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Nottingham Forest v Ipswich Town




Saturday 30th November 2024 – 15:00



City Ground








Pre-Match Thoughts - Mike



Just who would have thought we would be looking back on the game with the mighty Manchester United and feeling a sense of disappointment that we only attained a draw ? It speaks volumes about how far the club have come over the last Two years and how we are progressing and improving week on week in this unforgiving Premier League. I say unforgiving because we just seem to get punished for every error we make, I think we only really made One and that was in the Second Minute but again the ball is in the back of our net and already we are faced with a mountain to climb, but boy did we climb that mountain as we put in a super performance, especially in a very impressive First half which had us in the ascendancy for much of it against what are still the biggest club side in world Football.

Much has been said about their opening goal and blame can be apportioned to whoever we see fit to blame but collectively we have to stop these lapses and costly errors because without it we win that game, add in also the incredible performance of Onana in the United goal and we can count ourselves very unfortunate at not picking up the Three points. On pretty much any other day at least One of the glorious chances that fell to Liam Delap would have nestled in the back of the net, the One in the first half beggared belief as for all the world it looked like Delap was going to score until Onana spread his arms and block a certain goal, luck was certainly on his side as for me he knew next to nothing about it, but that is what good keepers do and often they get the breaks.

Other chances came our way too but as is often the case we were not taking them, thankfully it was left to Omari Hutchinson to score his first Premier league goal, and what a stunner it was too even if there was a slight deflection off a defenders head, Omari controlled it and struck it with aplomb to send Portman Road into meltdown but it was no more than we deserved for a excellent first half display which should have seen us going in at the break ahead.

The second half while still impressive was definitely more even and we visibly tired in the final Twenty or so Minutes but the grit and determination shone through brightly as Town were not to be denied, despite United looking far more competitive for me I felt we still had the Two best chances of the half with Delap's second big chance being blocked by the leg of that pesky Onana before Conor Chaplin failed to make the most of an excellent sight of goal by putting his shot the wrong side for the keeper to collect comfortably, in fairness to Chaplin Al-Hamadi may have slightly got in his way as he too looked to get on the end of the cross.

In the cold light of day we have to be content with what for most was an excellent and dare I say it unexpected Point in our quest to climb the table, and it backed up the win at Spurs nicely, that is now Town unbeaten in Three which in itself is far from easy to do in this League, just ask Man City !

If there is to be a negative, the One thing that concerns me is how many times we have said things like "we should have won that" or "we deserved more", these are chances missed on days when we have performed, there will be more days to come when we don't play well and get beaten so we really do need to be putting games to bed when we are in the ascendancy. As pleasing as some of our performances have been the fact remains that after a Third of the season we are coming up with results that are not good enough to keep us out of the bottom Three and that has to be a bit concerning although I still maintain we have had tough fixtures and there are easier one's on paper at least to come.

Next up is an away day at Nottingham Forest who so far have performed very well, I watched them a couple of times a few weeks back and they really impressed me, in fact I remember thinking that is another game we will get nothing from, however we are improving with every passing week and suddenly it looks like we can mix it when anyone. In Elliot Anderson I saw a player I would love to watch every week, he was really impressing and running games, thankfully he was absent from their line up last week so with any luck he may not be ready to return this week. Also it should not go unnoticed that Forest have lost their last two games and could be a little bit vulnerable, admittedly last week was against Arsenal but it will still have knocked their confidence a tad.

There is no doubt December is a massive Month for Town and could even be season defining if things don't work out well, we have home games with Palace, Bournmouth & Newcastle to come which simply have to yield a couple of wins at least, Arsenal & Chelsea follow at the end of the Month where little can realistically be expected against those Two, sandwiched in between is a trip to Wolves which again could be pivotal, so what better way to kick off a massive and very busy Month with a positive result at the City ground, it is certainly not beyond us given what we have achieved at other tough grounds so we need to go into it with with our usual mindset and approach it with confidence, their style of play will suit us too so it promises to be a very enjoyable and entertaining game.

I would be very happy if we manage to maintain this little unbeaten run we are on and come home with something, avoiding defeat is the main objective in this One for me but we are definitely capable of more IF we cut out the silly errors and start sharper than we did last week, who knows we could just be celebrating a second away win on the bounce, now how good would that feel !!!! COYB'S.



The Opposition - Nottingham Forest - Honours



League


First Division

Champions: 1977–78
Runners-up: 1966–67, 1978–79

Second Division / First Division / Championship

Champions: 1906–07, 1921–22, 1997–98
Runners-up: 1956–57, 1993–94
Promoted: 1976–77
Play-off winners: 2022

Third Division South / League One

Champions: 1950–51
Runners-up: 2007–08

Football Alliance

Champions: 1891–92


Cup


FA Cup

Winners: 1897–98, 1958–59
Runners-up: 1990–91

Football League Cup

Winners: 1977–78, 1978–79, 1988–89, 1989–90
Runners-up: 1979–80, 1991–92

FA Charity Shield

Winners: 1978
Runners-up: 1959

Full Members' Cup

Winners: 1988–89, 1991–92


European


European Cup

Winners: 1978–79, 1979–80

European Super Cup

Winners: 1979
Runners-up: 1980

Intercontinental Cup

Runners-up: 1980




The Manager – Nuno Espírito Santo








League Table as at 26.11.2024







Form Guide




Nottingham Forest




21 Oct Nottm Forest 1 - 0 Crystal Palace

25 Oct Leicester City 1 - 3 Nottm Forest

2 Nov Nottm Forest 3 - 0 West Ham Utd

10 Nov Nottm Forest 1 - 3 Newcastle Utd

23 Nov Arsenal 3 - 0 Nottm Forest




Ipswich Town




19 Oct Ipswich Town 0 - 2 Everton

26 Oct Brentford 4 - 3 Ipswich Town

2 Nov Ipswich Town 1 - 1 Leicester City

10 Nov Tottenham 1 - 2 Ipswich Town

24 Nov Ipswich Town 1 - 1 Manchester Utd








Head to Head








Match Referee – Tony Harrington








NOTTINGHAM FOREST 1 IPSWICH TOWN 1

At the start of the season, this was one of the away fixtures I fancied us to win.

Forest are doing better than I expected, and have a couple of really good players.

I think it's a given that Chris Wood is going to score against us, but even allowing for that I think we're playing better at the moment than they are, 1-2

This is a game we can definitely win.

A lot of pressure in Forest. This is their “must win” before a really tough December.

It wouldn’t surprise me if they don’t win again this calendar year.

Wood was dropped for the last game, I'm hoping he's dropped for this one too, talk of Anderson closing in on a return too, again would be a big help for him not to make it, or Gibbs-White for that matter.

Forest will be up for this one. It really depends on what ITFC shows up. If it's the gifting goals Ipswich Town, we'll lose. If it's the solid, hard-working version we may get the draw. I don't see a win, but hopefully we'll grab all 3 points.

Said this before, but I think we may see Broadhead get a few minutes now that Hirst is injured. I've never been that impressed with Broadhead. He's scored a few good goals, but he's a bit light weight and gets pushed off the ball too easily.

Watched Forest vs Arsenal and observed NF like to counterattack. We'll have to be ready for that.

interested to see on another thread that somebody suggested that Phillips Morsy and Cajuste should all start.

I doubt this will happen, but it could work:
Muric

Tuanzebe
Greaves
Burgess

Phillips

Hutchinson
Morsy
Cajuste
Szmodics

Delap
Chaplin

I like it! Or maybe...

Muric

Tuanzebe
Greaves
Burgess

Phillips

Morsy
Cajuste

Hutchinson
Chaplin
Szmodics

Delap

(The problem is it eliminates Davis.)

Yes, it does eliminate Davis, and I had not meant to do that, so..............

Muric

Tuanzebe
Greaves
Burgess

Phillips

Hutchinson
Morsy
Cajuste
Davis

Delap
Szmodics

O'Shea over Burgess every day of the week

Nice preview although I'm seeing this one a bit different and Kieron will need to earn his wages to get anything at all out of this one, including a draw. Their last home defeat pre international break was very bad timing; 3-1 defeat @ home to the 'ammers. Subsequent pumping at the Gooners and got to think they'll be well up for this one @ home.

Not confident in the slightest about this, but not because of formations or starting line-ups or when subs will be made or anything else that the fans will think that Kieron McKenna could potentially f@ck up....., purely as said above; Forest will come at Ipswich all guns blazing, Nuno Santo style.
2-0 Ipswich, Liam Delap brace.

Caption:
Nuno: "You just said you thought we'd win. Now its 2-0 Ipswich?"
Ref: "You'll learn quick, Nuno. He talks pish."
---------

On a side note:

Are there any structural engineers on here? Or does anyone have any clue about structural safety? Who's idea was it to build a stadium on the banks of a river? You wouldn't build a HOUSE anywhere near a riverbank, never mind a massive stadium.

Nuno: "You serious? They must load that bank with reinforced concrete. That not obvious?"
Ref: "See what I mean? Didn't even know that."

marko69 wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 29, 2024 4:26 pm

Are there any structural engineers on here? Or does anyone have any clue about structural safety? Who's idea was it to build a stadium on the banks of a river? You wouldn't build a HOUSE anywhere near a riverbank, never mind a massive stadium.

Marko, you might want to sit down before reading the following...

Everton are building a new stadium on a river!!

We need to start getting results. Teams around us are upping their game. There are no more excuses for stupid mistakes. If players f*ck up they should be dropped including Muric. December is a busy month. It’s an opportunity to kick on and get out of the relegation zone. If we don’t take our opportunities now, we’ll struggle the rest of the season. Cut out the silly mistakes and gifting goals. Play football the way we know you can. Follow KM’s guidance and fight for your survival. No more stupid mistakes.

Chaplin in for Burns the only change
Phillips and Greaves not on bench

Bluemike wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 30, 2024 2:50 pm

Chaplin in for Burns the only change

Good!

Bluemike wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 30, 2024 2:50 pm

Phillips and Greaves not on bench

Bad!

A couple of weeks ago it was said Greaves could return, I hope there is no setback here.

Wood, Gibbs-White & Anderson all back for Forest, we've got to do this the hard way.

Was a worryingly early booking for Tuanzebe.

A good first half display just a pity Burgess header was cleared.

Cabanas Blue wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 30, 2024 4:55 pm

A good first half display just a pity Burgess header was cleared.

Rather quiet on here isn't it!

Pretty even first half although for me we've come closest with Burgess's header being cleared off the line and then Delap taking the ball off Chaplin's toe when he looked destined to score.

Opening Ten minutes we looked all over the place but gradually we've grown into it. Hutchinson again the stand out performer in Blue, we need more from Szmodics and Cajuste, Burgess worries me, always a lapse in him and he's given it away a couple of times already.

Muric's handling etc been on point today and looks assured. Don't expect Morsy to play against Palace Tuesday as he looks nailed on to be booked, I actually think Forest are targeting him. All to play for.

Let's hope for an early goal 2nd half

That was NOT what I had in mind

1-0 Forrest Wood Penalty

mugen1 wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 30, 2024 5:03 pm

Let's hope for an early goal 2nd half

Hmm, these things don't always work out the way intended!

Bloody awful lunge from Szmodics, so lazy

AzzurroMark wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 30, 2024 5:08 pm

mugen1 wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 30, 2024 5:03 pm

Let's hope for an early goal 2nd half

Hmm, these things don't always work out the way intended!

Agreed

Great save Muric

Unbelievable save.

Cheating, diving bustards

mugen1 wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 30, 2024 5:24 pm

Cheating, diving bustards

Us or them Mugen? Just checking after your earlier 'need an early goal' post.