How Good Are We?

[Strawberry Avenger]

We’ve played only Huddersfield during this run who are any good. Blackpool were in similar form to us but championship newbies.
Next 5 will show where we are. Fulham, QPR, Sheff Utd - anywhere near 10 points from next 5 and I think we will be onto something very decent

Yep, we were pretty much relegation certainties until 5 games ago. I'm not sure we're suddenly top 6 contenders now 

It's been a great run but we've also had some luck (finally, we've been due it) the same issues that existed 5 games ago still exist in the squad. 

I would say we're better than we looked under CH but it's way too early to crown us top 6 contenders. That said it would be great if we were...

Yep.

SA.

[Strawberry Avenger]

I don't think we should get carried away but at the moment, i'm more confident of moving up the table than falling back. 

But we are not the finished article and anyone thinking we've miraculously gone from relegation certainties to world beaters will probably be disappointed. Although better, few of the past 5 games has been a perfect performance. 

Against Barnsley we were poor first half and until the sub on the hour mark looked unlikely to break them down
Against Brum we were worthy winners but 3-0 was flattering - hitting the post twice and a wonder save from samba to keep the clean shhet. 

Blackpool - again i feel we deserved it but the reality is we still look fragile at the back particularly from balls into the box. Better sides will exploit that.

That said, cooper does seem to helped restore confidence in the side going forward and at this stage that is the biggest difference. Grabban has almost equalled his tally for last season. He is a striker who thrives on confidence and tends to score goals in clusters so long may it continue. Zinc and johnson pose a threat to any side and seem to have the freedom to get forward. Even supposed defensive duo of colback and yates have discovered they can pass forward and are keeping the likes of garner out. But possibly the most critical difference is we have two attack minded wing backs in spence and lowe who have really helped support the attacks and counter (like early lamouchi era) 

Ultimately, this is no longer a relegation side but i remain unconvinced that it has the depth for anything more than midtable at this moment. Perhaps get the likes of garner, Carvalho, taylor playing well and hope that one of the yet to be seen new signings is a diamond then who knows... But i'm happy with progress and it is nice to look forward to a forest game than see it as something to be endured. Every game now seems realistically winnable rather than hopefully

It's progress.  Which I hope Forest have the vision (!) to build upon in January.

Though we have beaten the side that sits in 6th.

Bounce?  Or a Viking Voyager through space?  The next 6 games will tell us more.

SA.

[PsychoStanleyStone]

can't say i've noticed generally in the last 60, 70 or probably 80 games, i think it might be a first (excluding desperate injury time need a goal not to lose) ... but ...

the 2nd goal against Blackpool was from a sublime outside of the right foot diagonal (again) from Worrall this time to Grabban who'd gone wide left .... but ...

... Worrall goes forward into the Blackpool box in the belief something would come of it ... and ...

Worrall gets the shot away on target, point blank, but spills to Grabban

I reckon this is the first time i have seen a centre half start a move and pretty much finish a move since Cooper back in the 90's!

Can anyone remember anytime seeing a Nottingham Forest Centre Half not only start the move but go forward, in open play, when we aren't losing and actually pretty much win us the game?

Besides noticing Worrall's sublime long range cross field passing, the guy is super fit, the shackles are off .. to this extent for the first time in maybe 25 years

I think Worral scores tonight against Briz

[Strawberry Avenger]

can't say i've noticed generally in the last 60, 70 or probably 80 games, i think it might be a first (excluding desperate injury time need a goal not to lose) ... but ...

the 2nd goal against Blackpool was from a sublime outside of the right foot diagonal (again) from Worrall this time to Grabban who'd gone wide left .... but ...

... Worrall goes forward into the Blackpool box in the belief something would come of it ... and ...

Worrall gets the shot away on target, point blank, but spills to Grabban

I reckon this is the first time i have seen a centre half start a move and pretty much finish a move since Cooper back in the 90's!

Can anyone remember anytime seeing a Nottingham Forest Centre Half not only start the move but go forward, in open play, when we aren't losing and actually pretty much win us the game?

Besides noticing Worrall's sublime long range cross field passing, the guy is super fit, the shackles are off .. to this extent for the first time in maybe 25 years

I think Worral scores tonight against Briz

You have to go back to Dawson as a youngster to see those kind of balls Worrall was pinging.  Aka.  A long time ago.

Secondly.  Grabban went left, yes...but then passes the ball on, races (beeline) straight into the box for the goal line.

We know what came next.

Golden goal.

Especially if you count all the 'olay' passing that came before it.

Probably the best team goal a Forest side have scored in...urhh......

*thinks.

SA.

[jurgen rober]

Best team goal since Grabban goal at Craven cottage when we beat Fulham 2-1

[Strawberry Avenger]

Best team goal since Grabban goal at Craven cottage when we beat Fulham 2-1

Yes.

SA.

[Sniffer Dog (Admin)]

Now we're playing decent football, what's everyone's thoughts now on how good we are? 

I reckon we have top championship players: Grabban, Worral, McKenna, Colback, even Yates now (!) And of course Brennan is now looking complete quality. Lolley and Garner cant get in the side and we've yet to see the Ojeda or Ely.

I think we're a top 6 side if we retain Wozza and Brennan in Jaunary. 6 points behind 6th now with still loads of games to be played. I reckon playoffs is definately an achievable goal.

Bump.

Good call Pap and it looks as though you were right.

We are currently the best team in the league and the table over the last 16 games proves that.

[Strawberry Avenger]

Now we're playing decent football, what's everyone's thoughts now on how good we are? 

I reckon we have top championship players: Grabban, Worral, McKenna, Colback, even Yates now (!) And of course Brennan is now looking complete quality. Lolley and Garner cant get in the side and we've yet to see the Ojeda or Ely.

I think we're a top 6 side if we retain Wozza and Brennan in Jaunary. 6 points behind 6th now with still loads of games to be played. I reckon playoffs is definately an achievable goal.

Bump.

Good call Pap and it looks as though you were right.

We are currently the best team in the league and the table over the last 16 games proves that.

We're as good as Cooper says we are.  (And he has had benefits of fullbacks...)

However, there's no denying that he has made his own luck as far as Forest's squad is concerned.  Tactically astute, total belief and eyebrow raising development of key players have produced a sum greater than its parts.  I'm watching somewhat bemused by the transformation.  Lowballing my expectations.  For me, there's a bit of defying gravity about what's happening.  But when the run is this long, you have to give credit to the work Cooper and the players have done.  They've totally bought into what he's selling.  And on each game of this amazing run I'm thinking, 'Did that just happen?'

He's rinsed every last bit of quality out of them to reach 7th.

Where this goes next?  The play offs perhaps?  1 point off 5th.  IF Forest can win (or draw) another 'must win' game against Boro'.

I still think that Forest's squad needs several quality (match winning/game changing) signings to to help attack the top 6 and possibly chase down the auto spots.

I don't think we've been this close (in the scheme of things) since Nicky Storey left town in terms of the opportunity that is opening up for Forest.

SA.

[zicorice]

One game at a time still for me.....

Looking forward to Boro away, a test of our credentials for sure.

[Strawberry Avenger]

One game at a time still for me.....

Looking forward to Boro away, a test of our credentials for sure.

Yep. We'll be stretched in the fullback area. No Spence and Colback, again forced to play LB.

And yes.

SA.

[Salvatore Matrecano]

I will put this in this thread.
Are we really good enough for top 6?

On our day our threat is obvious and from results we have had we are capable of getting there.

My concerns are:
Back 3 though effective looks painfully slow at times Cook especially
If the Johnson/Spence combo down the right is snuffed out we have few other options
We miss Grabban/ a goal poacher
Lowe has gone back to looking pretty average, there is little threat on the left
Thin 1st team, not many options on bench who would change a game

Discuss.

[Sniffer Dog (Admin)]

It's obvious that we are not the finished article and a couple of pieces of the jigsaw are still missing.

However it's worth remembering that we are probably ahead of where we expected to be at this stage (since Cooper came in).

Having a fit Joe Lolley again and getting him back to somewhere close to his best would be a massive bonus for us.