Woodsy fairly anonymous, apart from senior pro duty, pressing, dragging the CBs out of position, making tackles, as Dominguez and Gibbs-White score the goals today. Not many triangles or through balls today with United getting numbers back in defense.
Buccaneering wins the day after keeper jitters allow United to level and Forest will take a lot of confidence into the New Year.
De Marco, a KC (King’s Counsel) with Blackstone Chambers, has been appointed to argue their case and has established an impressive record dealing with football, and especially Financial Fair Play.
Clubs are permitted to make financial losses of £105 million ($NZ211.5 million) over a three-year period, with Forest reporting an annual loss of £45.6 million ($NZ91.8 million) in their last accounts. In the previous year, ending June 2021, they recorded a loss of £34.4 million ($NZ69.3million), reduced to a loss before tax of £15.5 million ($NZ31.2 million).
Wood and Elanga have a good understanding. And Gibbs-White too.
Dominguez and Hudson-Odoi don’t.
One good pass to Wood today so far, from Gibbs-White. Otherwise Forest look disjointed and down two.
Edit: Gibbs-White and Wood combine to get space out wide and Dominguez finishes well, charging onto the header and nodding it past the keeper. 2-1 after 40 minutes.
Wood a couple of difficult chances laid on by Gibbs-White that he couldn’t tuck away.
Body language between him and Hudson-Odoi poor after a great late chance Odoi hammered across goal, but Wood couldn’t get anything on after diving full length.
Tbh Gibbs-White is about the only player who looks for Wood from distance. And perhaps Wood needs to drop to get the ball more than he’s been doing, just to get some touches and get involved.
For all the impressive signings such as Morgan Gibbs-White, Taiwo Awoniyi and Danilo, there were also poor and/or unnecessary additions including Jesse Lingard, Emmanuel Dennis and Jonjo Shelvey. Some signings are still yet to kick a ball for the club.
Obviously Chris Wood was gonna score an extra time winner in the FA Cup, not sure why anyone would have doubted that 🪵 #FlyingKiwishttps://t.co/elj1qLPbkA
No Elanga or Gibbs-White of the recent Forest bunch who were able to find Woodsy. Be interesting to see how things go with Hudson-Odoi, Yates and Dominguez! And in the EPL, not league one…
At times the Nottingham press has been effective- they’ve picked up the ball in the final third on 3 or 4 occasions, but not reacted well enough to fashion a decent chance. Apart from the goal!
Wood has done well enough, coming short to link play and held off a player and laid off a shooting chance from a longish ball to him.
Yates has picked up an injury and no one really has tried to play in behind it early for Woodsy. Mangala probably the most dangerous crosser of the ball on the park, with Dominguez taking a head knock towards the end of the half.
Can’t say I’m much of a fan of Tavares on attack so far. Blasted a low percentage shot from distance, when Forest had got a number of players into the box and patience or a good pass might have fashioned a better look. Hudson-Odoi has also been corralled, and missing that inspiration or final pass.
Long story short: it would be surprising if Forest come through ahead of Brentford here.
They keep scoring at least two and losing! Good news for the Woodsman as he tucks another away, and Hudson-Odoi finds a brilliant cross to him. But they lose 3-2.
Partly because their keeper isn’t good enough I think. First goal a rookie error. Not sure I can diagnose more than that!
Edit: 6th game in a row they’ve scored two or more, and eleven times in the season.
This is the version of Chris Wood that we’ve been seeing over the past month. He’s scoring goals. He’s holding the ball up powerfully. He’s creating for others with his lay-offs. He’s dribbling in those transitional moments. He’s letting his left foot fly.
It’s only been a month and it’s going to take a lot more where this came from for a Nottingham Forest side that is facing possible points sanctions for financial fair play irregularities, which even under Nuno’s guidance has suffered a couple of worrisome defeats against teams in a similar position on the table. The club is in a tricky spot. But that’s nothing that Chris Wood can’t handle. Nobody relegates The Woodsman, though many have tried.
Forest grabbed a late consolation through Taiwo Awoniyi on his first appearance since November following groin surgery, the Nigeria striker having been introduced as a half-time replacement for the injured Chris Wood.
“His hamstring felt very tight,” head coach Nuno Espirito Santo said of the New Zealand international. “There was a big risk of injury. He was not feeling OK to continue, so that’s why we made the change.”
