At the end of August, Nottingham Forest were firmly in mid table and fans were disappointed. Having seen the side splash the cash on £25 million worth of talent, more was expected of the manager and his team. But a run of six games unbeaten has seen the two-time European champions move into the Championship play-off spot.
On form Forest
Following a drab goalless draw in South Wales against former Premier League side Swansea City, Forest returned to the City Ground to face Sheffield Wednesday. A game where everything seemed to click. The two big money summer signings both scored to give the Reds their second win of the season. An eventful first half saw £6 million striker, Lewis Grabban, head in the opener from Ben Osborn’s free-kick. Club record signing, Joao Carvalho justified his £13 million price tag with a curled shot into the net to give Forest a deserved two goal lead (I’d advise watching this on YouTube). A second half fightback from Wednesday only served to reduce the score line to 2-1.
Forest continued their good form at the City Ground with a hard-fought one nil victory over Rotherham United. After almost 90 minutes of failing to break down Rotherham, Ben Osborn won a penalty. Lewis Grabban converted to score his second in two games and take the three points.
A mid-week victory over Stoke City in the League Cup saw Forest reach the last 16 for the first time since 2004.
Forest then faced Blackburn Rovers, where Grabban continued his rich vein of form. Unfortunately, his two goals were only enough to draw the game.
“We’ve seen a rather different Forest either side of the first international break at the beginning of September. In that first period we were a team with character but we stumbled forward in games. The two week break that followed refreshed us. Since that point we have largely been the better side in games.” Forza Garibaldi, (Nottingham Forest Fan Club).
No light, no light
Millwall came to Nottingham in one of oddest games of football I’ve witnessed. Winger, Joe Lolley, gave the Reds the lead and all was looking good until sudden darkness fell over the City Ground. Floodlight failure caused a ten-minute delay to proceedings. Once the electrician had changed the fuse and the lights were back on Joao Carvalho doubled the lead with a beautifully curled free-kick. A fightback from Millwall in the final fifteen minutes left Karanka disappointed with a draw. He said: “We should have won, even without playing our best.”
Karanka heads back to Middlesbrough
He returned to the club he was sacked by, in a tasty fixture between two promotion contenders. It was the Reds who came out on top in the North-East with a fine performance seeing them move into fifth place in the table. Joe Lolley thumped home his third goal in four games to give Forest the lead just after halftime, before crossing for Grabban to complete the scoring.
Money men
A summer splurge on 16 new players by the club’s new owners saw Forest become a pre-season favourites for promotion. With a proven manager and a squad full of expensive and talented players, Forest should be challenging. Recent games have seen the Reds looking like promotion contenders and has left fans purring.
“The six game unbeaten run combined with progress in the League Cup is a real sign for optimism.” – Forza Garibaldi
Summer signings, Portugal’s under 21 international, Joao Carvalho and, Championship stalwart, Lewis Grabban have nabbed seven goals between them in the last six games. But less headline-grabbing players have also stepped up with Joe Lolley’s tricky runs a common feature. Lolley’s goal against Middlesbrough was named the Championship goal of the week.
Could Premier League football be heading back to Nottingham after a twenty-year absence? It’s too early to tell, but the Reds are certainly heading in the right direction.
By Ben Swift