Nottingham Forest - Stoke City

[Strawberry Avenger]

Next season is next season this season is this season. Things will be completely different.

I’d love to share your optimism Sniff, but sadly can’t pal. 

Some of the blokes team selections are just baffling not to mention his none attacking mish mash football. from Sabri's confetti recruitment...

Which selection was baffling?  Grabban scored.  Knocker provided the cross.  He also put Mighten on?  Garner was playing.  ('Some fans' were saying that Hughton didn't play youngsters.). He played Cafu to go 'manno o' manno' with Stoke and Cafu.  Some wanted Rib' to start.  The Stoke's goal came from soft full back play.

Who, from the bench, should he have played?

Hughton, 'It has to be better next season.'  (Re: the goals.)

SA.

Rib is our best left back... he is still not good enough for a team pushing at the top. To play Blackett and bong ahead of him is questionable.

I believe CH has done the best with what he has got. Not his fault regarding the squad but picking the likes of freeman is hopefully nothing more than it’s all he has available. We will have a good idea of what’s to come as he starts to bring players in. If he starts bringing in ex Brighton players we know we are in for a tough time.

Let’s hope that our scouting network has some exciting young players up their sleeves

Birmginham's 1st goal.  From that LB area.  I'm thinking.  Why hasn't our 'best' LB cleared the danger?  And beaten very early on as a Stoke player just fizzed by him.  If we want top 6, fullbacks have been a thorny and exploited weakness all season long.  We've gone to having 'Player of the Season' fullback to two soft fullbacks who have been cruelly exposed.

I think I'm 100% with you on the key point.  Re: Hughton's grab bag of Sabri players.

Many of the games were also close and could have gone in Forest's favour.  And put Forest in a 'comfortable' mid-table position.  Eg. The performances vs Swans and Derby.  But would have masked flawed recruitment last Summer.

Hughton's tightened up the defence to the 6th best in the league. Loads of crosses are going in. So it must be the quality of the attacking staff we have on the books. Simply not enough. Not enough to set up and score goals. And it's a problem from all areas of the park lest we just point the fingers at the service starved strikers. (Grabban got his goal from being where he should be for his kind of goal.)

If an 'outstanding' manager can only get top of the bottom 8 or lower mid-table with the players at his disposal then recruitment is the next thing to be addressed.

This Summer. It's time.

SA.