Whether by accident or design, there is a common theme running through Nottingham Forest’s record-breakers: Unfinished business.
As Morgan Gibbs-White & Co. prepare for the visit of Premier League leaders Liverpool tonight, they do so against a backdrop of unpredicted success. Six successive victories is the club’s best run of form in the top flight since 1967 – when they finished second to title winners Manchester United – and has raised the bar of expectation at the City Ground to levels not seen since the late Brian Clough was the sheriff of Nottingham.
When there are success stories in football, the reasons are usually many and varied. It would be an oversimplification to suggest that there is one reason why a squad that has struggled to retain its top-flight status should become challengers.
It was the same with Leicester City during their miraculous 5,000-1 triumph nine years ago. Back then, the team Claudio Ranieri inherited from Nigel Pearson confounded all expectations to pull off one of the greatest shocks in football history.
But the Foxes share similarities with their East Midlands rivals that they probably don’t care to acknowledge. Ranieri had a set way of playing, with a group of dependable players who knew their way around top-flight football.
The Foxes had been battling relegation and, when they chanced upon a winning formula, grabbed onto it like a baby with a feeding bottle. Leicester largely avoided injury too and, in Jamie Vardy, a talismanic and reliable spearhead.
Forest have arrived at a similar destination, either by happy coincidence or through astute decision-making by manager Nuno Espirito Santo. There are common themes.
When boss Nuno Espirito Santo arrived in English football at Molineux eight years ago, he told assembled reporters—and the author of this piece was one of them—that we would soon see the benefits of his way of working and his systems. That prophesy was taken with a large pinch of salt. After all, it had been said before. On numerous occasions by umpteen managers.
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But, true to his word, Nuno looked at his resources and decided upon a way of playing. He did similar at the City Ground. Steve Cooper had left behind a competitive group and a 4-2-3-1 system. Some players have been upgraded since then.
However, a core group remained. Morgan Gibbs-White, Neco Williams, Ryan Yates, Taiwo Awoniyi, and, latterly, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga have all sampled the downs. Now they are on the up.
While there is unfinished business with the Premier League, many of these Forest players also have a point to prove. It would be wrong to suggest that they are the waifs and strays: Cast-offs.
But a lot hadn’t proved themselves in the top-flight when they turned up at the City Ground. Some, like Williams, Gibbs-White, and Yates, have had two years of experience, while Others, like Hudson-Odoi and Elanga, have just one.
And last summer’s additions – the likes of Elliott Anderson and Nikola Milenkovic – are also looking to prove they belong. The jury – dare it be said – was even out on striker Chris Wood, who has spearheaded this remarkable revival.
Was he ever truly regarded as Premier League quality? Perhaps for certain clubs who played in a certain way at a certain time, yes. He certainly looks at home at the City Ground.
And so, for that matter, does everyone else. Nuno might have happened upon this. It may have been his plan all along. But, the ingredients for success are there – and the chance for Forest to do something special this season is very real.
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