Captain Sinister
Senior doom Monger
It certainly was
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Matchday 37 Nottingham Forest V Chelsea, Saturday 11th May 17.30
- Thread starter Battered Sausage
- Start date
No chance, we have made our bed there. We have nothing coming through that is even remotely close to championship level let alone prem
George cooney
Viv Anderson
50% isnt still a good stat tho mate..
George cooney
Viv Anderson
Eh.. I can only name 3 maybe 4 successes
Raymondo Ponte'
It's all about mid-table...
Agents have our hierarchy wrapped around their fingers, so naive.
If thi towd um to put thee head in an oven...
If thi towd um to put thee head in an oven...
Robertson
Geoff Thomas
Maybe do a bit more research
Steve B
Jack Armstrong
We were a bit shite in phases of the game especially just after their subs, but I thought in small.spells we played some of the best football I’ve seen us play for decades against an in form side. If we had a striker we could’ve been 5-1 up. Loved it .
valspoodle
Steve Chettle
Just back from delivering TV to my granson in Manchester. As expected, the rest of the family had no interest, so I retired to my hotel room last night to watch MOTD, only to discover that Eurovision Song Contest was on the other side; bit of a conundrum, what to watch!
Naturally Eurovision soon went off and I sat for an hour or so, in turns terrified and excited by the highlights. I have previously watched our games without knowing the result (apart from actually going, of course), but never with three games on the line.
Glad it turned out all right in the end, though perhaps not with the final result I was hoping, which would have allowed full rein for the joy we all felt after the first two games. It all felt a bit flat in the end.
Though I do think, after the last few games, there is the making of a decent side if we can add a few strengtheners and scorers.
Naturally Eurovision soon went off and I sat for an hour or so, in turns terrified and excited by the highlights. I have previously watched our games without knowing the result (apart from actually going, of course), but never with three games on the line.
Glad it turned out all right in the end, though perhaps not with the final result I was hoping, which would have allowed full rein for the joy we all felt after the first two games. It all felt a bit flat in the end.
Though I do think, after the last few games, there is the making of a decent side if we can add a few strengtheners and scorers.
Captain Sinister
Senior doom Monger
Better late than never: my final match report of the season:
Saturday 11th May 2024: Nottingham Forest v Chelsea (Premier League; Kick Off 17:30):
The sense of relief following the failure for Burnley and Luton to avoid defeats earlier in the day, the scene was set for a carnival celebration. However, Forest conspired to take the edge off the day with a performance over 75 minutes that flattered to deceive, with us deservedly leading 2-1, thanks to our set-piece coach/Wily Boly and then Callum Hudson-Odoi. Chelsea made 4 substitutions with the price paid for 3 of the 4 totalling £130m 9the 4th being home-grown talent in Reece James), while Forest brought on Toffolo & Elanga with late joiners Awoniyi and Dominguez, neither of who got more than a single touch of the ball. Toffolo, usually Mr Reliable, was caught badly out of position on 2 occasions – the second resulting in James crossing to Jackson who headed in the winner for Chelsea, 2 minutes after Raheem Sterling had scored a Hudson-Odoi type equaliser.
Forest were denied on 3 occasions by the woodwork, although Wood should have scored following MGW’s Header that fell kindly to Wood after hitting the inside of the near post. Wood continued his poor form by lofting the ball over the bar.
Up until the 75th minute, Forest had matched Chelsea’s billion-pound team in every aspect of the game (apart from cheating: Cucurella took that award), and were good value for the lead. However, at 2-1 the scene was set for yet another 3 points to be frittered away in a 3-2 reverse. That brings to 27 points we have dropped when in a winning position, so I don’t think we can blame FFP for our travails. We weren’t alone in setting unwanted records though, as Chelsea’s bookings took their total for the season to >100 yellow cards for the first time ever in the Premier League.
The Lap of Honour was a bit muted, and EM should take note of the crowd standing as one to chant “Stand Up for the City Ground”. I didn’t hear the less polite chant about Toton.
Player Ratings:
Sels: 7- pulled off a couple of decent saves, and could do nothing any of the goals;
Montiel: 3 – clearly identified by Chelsea as a weakness as they attacked down that flank, with Mudryk enjoying an easy game and an easy goal;
Boly: 7- nice goal (never offside, VAR!!), and a solid performance;
Murillo: 7 – the 80-yard pass to Montiel out on the right lank never got a mention on MOTD (mind you, according to the Lineker arse-lickers, there was only one team on the pitch today;
Niakhate: 7- solid in defence and marked Cole Porter out of the game, other than when the singer-songwriter laid on a beauty of a pass for Mudlark, yet Cole Porter got Sky’s MOTM award – how does that work, eh?;
Aina: 8 – my MOTM for the 2nd home game running; had a couple of shots that were well struck, but slightly off target;
Yates: 7 – struck the foot of the post with a 20-yard daisy cutter, and I think we started to give Chelsea a lot more space when Ryan went off;
Danilo: 6 – another curate’s egg performance with some good stuff, and some distinctly bad, giving the ball away in midfield far too often;
Hudson-Odoi: 7 – a terrific goal, and the one that hit the bar would have been wonderful had it hit the bar a touch lower and rocked into the net;
Gibbs-White: 7 – struggled to influence the game in the first half, but in the second half he came into it more with strong running, and a peach of a pass for CHO to put in our 2nd goal;
Wood: 7 – worked hard, but he sure picked a bad time time for his scoring run to come to an end.
Substitutions:
Toffolo (on for Montiel): 5 – usually reliable, but today he let Reece James have the freedom of that flank;
Elanga (on for Yates): 6 – next season he will be key to our success;
Dominguez (on for CHO): 5 – looked like a farewell to the WFCG;
Awoniyi (on for Niakhate): 6 – more rehabilitation for the injury-prone talismanic striker.
Conclusion: for 75 minutes we played solid and creative football, bar an early set-back. Did we think job done on 75 minutes? Or was it £130m of subs by Chelsea that just gave them the edge? Whatever the reason the concession of 2 goals in 2 minutes was unacceptable. Will next season be any better for the Mighty Reds? Who knows, but familiar failings of not pressing, giving talented players too much space, and missing chances will make it another struggle unless Coach Nuno can work some magic in the close season.
The Jag, and the blond bombshell (my Mrs) were well spotted by Rubik after the game… she particularly liked being described as a foxy blond chauffer! No pre or post-match victuals were partaken.
Saturday 11th May 2024: Nottingham Forest v Chelsea (Premier League; Kick Off 17:30):
The sense of relief following the failure for Burnley and Luton to avoid defeats earlier in the day, the scene was set for a carnival celebration. However, Forest conspired to take the edge off the day with a performance over 75 minutes that flattered to deceive, with us deservedly leading 2-1, thanks to our set-piece coach/Wily Boly and then Callum Hudson-Odoi. Chelsea made 4 substitutions with the price paid for 3 of the 4 totalling £130m 9the 4th being home-grown talent in Reece James), while Forest brought on Toffolo & Elanga with late joiners Awoniyi and Dominguez, neither of who got more than a single touch of the ball. Toffolo, usually Mr Reliable, was caught badly out of position on 2 occasions – the second resulting in James crossing to Jackson who headed in the winner for Chelsea, 2 minutes after Raheem Sterling had scored a Hudson-Odoi type equaliser.
Forest were denied on 3 occasions by the woodwork, although Wood should have scored following MGW’s Header that fell kindly to Wood after hitting the inside of the near post. Wood continued his poor form by lofting the ball over the bar.
Up until the 75th minute, Forest had matched Chelsea’s billion-pound team in every aspect of the game (apart from cheating: Cucurella took that award), and were good value for the lead. However, at 2-1 the scene was set for yet another 3 points to be frittered away in a 3-2 reverse. That brings to 27 points we have dropped when in a winning position, so I don’t think we can blame FFP for our travails. We weren’t alone in setting unwanted records though, as Chelsea’s bookings took their total for the season to >100 yellow cards for the first time ever in the Premier League.
The Lap of Honour was a bit muted, and EM should take note of the crowd standing as one to chant “Stand Up for the City Ground”. I didn’t hear the less polite chant about Toton.
Player Ratings:
Sels: 7- pulled off a couple of decent saves, and could do nothing any of the goals;
Montiel: 3 – clearly identified by Chelsea as a weakness as they attacked down that flank, with Mudryk enjoying an easy game and an easy goal;
Boly: 7- nice goal (never offside, VAR!!), and a solid performance;
Murillo: 7 – the 80-yard pass to Montiel out on the right lank never got a mention on MOTD (mind you, according to the Lineker arse-lickers, there was only one team on the pitch today;
Niakhate: 7- solid in defence and marked Cole Porter out of the game, other than when the singer-songwriter laid on a beauty of a pass for Mudlark, yet Cole Porter got Sky’s MOTM award – how does that work, eh?;
Aina: 8 – my MOTM for the 2nd home game running; had a couple of shots that were well struck, but slightly off target;
Yates: 7 – struck the foot of the post with a 20-yard daisy cutter, and I think we started to give Chelsea a lot more space when Ryan went off;
Danilo: 6 – another curate’s egg performance with some good stuff, and some distinctly bad, giving the ball away in midfield far too often;
Hudson-Odoi: 7 – a terrific goal, and the one that hit the bar would have been wonderful had it hit the bar a touch lower and rocked into the net;
Gibbs-White: 7 – struggled to influence the game in the first half, but in the second half he came into it more with strong running, and a peach of a pass for CHO to put in our 2nd goal;
Wood: 7 – worked hard, but he sure picked a bad time time for his scoring run to come to an end.
Substitutions:
Toffolo (on for Montiel): 5 – usually reliable, but today he let Reece James have the freedom of that flank;
Elanga (on for Yates): 6 – next season he will be key to our success;
Dominguez (on for CHO): 5 – looked like a farewell to the WFCG;
Awoniyi (on for Niakhate): 6 – more rehabilitation for the injury-prone talismanic striker.
Conclusion: for 75 minutes we played solid and creative football, bar an early set-back. Did we think job done on 75 minutes? Or was it £130m of subs by Chelsea that just gave them the edge? Whatever the reason the concession of 2 goals in 2 minutes was unacceptable. Will next season be any better for the Mighty Reds? Who knows, but familiar failings of not pressing, giving talented players too much space, and missing chances will make it another struggle unless Coach Nuno can work some magic in the close season.
The Jag, and the blond bombshell (my Mrs) were well spotted by Rubik after the game… she particularly liked being described as a foxy blond chauffer! No pre or post-match victuals were partaken.
redforest
Geoff Thomas
As our game v Burnley next week will consist of less than a minute of highlights and no post match comments, unless, of course, if the unthinkable happens, the coverage of yesterday’s game on MOTD was the usual shite we have come to expect from Lineker et al.
REDDERS78
Jack Armstrong
Yeah, its beyond ridiculous....laughable to be honest.
Yesterday was just one goal away from being the perfect day.
The scene was set. Beautiful sunny and warm weather, a lovely pre match wander along the riverside, a tasty battered sausage late lunch, a win by West Ham and Spurs with mounting excitement and anticipation for the game ahead. A packed stadium, a wonderful Forza display and a cracking atmosphere.
We managed to hold in-form Chelsea off after their early goal and then more than matched them ball for ball. When CHO scored we all went f***ing nuts. The stadium was bouncing, my ears were ringing and bodies were jumping up and jiggling. With just over 15 mins to go we just needed to hold on. Even Sterling’s equaliser didn’t quell our spirits. A point against Chelsea would still have been a great result and one to mathematically secure our survival.
Their third goal was totally avoidable. We gave them far too much space, Selz came off his line and we dropped all points with just -10 mins + stoppage to go. Dammit. The excitement fizzed out and the stadium, bar the away support, fell flat with disappointment.
Having said all that we are safe but-not-safe and can look forward to the final game relatively comfortably.
Let’s see what next season has to offer. Hopefully, a few new intelligent summer signings, a new stadium at the WFCG, fair officiating, more wins than losses and a mid table finish.
The scene was set. Beautiful sunny and warm weather, a lovely pre match wander along the riverside, a tasty battered sausage late lunch, a win by West Ham and Spurs with mounting excitement and anticipation for the game ahead. A packed stadium, a wonderful Forza display and a cracking atmosphere.
We managed to hold in-form Chelsea off after their early goal and then more than matched them ball for ball. When CHO scored we all went f***ing nuts. The stadium was bouncing, my ears were ringing and bodies were jumping up and jiggling. With just over 15 mins to go we just needed to hold on. Even Sterling’s equaliser didn’t quell our spirits. A point against Chelsea would still have been a great result and one to mathematically secure our survival.
Their third goal was totally avoidable. We gave them far too much space, Selz came off his line and we dropped all points with just -10 mins + stoppage to go. Dammit. The excitement fizzed out and the stadium, bar the away support, fell flat with disappointment.
Having said all that we are safe but-not-safe and can look forward to the final game relatively comfortably.
Let’s see what next season has to offer. Hopefully, a few new intelligent summer signings, a new stadium at the WFCG, fair officiating, more wins than losses and a mid table finish.
MASE
Up-Front
Thought it was fitting our last home game would be the epitomy of our season as a whole. Showing signs of quality attacking football, mixing it with incredible naive defending, missing gilt edge chances & proving to have a sot underbelly as a whole. Add in the impotent substitutions & you've got Forest in a nutshell.
Thank God we look like staying up, but its on the strength of 3 of the worst teams in big league history & we deserve to do it last game of the season given how generally poor we've been.
I worry about Nuno, he's got us playing some nice football in parts, but its a results business & this guy seems destined to have us on the wrong end of most results, alongside the very questionable game management, its the only reason I can come up with for domination of a side like Chelsea & still coming out of it with a 2-3 loss!
Whatever happens Saturday, I hope we summarise the season by acknowledging it as "not good enough", pretty much across the board. How the club reacts to that sees me easy either way. I just want a club in the top league to be proud of.
Thank God we look like staying up, but its on the strength of 3 of the worst teams in big league history & we deserve to do it last game of the season given how generally poor we've been.
I worry about Nuno, he's got us playing some nice football in parts, but its a results business & this guy seems destined to have us on the wrong end of most results, alongside the very questionable game management, its the only reason I can come up with for domination of a side like Chelsea & still coming out of it with a 2-3 loss!
Whatever happens Saturday, I hope we summarise the season by acknowledging it as "not good enough", pretty much across the board. How the club reacts to that sees me easy either way. I just want a club in the top league to be proud of.
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Captain Sinister
Senior doom Monger
MASE, you'd better start "Relegation Dogfight 2024 - 25" now.
Because Leicester,Ipswich, and (probably) Southampton coming up are unlikly to be as bad as Burnley, Luton, and Sheffield United.
Our main hope is Ipswich dont really make the grade, Everton go into Administration, and Leicster get a 10 point deduction... for being Leicester.
Berkshire Red
Jack Armstrong
All three have serious challenges to step up. Leicester have no goalscorer worthy of the premier League, we saw last season how Vardy's age has caught up with him. And I doubt their defence has become any better with a year outside the top flight. Mavididi looks useful though.
Ipswich are the unknown, but many of their players were in League One last year, this is a huge step up for them. Can they invest and keep on the right side of FFP, or will they do a Sheff U , or Norwich?
Southampton look pretty in the Championship but it's really a very similar bunch to last season's relegated side minus JWP's set pieces and the talents of Lavia and Livramento. I'd say they need huge investment levels to avoid another relegation.
Yes, we'll be in a fight with all three but I don't see any of them doing what Fulham or Bournemouth did and securing safety comfortably.
It's pretty much average for top flight signings.
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Statto
Free Kick Specialist
2 years ago was very much the exception, with all 3 promoted sides staying up. One of the relegated sides has come back when it looked for a while like all 3 could. As it stands this needs Leeds or Southampton to win the play offs to increase this chance.
Ipswich have double promoted and this usually means it's too big a step up, a lot of sides which go from L1 to the PL straight up go down again the next season. Without serious investment they will have as you say a lot of L1 players from 2 years back and whilst Luton still have some lower league players they didn't go up as quickly and could get in some higher level players. It's also interesting how much PSR will limit them on the 3 year rolling periods.
2 years ago we invested a lot - too much for PSR liking - to stay up and the other 2 had more recent PL experience including most of their squads.
This season Luton certainly surprised everyone getting here and making a fight out of it, Burnley were established in the PL for a long time before, Sheff U stayed up then went down again and had 2 years before coming back, but were recent enough in the PL and still both struggled.
Leicester, Leeds and Southampton as you say are a lot weaker than what came down. Norwich and W Brom will need investment like us.
Whoever comes up is going to be weak, not overall weak like this year but still probably weaker than us and with who knows what will happen with points deductions and 777 then it might be interesting...
MaxiRobriguez
Bob McKinlay
Ipswich have rode a wave of confidence, but will be favourites for the drop next season. It's a big step up and a couple of early 4-0 pumpings may sat the scene for their season similar to Forest's first games back at this level.
Leicester better placed to make the step up, finances depending.
Hopefully West Brom or Norwich get promoted as they'll be similar to Ipswich.
Likelihood is at least one if not two from the promoted teams are likely to go straight back down, but that means Forest in their current guise would likely be joining them..
Leicester better placed to make the step up, finances depending.
Hopefully West Brom or Norwich get promoted as they'll be similar to Ipswich.
Likelihood is at least one if not two from the promoted teams are likely to go straight back down, but that means Forest in their current guise would likely be joining them..
Gyros Peter
Sauce salad?
How well placed Leicester are depends on financial penalties I think, and they went down last time out with a much better side than they have now.
I think next year will be the three promoted sides battling it out with us and Brentford, maybe with some of Wolves, Everton, West Ham and Fulham joining the fight.
In an ideal world Norwich or WBA come up, Leicester get nobbled with deductions and can't do business and Everton go into administration and have a fire sale. We should just about manage that.