Gloom gathers as caution first tactics wear thin with fans
THE atmosphere turned dark at the City Ground on Wednesday night. Three games in and already it has the feeling of a long, hard season for Nottingham Forest.
Their third Championship fixture went the same way as the other two - a 2-1 defeat, with a late goal again proving costly and set-pieces again the Reds’ downfall as they lost to Blackburn Rovers.
Frustrations were clear on the pitch and in the stands as fans made their feelings known, directing much of their ire towards Chris Hughton.
A dismal end to last term has carried over into the new campaign, with injuries and a lack of new signings only adding to the manager’s problems.
After watching their team fall apart - following a bright start - in midweek, many supporters will feel hope is in short supply.
With the list of issues facing the
Forest boss mounting up, here are some of the big talking points from the game.
■■Manager’s tactics
This is where Hughton has really come under fire. Persistence with a 4-2-3-1 formation and a cautious approach has seen him on the end of fierce criticism from fans.
The same system has yielded the same end results.
When they lost their way against Rovers, the Reds were relying on a piece of individual brilliance from Philip Zinckernagel to get them back in the game.
They had started well and were the better side for a spell in the first half, but something needed to change after the break when the game began to turn.
Hughton was, perhaps, keen to protect a young and makeshift back line from becoming too exposed, but there is no doubt he needs to find a way of getting more attacking threat from his team.
Aside from that decent period early on, they didn’t offer enough.
The manager isn’t helped by a lack of personnel. Hughton said afterwards he feels that system can be attacking and moving to three at the back with the players currently at his disposal isn’t viable. But he needs to change something to stop the slide.
■■Recruitment needed
Forest have made three signings so far and there are still so many areas of the pitch where they remain desperately short of options.
That only hinders any attempt to mix things up.
Zinckernagel looks like being a great bit of business, but the club need more of that.
The positions they need to strengthen have been staring them in the face all summer. Getting deals done, however, has not been quite so easy.
They are far from the only ones to have struggled in the market, but with little more than a week to go before the window closes, they have left an awful lot of work to do.
Injuries and illness have only exacerbated the problem. The Reds have been unfortunate in that sense.
Jordi Osei-tutu looks to have something about him, but there’s now an anxious wait to determine the extent of a hamstring problem which forced him off early against Blackburn. Having been limited to only a handful of appearances for a similar issue when on loan with Cardiff
City last year, it is bound to be a worry.
Left-backs were already in short supply at the City Ground, with right-back Osei-tutu filling in on the opposite side to begin with - a situation Jordan Gabriel then found himself in when the Arsenal man departed.
With Gabriel sent off for a second yellow card late on and Gaetan Bong serving a three-match suspension
for an incident at Coventry City, fullback is giving Hughton a real headache.
Fin Back gave a good account of himself on his League debut, but it would be a lot to ask for the 18-yearold to keep that up for too long.
■■Goals conceded
Having gone from being pretty tight at the back last term but in need of more goals, Forest now have troubles at both ends of the pitch. They have let in some poor goals. Brice Samba was culpable for Rovers’ second, when he came to collect a cross but failed to get the ball. With more errors creeping in, questions are being asked of the goalkeeper.
He has not been helped by those in front of him during the three games so far. Too many times, the Reds have looked all over the place when trying to defend set-pieces. They have been their undoing.
With young full-backs, Forest also needed more senior players to step up to steady the ship. That didn’t happen in midweek. They are missing the presence and organisational skills Joe Worrall brings. In his absence, others have not taken control.
There was a fair bit of youth in that side, but there was enough experience, too. The youngsters didn’t always get the guidance they needed.
When older players like Jack Colback show their frustration by picking up a needless booking for a rash challenge, it sets the wrong tone.
■■Fans’ fury
The City Ground was a bleak place to be on Wednesday. It turned dark pretty quickly.
After Blackburn caught their hosts napping soon after the restart, the calls for Joao Carvalho to make an appearance came swiftly.
When he did get the nod, the fact he replaced Alex Mighten only irked the crowd further. With their team trailing, they wanted more attacking players on the pitch, not one being taken off.
There were chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing” aimed at Hughton, as well as fans singing the name of former boss Sabri Lamouchi - who, although got the team on the edge of the play-offs, also ultimately paid the price for a similar style of football.
Boos rang out at the break and at full-time, although by that point, many had already departed.
Whether the manager and this team can get supporters back onside remains to be seen. They need results quickly.
To a point, fans will be prepared to accept football which isn’t particularly easy on the eye if it gets results. At the minute, Forest are struggling in both areas. They can play well in patches, but haven’t been able to make the most of that or sustain it for long periods and they haven’t been able to grind out results.
That has to change, otherwise they are in danger of having to play catch-up this season, just as they were last term.