When Nottingham Forest and Brentford meet at the City Ground on Sunday, both will be looking to build on their great beginnings to the season, bounce back from defeat last time out, and move back into the Premier League’s top half.
[WATCH: Peacock Premier League]
Forest were beaten 2-0 by three-time defending champions Manchester City, yet Steve Cooper’s Tricky Trees performed admirably and made Pep Guardiola’s side sweat after Rodri’s ridiculous red card just 25 seconds into the second half. Forest has yet to lose back-to-back games this season (2W-1D-3L), which they will try to maintain on Sunday.
Brentford suffered consecutive Premier League defeats after being turned over and thumped 3-1 by Everton in west London, following a valiant 1-0 defeat away to Newcastle the week before, and followed by a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal in the League Cup third round at midweek. Long-term injuries (Rico Henry and Kevin Schade) are building up for Thomas Frank’s team, while Ivan Toney’s gambling suspension will keep him out until January.
How to watch Nottingham Forest versus Brentford live, with the stream link and timing.
Ivan Toney (suspension), Ben Mee (calf), Rico Henry (torn ACL – season-ending), Kevin Schade (adductor), Mikkel Damsgaard (knee), Josh Dasilva (hamstring), Shandon Baptiste (shoulder) are all out.
‘All right,’ she says. ‘Go have a dance, and please seat me next to George.’
They know the punchline is coming, but Clark’s comic timing and deadpan delivery are spot on, fine-tuned over 50 years, and they shout with laughter, exactly as when John Robertson performs his stand-up routine.
Robbo jokes are thrown out with the same casual accuracy as the crosses he used to swing across from the left flank.
He has Parkinson’s disease at the age of 70, which slows his speech and frustrates him at times because his mind is as keen as ever but his body cannot always keep up.
However, once Robertson finds his stride, his speech quickens and jokes flow. They include parrots and cannons, as well as great impersonations, much to the amusement of his friends.
Garry Birtles steps away from the table as the Scot embarks into another signature story, confident that he knows it word for word and will be back before the conclusion.
This is a look inside Nottingham Forest’s Thursday Club, where former players may get together once a week for a bite to eat, a cup of coffee or tea, perhaps a couple of pints or a bottle of wine, and an afternoon of pleasant company, a place to laugh and chat football.
Nobody is solving murders, and it has nothing to do with Richard Osman’s septuagenarian amateur sleuths, despite the fact that the average age is approximately the same and one or two of those there have been known to try to solve modern football mysteries.
Pep Guardiola’s gripes about having to take the bus home from a Carabao Cup tie have been amplified.Pep Guardiola’s dissatisfaction with having to take the bus back from a Carabao Cup match in Newcastle rather than flying has not gone unnoticed. They cause a titter of amusement.
Colin Barrett is a firm believer in public transport and proudly displays his bus pass as proof.
Barrett was in the away end with Forest fans at Manchester City last weekend, the club where he began his career, and recalls Guardiola changing his style when Rodri was sent off. Guardiola explained to the table that he went considerably more straight, with practically everything long from custodian Ederson.
‘A 40-pass goal is equivalent to a
Barrett was in hospital recovering from surgery on the knee injury that would finally cause him to retire at 28 by the time advancement was achieved in a goalless second leg at Anfield in what was then a straight knockout competition.
Among other comebacks, he played against the Zurich Grasshoppers in the quarter-finals and Cologne in an exciting semi-final, but he did not play in the final against Malmo, therefore there was no medal.
Forest made duplicates for him and others, but it doesn’t feel the same and simply adds to his unnoticed position. ‘When I look at that medal, I know it’s not the real thing,’ he says. ‘I’m aware that I did not cross the white line in the final. deep inside
It starts a larger topic about misplaced mementos, shirts, and signed balls. Even omitted assists. Trevor Francis converted Robertson’s cross with a diving header against Malmo with no one reporting an assist.
