Oh woe is a Head Football Coach. Oh especially WOE is a Head Football Coach who has just overseen a stunning away performance in Europe for his first game, and then comes crashing down back at home with the visit of the PL title holders.
Liverpool should hold no fear for Forest. We’ve turned them over, home and away, in recent seasons. In your head, in your HEAD, Arnie, Arnie, etc. Vitor Pereira had the simple task of repeating whatever is was that Forest managed to pull off away in Istanbul, and bring it back to the World Famous City Ground.
Picking an unchanged team was a half decent start. This was not as straight forward as it sounds. We’ve seen how Ange the Clown and Dyche both struggled back in the PL after a European hangover. But how could you change a team that was so dominant on their midweek European jollies?
The 2pm sunshine KO on the banks of the Trent seemed familiar. Forest, Liverpool, Super Sunday. If you squinted you could almost see Ready Steady Teddy scoring the first live televised goal in the PL into what was then the building site of the Trent End.
We were dominant for the first thirty minutes or so. Forest needed to make this pressure count. Liverpool were unlikely to be so forgiving come the second half.
Sangare was a MONSTER once again - and a very tricky one at that. He almost plays the game at slower pace than everyone else. Yet somehow he still manages to find the time in the middle to control the ball, slowly turn around and find a killer pass.
MGW meanwhile was running the show. He looks slimmed down - not that he was exactly bulky at any time over the past few seasons. His slender frame allows him to cut through the middle and dictate the play.
Waiting on the end of many of these early MGW passes was Hutchinson, a player that is growing in confidence with every new manager. What a ridiculous thing to say for the club’s record signing.
On the other side of the pitch and you get the impression that Neco rather enjoys stitching up Mo Salah each time they are paired together. Neco will miss him when he’s gone.
Frustratingly Forest couldn’t find a breakthrough in what was an impressive first half for the home team. The second half was all about:
DEFEND! DEFEND!
DEFEND!
DEFEND!
DEFEND!
Oh bloody hell.
On came the bench boys, making way for some very tired European legs. This was always going to weaken Forest. £200m may have been spent over the summer to give us strength in depth, but I can’t see that we’ve moved on since the days of Silva and Sosa.
The final few minutes were heartbreaking to watch. FUCK ME, VAR. You make us fall in love with you in one moment, and then the very next, you’re shitting on us live on the telly.
And so the season now becomes all about out-shooting Nuno and West Ham. Whatever you can do, we can do better, etc. We NEED these Super Sunday afternoons down at the World Famous. I couldn’t handle a return to Millwall away, midweek.