The Forest lesson....

[Freez]

We didn't play as well as we could have. They played pretty well, end result about right.

The main difference between the Preston/Wolves games and last night was simple.
We started all three games with a withdrawn formation with a lone striker which sets out to deny the opposition space in our half and frustrate them.

Firstly, Forest did not underestimate us, their attitude and application from the first whistle was spot on, they wanted to perform, their movement off the ball was superb. We had five in midfield and still were chasing shadows, valiant though our players were.

Secondly, the early goal encouraged them and we spent the entire first half hurriedly clearing our lines and limiting the damage, remarkable that it was only one at half time.

Thirdly, we set up this way last season with Thommo, Twiss and Baker withdrawn, ready to break when we got a few scraps of posession. Last night, Howe caused them a few problems, but was isolated barring a couple of incidents. Hunter and Carr did make runs but we didn't have the attacking force of the named three to worry defences. Wainwright was superb last night, covering in front and behind Parrish, he was never a force going forward however, but was subbed as he was exhausted.

IMO we have to accept that we are probably going to be harder to beat at our league two level week in and week out but that in our current guise we lack the explosive potential to worry teams from a higher grade of football similar to last season.

From a league point of view this is good, but last night we set up to not get hammered and played right into a good sides hands. They ran us ragged.
I feel we may have been better setting up with two up front and four in midfield and not conceding as much ground and posession around half way, particularly after the first goal went in so early. We would still get hammered most days, but at least they would have had to work a lot harder to do it.

TBF we did come out and have a good go for the first fifteen minutes of the second half, and had we concocted an equaliser it might have been interesting, but at least we had a go.

However, this is not a criticism, just an opinion, and I still have faith and can see what Sam n Lills are trying to achieve.

Lets hope Rotherham is a good game.
Up the Shrimps.

[North Stand Shrimp]

Freez, Spot on, just as I saw it too.

[Freez]

I suppose in a way I have answered my own question, reading it back now.

We set up in a similar way but played differently to make the best of the players we have at our disposal. Fair enough.

I would still rather get beat having a go though, that is just my ideallistic nature and the way I like to see my team play.

Bloody dreamer eh!!!

[Bryan]

Agree with all of that, Freez. Sammy's obviously looking at a different way of playing this season. Also i would like to add that with so many new faces it will take time to gel etc. Forest were quality and sometimes you have to bow down to it. Calderwood deserves praise for taking the tie seriously and we should also be flattered by that.

So not at our best at Forest but all credit to them for in truth they outclassed us.

[P/T Indie]

I agree Freez in the past we may have sat back but we always had the players to create that bit of magic and nick us a goal or change the game. Sadly now I can't see where that is going to come from and where the goal will come from. We look hard to beat but very slow and methodical and even predicatable going forward.

I thought we lacked pace in the team last season but I think we lack it even more this season.

The only way to have given Forest a game would have been to have got out the blocks quick and gone for it from the start. Against Preston & Wolves last season we seemed to be full of energy and chased everything I just didn't feel it was the same last night.

We no longer have the quick players to take the game to the opposition (how I would have loved to have seen yatesy bomb down that right hand side and put some crosses in).

I feel that we might not concede many through the season but opposition defences wont have to many problems against us.

Has O'carrol still got a knock as I didn't understand why he came on so late. At home on Saturday I would like to see him and Howe upfront and thought we should have gone two up front at half time last night.

[Freez]

Could be wrong, but O'Carroll looked bright and a handful when he came on and was trying to make things happen, a bit John Normanish, busy with a good footballing brain, prodding and probing all the time.
Saturday hopefully!

[Christies Child]

Couldn't go last night for a number of reasons and have had to rely on reports and what i saw on Sky Sports News of the goals.

It appeared to me that our defence gave away too much space and at times it looked as though we had no defence at all, such where the huge gaps. The 4th goal looked as though they could have driven a bus through our defence and still scored.

Our defence for me is going to be a problem again this season until Sammy doeas something about it. I know I go on about it, but it was the same last Saturday. We give the opposition too much room just outside the box, encouraging them to have a pop.

Or am i being a bit harsh, not having seen it live and only relied on the TV?

[Wild Bill]

I think it is hard to be too critical of our performance or restult last night. We looked ok until we conceded a soft goal. We managed to hang on til half time and then had a real go at them until conceding the 2nd. Even then we still created a few chances and with a bit more luck and confidence unfront of goal we could have grabbed a consolation goal or two. As said we had a go against a decent looking side 2 divisions above us. 4-0 was a bit harsh in my opinion but fair play to them for taking their chances.

Rather have a FA cup run than one in the Carling anyway!

Good luck to them but shame more didn't turn out to see them. 3,500 home fans? Two games in four days is just too much for most people to afford it seems even for a club the size of Forest.

[Shrimpsscene]

We didn't play as well as we could have. They played pretty well, end result about right.

The main difference between the Preston/Wolves games and last night was simple.
We started all three games with a withdrawn formation with a lone striker which sets out to deny the opposition space in our half and frustrate them.

Firstly, Forest did not underestimate us, their attitude and application from the first whistle was spot on, they wanted to perform, their movement off the ball was superb. We had five in midfield and still were chasing shadows, valiant though our players were.

Secondly, the early goal encouraged them and we spent the entire first half hurriedly clearing our lines and limiting the damage, remarkable that it was only one at half time.

Thirdly, we set up this way last season with Thommo, Twiss and Baker withdrawn, ready to break when we got a few scraps of posession. Last night, Howe caused them a few problems, but was isolated barring a couple of incidents. Hunter and Carr did make runs but we didn't have the attacking force of the named three to worry defences. Wainwright was superb last night, covering in front and behind Parrish, he was never a force going forward however, but was subbed as he was exhausted.

IMO we have to accept that we are probably going to be harder to beat at our league two level week in and week out but that in our current guise we lack the explosive potential to worry teams from a higher grade of football similar to last season.

From a league point of view this is good, but last night we set up to not get hammered and played right into a good sides hands. They ran us ragged.
I feel we may have been better setting up with two up front and four in midfield and not conceding as much ground and posession around half way, particularly after the first goal went in so early. We would still get hammered most days, but at least they would have had to work a lot harder to do it.

TBF we did come out and have a good go for the first fifteen minutes of the second half, and had we concocted an equaliser it might have been interesting, but at least we had a go.

However, this is not a criticism, just an opinion, and I still have faith and can see what Sam n Lills are trying to achieve.

Lets hope Rotherham is a good game.
Up the Shrimps.

more or less said same thing to quinny at half time Freez re baker thommo and twiss
totally agree with you
spot on...........
lets hope we can get that win on saturday will be a very tough game though

[P/T Indie]

Wainwright was superb last night, covering in front and behind Parrish, he was never a force going forward however, but was subbed as he was exhausted.


For me Yates would be the first name on my teamsheet on Saturday.

I saw Wainwright make a superb tackle in the second half when he chased all the way back to our corner flag. But we are never going to create chancs if our winger is all the way back at his own corner flag.

[Christies Child]

..or defend if a full back suddenly decides to go walk about near the touch flag in an opponents half with 2 minutes to go!

[mfcbro]

Thought Parrish struggled last night forcing wainwright to defend for most of the game,which he did very well.Come on c.c. how can you critise or pass a comment when you wernt there relying on highlights.Forest had pace all over the pitch and were just too good for us.

[P/T Indie]

..or defend if a full back suddenly decides to go walk about near the touch flag in an opponents half with 2 minutes to go!

Every player has made at least one mistake in a game at some point in their career as long as they learn from their mistake they should be allowed another chance.
If you compare Yates against Michael Gray at Wolves to Parrish last night there is no contest. Gray beat Yates a few times eary on but Yates worked out what his favourite trick/move was and wrapped him up all night.

[Jody]

How we all see games differently. I think Parrish was very good again last night, but thought Wainwright appeared a little out of his depth last night.
Was quite surprisd when we started with 5 across midfield, and 1 up front, thought we'd have gone 442 and had a bit more of a go at them from the off. Credit to them, Forest were very good last night, at times their movement was awesome and they passed us off the park. And that was without 4 or 5 of their key players out through injury. I think Seage said last night on the way home that they spent £4m on players in close season, did we even spend £4??
Occasionally there are shocks in cup games, and we had our fair share last season. But they are in the Championship, and we are League Two, and last night the gulf in class showed at times. But credit to our lads, they all battled hard and never gave up even though they were chasing shadows for a lot of the game. All in all, a very nice ground, a nice night out, and a reality check for our lads - feet back on the ground, lets concentrate on the League for now.

[marky No.1]

Come on c.c. how can you critise or pass a comment when you wernt there relying on highlights.

I think the comment was referring to Yatesy on walkabout at Darlington

[marky No.1]

lets concentrate on the League for now.

Here here Brian Clough

There is currently a queue forming outside Travellers Choice for some reason

[Shrimpsscene]

How we all see games differently. I think Parrish was very good again last night, but thought Wainwright appeared a little out of his depth last night.
Was quite surprisd when we started with 5 across midfield, and 1 up front, thought we'd have gone 442 and had a bit more of a go at them from the off. Credit to them, Forest were very good last night, at times their movement was awesome and they passed us off the park. And that was without 4 or 5 of their key players out through injury. I think Seage said last night on the way home that they spent £4m on players in close season, did we even spend £4??
Occasionally there are shocks in cup games, and we had our fair share last season. But they are in the Championship, and we are League Two, and last night the gulf in class showed at times. But credit to our lads, they all battled hard and never gave up even though they were chasing shadows for a lot of the game. All in all, a very nice ground, a nice night out, and a reality check for our lads - feet back on the ground, lets concentrate on the League for now.

well said jody!!

[Bare Ben]

I didn't think we were bad in the slightest, just thought Forest were brilliant.

[Christies Child]

Thought Parrish struggled last night forcing wainwright to defend for most of the game,which he did very well.Come on c.c. how can you critise or pass a comment when you wernt there relying on highlights.Forest had pace all over the pitch and were just too good for us.

The highlights showed up our defensive short comings for all to see....and it wasn't just last night.....

I'm sure that other managers have taken note.

No doubt some think that our defence is OK. Unfortunately I'm not one of them and I doubt if I'm alone in that view.

What's even more important though is that our superb management team recognise the problem and rectify ASAP.

[Jody]

I think people are forgetting WE ARE A LEAGUE TWO TEAM! And that includes our defence. Of course they would have been rather open to Championship level strikers. I think even some Premiership defenders would struggle to contain Earnshaw! The whole team did a good job last night, and in no way at all did any of our players show themselves up against Championship opposition. And as for other managers taking notes, let them. I'm sure their strikers are nowhere near the quality our defence faced yesterday.
Lets just see how our defence get on against League Two opposition week in week out, as I think its a bit early to be judging them, and a bit harsh to judge them on the game last night.

[Shrimpsscene]

Thought Parrish struggled last night forcing wainwright to defend for most of the game,which he did very well.Come on c.c. how can you critise or pass a comment when you wernt there relying on highlights.Forest had pace all over the pitch and were just too good for us.

The highlights showed up our defensive short comings for all to see....and it wasn't just last night.....

I'm sure that other managers have taken note.

No doubt some think that our defence is OK. Unfortunately I'm not one of them and I doubt if I'm alone in that view.

What's even more important though is that our superb management team recognise the problem and rectify ASAP.

The highlights showed three good goals and a freekick from a poor decision
defence im not sure who or what you mean by defence??
if you mean the back five.... at moment pick themselves for me
the front pairing i think needs finalising and hopefully we can get another striker on board as sammy has said already in the press
the midfield i think still is where the problem lies because we have a number of new personnel there and it ill take time to gel and fire on all lcylinders but im sure it will

Peter Taylor thought his side lucky against us onth ebig league weekend and gave us good credit so he took note

as for forest they played great football and was good to watch

if youre going to fire shots neil please get to the games and have a look

[Christies Child]

If you get the chance have a look at the TV highlights; replay in slow motion and you'll see what i mean about the amount of space given to strikers. We simpy do not close down. FACT!

However, Sammy, Mark and Jimbo will get it right...that I am sure of.

[John L]

Agree with all of that, Freez. Sammy's obviously looking at a different way of playing this season. Also i would like to add that with so many new faces it will take time to gel etc. Forest were quality and sometimes you have to bow down to it. Calderwood deserves praise for taking the tie seriously and we should also be flattered by that.

So not at our best at Forest but all credit to them for in truth they outclassed us.

Calderwood BBC interview: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/7551370.stm

[St Albans Shrimp]

Agree with your comments Freez.

We didnt have a "out" ball - Howe didnt offer too much - it is early days and he still (like many others) needs to know how the other players play.Several times last night when we had the ball in defence he didnt make himself available or made the wrong decision of where to run.As for Parrish I felt he didnt have a good game - agreed we were playing at a higher level however he struggled and Wainwright was clearly having to defend too much. With Curtis doing the same on the left our attacking options were limited.Maybe this was our game plan however on several occasions when we had the ball at the back Wainwright came back rather than pushing on down the wing.

Saying all this if one of the three chances had gone in shortly after half time it could have been interesting.

[james456]

Agree with your comments Freez.

We didnt have a "out" ball - Howe didnt offer too much - it is early days and he still (like many others) needs to know how the other players play.Several times last night when we had the ball in defence he didnt make himself available or made the wrong decision of where to run.As for Parrish I felt he didnt have a good game - agreed we were playing at a higher level however he struggled and Wainwright was clearly having to defend too much. With Curtis doing the same on the left our attacking options were limited.Maybe this was our game plan however on several occasions when we had the ball at the back Wainwright came back rather than pushing on down the wing.

Saying all this if one of the three chances had gone in shortly after half time it could have been interesting.

I thought Howe did reasonably well - considering he had no support for most of the game and was up against championship level defence... He had one or two chances where he maybe should have had a shot rather than cross/hold the ball up, but he looked strong and chased down the defenders. Credit to him. The other player who I thought played pretty well was Hunter - worked hard as ever and got stuck in.

Wainwright was quiet and didnt make a mark on the game, but its understandable. You cant expect a league 2 winger to consistantly take on and beat championship full-backs. Having said that, he did do well against Preston. I think he'll be great for us this season.