Gibbs-White can flourish now he feels the love
LIKE any England fan, Morgan Gibbs-White will be cheering on Gareth Southgate’s side at the World Cup, but the Nottingham Forest man should target an active role at the next major tournament. Gibbs-White has represented his country at every level from Under 16 to Under 21 and was part of the Under 17 team who won the World Cup five years ago, with current Forest boss Steve Cooper in charge. So he has followed what FA coaches are fond of calling ‘the pathway’, his talent is beyond doubt and he is finally starting to deliver regularly.
If England flop in Qatar, there will be changes for the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign and, though he is some way from a senior call now, Gibbs-White will believe he can climb the ladder quickly. He is quick, creative, technically sound and brave. And most importantly, Gibbs-White is in a place where he is loved. Although Nuno Espirito Santo gave Gibbs-White his Wolves debut as a 17-year-old, he never fully trusted him and neither did his successor Bruno Lage. Instead, Gibbs-White had to prove himself during loan spells at Swansea and Sheffield United last season.
It would be naive to think Cooper played an active role in every one of Forest’s 23 summer signings but Gibbs-White was always the one he really wanted.
The £25million fee raised eyebrows, as Gibbs-White had started only 15 top-flight games in four years. But Cooper was adamant and now the 22-year-old is starting to justify his faith. ‘This is definitely his level and everyone knows how good Morgan is, but this is the first time he has played regularly in the Premier League,’ said Cooper. ‘When he’s training during the week he knows he’s likely to play at the weekend, and that’s a different mindset from what he’s had in this league before.
‘He also knows he needs to perform. He’s scored two goals in two games now and he’s playing well. He knows what I think of him, although I push him hard. There are many stories like this in our team and it will take time to be at the level we need to be on a consistent basis.’
Palace missed the chance to take a first-half lead when Wilfried Zaha put a penalty wide. That is four misses from his last 11 from the spot and, though Patrick Vieira insists Zaha will keep the job, he now has until Christmas to think about it.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST (4-3-3): Henderson 6; Aurier 7.5, Worrall 5.5, Boly 7, Lodi 7 (Williams 86min); Yates 7, Freuler 7, Kouyate 6.5 (Colback 71, 6); Johnson 7, GIBBS-WHITE 8.5 (O’Brien 86), Lingard 6 (Surridge 81). Scorer: Gibbs-White 54. Booked: Yates. Manager: Steve Cooper 7.5. CRYSTAL PALACE (4-3-3): Guaita 6; Clyne 5.5 (Hughes 79), Andersen 6.5, Guehi 6, Mitchell 5 (Ward 60, 6); Olise 5, Doucoure 6 (Edouard 85), Schlupp 6; Ayew 5 (Mateta 59, 6), Zaha 5, Eze 5 (Ebiowei 78). Booked: Mitchell, Guehi, Schlupp, Ward. Manager: Patrick Vieira 5.5. Referee: John Brooks 5. Attendance: 29,045.