Lush Vlad

He had just played 90 minutes Saturday and then 60 minutes midweek, mind. Were they not his first starts of the season? It does seem like over the years, Howe will never rotate Burn in and out the side in league or big cup games. But we'll need to get creative with the lineups and full back rotation for a while. Considering Trippier can't be doing anywhere near 3 full games a week and Krafth is very much a bit part player IMO. He comes in and does a good job when called upon. But I don't think you want him starting too often or getting a regular run in the side. So need to keep Trippier fresh. Like others have said. I wonder if Thiaw could even fill in at times, meaning Hall would be the more attacking and advanced full back. Howe has rotated plenty this season already and we've all been asking him to change the lineup more often. I think Hall will get plenty of starts and minutes. I don't think we've ever had strength in depth like this across the defence in my time supporting the club.

Just seen his song is to the tune of Bella Ciao. I'm sure we've nicked it from another club. But that's class

I think I just need to make peace with it Dan Burn at left back. Especially with Botman in such good form and Tino out. But I really don't want to see it for this game. They have plenty of tricky/fast wide players that can get at him and I just don't think he offers anything in the build up or trying to create attacks down that side.

Barely seen them under Ange. Have Forest abandoned what made them so good and are they already playing much higher up and more like a typical Angeball team? Despite their tricky start. I don't think they've become crap between the end of last season and the start of this. But we really need to be winning this and scoring more than one goal and creating a lot more. Although of course, a 1-0 win would be alright, I suppose!

What's his chant? Half heard it a few times now but can't make it out or what tune it is to.

That Barca defending

I’m his biggest critic. But even without the penalties. I thought he was much better tonight and up there with Tonali and Botman as MOTM. The goals certainly gave him a boost. He was playing with a lot more confidence and purpose. Taking his man on and looking for incisive passes. Not cutting in and often losing it just going sideways. A couple of times off the ball he was back to his old self, too. The attacker just gave up trying to carry the ball further once he realised it was Gordon tearing towards him at speed. The bloke just cut back to pass it inside. Even though he had acres to run into.

He still makes some mad runs or decisions on what space to take up. It’s like his teammates never know where to pass it. Brilliant for the goal, mind. I thought he should have just got a touch and played Barnes in earlier. But he showed great strength and then played a pass the other side of the defender making it easier for Barnes and harder to defend. He is contributing while Wissa is out, at least.

Already our best passer of the ball at CB, I reckon. Obviously he hasn’t got a Schar 60 yard diagonal/through ball in his locker. But he moves the ball early and usually quickly. Looks really assured on the ball. I think he gets caught flat footed a few times when he goes super aggressive with his pressing. But at least he is comfortable doing it. As it’s a big part of the system for our CB’s.

Another clean sheet for this useless, lanky, two left feet twat. Get Ramsdale in.

He’s upgraded his lithium battery. Now powered by a nuclear reactor.

What a goal from Rasmus H. I can never spell his second name properly.

It’s unfortunate for him. That he has barely played with Woltemade yet. As they compliment each other’s game perfectly.

Perfect tonic to Sunday and a few toothless performances to start the season. Gordon got some confidence and his swagger back. Probably MOTM alongside Botman and Tonali. Barnes got the goal he needed and looked sharp off the bench. The same as Bradford. Woltemade with another goal and probably his best all round performance. We used the squad well and got players on early’ish. Who all then contributed. Can only help with morale and keeping players on their toes. Proper professional away performance in Europe. Not sure I’ve ever seen one before from NUFC

I know they apply the law differently in Europe. But Gabriel’s handball not being a pen and that one being given after looking at the screen for 5 seconds. Doesn’t make sense to me.

I’m not sure if these are just half a yard slower than us or they are the most cynical bunch of fuckers we’ve played in a while Worse than Bradford for kicking us and you’d expect it from them.

One angle I thought he flicked it in. The other one it looks like Mac Allister just sliced it in? Not seen it back. As my internet has decided to have a wobble. Pub it is.

Back to Tino. I'm pretty pleased with that. Like everyone else, I was fearing the worst.

Palace play the 3-4-2-1/3-4-3 that we try. They look brilliant at it. We however, do not I'm sure quite a few teams would switch to that last season with varying degrees of success. I think I posted about it in the tactics thread. As it seemed in vogue for a while and it was being used more often. Man U play it....... Forest were switching to it and it worked well a lot of the time. I think Chelsea, too.

Not seen our average positions this season. But do we play with a flat 3 when in possession? Always seems like Joelinton is very wide, Bruno also. With Tonali usually more central and sat deeper. It feels like a lot of the time, with how direct we go and how quickly we try to progress the ball up the pitch. We are often miles apart. Not much chance of developing passing patterns when they’re often stretched across the width of the pitch. Especially with how much they have to do off the ball. I don’t think he is great with the ball. But I also don’t think our problems with holding onto the ball or building up from the back. Are that much to do with Joelinton. We have always been pretty poor at it or something we don’t really look to do since Howe got here.

I'm quite shocked that we weren't able to pass through the midfield and dominate in quite the same way as we did against Bradford. Up against Declan Rice (£105m), Zubimendi (£55m) and Eze (£67.5m). The last two being a steal at the prices and all. Why weren't Botman and Thiaw just finding midfielders in acres of space and why wasn't the usually slow Bruno just strolling past their players for fun? Unacceptable.

I mean, I kind of agree that the 3 at the back seems like he's trying to fit Botman in. As he's too good to be sat on the bench and Burn has been so good at LCB, that he feels undroppable. Burn at left back on Sunday was the wrong call, I think. He just isn't very good there now and I think we have evolved a bit since he last played well there in the 4th place season. But he probably wanted him on for set pieces and they're also managing Hall's minutes. Along with Trippier's, I would have thought. I also think he gives Gordon a lot of leeway and regularly stays on or plays, even if out of form. Kind of like he does have certain players who are his favourites. Whereas Barnes or Murphy will often get hauled off or benched, even if in good form. But then he did sub Gordon at the weekend. So fuck knows. I'm not sure he will get sacked for not being ruthless, mind. If anything this season, he has been making loads of changes. It feels so alien to us as fans, that we've all been losing our minds a bit over it. Certainly myself included in that. I've been wanting rotation for ages. But then it happens and I feel like "no, no. Not that sort of rotation. Why is X not playing, why is Y starting."

I mean TBF to the lad. He needs a lot more time in training working on possession compared to most of our squad. So it has probably helped him in that regard to focus on retaining possession. When to pass, when to shield it, when not to dive for no reason and set the other team up on the counter.

The Eze and Timber ones were very good. The rest were routine. It was more than that though. He was brilliant commanding his area again and bar his kicking, which is always shit. He was comfortably our MOTM for 93-94 minutes or whatever it was. That rush of blood at the end has cost us a point. From the ill advised kick instead of throwing it. To then trying too hard to make amends coming for the ball when it wasn’t really on against dark arts set piece FC. Sidenote. Arsenal blatantly foul at every setpiece in both boxes. Burn getting his shirt ripped off every time. Their runners stepping back onside blocking defenders with no intention of playing the ball. A blocker on the keeper every corner who doesn’t even look at the ball. Clubs need to make more of it to PGMOL and highlight how blatant it is. Or they’ll just keep doing it until they’re stopped. They have every right to if they’re not going to get pinged for it. So why wouldn’t they.

Lucas Torreira in particular. Kicks it back to them under no pressure every time. I also think Bruno could probably beat him in a race