Brazilian is a master of grafting and chasing, finding the gaps and quietly making the players around him look a little betterFive-nil. But then, Manchester City just look so strong at the moment. Still: five- nil. But that injury to Bukayo Saka, how much of a blow could that be? Anyway, it was five-nil. But those Nottingham Forest chances, the Jesse Lingard shot where Gabriel Magalhães basically passes it straight to him, one day those are going to cost you. And yet, check the scoreboard, girls and boys: five-nil.It is the eternal gift of Arsenal fans to be able to identify the potential anxiety in virtually any situation, however favourable or triumphant. Pleasure is simply misery deferred. Most people look for...
The season’s first Merseyside derby, an Old Trafford blockbuster and crunch time for Bruno Lage at WolvesSeven games into the season in all competitions and Frank Lampard can finally select a recognised striker he wants in an Everton shirt. Providing someone at the Premier League has registered Neal Maupay in time for the Merseyside derby, that is. Lampard and Jürgen Klopp will be relieved to concentrate on the renewal of old rivalries after the distractions of a transfer window that both believe dragged too long into the season. Everton are without a win in the Premier League but building gradually. A derby debut for Maupay, signed from Brighton last Friday but not cleared to play at Leeds on Tuesday, would...
The next arrival at the City Ground may have been watching from the visitors’ substitutes’ bench as Spurs secured a 2-0 winThe Nottingham Forest Premier League jigsaw puzzle is arriving piece by piece via mail order each week. There are still a few days of sitting at the transfer window hoping the postman will turn up with the missing components after their shortcomings were laid bare by Spurs.The record signing Morgan Gibbs-White has completed the set in the final third, looking constantly dangerous on his home debut. He is the livewire to get the crowd on their feet, and within five minutes he was dazzling Tottenham defenders with tricks and speed. It is no wonder Steve Cooper never wanted to...
Promoted club have brought in more than a dozen players this summer, illustrating that progress can be destabilisingWhen was it that alarm bells began to ring? Was it when Omar Richards arrived from Bayern Munich for £8.5m to become Nottingham Forest’s sixth summer signing? Was it Lewis O’Brien’s £6m switch from Huddersfield? Or perhaps Remo Freuler, signed this past week from Atalanta for £7.6m, was one signing too many – and that was before a £20m fee was agreed for Emmanuel Dennis.If that move is concluded then Forest will have brought in 15 players this summer at a cost of just under £110m, and they have been strongly linked with Morgan Gibbs‑White. That figure, irrespective of the quality of the...
Neutrals got the romantic outcome they had demanded on a raucous day that had an odd sense of inevitability about it“Far we have travelled, much we have seen,” read the banner draped behind Wembley’s west end. A fair percentage of Nottingham Forest’s fanbase will have scant, if any, recollection of their last runout at the highest level but now they can add Premier League destinations to their adventures. Mull of Kintyre will become a top-flight anthem once again and perhaps, if they are really fortunate, Paul McCartney will make good on his half-promise to perform his hit at the City Ground upon promotion.This was the ascent neutrals had demanded: a dose of straightforward romance in complicated times and a reminder...