Nottingham Forest vs Leicester City at the City Ground has proved to be an absolute cracker over the past couple of seasons.
Two seasons ago, the Forest faithful were able to see a masterclass from Robbie Earnshaw as he single handedly embarrassed the Foxes defence, scoring a hat-trick in a 5-1 victory. Last season, the game proved to be an emotional rollercoaster as Leicester pegged back the Reds twice before 'keeper Chris Weale let a soft volley from Paul McKenna slip through him in the 81st minute and gift Forest victory.
The meeting of the two teams is always a spicy affair and given the added sub plots of the amount of money Leicester have spent and their high expectations, the inconsistent start of the Reds and the meeting of two former England managers, Sven Goran Eriksson and Steve McClaren meant this game meant more than usual.
Initially, I was meant to be on holiday for this game, but the hotel messed up our reservation and it meant we would now go a day later. Twenty minutes into the game and I wished I was in North Yorkshire away from the debacle taking place in front of me.
I feel like I'm repeating myself every time I write this blog but every game shows no difference. The team looked lazy, tired, unenthusiastic and against a pumped up, energetic Leicester side, we were soon punished.
My feelings regarding Greening only continued to be negative as a simple pass to Chambers was too short and ex Manchester City midfielder Gelson Fernandes, nipped in, raced away and had the intelligence to lay in David Nugent to slot into an empty net. The goal was offside but it's no excuse. It was a ridiculous goal to give away.
To make matters worse, the usually reliable Chambers then gave the ball away and Neil Danns-who was hugely impressive and ran riot all afternoon-raced away and appeared to slot below Camp, before Gunter cleared off the line but it fell straight to Fernandes, who couldn't miss.
2-0 down to one of our rivals, who were quite frankly playing us off the park.
The first half team selection wasn't right. It wasn't even close. Moloney had a nightmare at right back, repeatedly giving the ball away and unable to handle Danns, Cohen and McGugan played on the wrong wing with neither being involved and two defensive midfielders playing alongside each other, with no creativity in the centre of the park. Just to top it off, David McGoldrick started upfront. As I've said before, I will back any player picked. But enough's enough. This guy is appalling, especially with Findley and Miller on the bench and Garner and Tudgay in the squad who could easily offer more. 'McGoldraught' must be immense in training because McClaren is seeing something that we definitely are not.
The gaffer got the message and brought on the American and the ex West Bromwich striker at half time for McGoldrick and Derbyshire. It immediately added extra impetus but still lacking a cutting edge. Majewski was introduced for Moloney and it was an inspired substitution. Gunter moved to right back, Cohen back to left back with Radi and McGugan allowed to roam in midfield. Finally, the team looked settled and began playing with pace and tempo.
With the game appearing to meander away, the game changed in a few minutes.
Following a scramble in the area, Leicester defender Matt Mills handled the ball and Forest had a penalty. Let's be frank, it's a soft penalty. The centre back isn't even looking as it hits his hand. What followed next was simply bizarre. Reputable 'keeper Schmeichel moved the ball after McGugan had placed it in preparation for the spot kick and was booked before Lewis powered home to give us hope. Straight from the ball hitting the net, the Dane held the ball before throwing it in the Brian Clough Stand. He was given a second yellow and sent off. Schmeichel looked bewildered and the City Ground had all of a sudden erupted into life.
It got even better for the Reds as Danns, who was easily man of the match with his direct attacking, was sacrificied to bring on Chris Weale.
What then followed was wave after wave of attack. With a minute of stoppage time remaining, Cohen exploited Weale's weaknesses as he lifted a cross over the goalkeeper and Boateng, bundled in.
Somehow, we had managed to get a point. But we didn't deserve it.
Camp-Couldn't do anything about the two goals and did everything that was asked of him. Tried to keep the ball moving. 7/10
Moloney- Not a good performance, consistently gave the ball away and was ran riot by Danns. 4/10
Morgan- Worked hard and won a fair few challenges. Also gave us an option up front as we chased the game. 7/10
Chambers- Dived in and sacrificed himself for the first goal before being at fault for the second. Seems to be lacking his dominance that he had last season. 5/10
Gunter- Always works hard and always impresses. Premier League experience shows. Much more comfortable at right back though. 8/10
Cohen-Similarly to Gunter, he always works hard but struggled to get involved in the midfield. In fairness, he isn't a right winger. Team looked far more settled when he was moved back into the left side of defence. 6/10
Greening- Hugely at fault for the first goal and just continues in failing to impress. He appears lazy and although, he's happy to have the ball, he rarely does anything with it. Maybe it's time to drop him for a game or two. 5/10
McGugan-Wasted on the left wing. Looked far more dangerous in his free attacking role. Cool head for the penalty as well. 7/10
Boateng-Relatively solid game. Works hard and is hard to push off the ball. But gave it away a lot. Much prefer to Greening. 7/10
McGoldrick- Made my feelings quite clear about this guy. He's had his chance. His effort is good, but it isn't enough. He has to go away and work very, very hard.
Findley-Harsh on the American to be dropped. Always comes on with plenty of enthuasiasm and has sheer pace that frightens defences. Looks good alongside Miller. 8/10
Miller-Full of praise for this lad again. Initially looked clumsy and heavily relied on having the ball on his left side but soon settled and added a huge threat to a defence that appeared content all afternoon. 7/10
Majewski-Says a lot that a player who only played 20 minutes of the game is my man of the match. But the Pole came on, got stuck in while also picking up the pace and adding creativity. Linked up well with McGugan. 8/10
A common phrase in football is that the best teams never know when we're beaten and this is a perfect example of this. But we wouldn't need to put ourselves under such pressure if we didn't take 70 minutes to start playing our game. McClaren must pick a settled 11 which, at the moment, includes Majewski, Findley and Miller who are consistently coming on and saving the day. Hard week's work ahead and we must be ready before West Ham arrive at the City Ground next Sunday, otherwise I fear we could be on the end of a very harsh lesson.
No comments:
Post a Comment