Nuno-ball, Tierney reunion and transfer 'upset' - Nottingham Forest notebook
Nottingham Forest kicked off a big week by marking their return from the international break with their first home win of the season.
Chris Wood’s strike proved enough to see off Crystal Palace at the City Ground and move the Reds up to eighth in the Premier League table. Next up is a reunion with former boss Steve Cooper on Friday night.
Forest will make the trip to face Cooper’s Leicester City eager to make it five away games unbeaten this term. Ahead of that clash at the King Power Stadium, below is our round-up of the latest goings-on Trentside.
Nuno-ball revolution
For the Reds to progress this season, head coach Nuno Espirito Santo knew they needed to tighten up at the back. And the transformation in the space of a few months has been seriously impressive.
With just six goals conceded so far, Forest have the second-best defensive record in the Premier League. They have faced 51 corners and have not been breached once - a remarkable stat considering set-pieces were their Achilles’ heel last term.
The addition of centre-back Nikola Milenkovic in the summer has proved a big factor in the team’s improvement. But ex-defender Jamie Carragher believes Nuno’s influence is clearly being felt.
“Nuno-ball,” the Sky Sports pundit said in his pre-match analysis before kick-off on Monday. “We saw it got great success at Wolves, with European journeys with the club. I remember so often going to Wolves games where there wasn't a goal in the first half; they were well prepared to just bide their time in a game.
“A big thing about him is getting set up defensively. The big thing for me is actually the set-pieces, being first in the league not conceding from corners. The record last season was horrendous for conceding goals from set-pieces, so that's a huge change as well.
“You talk about the style of possession; you know what type of team they're going to be, they're going to be hard to beat. That's not being critical, because I like the fact there's different teams with different styles in the Premier League.
“It's a similar sort of way to the way Everton play with Sean Dyche; they are prepared to sit back and wait for their moment. They fancy themselves to keep a clean-sheet and then wait for that mistake and try to get the goal themselves.”
Magnificent Milenkovic
Amid his excellent start to life in the Garibaldi, Reds fans have expressed amazement that the club managed to sign Milenkovic for a measly £12 million in the summer. And they are not the only ones surprised by Forest’s swoop.
One of Milenkovic’s former teammates says he was taken aback that Fiorentina let the defender go. Vincent Laurini, who crossed paths with the Serbia international at the Serie A side, was “upset” to see the transfer go through.
Laurini, who now plays for Pietrasanta, told Italian publication Firenze Viola (via Sport Witness): “It surprised me. I would never have guessed it, after so many years that he (Milenkovic) was there as a leader of the defence.
“Selling him like this left me a little upset. He was a guy with a lot of experience and getting rid of him (is) so sad. Nikola is a strong player and he fit in very well in Florence.”
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Settled in
Milenkovic is not the only summer arrival to have helped shore things up at the back. Aston Villa loanee Alex Moreno has played his part for the Reds, too.
The 31-year-old has made the left-back spot his own with six appearances under his belt. And with Forest holding an option to make his move a permanent one, it is surely a good sign that he feels “happy” on the banks of the Trent.
Speaking to the official website prior to Monday’s match, Moreno said: “It’s going really well. Settling in has been great. The club has helped me a great deal; the staff, my teammates and the coaching staff. This enables you to settle in as quickly as possible, and to be honest I’m really happy.
“It’s a really good-hearted dressing room. It’s incredible the respect and warmth in there, and how much everyone cares for each other.
“It’s a joyful place, there’s music on every day. I feel it’s a really healthy dressing room, which I feel is ultimately what’s most important with this season in mind, and that’s one of the things that I’ve liked since I arrived here.”
Official appointments
The theme of Forest’s run-ins with match officials hardly needs revisiting - the point was underlined on Monday night when Nuno served the first of a three-match touchline ban, Morgan Gibbs-White and James Ward-Prowse were both suspended and owner Evangelos Marinakis was absent amid a five-match stadium ban. The Reds will hope to avoid any further controversy when they take on the Foxes on Friday night.
The referee for that one will be Craig Pawson. Forest will no doubt have noticed that Paul Tierney will be on VAR duty.
Tierney was the man in the middle at the City Ground last season when the club were left fuming after a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool. Forest were furious they did not get the ball back, despite having possession when play was stopped for a potential head injury to Ibrahima Konate in the 97th minute of the match back in March. Referee Tierney opted for a drop-ball at the feet of Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher and the visitors went on to win a corner, from which Darwin Nunez scored the winning goal.
Angry scenes ensued after the final whistle, with Marinakis pitchside at the time. The Greek won’t be in such a position on Friday, at least
Special shirts
Reds fans will soon have an opportunity to get their hands on signed match-worn shirts, all while helping to raise funds for the Royal British Legion. MatchWornShirt are once again supporting the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal, having raised close to £3m in the past five years.
Players, including the Forest squad, will wear shirts featuring the poppy emblem for matches from this Thursday (October 24) until Remembrance Sunday on 10 November. The shirts will then be signed by the players and will go up for auction on the MatchWornShirt website and app. All of the net proceeds of the auctions will be allocated to the Royal British Legion.