Lush Vlad

Agreed. But Joelinton gave away 4-5 fouls I think and some were pretty blatant and no attempt to play the ball. Got away with a yellow and a ban. So I’ll let the Tonali one slide.

True. But Forest have been brilliant this season. If we don’t get at least 4 points from Palace and West Ham I’d be disappointed.

This. This is what he is on about…. ⬆️

Not that much of a tactician. But just out-coached Lego Head, the disciple from Pep’s coaching tree. Not bad, Eddie.

Some boy.

Seemed like he had a bit of a free role? Presses high with Isak as a 2 when out of possession. Then found pockets of space time and again. I lost count of him just appearing near the centre circle, receiving it and then starting a counter. Hall a deserved MOTM. Could have given it to one of 5-6. But I thought before he went off. He was our best player today.

Did the dirty work well, was really aggressive with his blocks and tackles. The usual underlapping runs were there, as was his covering for Schar (below par again IMO) when he stepped in to press. Much better on the ball was the most noticeable thing for me. Nowt flash, just looked to move it quickly and keep it simple. The 3 in the middle finally interchanged really well. Willock almost in a bit of a free role at times and Joelinton staying wide/playing his usual 3 positions at once.

I for one am glad nobody did their load early on here and admit defeat before a ball was kicked Struggling for MOTM today. I thought only really Schar and Burn were below their best.

He is. Compared to the other chimps in the PG Tips advert.

We also played a similar (ish) lineup in this fixture last season and it was a very close game, not many chances for either side and we won 1-0. Does that have less or more bearing on today’s game and setup?

Bench is looking pretty strong, at least. Few options going forward and defensively. We might be slowly starting to find a bit of balance.

Fucking hell. I’m a bit of a critic of Longstaff. Certainly not in the fan club when it comes to him. But fuck me, some of the overreactions in here before a ball has even been kicked

This was what he was alluding to when mentioning certain players starting 3 games in 6 days. Really do hope we can get Bruno further forward at some point. But it won’t be today.

Not this again Absolutely pointless stat. Subbed off when losing in 2 of those games and we got a draw and a win. Our two best performances this season came when he didn’t start. Results just didn’t quite go our way. I mean all the lies, bots and racism on Twitter is bad. But the football accounts tweeting out meaningless stats is right up there with the worst of that hellsite

This is it for me. I think he is an outstanding defender. Covers well on crosses, has strength and pace, he is quite aggressive 1 v 1. He uses some of those attributes getting up the pitch, too. I just think he always looks rushed, panicked and unsure on what to do when he approaches the box. Often making the wrong decision, or worse, no decision at all and we lose it.

I actually tend to agree with a lot of that overall. The fact Chelsea played an entirely different XI, most of which seemed completely uninterested has to be factored in. The coach didn't even seem too arsed about going out. They only made one sub and didn't even bother bringing on arguably the best player in the league on recent form to try and get something out of the game. Bit of a small sample size of one game to say doing the above is going to suddenly improve our performances. I don't think Burn will be dropped as they are incredible from set pieces and Howe loves his leadership and as a player. I certainly wouldn't be against trying the same midfield. Bruno has to start though and will that upset the balance on the right side with Longstaff coming out.

I think what state the game is in and who we are playing are massive for how Willock looks. Can make him go from looking almost world class to League One depending on the game . Coming on against Brighton didn't seem like the right sub and he was terrible. I thought the same against Chelsea, but they were still leaving space to attack and he was actually a bit better. When playing teams where we have the chance to counter or when we are ahead. He is so dangerous drifting out wide like he does when he can find some space. You know it's coming, but he manages it anyway. He could definitely do a bit more. It's like that aggression and belief isn't really there a lot of the while. When he is actually a very good technical player on the ball and a terrific dribbler. So it would be nice to see it more often. Injuries and also being in and out of the team have hardly helped. But he probably doesn't get into our best XI, so it is understandable.

Well we only really played it for 30-40 mins. We just managed to get in front, unlike Brighton. Where we did the same first half. I still think we need to pick and choose and I’m sure we do. Depending on opponent, situation, home or away, players in the team, different pressing triggers etc. Last night helped that they seemed fine with going out. But we sat pretty deep from the end of the first half onwards, changed personnel around, as well as the formation. We saw the game out fairly comfortably in the end. So it’s a bit disingenuous to say we can only play one way. We do look far better with that high press, mind. You’re just not going to sustain that over 90 minutes or a season.

The first one Joelinton should score. But it is a bit awkward the way it bounces up right before getting to him. That could be as much him and his erratic finishing making it awkard, though. The Willock one. You on about the cross from Gordon right at the end of the first half? That’s barely a chance FFS He is quite a way outside the post, he has just sprinted at full tilt from the halfway line to keep up with Gordon and is still travelling at some speed when the cross comes in. Gordon has then smashed it across goal harder than when he has a shot, it’s waist high on the volley, on the stretch, on his weaker foot and with a defender right near him.

Great draw. Shame that Arsenal, and Liverpool are more than likely going to get through. Plus one of Spurs/Man U. But it’s usually like that late into the competition. Get past Brentford then who knows. Best draw bar Palace at SJP, I think.

I liked that he was popping up in wide areas again. 3 quality crosses into the box. One Big Joe nearly scored and pretty much got an assist for Willock, sort of the other one he fired in second half and it looked better and more dangerous than most of our crosses this season. Still doesn’t look quite back to his best. But 2/2 at least and starting to get chances again.

I don’t frequent other forums. But is it not just in football fans nature to often focus on the negatives when they lose and the positives when they win? I wasn’t too down on Sunday. There were some promising signs. The midfield looked crap. The Big Joe/Little Joe cameo was a positive. We saw changes to the midfield setup and that left side tonight. So more than happy with that. I certainly think tonight’s performance was better. The individual mistakes weren’t quite as glaring, even if they still could have been punished. We had more control of the game in different ways. Even though we had less possession and territory than Sunday. The caveat being that we were at home and against an entirely different XI.

On another day we score 3 after half an hour. 4-5 in total if we had a better first touch or final pass. Works both ways. Sunday was the same. Close game and both teams wasteful at times. Aren’t a lot of games across football like this every week?!

Tonali doesn’t press, either Or was it that he’s not good at retaining possession? Both? I forgot what his complaint was now.

He has been off form and we have not given him enough service. But he is coming off the back of a 25 goal season and is one of the best strikers in the league. Osula has 2 goals in senior league football. League One, I think. I hope he can get more chances. But we are going to need to be clear in the lead in a game or chasing it and behind by a couple to see more of him, I reckon.