Forest – Fulham – The Aftermath

Well that was a load of rubbish.

But in truth did we expect anything better? The morning after the night before is always a little more underwhelming than the party itself and after throwing the good mood away late on in Derby it was either a) pick ourselves up and do it again (but this time much better) or b) nurse our hangover with shame and regret.

It seemed that Sabri Lamouchi and Nottingham Forest sadly chose option b) with little threat or tactical approach in facing Fulham other than to ‘pick the best team’ it was very much play with reasonable intent until ‘next goal wins’ before saying ‘sod it’ after the break to instead treat the match like a training game.

Perhaps the points lost won’t make too much difference? Forest ‘should’ edge over the playoff line and this match did have the feel of an end of season game with nothing but pride hanging over it thanks to the current cushion and positions the two sides were in, but Forest still need points on the board to ensure they make it to 47 and 48 matches at least in the Championship this season. So my message to them is don’t get too comfortable just yet.

If the Reds produced a ‘near’ tactical masterclass against Derby on Saturday, by Tuesday Manager Sabri Lamouchi was already touted by his fans as a ‘one trick pony’ with no plan B… The worrying thing for Forest is they seem to rely on getting a goal and defending it, the Reds aren’t so good when chasing the game, but I’m not even sure they tried to do that last night?

No Carvalho, instead Diakhaby, a Porsche 911 without a steering wheel… In a game which you’re losing and when you take off your best player Lolley at half time, should you really look to the unproven Da Costa? Should Forest really ‘gamble’ on a few minutes with Mighten when you have a €15m man on the bench? These games offer perfect opportunity to play Carvalho, especially if it’s ‘trying stuff’ that you’re into.

I was really disappointed with Lamouchi’s approach. Picking the best team is all well and good but if Samba Sow can’t make 50 minutes then why not instead use him as a sub? If Forest ‘need’ to go for it why put faith in Diakhaby? A player who obviously looks great on the training pitch but doesn’t have the physique or substance to prove it on a matchday.

For me Preston North End on Saturday is now a must win game. Six points should see us over the line in the remaining four games and with Swansea, Barnsley and Stoke to play I would be hugely embarrassed if the side can’t do that. To get that six points I would like to see more quality in attack, more risk, more edge, more players of football ability given a chance. Brennan Johnson, John Bostock, Carvalho… Like O’Neill eventually did last season, let’s have a bit of fun…

I still no doubt feel that over two legs Lamouchi will set us up better than any other side in the playoffs, I actually feel that under Lamouchi we are better equipped to play Premier League football.

What fans want is attacking, expansive football played the beautiful ideological way, in reality, if Forest do go up and play that way against the likes of Liverpool, Man City, Spurs, Arsenal, Man Utd etc… against sides with better players at playing that way…. We’ll simply get taken to the cleaners… Sabri Lamouchi knows that, the Forest players know that…. And I would rather be Burnley or Sheffield United than Bournemouth or Norwich in comparison.

But whilst plan A is a proven strategy that works for Lamouchi time and time again and is one that could be perfectly used in both two-leg and Premier League football, for facing those near the bottom of the Championship or with nothing to play for we might need something else.

Why can’t plan B involve a little more intent to attack? Forest will have at least one free hit over the next few games, it’ll be nice to see that game used with a bit of attacking intent.