Latest Nottingham Forest news as Nuno Espirito Santo’s Reds battle for Premier League survival
Nottingham Forest face a big game this weekend as attention turns back to matters on the pitch.
The Reds have been at the centre of plenty of debate this week, following their furious tweet after Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Everton. The fallout from the club’s social media post continues to rumble on, but Nuno Espirito Santo’s side must focus on their meeting with Manchester City at the City Ground.
Ahead of Sunday’s clash, there was plenty to talk about when Forest reporter Sarah Clapson held a live Q&A on our Reds Facebook page. Below is a look at how it panned out.
A:Forest’s tweet at full-time on Sunday generated a lot of talk because of the way it was phrased. But there was a wider point that was almost overlooked, and it is one a lot of people would perhaps actually agree with. It is about the standard of refereeing and the use of VAR in general.
Forest have been on the end of so many controversial calls this season. They are not the only ones, but their list of grievances is a particularly long one.
But how do you improve the standard of refereeing and the system of VAR? It does need looking at, but how you go about improving it is a different matter.
Steve Cooper spoke about that a lot when he was in charge, because – as we all know – it isn’t just under Nuno Forest have felt hard done by. It goes further back.
It is a league-wide, football-wide issue. How you go about improving it, I don’t know, but it does need looking at.
And as you point out, it can have a huge impact in games. The Everton match wasn’t just a one-off – although to have three big decisions go against them in one game was quite something, even by Forest’s standards.
The club’s fury was understandable because it was the culmination of a lot of such instances. Brentford, Liverpool, Brighton, Bournemouth, Tottenham, among others. Lots of different things have gone against Forest, too, not just penalty shouts – be it red cards given or not given, the Ivan Toney free-kick, the James Maddison punch or the Liverpool drop-ball. Whether the fact there is so much variety to the different incidents makes the situation better or worse, I don’t know, but all of them have had a big impact on each game individually and the season collectively.
I still think the discussion shouldn’t take away from the fact Forest do need to perform, if they are going to stay up. But Nuno spoke on Sunday about how it can affect the players in games when you get so many decisions go against you.
That is understandable, but Forest now have to flip it and use their frustration as a kind of siege mentality. They have to focus on what they can control.
Q: There is a real danger that our focus has gone elsewhere now with everything that is going around the non-playing side.
A: Forest cannot allow that to happen. It is almost inevitable that fans, pundits and media will keep talking about the off-field stuff, but the players have to be in a little bit of a bubble – or at least be fired up by what has happened.
They are only human and they are bound to have been talking about it, as Nuno said has been the case with the points deduction. But they cannot let all of the outside talk distract them from what their task is.
Nuno made the point that the decisions can have an impact on the players’ mentality in games. That is understandable. But once it is gone, they have to move on.
Securing survival is still in Forest’s own hands, but games are running out. The focus for Nuno and the players has to be on performances and results.
The performance at Everton wasn’t great, certainly not compared to previous levels. The Fulham game is the blueprint and standard for Forest to hit. They have shown what they can do under Nuno, but they need to hit that level consistently.
Manchester City will be incredibly tough, but all Forest can do is go out there and play to their best level. If they do that, who knows? The City Ground has seen some incredible moments before.
Forest have a cause to fight against. If they use it in the right way, an us-against-the-world mentality could give them an edge in the run-in. Maybe it can provide a bit of extra motivation.
That said, I do think Forest need to up their performance levels from the Everton game. And not just on Sunday, but in each of the final four games.
Q: Nuno offers nothing and he needs to go end of the season.
A: Forest just need to get to the end of the season first, make sure they are still in the Premier League and then assess where they are at. As it stands, we don’t know which division they are going to be in – and that is bound to have an impact on so many things in the summer.
When Nuno came in, I thought he made a big difference in his first few games. You look back at Newcastle away and the win over Manchester United, even the Bournemouth game.
You could see the change in style of play. Forest were on the front foot and trying to be positive.
He has had a lot to deal with, what with AFCON, injuries, the points deduction and now everything that has gone on this week. But at the same time, that is what he gets paid for. As a head coach or manager, you are there to cope with and adapt to all kinds of different situations.
Forest did go through a period where performances and results dropped off. But against Fulham and even in spells at Spurs, I thought they were back to showing what they were about under Nuno. Sunday was a step backwards from that.
I still think there is potential in this team, but collectively they have not always played to the sum of their parts. All of the individual talent hasn’t always been reflected in results and performances.
There are areas in need of improvement, for sure. Set-pieces still being one. I actually thought Forest dealt with them OK against Everton, but it has still been a huge Achilles’ heel.
These last few games will tell us a lot. Nuno really needs to get this team fighting and showing the quality they are capable of. We’ll be able to cast a proper judgement once the season is over.
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