Nottingham Forest (H) Match Preview
Brady Frost, Feature Writer
Twitter: @brady0894
Source for image above: HTAFC
Friday night under the lights at the John Smith’s Stadium, Huddersfield will search for their first win of the season against Nottingham Forest. Fan podcast 1865 Forest Ramble gives us the lowdown on our opponents.
Five goals conceded, three games lost, no goals scored. You don’t have to be a football expert to work out that Huddersfield Town aren’t clicking at the moment. Despite hitting the post in Saturday’s game against Brentford with a Juninho Bacuna header, The Terriers were toothless in another match that has led to fans being concerned about the season.
In Huddersfield's last 15 competitive matches, they've failed to score in nine of those games. Yes, that stretches between two managers, mainly Danny Cowley as well as new boss Carlos Corberán and yes, that includes last season too, but it identifies something that fans have known for a long time, Town don’t score enough. It would be harsh to judge Corberán for this, having managed just two league games with the weakest squad The Terriers have had for a long time, but it’s something that the club need to address in the closing weeks of the transfer window.
This week’s opponents, Nottingham Forest are also suffering from a lack of goals, having lost their first three games of the new campaign without scoring. Combined with last season’s stuttering end to the season, which saw Forest slip out of the playoffs on the last day, it looks like the pressure is on manager Sabri Lamouchi.
With both teams having not scored so far this season, are we in for an opening of the floodgates or will both sides batten down the hatches? To find out, And He Takes That Chance chatted to Rich Ferraro from Nottingham Forest fan podcast, 1865 Forest Ramble for the inside track on Saturday’s opponents.
Adama Diakhaby joined Nottingham Forest on loan in January for the rest of 19/20 campaign. Photo source: Nottingham Forest
A lot has changed since we last played each other at the end of June. Do you think missing out in the playoffs has a negative effect on the club for the season? Tell us what’s happened since June.
From the outside looking in, you would think that the end of Forest's season was a disaster. In truth, the campaign started to crumble after the excellent win over Leeds at the start of February, where the lack of depth in our squad was brutally exposed; it became clear that we were asking half-fit players to push themselves e.g. Joe Lolley, who has been playing through the pain of shin splints.
Forest had one of the worst lockdown periods of any Championship club, and the win over your lot in June was actually misleading - since then Lewis Grabban hasn't scored in open play, and although the penalty you scored in stoppage time was a mere consolation (and a joke decision), it was one of many late goals we have conceded which scuppered our play-off push.
What are your general expectations for the season?
Well, it has to be better than last season, doesn't it? Especially as we have signed nearly a whole new team's worth of players, to add much-needed grit, experience and depth to our squad. I don't think the fans necessarily expect automatic promotion, but play-offs are the minimum requirement.
Do you think Sabri Lamouchi is to blame for the slump of form? Does he deserve the sack?
He has to take some blame. Having a shithouse style of play, with minimal possession and one goal victories is fine as long as you are winning. When the results dry up, it suddenly looks very dull and turgid. In fairness to Sabri, he was mainly working with a squad brought in by the last two managers, and his signings Tiago Silva, Yuri Ribeiro and Samba Sow all struggled with fitness in the second half of the season.
Should he have been sacked? In the modern game, it is a surprise that he wasn't, but he had just been given a new contract! Instead, the club has gone to the other extreme, bringing in significant new backroom staff, and a lot of new players. Another change is that Sabri has had more input into incoming player transfers, which is significant after the disaster of our January 2020 transfer window.
Sabri Lamouchi has to take some blame for Forest’s slump in form, according to Rich Ferraro from Nottingham Forest fan podcast, 1865 Forest Ramble. Photo source: Nottingham Forest
Like Huddersfield you’ve not won or scored in your first three games this season, what do you see as the main issue behind this?
A hangover! With a short break and barely any pre-season, the players still have a splitting headache and terrible nausea. A win - even a goal - could have the same restorative effect as a bacon cob and a coffee. Let's be honest, the performances in the first two and a half matches were pretty dreadful, but something started to click in the second half of last week's match against Cardiff. I am hoping that the players will take confidence in discovering a slightly more fluid style of play and the ability to create chances, even if we haven't taken any of them yet.
Which player from your current squad do you think will be one to watch this season?
There is a lot of hope and expectation surrounding the capture of Luke Freeman on a season-long loan from Sheffield United - again, a player who has experience at this level, and at an age where he should be reaching the peak of his career. As Lolley and Ameobi struggled with injury, and Joao Carvalho has fallen way out of favour, we desperately needed a player with the ability to create chances.
You’ve done a lot of transfer business this summer, have you been impressed with your business so far? Any players you think will do well?
As I mentioned above, the focus has been on recruiting players who should be in the best years of their career, with Championship experience. Apart from Freeman, Harry Arter should give us energy and dynamism in midfield, and a nasty edge - I think you need a player who has a yellow card in him! Forest just signed Scott McKenna, I am pleased that we are recruiting a centre-back who is more physical - Worrall and Figueiredo are decent players but do get bullied by big centre-forwards. Up front, Lyle Taylor has a good conversion rate and seems to be the perfect player to challenge Lewis Grabban.
Nottingham Forest have just signed defender Scott McKenna from Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen. Photo source: Nottingham Forest
Is there anything Huddersfield need to be on the lookout for in this game?
It depends on Forest's tactics - Sabri is trying to change things up a bit, both in terms of tactics and formations. If Forest play with Taylor and Grabban upfront, then it is likely that Freeman and Ameobi will push forward and possibly cut in a bit more, to compensate for the lack of a number 10 in midfield. This gave Cardiff's wingers and full-backs a tough time in the second half last week.
What are Forest’s weaknesses, is there anything Huddersfield can take advantage of?
Pretty obviously, a lack of confidence and a soft centre - as Arter and McKenna might not be available yet, the best way to beat Forest is to score against them first. In those circumstances, we just don't seem to have the ability to recover from conceding soft goals.
Huddersfield’s new signing Carel Eiting has been training with the team this week, will he start? Photo source: HTAFC
What are your expectations for Huddersfield Town this season?
Who knows? To be honest, who knows what happened with the Cowley’s, and who knows what will happen when you get a new manager in who has no real experience of the Championship? Will you end up with a Wagner, Farke or even a Struber? Or worst-case scenario, will he be another Siewert? I have no idea if you have enough good players to cope - on the one hand, a player like Danny Ward could be a good acquisition, but on the other, you seem to be playing Adama Diakhaby, which can only lead to ruin.
What’s your score prediction for the game?
I hate doing score predictions! Something has to give, and I would hope that Forest can actually score a goal - if they do, then I really hope that will lead to a Reds win.
How do you think Huddersfield will get on against Forest? Let us know in the comments!
