Lord Wazzock
First Team Squad
David Prutton explained it a bit on the latest Forest Focus podcast. Makes a it more sense now
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Matchday 31 - Nottingham Forest Football Club vs Fulham Football Club. Tuesday, 2nd of April KO 7:30pm
- Thread starter Thomas
- Start date
Alf-engelos Mindminackers
The Artiste formally known as "Wanksy"
I think that's a good post, but honestly I'm still not convinced the squad is THAT good.
Sels has addressed a massive weakness in the side, and yes we're definitely better than the worst 3 teams in this league, but...as I kept saying pre-match.....Fulham are vulnerable AF when it comes to conceding goals away. I think we need to temper expectations slightly, and not get carried away with 1 result.
The squad definitely has potential, but I think that's some way of being consistently good enough to be more than a lower Prem club as it stands myself. Two managers stuck in the same mire backs that up for me too.
adam09
Super Koopa
I always thought with zonal marking, you defend your zone and attack the ball if it comes to you, you don't really pick up any attackers.
adam09
Super Koopa
I think we've only conceded 30 from open play, out of 53 conceded. 20 from set pieces and 3 penalties. Which is mad. We've scored 4 from set pieces.
Generally we've defended well. Imagine those set pieces were levelled out a bit, we'd have quite a lot more points I'd imagine. We've lost and drawn quite a few games that have been pretty even because of those odd goals from set pieces (Luton, Newcastle, Brighton for example).
If we can stay up and keep the talent we've got something really good to build on.
Indored
A. Trialist
Of course you are right, what you have said is correct.
On the other side this must give the guys a taste of success, of belonging even doing something good for our club.
One game does’t define a season, but I would rather be alongside a team that has won the last game than one that has lost the last 5.
The next game is a tough one but if we work hard, take our chances I don’t see a reason why we can’t get something from it, then we will see a team regularly picking up points
Gyros Peter
Sauce salad?
They'll take five more off for the ones we've picked up after they were taken.
Edit: oh it's four - taken after the Luton game rather than before. I need to remember that so I feel some relief when it happens (it won't).
Don’t disagree. But like a Palace are capable of enough hot days to always just about be safe, so should we be. I think 13-15th should be par for this group.
It's Baggio
John Robertson
The first 45 minutes was probably our best spell of attacking Football since we gubbed Swansea in the promotion run in almost 2 years ago. Was such a pleasure to watch all of our 'talented' players in that sort of form. The speed of play & the link up between the front 4, with the midfield and full backs joining in was too much for Fulham to handle. The 2nd half was more nervy and some of our familiar failings were on show once more but we just about kept them at arms length and probably should've made it a little comfier with a couple of the chances on the break.
Gibbs White was just on another level, he can frustrate at times as some of the things he tries don't always come off but yesterday was his day. He made Palhinha, one of the best DM's in the league look like an absolute plodder. He thoroughly deserved his goal/assist and was unlucky not to end up with a couple more. CHO was excellent again, his talent was evident from the moment he stepped on the pitch on his debut v Burnley but it's been great to watch him become fitter & more confident in his body over the last few months. Elanga did okay, against a slower LB, he'd have probably had more joy but Robinson thwarted him a couple of times when it looked like he was in. It's a shame he missed that chance as that was an even better move than the one for the 3rd goal. Wood took his goal well & linked up nicely with the runners around him, I also reckon he won more headers than the rest of the 11 combined.
The clocks have gone forward, so it looks like we may have Danilo back. He's been possibly my biggest disappointment this season, I thought he looked a genuine top prospect at times during the run in last year but so far this season he's been a lot more bad than good. Back to his best yesterday though; good defensively, loads of energy, used the ball well & looked a threat when he went forward. Yates will continue to get stick because he doesn't have much of a passing range but he'll always be useful when we're under pressure, he made a couple of huge tackles/interceptions when we came under pressure in the 2nd half.
The full backs were great, Aina especially, who saw off two decent & very different wingers with ease. Carried the ball forward well and despite being on his wrong side, linked up well down the left with Danilo/CHO, etc. Williams continued his strong run of form & was unlucky not to get a goal with the deflected one off the bar. The CB's were a mixed bag, Murillo especially is so good at certain things that I'm reluctant to criticize him. His one on one defending is so good, when we push higher he sweeps up anything that gets played in behind so comfortably and he's the best passer at the club by a mile & had a huge role in the first two goals. Omobamidele isn't at Murillo's level but is quick enough & plays with an air of composure and defends well when the ball is on the ground. However, you can't ignore the fact that as a team, we cannot defend our box from any sort of aerial challenge. It's not solely on the CB's, especially when defending corners, etc but they have to do more & take a lead. Between them they are objectively bad in the air, Murillo ranks well below average for CB's & Omo much worse. You can blame the set piece coaching but without players that are actually going to win the ball in the air, I'm not sure what else we can do.
Gibbs White was just on another level, he can frustrate at times as some of the things he tries don't always come off but yesterday was his day. He made Palhinha, one of the best DM's in the league look like an absolute plodder. He thoroughly deserved his goal/assist and was unlucky not to end up with a couple more. CHO was excellent again, his talent was evident from the moment he stepped on the pitch on his debut v Burnley but it's been great to watch him become fitter & more confident in his body over the last few months. Elanga did okay, against a slower LB, he'd have probably had more joy but Robinson thwarted him a couple of times when it looked like he was in. It's a shame he missed that chance as that was an even better move than the one for the 3rd goal. Wood took his goal well & linked up nicely with the runners around him, I also reckon he won more headers than the rest of the 11 combined.
The clocks have gone forward, so it looks like we may have Danilo back. He's been possibly my biggest disappointment this season, I thought he looked a genuine top prospect at times during the run in last year but so far this season he's been a lot more bad than good. Back to his best yesterday though; good defensively, loads of energy, used the ball well & looked a threat when he went forward. Yates will continue to get stick because he doesn't have much of a passing range but he'll always be useful when we're under pressure, he made a couple of huge tackles/interceptions when we came under pressure in the 2nd half.
The full backs were great, Aina especially, who saw off two decent & very different wingers with ease. Carried the ball forward well and despite being on his wrong side, linked up well down the left with Danilo/CHO, etc. Williams continued his strong run of form & was unlucky not to get a goal with the deflected one off the bar. The CB's were a mixed bag, Murillo especially is so good at certain things that I'm reluctant to criticize him. His one on one defending is so good, when we push higher he sweeps up anything that gets played in behind so comfortably and he's the best passer at the club by a mile & had a huge role in the first two goals. Omobamidele isn't at Murillo's level but is quick enough & plays with an air of composure and defends well when the ball is on the ground. However, you can't ignore the fact that as a team, we cannot defend our box from any sort of aerial challenge. It's not solely on the CB's, especially when defending corners, etc but they have to do more & take a lead. Between them they are objectively bad in the air, Murillo ranks well below average for CB's & Omo much worse. You can blame the set piece coaching but without players that are actually going to win the ball in the air, I'm not sure what else we can do.
Raymondo Ponte'
It's all about mid-table...
Well done boys, counter attacking the way to go.
Grass
Viv Anderson
The big man giving out hugs at the end
Gyros Peter
Sauce salad?
Waiting for the ref!
GreeksBearingGifts
Stuart Pearce
Along with junior.
Can you imagine, being a Referee, and having had a bit of a shocker at the City Ground, you trudge off down the tunnel, only to see „Big“ Evangelos there, glaring at you like you‘ve just spilled his pint?
This is a man who kicks the shit out of televisions when he is displeased by matters on the pitch, you can only imagine what he might do an an official who had irritated him in some way?
Grass
Viv Anderson
Why are our extended highlights always short.
They always seem to be about 9 mins long.
Most other clubs post 12 plus
They always seem to be about 9 mins long.
Most other clubs post 12 plus
It's Baggio
John Robertson
Just over 8 mins v Fulham.
- 40 secs at the start for the players walking out, MOK, etc
- 1:30 at the end watching the players/managers shake hands for some reason.
So about 5 1/2 mins of actual highlights.
IdiotTricky
First Team Squad
Great summary, thank you.
Do you think, with Murillo and Omabamidele, that it's because they're still young and not yet used to bossing it at set-pieces? Or do you think either one needs to be paired with a Boly-type, who is naturally dominant in the air?
It's perhaps worth noting that Fulham have some seriousl tall players. But, obviously, this has been an Achilles' Heel (or a Chrissy Cohen's Knees) all season.
It's Baggio
John Robertson
Cheers.
Experience & games at this level will help but I doubt either of them are ever going to be 'dominant' in the air. I think Murillo is more aggressive in the air but just doesn't have the size, whereas Omo is taller but more passive (his heading stats in the Champ were below average). Both would be more comfortable alongisde Boly/Felipe if either of them could be relied upon to stay fit.
Yeh, I mentioned to the bloke next to me that they were a big side & Pereira's a very good set piece taker. Tosin is out of contract this summer, I'd imagine he'd have options in the top half of the league but he'd be ideal if we could pull it off.
Statto
Free Kick Specialist
I think the fact we are playing with two 21 year olds is probably not helping with some of the naive defending. Promising as they both are, I probably wouldn't play them together.
Murillo plus Niakitty would be two left footers, which shouldn't matter too much, but usually looks unbalanced when it comes to playing out, so it'd probably have to be one of them, and Murillo is probably the better of the two overall. So it would be him and either Boly or Felipe, who are both injured and one is retiring at the end of the season. Not sure what the other options would be.
So, you can actually see why Nuno tried the kitty at LB against Villa, but that didn't work either.
I'd definitely consider our best pairing to be Murillo and Boly.
Statto
Free Kick Specialist
A lot of those kind of attributes actually stem from way before the lads get to the top of the age group pyramid though.
Murillo's stocky, and he's not a midget, but he is below average height for a CB and has probably had to work at the aerial side to be competitive at age group level. So he tries even if he isn't going to dominate against taller strikers. But then I seem to recall David Johnson, who was far from the biggest, not being too bad aerially.
As for Omo I think he is probably either one of those kids who was quite short and grew a lot later on, and so never really developed the aerial side of his game, or was either dominant aerially at a younger age, and so didn't need to develop being aerially dominant, it just happened that way anyway. Suspect probably the latter given he's young and been in the first team at Norwich for a while. It has a kind of Peter Crouch effect (or maybe even Wood to an extent) where they can do it but it isn't a natural part of their game because they've never needed to really learn the skill. For his height Crouch wasn't ever that aerially dominant (compared to for example John Terry) but largely won the balls because he was tall enough anyway. It's like Ivo Karlovic or John Isner on serve in tennis, they got a lot of aces because at 6'10 they were hitting angles which others didn't not because they were particularly good servers (compared to the likes of Federer or more recently Djokovic).
IdiotTricky
First Team Squad
@Statto Your first sentence brought to mind Peter Crouch (also the amount of fouls that get given against taller players for the crime of being, well, tall).
Appreciate both yours and @It's Baggio 's perspectives.
I'm thinking, perhaps, that Boly/Murillo and Omabamidele/Niakhate are our best pairings currently and, probably, in that order.
That said, as long as we stay up, I have no personal preference - they all have their individual qualities and weaknesses - but suspect that consistent selection is likely key.
Sadly, I don't see a future a the club for any of our loans-out, unless we can evolve both a back 3 and 4 next season (actually, is McKenna in his final year?). A 4 probably suits us better given our midfield options, but some opponents might suit a 3 if we aren't desperately needing wins.
Appreciate both yours and @It's Baggio 's perspectives.
I'm thinking, perhaps, that Boly/Murillo and Omabamidele/Niakhate are our best pairings currently and, probably, in that order.
That said, as long as we stay up, I have no personal preference - they all have their individual qualities and weaknesses - but suspect that consistent selection is likely key.
Sadly, I don't see a future a the club for any of our loans-out, unless we can evolve both a back 3 and 4 next season (actually, is McKenna in his final year?). A 4 probably suits us better given our midfield options, but some opponents might suit a 3 if we aren't desperately needing wins.
Farmer Jack
Stuart Pearce
Yeah, f@ck Fulham. 