BFTG - Nottingham Forest

[NewCorkSeth]

Well. That was good. Contrary to popular belief I didn't think Forest were poor, I think they were nullified. We closed down very well, pressed high and got stuck in when necessary. I have very few criticisms from tonight (but of course they exist..)

First player ratings:
Mannone - 8 - Deserved a clean sheet. 3 (by my count) fantastic saves. Commanding and composed.
Bacuna - 8 - I almost want to give him MOTM. He was incredible. Hes a better RB than Gunter...
McShane - 7 - Didn't put a foot wrong. Very good with his feet surprisingly.
Moore - 7 - Was a bit unfortunate to be very poorly positioned for the Forest goal. Maybe a lack of concentration.
Gunter - 7 - Pales in comparison to how fantastic Bacuna is. A better LB than RB.
Edwards - 6 - Anonymous and was poor compared to the players around him. (he does look a bit like Gunter from afar)
JVDB - 7(ish) - Was very good at protecting our back 4. A few wayward forward passes as per.
Barrow - 8 - Hes a very, very good player. Involved in the first and second goals. Needs to start EVERY game.
Aluko - 7 - Hes just not as good as Barrow. Was better than he has been and moved quite well (even drifted centrally with good effect)7
Swift - 9 - He just plays a different game to our other players. Looks languid but moves so well. 2 very well taken goals. MOTM (obv)
Smith - 6 - Was above average. I strongly believe those praising him for performing minor tasks well are kidding themselves. "He made good runs dragging defenders out of position" Even if that were true if that's the minimum requirement to impress as a striker in our team we should fold the club.

Subs:
Clement - 7 - He really put himself out there. Chased the ball like a Sheepdog. Good pass for the O.G.
Kermie - 7 - His header to Swift started the movement for Swifts second and after he charged up the pitch getting into the box then ran at his defender allowing Swift the room to move to the far post. He is a proper striker.
Beerens - N/A - Meh

Now.. Tactics.
Spot on. But only because Forest didn't park the bus from the offset. When teams play like that against us we will tear them apart. When they play like Boro we will look awful.
Aluko and Barrow should only ever be played on the wings. They are perfect there. They are fast, skillful and more than capable of spotting a pass or hitting a cross. We have found the bones of our best team. Stick with it.
Bacuna must start. He hasn't done much wrong this season (one bad pass this game close to the death)
Swift must start. Hes the only player we have capable of linking midfield to attack in a fast, direct way. He might try a few too many hollywood passes every game but more often than not his movement and ability on the ball creates something for us.
I thought we were very organised in in defense today. Our midfield did a very good job of closing down and with the high pressing we took the sting out of (almost) any attack that came our way tonight.

--------------------Mannone
Bacuna---McShane---Moore---Gunter
----------------JVDB-------Kelly---------------
Barrow------------Swift--------------Aluko
----------------------Smith---------------------

For Derby please. Same tactics. Look for that first goal and make them have to play.

Interesting factoids from Whoscored - They had higher possession, more shots, a higher pass success rate, more aerial duels won and the same number of tackles, corners and dribbles past...

[Hound]

Would agree with a lot of that - esp the praise of Bacuna and Barrow

Swift my mom obviously, but Barrow, Bacuna and Mannone were top class

Bacuna is fast becoming my favourite player. Makes so much difference to us. And Gunter did ok as LB inc a couple of half decent shots

I thought Edwards was pretty good - though tbf do struggle at times to make out who is who after a day staring at a computer screen, so maybe giving him some undue praise.


Forest were a good side. Enjoyed watching them tbh. Though do think they played into our hands. They’d have beaten us comfortably if we had lined up like we did vs Boro

Nice to see Yann looking fit and energetic. Will improve us massively when he gets a few games behind him.

[windermereROYAL]

Missed Joey in the 2nd half, it got a bit uncomfortable towards the end when Forest pressed us. easy to see why they score so many goals and let so many in.
Very enjoyable spectacle . I might come again.

[WAZZOCK]

As soon as I saw the starting line-up I knew we'd win that one. A really good balance to the team, and if you swap Smith for Yann then it's probably our best 11 on paper.

Well done Jaap and the Team.

[RG7Fan]

As soon as I saw the starting line-up I knew we'd win that one. A really good balance to the team, and if you swap Smith for Yann then it's probably our best 11 on paper.

Well done Jaap and the Team.

And if Obita was fit Gunter could find himself out in the cold with Bacuna at RB. Interesting that Gunter has been picked as LB ahead of Blackett 3 times now I think?

[RG7Fan]

As soon as I saw the starting line-up I knew we'd win that one. A really good balance to the team, and if you swap Smith for Yann then it's probably our best 11 on paper.

Well done Jaap and the Team.

And if Obita was fit Gunter could find himself out in the cold with Bacuna at RB. Interesting that Gunter has been picked as LB ahead of Blackett 3 times now I think?

Oh yeah - and that was the most enjoyable game I've been to this season. Don't think anyone had a bad game - Edwards was a bit anonymous, and Joey was lucky not to give a penalty away (again) but cant really remember anything else worth shouting about.

[stanmoreroyal]

Tempo!
43% possession win 3-1 with counter- attacking goals, end to end entertaining football. Still to many pointless back passes to goal keeper but hugely improved performance which played to the players strengths. They didn't look scared to take a player on tonight. Better structure to the line up and ambition in the passing and moving. But tempo is the key difference to both the entertainment levels and the result.
Let us hope Stam continues to allow the players to express themselves. It wasn't just the way Forest played as he claimed. The players were looking to pores forward far more quickly than against Boro. Scoring first really helps: but so does allowing the opposition to have the ball, draw them out and create space for our speedy winners to run into!
More of the same please!

[Royal_jimmy]

That was much better tonight and a tactically astute performance and definitely deserved to win. I thought they created a lot of chances easily against us which was a concern. The difference being Mannone made saves that matter, their keeper Smith had a shocker and should have done better with 2 of our goals. Mannone had no chance with their goal.

MoM was Swift for me. Bacuna, Mannone, Moore and McShane had decent games. The rest were ok.

3 wins in November vs Bolton, Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday should see us well clear of the bottom 3.

I'd play the same side Saturday. Expecting Kermie will start and VdB may be out for a couple of weeks so Kelly might play.

Was surprised Kelly wasn't on the bench. The forced sub for Clement when van den Berg went off meant we were overrun a bit in the 2nd half.

[leon]

Well. That was good. Contrary to popular belief I didn't think Forest were poor, I think they were nullified. We closed down very well, pressed high and got stuck in when necessary. I have very few criticisms from tonight (but of course they exist..)

First player ratings:
Mannone - 8 - Deserved a clean sheet. 3 (by my count) fantastic saves. Commanding and composed.
Bacuna - 8 - I almost want to give him MOTM. He was incredible. Hes a better RB than Gunter...
McShane - 7 - Didn't put a foot wrong. Very good with his feet surprisingly.
Moore - 7 - Was a bit unfortunate to be very poorly positioned for the Forest goal. Maybe a lack of concentration.
Gunter - 7 - Pales in comparison to how fantastic Bacuna is. A better LB than RB.
Edwards - 6 - Anonymous and was poor compared to the players around him. (he does look a bit like Gunter from afar)
JVDB - 7(ish) - Was very good at protecting our back 4. A few wayward forward passes as per.
Barrow - 8 - Hes a very, very good player. Involved in the first and second goals. Needs to start EVERY game.
Aluko - 7 - Hes just not as good as Barrow. Was better than he has been and moved quite well (even drifted centrally with good effect)7
Swift - 9 - He just plays a different game to our other players. Looks languid but moves so well. 2 very well taken goals. MOTM (obv)
Smith - 6 - Was above average. I strongly believe those praising him for performing minor tasks well are kidding themselves. "He made good runs dragging defenders out of position" Even if that were true if that's the minimum requirement to impress as a striker in our team we should fold the club.

Subs:
Clement - 7 - He really put himself out there. Chased the ball like a Sheepdog. Good pass for the O.G.
Kermie - 7 - His header to Swift started the movement for Swifts second and after he charged up the pitch getting into the box then ran at his defender allowing Swift the room to move to the far post. He is a proper striker.
Beerens - N/A - Meh

Now.. Tactics.
Spot on. But only because Forest didn't park the bus from the offset. When teams play like that against us we will tear them apart. When they play like Boro we will look awful.
Aluko and Barrow should only ever be played on the wings. They are perfect there. They are fast, skillful and more than capable of spotting a pass or hitting a cross. We have found the bones of our best team. Stick with it.
Bacuna must start. He hasn't done much wrong this season (one bad pass this game close to the death)
Swift must start. Hes the only player we have capable of linking midfield to attack in a fast, direct way. He might try a few too many hollywood passes every game but more often than not his movement and ability on the ball creates something for us.
I thought we were very organised in in defense today. Our midfield did a very good job of closing down and with the high pressing we took the sting out of (almost) any attack that came our way tonight.

--------------------Mannone
Bacuna---McShane---Moore---Gunter
----------------JVDB-------Kelly---------------
Barrow------------Swift--------------Aluko
----------------------Smith---------------------

For Derby please. Same tactics. Look for that first goal and make them have to play.

Interesting factoids from Whoscored - They had higher possession, more shots, a higher pass success rate, more aerial duels won and the same number of tackles, corners and dribbles past...

We actually looked quick and dangerous. And more direct. So much more direct. Aluko and Barrow playing as wingers linked well with Bacuna and Gunter. Swift ran the show in the first half - second half they got tighter in midfield but we still hit them with two goals and never looked in trouble at all.

Bacuna has to start every game he was quick, strong, didn't lose possession and what a run for the first goal, Barrow and Swift (who looked back to his last season best) also stood out. And Joey was excellent 1st half until he got a blow to the head and "couldn't see properly".

All in all, this performance was a massive surprise for me. A really welcome one.

oh and at the HT leon quote NCS - you cheeky scamp. Smith did well. He'll get better every game.

[genome]

Forest were a tidy side. Their defence let them down and looked like they lacked a focal point up front a bit tonight, but they played some decent stuff. Tactically though, it wasn’t the right approach and played right into our strengths. Can’t remember the last time we had so little possession at home.

[NewCorkSeth]

Well. That was good. Contrary to popular belief I didn't think Forest were poor, I think they were nullified. We closed down very well, pressed high and got stuck in when necessary. I have very few criticisms from tonight (but of course they exist..)

First player ratings:
Mannone - 8 - Deserved a clean sheet. 3 (by my count) fantastic saves. Commanding and composed.
Bacuna - 8 - I almost want to give him MOTM. He was incredible. Hes a better RB than Gunter...
McShane - 7 - Didn't put a foot wrong. Very good with his feet surprisingly.
Moore - 7 - Was a bit unfortunate to be very poorly positioned for the Forest goal. Maybe a lack of concentration.
Gunter - 7 - Pales in comparison to how fantastic Bacuna is. A better LB than RB.
Edwards - 6 - Anonymous and was poor compared to the players around him. (he does look a bit like Gunter from afar)
JVDB - 7(ish) - Was very good at protecting our back 4. A few wayward forward passes as per.
Barrow - 8 - Hes a very, very good player. Involved in the first and second goals. Needs to start EVERY game.
Aluko - 7 - Hes just not as good as Barrow. Was better than he has been and moved quite well (even drifted centrally with good effect)7
Swift - 9 - He just plays a different game to our other players. Looks languid but moves so well. 2 very well taken goals. MOTM (obv)
Smith - 6 - Was above average. I strongly believe those praising him for performing minor tasks well are kidding themselves. "He made good runs dragging defenders out of position" Even if that were true if that's the minimum requirement to impress as a striker in our team we should fold the club.

Subs:
Clement - 7 - He really put himself out there. Chased the ball like a Sheepdog. Good pass for the O.G.
Kermie - 7 - His header to Swift started the movement for Swifts second and after he charged up the pitch getting into the box then ran at his defender allowing Swift the room to move to the far post. He is a proper striker.
Beerens - N/A - Meh

Now.. Tactics.
Spot on. But only because Forest didn't park the bus from the offset. When teams play like that against us we will tear them apart. When they play like Boro we will look awful.
Aluko and Barrow should only ever be played on the wings. They are perfect there. They are fast, skillful and more than capable of spotting a pass or hitting a cross. We have found the bones of our best team. Stick with it.
Bacuna must start. He hasn't done much wrong this season (one bad pass this game close to the death)
Swift must start. Hes the only player we have capable of linking midfield to attack in a fast, direct way. He might try a few too many hollywood passes every game but more often than not his movement and ability on the ball creates something for us.
I thought we were very organised in in defense today. Our midfield did a very good job of closing down and with the high pressing we took the sting out of (almost) any attack that came our way tonight.

--------------------Mannone
Bacuna---McShane---Moore---Gunter
----------------JVDB-------Kelly---------------
Barrow------------Swift--------------Aluko
----------------------Smith---------------------

For Derby please. Same tactics. Look for that first goal and make them have to play.

Interesting factoids from Whoscored - They had higher possession, more shots, a higher pass success rate, more aerial duels won and the same number of tackles, corners and dribbles past...

We actually looked quick and dangerous. And more direct. So much more direct. Aluko and Barrow playing as wingers linked well with Bacuna and Gunter. Swift ran the show in the first half - second half they got tighter in midfield but we still hit them with two goals and never looked in trouble at all.

Bacuna has to start every game he was quick, strong, didn't lose possession and what a run for the first goal, Barrow and Swift (who looked back to his last season best) also stood out. And Joey was excellent 1st half until he got a blow to the head and "couldn't see properly".

All in all, this performance was a massive surprise for me. A really welcome one.

oh and at the HT leon quote NCS - you cheeky scamp. Smith did well. He'll get better every game.

You may see I picked him to start for next game as I have seen nothing to suggest he is worse than any of our other options (cough Aluko cough) but I maintain that the predictions made by certain nobbers as to why he was on the bench and not being brought on or starting are shown to be accurate. He's been thrown in at the deep end here and is not ready to lead the line (but obviously he will have to for the time being)
I hope Joey is ok and completely agree with the point that we would have been stronger with him in for the second half, particularly the first 10 or so minutes when forest had long periods of possession.

[Gunny Fishcake]

Well what a lovely surprise , not sure if we were great or Forest crap. Take nothing away though .....we actually attacked Forest from the start and it payed off handsomely. Swift was outstanding as was Mannone in goal . A result that puts a smile on your face , shame such a small crowd to see our best performance for ages . Stam will be ok for a while I guess but tough games coming up .

[leon]

Well. That was good. Contrary to popular belief I didn't think Forest were poor, I think they were nullified. We closed down very well, pressed high and got stuck in when necessary. I have very few criticisms from tonight (but of course they exist..)

First player ratings:
Mannone - 8 - Deserved a clean sheet. 3 (by my count) fantastic saves. Commanding and composed.
Bacuna - 8 - I almost want to give him MOTM. He was incredible. Hes a better RB than Gunter...
McShane - 7 - Didn't put a foot wrong. Very good with his feet surprisingly.
Moore - 7 - Was a bit unfortunate to be very poorly positioned for the Forest goal. Maybe a lack of concentration.
Gunter - 7 - Pales in comparison to how fantastic Bacuna is. A better LB than RB.
Edwards - 6 - Anonymous and was poor compared to the players around him. (he does look a bit like Gunter from afar)
JVDB - 7(ish) - Was very good at protecting our back 4. A few wayward forward passes as per.
Barrow - 8 - Hes a very, very good player. Involved in the first and second goals. Needs to start EVERY game.
Aluko - 7 - Hes just not as good as Barrow. Was better than he has been and moved quite well (even drifted centrally with good effect)7
Swift - 9 - He just plays a different game to our other players. Looks languid but moves so well. 2 very well taken goals. MOTM (obv)
Smith - 6 - Was above average. I strongly believe those praising him for performing minor tasks well are kidding themselves. "He made good runs dragging defenders out of position" Even if that were true if that's the minimum requirement to impress as a striker in our team we should fold the club.

Subs:
Clement - 7 - He really put himself out there. Chased the ball like a Sheepdog. Good pass for the O.G.
Kermie - 7 - His header to Swift started the movement for Swifts second and after he charged up the pitch getting into the box then ran at his defender allowing Swift the room to move to the far post. He is a proper striker.
Beerens - N/A - Meh

Now.. Tactics.
Spot on. But only because Forest didn't park the bus from the offset. When teams play like that against us we will tear them apart. When they play like Boro we will look awful.
Aluko and Barrow should only ever be played on the wings. They are perfect there. They are fast, skillful and more than capable of spotting a pass or hitting a cross. We have found the bones of our best team. Stick with it.
Bacuna must start. He hasn't done much wrong this season (one bad pass this game close to the death)
Swift must start. Hes the only player we have capable of linking midfield to attack in a fast, direct way. He might try a few too many hollywood passes every game but more often than not his movement and ability on the ball creates something for us.
I thought we were very organised in in defense today. Our midfield did a very good job of closing down and with the high pressing we took the sting out of (almost) any attack that came our way tonight.

--------------------Mannone
Bacuna---McShane---Moore---Gunter
----------------JVDB-------Kelly---------------
Barrow------------Swift--------------Aluko
----------------------Smith---------------------

For Derby please. Same tactics. Look for that first goal and make them have to play.

Interesting factoids from Whoscored - They had higher possession, more shots, a higher pass success rate, more aerial duels won and the same number of tackles, corners and dribbles past...

We actually looked quick and dangerous. And more direct. So much more direct. Aluko and Barrow playing as wingers linked well with Bacuna and Gunter. Swift ran the show in the first half - second half they got tighter in midfield but we still hit them with two goals and never looked in trouble at all.

Bacuna has to start every game he was quick, strong, didn't lose possession and what a run for the first goal, Barrow and Swift (who looked back to his last season best) also stood out. And Joey was excellent 1st half until he got a blow to the head and "couldn't see properly".

All in all, this performance was a massive surprise for me. A really welcome one.

oh and at the HT leon quote NCS - you cheeky scamp. Smith did well. He'll get better every game.

You may see I picked him to start for next game as I have seen nothing to suggest he is worse than any of our other options (cough Aluko cough) but I maintain that the predictions made by certain nobbers as to why he was on the bench and not being brought on or starting are shown to be accurate. He's been thrown in at the deep end here and is not ready to lead the line (but obviously he will have to for the time being)
I hope Joey is ok and completely agree with the point that we would have been stronger with him in for the second half, particularly the first 10 or so minutes when forest had long periods of possession.

as I have pointed out elsewhere - playing Smith frees up others to play in their proper positions to great effect.

And actually I thought he had a decent game. Looks lively and will improve. And with Yann still coming back (unable to play 90 mins) and Bodvarsson out - you know I'll take a kid learning his trade up front if the side is more balanced and we play OK.

[Snowflake Royal]

Forest weren't great but no worse than anyone else we've slipped up against. We played well and it went our way for a change. Our chances were better and taken, we blocked or saved their efforts.

My scores may get a bit wonky as my contacts were playing up, so player identification got tricky at times.

Mannone 9 best I've seen him play. Good saves kept us ahead
Bacuna 9 he's so classy
Gunter 7 struggled a bit at times being on the wrong side, but played more positively.
Moore 8 classy
McShane 8 what a block
Berg 7 mostly good stuff in his half
Swift 9 well taken goals, inventive as always - needs to show a bit more a bit earlier
Edwards 7 solid performance and took over from Berg ok 2nd half
Aluko 8 very skillful nice to get his first goal, even if the keeper essentially threw it in.
Barrow 9 I think he made both the first two? Played Bacuna down the left and lofted beautifully for Swift. Got to start as much as possible
Smith 6 put himself about really well, but didn't look like he'd be troubling a fit Yann or Bod. One for the future

Clement 6 tidy player, but we went a bit powderpuff when he replaced Berg - he can't help that though, he's just not a direct replacement.
Kermie 6 great to see him back, but didn't get much to do
Beerens 6 probably should havecrun to the corner with at one break. Good cameo

Fooking delighted. Not only a win but 3 goals. Kick on please. The squad is definitely good enough. Just got to play with purpose and cut out the errors.

[Silver Fox]

I thought we were cracking, please do the same things on Saturday Jaap

[Platypuss]

Great tempo from the off and a willingness to attack with pace. And we actually managed to break when the opportunity arose.
And it was a genuinely exciting game.

But still so many passengers.

Aluko - hasn't really defined his role
Edwards - beige wood chip wallpaper
Clement - what's the Dutch for beige?
Beerens - what's the Dutch for fcuk off?

We'd shown in the first 60 that the way to undo Forest was with pace, so we finished with Beerens, Clement and Kermie.

Did Popa shit in Stam's kitbag?

[CountryRoyal]

Clement - what's the Dutch for beige?

beige

Beerens - what's the Dutch for fcuk off?

flikker op

[leon]

Great tempo from the off and a willingness to attack with pace. And we actually managed to break when the opportunity arose.
And it was a genuinely exciting game.

But still so many passengers.

Aluko - hasn't really defined his role
Edwards - beige wood chip wallpaper
Clement - what's the Dutch for beige?
Beerens - what's the Dutch for fcuk off?

We'd shown in the first 60 that the way to undo Forest was with pace, so we finished with Beerens, Clement and Kermie.

Did Popa shit in Stam's kitbag?

I can't disagree with any of that. Apart from criticism of Aluko. He looked pretty good tonight, sharp, quick and worked hard.

Beerens shouldn't be anywhere near the team, he offers nothing except slowing the game down and Edwards - I don't know why we bought him. I'm assuming he's getting a game because we have no other fit central midfielders?

Clement got the ball and gave it away. Looked as if everything else was happening around him but so much quicker.

[Royalwaster]

Interesting re. Bacuna in light of the comments on A Villa site before we signed him as they were completely writing him off .... agree that he looks a class act and probably the best signing this summer, alongside Barrow.

[Hound]

Interesting re. Bacuna in light of the comments on A Villa site before we signed him as they were completely writing him off .... agree that he looks a class act and probably the best signing this summer, alongside Barrow.

Yeah is an odd one. Though they generally said he was quite a good RB

Thought he was outstanding tbh. Just what we need

Thought Clement did ok. Ran around a lot very quickly(he is lightning fast), set up the third, and almost another for Barrow (though wasn’t a great pass). I quite like him and Swift as attacking midfielders

Also agree on Beerens - Popa should be ahead of him as replacement for Barrow/Aluko when needed