have posted about the FA Cup win over Exeter I guess.

A bit of a horror show.

We can't trust our second stringers going forward, and we need more than 5 first stringers to beat league one opposition, as we couldn't score when the 1st stringers came on.

Miguel is a worry in goal. Rust or is this his level?

Moreno has lost all confidence since he did a number on Salah away early in the season. Moreira was terrible.

Having to play Toffolo as a CB with Boly because we are saving the other 3 for Fulham, shows how little depth we have.

Sangare was decent and Danilo will be better for the run.

Now, we have to hope that Wood doesn't get injured, because Awonyi is going to be out a couple of weeks with a broken nose. We should have got some cover during the last window.

It's all very well to want to have a small squad Nuno, but this is paper thin right now. Fingers crossed we stay healthy.

One last thing, you could see the quality difference when Sels, Anderson and MGW came on, and when the latter two, Wood and Williams took their penalties ... BUT not being able to score against 10 men with those guys on the park for 45 minutes plus, is ridiculous.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Had some personal tragedy recently. Haven't updated in ages.

Posting after Forest hung on for a 1-0 victory over Man U. Our goal came from a brilliant Elanga counter attack in the 5th minute. Man U were better the whole game, but we just hung on.

Considering this was 3 days after winning our 3rd consecutive FA Cup tie by penalties, and the sheer exhaustion of our squad, this was huge for us.

Missing Hudson-Odoi and Wood for this game too.

The upshot is that we are still 3rd with 57 points, and 2 games clear of 4th with 8 games to go. We are also into an FA Cup semi-final vs Man City at Wembley. It has been a huge month for the Garibaldi.

 

[Ram-Man]

Had some personal tragedy recently. Haven't updated in ages.

Posting after Forest hung on for a 1-0 victory over Man U. Our goal came from a brilliant Elanga counter attack in the 5th minute. Man U were better the whole game, but we just hung on.

Considering this was 3 days after winning our 3rd consecutive FA Cup tie by penalties, and the sheer exhaustion of our squad, this was huge for us.

Missing Hudson-Odoi and Wood for this game too.

The upshot is that we are still 3rd with 57 points, and 2 games clear of 4th with 8 games to go. We are also into an FA Cup semi-final vs Man City at Wembley. It has been a huge month for the Garibaldi.

Sorry to hear that mate. All the best. Was a great win, massive three points.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

2-1 win away against Spurs.

That second half was woeful and we almost blew it, but with the finish line 5 games away, we will take the points any way they come. We need Aina back and we need others to lose games to secure our top 5 spot. 3 points between 3rd and 7th.

We have Brentford in 6 days and then the FA Cup semi in 10. We did well to only give Elanga and CHO a half each, and get some minutes into Toffolo and Danilo. We need everyone on board for what's coming.

 

[DaRick]

You guys might have fallen off a bit, but you've still wildly overachieved.

Milkenovic was an incredibly shrewd signing. Unfortunate that he was bought from Fiorentina, but his tough tackling and aerial dominance complemented Murillo perfectly.

Chris Wood did both his club and country proud. A really good target man who finishes well. Pretty much the anti-Jackson.

Enjoy your time back in European football!

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

You guys might have fallen off a bit, but you've still wildly overachieved.

Milkenovic was an incredibly shrewd signing. Unfortunate that he was bought from Fiorentina, but his tough tackling and aerial dominance complemented Murillo perfectly.

Chris Wood did both his club and country proud. A really good target man who finishes well. Pretty much the anti-Jackson.

Enjoy your time back in European football!

I have been hiding from this thread lately.

Fallen off a bit? Our last 7 weeks ranked us 20th in the league. It was a terrible choke.

The main reason was the anorexic size of our list, not taking into account all of the guys we loaned out. Injuries cruelled us, but then so did the ultra conversative management of the side, our game plan, and the timing of substitutes.

Yes, we can look at the fact that we would have taken 7th and Conference League football at the start of the season. But we were in 3rd for the majority of the season and our hopes were high. We only needed something like 10 points from our last 8 games to get Champion's League and we failed.

We got 1 point from our last 4 home games. We lost to Everton late, drew with Leicester late, both at home. It truly was abysmal.

Financially, the Conference League isn't worth the squad investment we need to play in two comps next season. I won't blame Marinakis if he chooses another manager.