A furious City Ground crowd vented their frustration at Ange Postecoglou and Nottingham Forest as they lost their first European home tie in 29 years, 3-2 to FC Midtjylland. George Edwards was at the match
The togetherness and spirit that has built up inside Nottingham Forest over the past four years seems to have disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Last night was supposed to be a celebration. The next generation’s time to bask in their team’s international success and a warming homecoming; Forest’s historic home ready to generate yet more famous nights under the lights, of which there have been so many.
Instead, it ended in division and disdain, with chants of “sacked in the morning” from the home supporters directed at Ange Postecoglou just weeks into his tenure, followed by a serenade of his Portuguese predecessor.
Those were cries of frustration that even the likes of Gary Megson, David Platt and Chris Hughton weren’t subjected to; Postecoglou looked lost, his hands on his head, once Midtjylland scored their fateful third goal.
Everything was flat. The stadium, the football, the intent, on a night where it should have been anything but. Forest looked to have forgotten what they are good at, failing to realise and relish their Premier League status in Europe, losing the fight on the night.
Midtjylland are what Forest once were, playing with heart, graft and physicality, not allowing the hosts into any rhythm or flow from minute one.
To keep them out, all Forest had to do was win their duels and not allow the game to fall into the stop-start fashion that it did. Referee Willy Delajod didn’t help that, a baffling performance aligned with the ghosts of Forest past such as Keith Stroud and Geoff Eltringham.
Beyond the Frenchman’s ineptness, Forest were completely vulnerable to any ball into the box, defending set pieces in the manner they did two seasons ago, when every corner against them was almost a guaranteed goal.
The visitors’ opening two made it three consecutive set-piece goals conceded and 11 against them in total since Ange’s arrival, rising to 12 by the end, statistics unfathomable for the majority of the past 18 months. Nikola Milenkovic no longer looks dominant and every goal conceded looks inevitable and so easily preventable.
Midtjylland’s third goal perfectly demonstrated Forest’s defensive soft touch, both Callum Hudson-Odoi and Morgan Gibbs-White easily evaded as Midtjylland almost effortlessly broke away, sealing the deal on a night so memorable and so deserved by the travelling Danish outfit.
Forest’s defensive drop-off hasn’t corresponded to attacking dominance, the Reds having more possession but only looking potent in spells, failing to create periods of play where they are on top and make it count, unable to unlock the sturdiest and most determined of defences on the night.
There is so much anger, and rightly so, because the only way seemed like up following the potential shown last season. That anger is all being directed at the Australian, but it stems from somewhere deeper.
Rightly or wrongly, Marinakis made the call that Forest needed to change, so Ange facilitating that change is no surprise. Modern managers come with an identity, a style of play and a way of doing things and the Greek bought into what Postecoglou offered in that regard.
Furthermore, Postecoglou did change on the night. The dearth of substitutes was odd, with Forest lacking a spark all night and in need of fresh ideas that could have been generated from the bench, but his tactics didn’t really resemble what you’d expect from one of his teams.
Murillo’s selection was surprising and in hindsight came too soon, but the Brazilian’s substitution and the subsequent introduction of Nicola Savona saw Forest line up in a conventional 4-2-3-1, the setup favoured by the previous regime.
That did bring Forest success, too, with the midfield connection between Ibrahim Sangaré, Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White at its strongest, the trio with space and involved in the two offside goals Forest netted, along with the array of chances not taken.
But they failed to force Elias Olafsson in the ‘Wolves’ goal into any meaningful saves, a similar story to last weekend’s defeat to Sunderland — 44 shots amassed over those two games with just two converted.
Unfortunately, the patience has evaporated. Nuno showed against Brentford that he could set up a team to dominate the ball and win, and there seemed an acceptance from him that Forest had to evolve this season and relish having spells with the ball. Because he had success and credit in the bank, Nuno would have been trusted to facilitate change and steer Forest through darker days that may have came.
Yet with Ange at the helm, a proven winner and someone who talks the talk, Forest were always on thinner ice.
It attracted pressure from the media and made it all about Ange, something both Nuno and Steve Cooper before him tried to avoid. And both Nuno’s rather sudden departure and Ange’s unwanted arrival made it seem results just had to come to get the supporters on side, their angst in the situation at the top now correlating with what’s being viewed on the pitch, and rightly so.
It was meant to be a season of celebration. A season to enjoy the ride and to see Nottingham Forest conquering Europe like they once used to. However, it seems there can be no long-term period of sustained success at this football club without something or someone denting the progress, and the right path that Forest seemed to be on now feels very far away.
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