Post-match thoughts v Notts Forest

kirsikka

UTC Legend
In the not too distant past, a massive storm caused some damage at Dean Court and, with high winds still blowing, strangely enough the club couldn't get a cherry picker out to repair the damage because, you know, it isn't the 1980s anymore and there are safety rules about this kind of stuff now. Not at all surprisingly though, fans of Forest do seem stuck in the 80s.

Their outrage at the postponement of our match still continues along with the weird narrative that it was because we didn't want to play them when we had an injury crisis. The actual fact is, we had a few players out but nothing unusual for any team and no reason to want to delay the game.

Of course, the postponement did mean we got that shoot-out match for promotion right at the end of the season and I think most football fans couldn't be Moore happy about that.

However, given they have never forgiven us for not playing them when suffering from a non-existent injury crisis maybe they'll finally shut up after today when their dreams finally came true.

With Aarons and Billing both sent out on loan (I'm still struggling with the latter of those) and another nine players unavailable even the returning Tavernier meant we came into the match with only one senior outfield player on the bench. It also meant for the second time this season, we started the match against them without a fit first team striker.

The starting XI was the only starting XI possible so no need to cover that. Still worth pointing out for posterity there was a central midfielder at right back and a winger playing as a striker because there was literally nobody else available.

When I saw them line up, I did wonder if they were trying to channel the spirit of Man City with their away kit. They should have realised that ghost has been well and truly exorcised this season.

It was a match where it always felt like the first goal would be crucial. Grab that and they’d hunker down at the back for the next three million years, happy to wait for The Rise of the Cockroaches.

Fortunately, it wasn’t to be. We intercepted the ball and broke away at pace. Kluivert had dancing feet on the halfway line to buy himself some space and run at them, with the Forest defenders backing away like a group who hadn’t watched our match last week against Newcastle and had no idea who this guy was. He accepted their invitation to shoot with aplomb, firing it into the corner. 1-0.

I think this moment changed the course of the match as now they couldn’t only sit back and try to hit us on the break. Both teams had periods of dominance in the first half but the fact they were chasing the game meant they were in uncomfortable territory.

It came over on the commentary for those who watched on tv but it's worth repeating here. One of the differences was the way Huijsen was stepping forward with the ball and creating challenges for them by adding an extra man to our midfield. It helps that he has serious quality when he does it, looking halfway towards a ball-carrying CM at times.

Overall, the performance was incredibly tactically astute. Let’s forget what came in the final section when they fell apart and look at how we played prior to that. It wasn’t so much heavy metal noise and chaos as more ambient techno. Chilled out, confident and easing its way to the plan.

What I mean is that the press wasn’t the same as usual. Sure, it was always there as a weapon, but we actually played in a far more subdued and considered manner, which seemed to catch them off-guard. I don’t think they prepared or knew how to deal with the way we approached the game. AI once again outthinking his opposite number.

In terms of what they were trying to do, I did note their clear and obvious tactic to try and slow the match down by going down and acting as though they needed treatment only to spring back to life when the ref was about to call on the physio. This wasn’t an accident and a clear ‘dark arts’ approach to try and disrupt how they thought we would play. Turned into a big fail given we adjusted our style and just looked embarrassing.

I also think they tried to target Cook and, unlike when he completely shut out Anthony, there were moments when he looked vulnerable out there. That isn’t a criticism as he’s playing out of position but I suspect what they did will be studied and tested even further next weekend.

Back to the action and we could have scored more before the break but for a couple of decent saves and they also had a period on top without testing Kepa too much.

The break came and the two men in the dugouts reshuffled their respective packs to try and eek out an advantage. Forest decided to try and be more aggressive but our solid back line ably backed up by good covering from Adams meant there wasn’t a lot happening. When they did manage to fashion an opening, Kepa looked more than a match each time.

Then came our second and what a beauty! Kerkez played a great ball down the line to Kluivert who drew in his defenders and then cut back and put in a high cross to the far post. There Dango had somehow risen to trampoline height, towering above the static tree-like defenders, and nodded it back across goal and in.

2-0 and now Forest really had to chase the game.

Another brilliant break saw us fly down the right and then Brooks carried the ball into the centre and laid it off to Semenyo who had his shot saved. They tried to clear but we kept sending it back in until it finally came to Kluivert at the edge of the area. He shuffled and feinted past their defence and played a one-two with Dango before slotting home. One of the goals of the season. Only...

...only VAR had to do its thing and take away a glorious moment of quality. During the one-two Dango was marginally offside meaning it was chalked off.

Somehow this seemed to rattle them as for the rest of the match their defence and midfield were utter garbage. We saw it last week when our constant harrying left Newcastle a shambles at the back in the final period. This time it was more that they were getting nothing out of us and mentally fell apart. We always looked ready to run at them with pace and they didn’t know how to stop it.

Also worth mentioning that they were definitely a bad tempered lot and tried to make it into a gritty and niggly affair but we didn’t take the bait. I can’t remember seeing two subs actually come into the pitch to remonstrate with a side that has scored before but they even tried that, getting two booked in the process. Weird, but I wonder if this will backfire as other teams will see a way to get under their skin during the remainder of the season.

The rest of the match? One team picking off the other at will almost.

The third came shortly after the disallowed effort as a great through ball (sorry, missed who from), saw a fast running Dango collect and dribble into the area. With two defenders closing fast he shuffled to create space for a shot and slid it into the far corner. Take that VAR!

The return of Tavs was welcome as he came on for ten minutes and hopefully the first of several to return soon. And he looked sharp and full of running during his cameo, playing a crucial part in our fourth.

Watch the whole move back as I can only really describe what happened as us taking the piss out of them. We broke fast and with space and could easily have taken a shot earlier but instead slowed it down to give them a chance to get back. Then we opened up space again for Tavs to shoot, the keeper spilled and Dango was on it in flash, shades of Lineker, as he slotted the rebound home.

I can’t emphasise how happy I am for Dango. He never stops and always keeps his head up even when things aren’t working. He’s also been so badly treated by VAR but it can never take this away from him. A Premier League hattrick to savour.

We weren’t done though as the MIA Forest midfield let us break again and, with the defenders backing away like rabbits in headlights, Tavs played it to Semenyo wide in the area. He checked, set himself and fired it through the defenders legs and into the far corner. Nutmeg goals are usually a sign it's time to rebalance the teams...

5-0 against the team everyone else has struggled against this season following a demolition of the nine wins in a row team. It was a statement vicotry after a statement victory.

Happy birthday to Nuno Espirito Santo. 51 today and, being the kind souls that we are, we tried to honour him with the scoreline. Another way in which his team let him down by not even getting the one required to make it the age appropriate 5-1.

Meanwhile that’s our biggest PL win since...? Paging statos. I think Hull was 6-1 or 6-2 but right now, with everything else whirling in my head, I can’t think of the other big ones.

(yeah... character limit again. It's hard when we're this good not to write too much!)
 
Last edited:
Selected Player Watch

----- Dango -----
I was mentally preparing to say I was, as ever, impressed with his endeavour but he didn’t quite have that striker sharpness when he scored his first. How bad a call that would have been from me! A brilliant performance capped with richly deserved goals. We still need a striker before the window shuts but what an option he is there now.

----- Kluivert -----
He’s purring like a luxury car at the moment, even bringing out the training ground flicks such is his confidence. Long may it continue. Also, I don’t think we’ll see another team back off him like that this season.

----- Huijsen -----
If this game had finished 2-0, he probably would have been my MOTM but events overtook that. However, he was solid in defence and classy on the ball. He simply looked the absolute business and makes such a perfect combination with Zabs at the back as well. Roma fans must be spitting feathers they sold him off on the cheap.

----- Adams -----
Cleaned up a lot of the midfield battle. An excellent foil for Christie. His must the position where we surely have the best dual quality. Hard to say who would start over him and Cook if we had Smith back tomorrow. And that's a compliment of the highest order given the form and ability of LC.


AI and Tactics Watch

It’s far from the first time I’ve said it this season but he absolutely did a number on the other manager this week. The subtle changes in the way he had us play totally threw off their game plan and they never really got a grip on things.

Even with scant resources he somehow gets performance after performance out of his players. This wasn’t a blood and thunder destruction like last week. Instead, it was a careful tactical dismantling which should delight everyone just as much.

There was the same intensity to proceedings as Newcastle and I thought Forest looked pretty lacklustre for most of the match. It was like they were the team who had been playing for a month without any subs instead of us.

They’ve enjoyed an outstanding season, bloodying nose after nose in their unlikely journey to being title challengers and been this season's Premier League Big Bad Wolf, feasting on the carcass of fatted pigs that couldn't run away. Well, today they huffed and they puffed but they couldn't blow Dean Court down. Not even enough to knock some of the signage off the side of the stadium.

We’re still four points behind them but they’ll be looking over their shoulders nervously now.

Meanwhile, we’re making up for some of those games earlier in the season where we missed repeated chances and spurned points that were there for the taking. And it is some watch.

Next up at Dean Court it’s only the team chasing the title but we’ll approach it with no fear. We might not get a result but, and this is the difference to every other PL season, we don’t need them to be off their game to get something. If we’re on our game, there’s nobody we can’t beat in this division.

I do hope we’ll see more of the walking wounded join Tavs as available by then, along with some reinforcements from the transfer market. Although I don’t think anyone could expect to walk into this starting XI right now, even to replace a winger playing out of position. The man just scored a hattrick!

Have fun staring at the table and dreaming again this week, everyone. I know that’s what I’ll be doing.
 
Last edited:
Great recap, @kirsikka.

The announcers on my feed used "confidence" and "a yard quicker" in abundance to describe AFCB.

Not sure that there is anything better than watching a team take the pitch expecting to get three points from the Cherries, then moving through realization (1-0), to frustration and losing their minds (those two subs mentioned, their bench staff, Jota, Murillo), and finally to complete capitulation shown by the defending on the fourth and fifth goals. Sweeeeeeeet.

I suspect that I am seeing something that I might never again see in my lifetime. A good team (and manager) ascending to greatness. Who knows when the other shoe will drop, but for now, it is out of this world.
 
Wow, just wow.

Almost lost for words again after that. One thing I will say right now is that for all the deserved plaudits that our forwards will get, that defensive trio of Zaba, Huijsen and Adams is absolutely elite. And when I say elite I mean that aside from Liverpool arguably, this is the best defensive trio in the league right now.
 
As ever a great summary @kirsikka

Still trying to process what we've seen these last 2 games. We actually look like a team that is good enough to play champions league. How bonkers is that? Forest's attempt to slow the tempo made it hard for us to get into our usual slick press and pass mode but I felt we were mostly comfortable in the first half. Second half we weathered 10 mins of increased Forest pressure without serious concerns and then wow - an explosive 10 minutes where we literally blew the tricky trees away. Such a shame Kluiverts 2nd was chalked off but Dango's second more than made up for it and his hattrick was just desserts for all his endeavours this season.

Next up Liverpool - we couldn't could we?
 
Not often we've ever had two hat-tricks in consecutive weeks...maybe during Bond Era with Ted ?
Two different players too ..surely that is a first in our History .
Whatever, we can strike without the players bought to do the job....and Eva to return to the squad at some point.
The big worry now is keeping Andoni in the Summer ! :cuppa:
 
In the not too distant past, a massive storm caused some damage at Dean Court and, with high winds still blowing, strangely enough the club couldn't get a cherry picker out to repair the damage because, you know, it isn't the 1980s anymore and there are safety rules about this kind of stuff now. Not at all surprisingly though, fans of Forest do seem stuck in the 80s.

Their outrage at the postponement of our match still continues along with the weird narrative that it was because we didn't want to play them when we had an injury crisis. The actual fact is, we had a few players out but nothing unusual for any team and no reason to want to delay the game.

Of course, the postponement did mean we got that shoot-out match for promotion right at the end of the season and I think most football fans couldn't be Moore happy about that.

However, given they have never forgiven us for not playing them when suffering from a non-existent injury crisis maybe they'll finally shut up after today when their dreams finally came true.

With Aarons and Billing both sent out on loan (I'm still struggling with the latter of those) and another nine players unavailable even the returning Tavernier meant we came into the match with only one senior outfield player on the bench. It also meant for the second time this season, we started the match against them without a fit first team striker.

The starting XI was the only starting XI possible so no need to cover that. Still worth pointing out for posterity there was a central midfielder at right back and a winger playing as a striker because there was literally nobody else available.

When I saw them line up, I did wonder if they were trying to channel the spirit of Man City with their away kit. They should have realised that ghost has been well and truly exorcised this season.

It was a match where it always felt like the first goal would be crucial. Grab that and they’d hunker down at the back for the next three million years, happy to wait for The Rise of the Cockroaches.

Fortunately, it wasn’t to be. We intercepted the ball and broke away at pace. Kluivert had dancing feet on the halfway line to buy himself some space and run at them, with the Forest defenders backing away like a group who hadn’t watched our match last week against Newcastle and had no idea who this guy was. He accepted their invitation to shoot with aplomb, firing it into the corner. 1-0.

I think this moment changed the course of the match as now they couldn’t only sit back and try to hit us on the break. Both teams had periods of dominance in the first half but the fact they were chasing the game meant they were in uncomfortable territory.

It came over on the commentary for those who watched on tv but it's worth repeating here. One of the differences was the way Huijsen was stepping forward with the ball and creating challenges for them by adding an extra man to our midfield. It helps that he has serious quality when he does it, looking halfway towards a ball-carrying CM at times.

Overall, the performance was incredibly tactically astute. Let’s forget what came in the final section when they fell apart and look at how we played prior to that. It wasn’t so much heavy metal noise and chaos as more ambient techno. Chilled out, confident and easing its way to the plan.

What I mean is that the press wasn’t the same as usual. Sure, it was always there as a weapon, but we actually played in a far more subdued and considered manner, which seemed to catch them off-guard. I don’t think they prepared or knew how to deal with the way we approached the game. AI once again outthinking his opposite number.

In terms of what they were trying to do, I did note their clear and obvious tactic to try and slow the match down by going down and acting as though they needed treatment only to spring back to life when the ref was about to call on the physio. This wasn’t an accident and a clear ‘dark arts’ approach to try and disrupt how they thought we would play. Turned into a big fail given we adjusted our style and just looked embarrassing.

I also think they tried to target Cook and, unlike when he completely shut out Anthony, there were moments when he looked vulnerable out there. That isn’t a criticism as he’s playing out of position but I suspect what they did will be studied and tested even further next weekend.

Back to the action and we could have scored more before the break but for a couple of decent saves and they also had a period on top without testing Kepa too much.

The break came and the two men in the dugouts reshuffled their respective packs to try and eek out an advantage. Forest decided to try and be more aggressive but our solid back line ably backed up by good covering from Adams meant there wasn’t a lot happening. When they did manage to fashion an opening, Kepa looked more than a match each time.

Then came our second and what a beauty! Kerkez played a great ball down the line to Kluivert who drew in his defenders and then cut back and put in a high cross to the far post. There Dango had somehow risen to trampoline height, towering above the static tree-like defenders, and nodded it back across goal and in.

2-0 and now Forest really had to chase the game.

Another brilliant break saw us fly down the right and then Brooks carried the ball into the centre and laid it off to Semenyo who had his shot saved. They tried to clear but we kept sending it back in until it finally came to Kluivert at the edge of the area. He shuffled and feinted past their defence and played a one-two with Dango before slotting home. One of the goals of the season. Only...

...only VAR had to do its thing and take away a glorious moment of quality. During the one-two Dango was marginally offside meaning it was chalked off.

Somehow this seemed to rattle them as for the rest of the match their defence and midfield were utter garbage. We saw it last week when our constant harrying left Newcastle a shambles at the back in the final period. This time it was more that they were getting nothing out of us and mentally fell apart. We always looked ready to run at them with pace and they didn’t know how to stop it.

Also worth mentioning that they were definitely a bad tempered lot and tried to make it into a gritty and niggly affair but we didn’t take the bait. I can’t remember seeing two subs actually come into the pitch to remonstrate with a side that has scored before but they even tried that, getting two booked in the process. Weird, but I wonder if this will backfire as other teams will see a way to get under their skin during the remainder of the season.

The rest of the match? One team picking off the other at will almost.

The third came shortly after the disallowed effort as a great through ball (sorry, missed who from), saw a fast running Dango collect and dribble into the area. With two defenders closing fast he shuffled to create space for a shot and slid it into the far corner. Take that VAR!

The return of Tavs was welcome as he came on for ten minutes and hopefully the first of several to return soon. And he looked sharp and full of running during his cameo, playing a crucial part in our fourth.

Watch the whole move back as I can only really describe what happened as us taking the piss out of them. We broke fast and with space and could easily have taken a shot earlier but instead slowed it down to give them a chance to get back. Then we opened up space again for Tavs to shoot, the keeper spilled and Dango was on it in flash, shades of Lineker, as he slotted the rebound home.

I can’t emphasise how happy I am for Dango. He never stops and always keeps his head up even when things aren’t working. He’s also been so badly treated by VAR but it can never take this away from him. A Premier League hattrick to savour.

We weren’t done though as the MIA Forest midfield let us break again and, with the defenders backing away like rabbits in headlights, Tavs played it to Semenyo wide in the area. He checked, set himself and fired it through the defenders legs and into the far corner. Nutmeg goals are usually a sign it's time to rebalance the teams...

5-0 against the team everyone else has struggled against this season following a demolition of the nine wins in a row team. It was a statement vicotry after a statement victory.

Happy birthday to Nuno Espirito Santo. 51 today and, being the kind souls that we are, we tried to honour him with the scoreline. Another way in which his team let him down by not even getting the one required to make it the age appropriate 5-1.

Meanwhile that’s our biggest PL win since...? Paging statos. I think Hull was 6-1 or 6-2 but right now, with everything else whirling in my head, I can’t think of the other big ones.

(yeah... character limit again. It's hard when we're this good not to write too much!)
It was Adams with the assist on the Dango goal
 
Not often we've ever had two hat-tricks in consecutive weeks...maybe during Bond Era with Ted ?
Two different players too ..surely that is a first in our History .
Whatever, we can strike without the players bought to do the job....and Eva to return to the squad at some point.
The big worry now is keeping Andoni in the Summer ! :cuppa:
Did Josh Mcquoid do this - memory might be dimming!
 
What an incredible spell of football we are visiting. Occasionally squads transcend into a period where you can't see them ever losing (or winning sadly at different times) and we've had a few over the last 15 years but none as impressive as this. None have been at the top of the Premier League and none have been in the middle of the clubs worst injury crisis. It is nothing short of astonishing.

We all thought today was going to be tight, reading the build up. We all said an early goal would force them to come out and leave gaps - I don't think anyone other than the bet winning @Simon thought we'd expose them so much.

The artist formerly known as Waz @DangerousDave raised a point in the week about whether we are better for the injuries. I've been thinking about this a lot since he posted, we shouldn't be that's for sure but since we've lost both centre forwards we have scored 16 goals in four games, 11 of them in 3 games against teams in the top six of the Premier league with excellent defensive records.

Perhaps the zenith of chaos football is only achieved with the wrong people in the wrong places. Evanilson is a better centre forward than Dango and Brooks is not a starter when all fit, Cook would not be spraying passes from right back in a normal world and one of him or Adams wouldn't be playing. However, none of our first team have produced the goal threat we have recently. Probably because nobody knows what is actually happening. I couldnt have a higher opinion of anyone than i currently do of Andoni.

The game itself was notable for one tactical thing - the releasing of centre backs into attacking positions to counter the low block and give an extra man. Andoni's genius playing yet another card. The rest Kirsikka has covered excellently as ever.

Plusses
Tyler Adams reaching peak form - he would be my MOM if it wasn't for....
O'Dango - Surely our best Irish centre forward since Colin Clarke.. (my lad said if he scores a hattrick i will get his name tattooed on me. Good luck with that son in the future)
The back four - just mercurial...
Tavs back and assisting like he'd never been away
Everyone else not mentionned.

Negatives
VAR -So, so irritating that 1)Dangos special moment was muted 2) we were robbed of one of the great Dean Court goals 3) we didn't really get excited about Dangos first for a while with the bloke lying on the ground with the referees hand pushed on his earpiece. I hate it. Nothing good comes of it.
 
1) If Bournemouth do get Europe and get funds to reinvest that may help to keep AI.

2) Grass isn’t always greener on the other side and AI might be happier staying than going to a struggling side like spurs, particularly mid season.
 
Negatives
VAR -So, so irritating that 1)Dangos special moment was muted 2) we were robbed of one of the great Dean Court goals 3) we didn't really get excited about Dangos first for a while with the bloke lying on the ground with the referees hand pushed on his earpiece. I hate it. Nothing good comes of it.
The roar for the disallowed goal was special - gutted it didn’t count. I didn’t even cheer for Dango’s 3rd as was certain it would be chalked off. Get rid!
 

;