Match Thread: Nottingham Forest Vs Chelsea, sponsored by Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz | Page 12 | Vital Football

Match Thread: Nottingham Forest Vs Chelsea, sponsored by Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz

The fact that we play so well is at home is great, but we can't afford to keep dropping points like this.
The fact is, some better quality and decision making in the final third and we win that game.
I'm feeling positive and it was a good watch with some quality individual performances, but there's only so many more of these that we can draw and still hold out hope of staying up.
 
weejockmcplop said:
The fact that we play so well is at home is great, but we can't afford to keep dropping points like this.
The fact is, some better quality and decision making in the final third and we win that game.
I'm feeling positive and it was a good watch with some quality individual performances, but there's only so many more of these that we can draw and still hold out hope of staying up.
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It's an unacceptable result, but most will be thinking it's great.
 
Really, really enjoyed that game. Didn't think I would, but I'm loving the Premier League and I want us to stay. It's not grim or miserable at all when you get performances like that.

It is an absolute fucking joy to watch our players diving into tackles, winning duels all over the place, stealing the ball all over the pitch and causing a £300m team problems. Chelsea were well and truly rattled in that second half. These were reigning champions league winners just last season, but they were made to really look nothing special by Forest.

Yes, we were too timid first half, gave them too much respect and werent brave enough with the press. The result was that they had 70%+ possession. But this was worthless possession. It was their centre halves passing endlessly around the back line, failing to find a pass into midfield or move it between zones.

We should have had the lead early but Johnson fluffed a chance we would have buried last season. They then scored a really, really lucky goal. Even from the Trent End you could see it was a gift, bouncing off the bar straight to Sterling's right foot.

They didn't have a chance of note again until Aubameyang, one of the best strikers of his generation in the world, failed to connect with a header late on.

Second half we came straight out and were easily the better team. Awoniyi ran them ragged at times and was a superb fulcrum. MGW caused them loads of problems but the midfield, flying into the tackles and recycling the ball quickly, made a huge difference.

MGW was really unlucky to hit the bar, Johnson shot when a sidefoot to Taiwo would have left a tap in, Cucurella cleared one off the line... We could and should have won this. We made Chelsea look average, just as we did to Liverpool.

A few words on individuals.

Nothing to say about Henderson, who had nothing to do, although kicking it out for a throw in over and over again isn't really good enough.

Worrall- has started to really step up and I am so pleased for him. Made it look easy against Havertz and Mount for most of the game, really on it.

Boly was superb, possibly my MOTM. He looks so assured, at one point he had the ball and seemed to be taking the piss out of their attacking players. He made it all look so easy, and got the assist by winning a header against Kai Havertz; a world class header of the ball.

Serge Aurier is one of the best defenders I have ever seen in a Forest shirt. Great goal and all, but fucking hell, this guy is a class above anyone we have seen in well over 20 years. Such a great performance.

Yates- so good at winning duels, and brilliant at getting the ball facing goal and doing something with it. However, frustrating when running under pressure; when being challenged and running to goal, he gets his head down and just doesn't look. He waits far too long to release the ball, even when there is a key pass to be made, and inevitably loses it or passes backwards. Part of his game to work on.

Mangala- getting better with more game time. Good at transitioning the ball, did well with tackling.

Johnson- it's a shame that poor decision making by him probably cost us the win, because he played well. He fluffed the one on one- never looking convincing that he was going to score it; but at the same time, he was on to it in a flash and that is exactly what we want from him.

More concerning is that he shot rather than square to Awoniyi for a tap in, and he needs to do better than that.

But I was most impressed with his defensive work. He not only provided an outlet but pressed really well and in defensive situations he did really well winning the ball and moving it forward to receive pressure.

Awoniyi; official MOTM and caused them problems all game on the left side. He uses his strength, is getting better at holding it up but it is his runs and ability to hold off defenders that causes the problems. Should have had a tap in goal from Johnson.

MGW- we look miles better with him in the team and didn't miss Lingard really. Dropping deep and running at them caused loads of problems. He sometimes chooses the wrong direction but he was against a very experienced and wily defender in Thiago Silva.

Colback- I was sceptical of this sub but he came on and was a busy bastard, which was exactly what we needed as our players were knackered.

Great game. Loving the Premier League.

Now we need to win away at Southampton

And a little fucking respect from the pundits please
 
Will.NFFC said:
The players have to start showing some bottle in games like this. The pressure isn’t on - we’re not expected to win, so it baffles me how little character we seem to show against the likes of City, Arsenal and United. To be clear, no I don’t expect us to win or have their quality, but I expect us to be brave when we have the ball.

The reason Yates has been head and shoulders above everybody else this season is because the guy isn’t phased by anyone… he wants the ball, he’ll look for a forward pass and he’ll get stuck in. I’d be interested to see how much better we’d fare with that character week in week out.

Bournemouth have struggled of late but I admire them every time I watch them play… they try and win every game and even if they lose, they have belief that they should be there. Not saying we never show that, but there are games where I simply feel we’ve beaten ourselves before a balls been kicked. That’s got to change.
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Think this post still stands up l, perhaps even more so after that game… 1st half, whilst we weren’t terrible, we gave them far too much respect - we didn’t press and we didn’t believe we should be able to compete.

I think the lucky goal was a blessing in disguise as cooper clearly said from minute 46 to press higher and go at them… and what happened? We looked a capable team that should have taken chelsea to the cleaners. Really good all over the pitch. We’ve GOT to start doing this every week. It was one of coopers strengths last year - making the players feel they’re better than the opposition. We need to do the same again now that we’ve settled.

I thought Boly was fantastic at the back and Worrall was very good too. I thought Freuler got really stuck in and I actually noticed his presence in midfield, which was non existent against United. Aurier continues to be an absolute rolls Royce of a right back for us and I’m so pleased he got his goal. Yates ran himself into the ground yet again and continues to not be phased by anyone in this league - my god he’d be a miss if he got injured!

However, Taiwo Awoniyi was the main man - an absolute colossus of a performance and despite some strange comments about his ability from others, this wasn’t out the blue! He always seems to win his duels and makes us such a threat every time he plays - there’s simply no excuse for him not playing every single week.

im disappointed we didn’t get all 3 points but I’m equally proud of our performance and fight and pleased we didn’t leave empty handed against a severely underperforming Chelsea side. But we HAVE TO follow that up against the saints on Wednesday or to be honest, it all goes for nothing. They’re on the ropes, if cooper doesn’t go for jugular against them, then I don’t see us staying up as it would suggest we ourselves don’t believe we can. On to Wednesday!
 
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Pope John XXIII said:
Really, really enjoyed that game. Didn't think I would, but I'm loving the Premier League and I want us to stay. It's not grim or miserable at all when you get performances like that.

It is an absolute fucking joy to watch our players diving into tackles, winning duels all over the place, stealing the ball all over the pitch and causing a £300m team problems. Chelsea were well and truly rattled in that second half. These were reigning champions league winners just last season, but they were made to really look nothing special by Forest.

Yes, we were too timid first half, gave them too much respect and werent brave enough with the press. The result was that they had 70%+ possession. But this was worthless possession. It was their centre halves passing endlessly around the back line, failing to find a pass into midfield or move it between zones.

We should have had the lead early but Johnson fluffed a chance we would have buried last season. They then scored a really, really lucky goal. Even from the Trent End you could see it was a gift, bouncing off the bar straight to Sterling's right foot.

They didn't have a chance of note again until Aubameyang, one of the best strikers of his generation in the world, failed to connect with a header late on.

Second half we came straight out and were easily the better team. Awoniyi ran them ragged at times and was a superb fulcrum. MGW caused them loads of problems but the midfield, flying into the tackles and recycling the ball quickly, made a huge difference.

MGW was really unlucky to hit the bar, Johnson shot when a sidefoot to Taiwo would have left a tap in, Cucurella cleared one off the line... We could and should have won this. We made Chelsea look average, just as we did to Liverpool.

A few words on individuals.

Nothing to say about Henderson, who had nothing to do, although kicking it out for a throw in over and over again isn't really good enough.

Worrall- has started to really step up and I am so pleased for him. Made it look easy against Havertz and Mount for most of the game, really on it.

Boly was superb, possibly my MOTM. He looks so assured, at one point he had the ball and seemed to be taking the piss out of their attacking players. He made it all look so easy, and got the assist by winning a header against Kai Havertz; a world class header of the ball.

Serge Aurier is one of the best defenders I have ever seen in a Forest shirt. Great goal and all, but fucking hell, this guy is a class above anyone we have seen in well over 20 years. Such a great performance.

Yates- so good at winning duels, and brilliant at getting the ball facing goal and doing something with it. However, frustrating when running under pressure; when being challenged and running to goal, he gets his head down and just doesn't look. He waits far too long to release the ball, even when there is a key pass to be made, and inevitably loses it or passes backwards. Part of his game to work on.

Mangala- getting better with more game time. Good at transitioning the ball, did well with tackling.

Johnson- it's a shame that poor decision making by him probably cost us the win, because he played well. He fluffed the one on one- never looking convincing that he was going to score it; but at the same time, he was on to it in a flash and that is exactly what we want from him.

More concerning is that he shot rather than square to Awoniyi for a tap in, and he needs to do better than that.

But I was most impressed with his defensive work. He not only provided an outlet but pressed really well and in defensive situations he did really well winning the ball and moving it forward to receive pressure.

Awoniyi; official MOTM and caused them problems all game on the left side. He uses his strength, is getting better at holding it up but it is his runs and ability to hold off defenders that causes the problems. Should have had a tap in goal from Johnson.

MGW- we look miles better with him in the team and didn't miss Lingard really. Dropping deep and running at them caused loads of problems. He sometimes chooses the wrong direction but he was against a very experienced and wily defender in Thiago Silva.

Colback- I was sceptical of this sub but he came on and was a busy bastard, which was exactly what we needed as our players were knackered.

Great game. Loving the Premier League.

Now we need to win away at Southampton

And a little fucking respect from the pundits please
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If this was a one-off by Johnson, it's a poor decision, but the thing is, it's not a poor decision. It's a behaviour, because it is repeated frequently.
 
ZedRed said:
Completely unacceptable result on the balance of play.

At least maybe we realise now that we're good enough to be in and stay in this league and hopefully we can one day put in this level of performance away from home.

Game decided by Boly's (who was outstanding in the second half) and Johnson's brain farts.

I don't know what the issue is with Johnson. He obviously thinks he's hot shit, but if he never learns and continues being a selfish, greedy bastard, he will NEVER be hot shit.

Deserves a stint in the reserves until he recognises himself as not currently hot shit.
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Actually thought it was one of his better games today. Boly was very good today. Joe was also decent and knows exactly where to play it for jonno
 
The big question for me was why cant we play like that away from home?

Lots of positives from today. I assume the debate about using awoniyi as a target man in the centre has now been settled.
 
We’ve got to get something at Southampton even if it’s just a 1-1 draw where we are like Chelsea tonight or the pressure on away games & more importantly home games is only going to get worse.
 
BlackGold said:
The 7/8 out 10s, were Aurier, Boly, Lodi, Yates, MGW and Awoniyi, but the whole team played well in the second half.

Seems like Henderson has been working on his kicking during the WC: a lot better distribution during the game.
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Mangala gets a 7 from me like a short black ryan yates. Lodi wouldnt.
 
Thoughts. Defence as a unit were much better. Games we have won we still gave away chances and half chances. Henderson had nothing to do. Even the goal was a complete fluke.

Taiwo was quality. Developing in to a real CF. Felt criticism of BJ re potential Taiwo chance a bit harsh. Felt Silva did everything correct.

This performance, particularly in second half shows we are capable of beating anyone. Just need to do it away. We are improving in every element of the game.
 
Polly 433 said:
Thoughts. Defence as a unit were much better. Games we have won we still gave away chances and half chances. Henderson had nothing to do. Even the goal was a complete fluke.

Taiwo was quality. Developing in to a real CF. Felt criticism of BJ re potential Taiwo chance a bit harsh. Felt Silva did everything correct.

This performance, particularly in second half shows we are capable of beating anyone. Just need to do it away. We are improving in every element of the game.
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Does feel like we have benefitted from the WC break, looking less like individuals, more like a team. Think we have a much better idea of our best xi. Plenty of work left tho
 
Johnson is un dropable because of his speed and the way we play at least when we play that passive crap, if we played the more pressing game more he'd be less relied upon. Saying that decision making apart he was a threat and was causing them problems, just need cooper to get onto him about getting his head up to see the better option.

Taeiwo was great bullied their right side when ever it went that side, when he gets running with the ball he's so he's so hard to stop. MGW considering he's been injured showed why we need him in there, that volley was glorious so unlucky. Midfield 3 were excellent Yates probably the pick, but Freuller finally showed some of his Swiss form and Mangala looked much sharper.

Aurier best free signing ever? Guys been top draw every game, took his goal superbly and defended again flawlessly. Lodi their goal maybe could have done better but it was a freak situation so maybe can forgive it, otherwise solid and got forward more. Both centre backs incredibly comfortable all game, Worral maybe finding his feet. Smith didn't have much to do, kicking was frustrating though surely needs to work harder on it.

Point from away to utd and Chelsea at home isn't bad, real work starts Wednesday we fell apart when we had a should win run of games hopefully they have that to focus on getting the result. Saints are in free fall and have that hobbit in charge has to be a win.
 
mr ron said:
Johnson is un dropable because of his speed and the way we play at least when we play that passive crap, if we played the more pressing game more he'd be less relied upon. Saying that decision making apart he was a threat and was causing them problems, just need cooper to get onto him about getting his head up to see the better option.

Taeiwo was great bullied their right side when ever it went that side, when he gets running with the ball he's so he's so hard to stop. MGW considering he's been injured showed why we need him in there, that volley was glorious so unlucky. Midfield 3 were excellent Yates probably the pick, but Freuller finally showed some of his Swiss form and Mangala looked much sharper.

Aurier best free signing ever? Guys been top draw every game, took his goal superbly and defended again flawlessly. Lodi their goal maybe could have done better but it was a freak situation so maybe can forgive it, otherwise solid and got forward more. Both centre backs incredibly comfortable all game, Worral maybe finding his feet. Smith didn't have much to do, kicking was frustrating though surely needs to work harder on it.

Point from away to utd and Chelsea at home isn't bad, real work starts Wednesday we fell apart when we had a should win run of games hopefully they have that to focus on getting the result. Saints are in free fall and have that hobbit in charge has to be a win.
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There's no way he can't see the better option EVERY time. It's a behaviour and it's a disgrace.
 
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