Some things may change, while others remain constant for Nottingham Forest.
Nuno Es misgivings. A spirito Santo is now in charge at City Ground, but he has already shared some of his predecessor’snew head coach has limited influence over the impact of officials and VAR.
During his two years in office, Steve Cooper was frequently chastised for questionable refereeing decisions. And Nuno didn’t hold back in his criticism of referee Rob Jones after his team’s 3-2 loss to Bournemouth.
The fact that Willy Boly was sent off for a highly disputed second yellow card before the half-hour mark had a big impact on the game. However, the Reds could only blame themselves for some shoddy defending that proved costly.
Following his hiring on Wednesday, Nuno had only managed a few training sessions with his squad in the lead-up to the encounter. Although it is still early, he will have learned a lot about his players and identified the positives to build on as well as the faults that need to be addressed.
Calls that have sparked controversy
“One of the worst sendings off you’ll ever see at Forest today,” ex-Reds star Stan Collymore tweeted during the game. “No red tinted glasses either.”
Many fans left messages with a similar topic. Several included some choice words. At halftime, the club’s official X (previously Twitter) account complained about being “let down badly by awful decisions again.”
Calls that have sparked debate
“One of the worst sendings off you’ll ever see at Forest today,” ex-Reds midfielder Stan Collymore tweeted during the game. “No red tinted glasses either.”
Many fans left messages on the same subject. Several of them used some choice words. At halftime, the club’s official X (formerly Twitter) account expressed disappointment at being “let down badly by awful decisions yet again.”
There was no disputing Boly’s first booking in the fifth minute. In the second, however, he obviously won the ball and then appeared to be fouled by Adam Smith rather than the other way around.
VAR officials, on the other hand, are not permitted to interfere to overturn yellow card rulings. It meant that Boly’s wait on the touchline was futile as he lingered on the sidelines, maybe thinking that his dismissal would be rescinded.
It wasn’t the only tense moment in a game that referee Jones fought to keep under control. The hosts may also feel cheated by a penalty decision that went against them. VAR was unable to confirm whether Smith was in the area when he handled a Harry Toffolo cross, but it appeared that he was.
Weaknesses in defense
Nuno had a message for his players after the game when he returned to the dressing room. Despite their disappointment with the authorities, the Portuguese emphasized that the Reds cannot afford to make the defensive errors they did.
Under Cooper, Forest had been leaking goals. Nuno’s objective is to tighten things up, but he certainly has his work cut out for him.
He, like Cooper, will have to make a huge decision about his goalkeeper, possibly as soon as the next few days before the Boxing Day trip to Newcastle United. Matt Turner was given the start against the Cherries but failed to impress. Coming under scrutiny again was the last thing the American needed after a string of blunders this term.
Changing keepers isn’t ideal, as the Reds have discovered. Odysseas Vlachodimos didn’t exactly push his claim for the job when given the opportunity earlier in the season. But, in any case, some level of steadiness is required.
Turner was not the only one to blame for the goals given up this time. Some sloppy marking in front of him didn’t help. Murillo is an undeniable talent, but he didn’t have his best defensive game on Saturday. However, Forest must improve its defense of crosses and set pieces in general
Attacking danger
Nuno’s issue has been to get a rhythm going with the players he has at his disposal, given that he is still without Taiwo Awoniyi. The Reds showed some hopeful indicators in this regard.
They reverted to a back four due to a formation change, andDivock Origi, Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Elanga, and Chris Wood all made the XI. That specific combination did not last long, as the red card prompted a reshuffle, with Origi being the one to go.
Despite the numerical deficit, Forest managed to put together several nice moments. Elanga’s goal was expertly worked and completed, and Wood scored from a corner to make it 2-2.
Wood played his greatest game in the Garibaldi. He forced an early save, then set up Elanga with a nice pass before scoring himself with a header.
Gibbs-White also performed admirably. After a poor start to the season by his lofty standards, he was back to his old self.
When asked if he was heartened by what he had witnessed, Nuno replied, “We must.” We have to. But I’ve already warned the guys in the locker room that after all of our efforts, we can’t afford to make those types of mistakes.”
tenacity in battle
“We continue to push and fight.” “Thank you for your support,” Wood said later on social media.
The ten men surely put up a good fight. They were almost rewarded for their efforts, with Gibbs-White going close to a late winner before Dominic Solanke completed his hat-trick at the opposite end of the pitch.
The hosts showed no lack of dedication or fighting spirit. The heads were never dropped. If anything, the poor refereeing decisions enraged them.
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