Saturday was the second game we have go over to this season , the first being Chelsea. We have had to go the corporate road both times as we haven't been able to secure tickets through the normal channels or came out in any of the ballots. For Chelsea we were in the SBR Suite and on Saturday in the Hall of Fame , neither really our scene but Saturday was more like a normal match experience and the seats were very good. When you put the flights/uber/hotel and beer with the corporate tickets it makes it an expensive trip!
Neither side really laid a hand on each other until the first Forest goal and then we just imploded. Teams have sussed out Davis and it became increasingly obvious that Forest were looking to exploit the space behind him - for me only two options on this , either the other back three shuffle over 15 yards as soon as he bombs on up the wing or just play him in midfield with an old school defending full back behind him.
Greaves looked ok up to the goals and could be considered harshly subbed off but we definitely looked more assured as a defensive unit with Burgess there in the second half.
Palmer is a good keeper , steady , vocal and brings confidence to the set up.
Phillips and Cajuste battled away and I think broke even with their central midfielders , Phillips unlucky with a really clean shot and Cajuste got a great goal.
Philogene, Eniso and to a lesser degree Hutchinson just huffed and puffed (and didn't blow any house down) lots of endeavour but little or no end result.
Delap not getting the service but brutal on their first goal and arguably should have scored with the headed chance he had. Hirst is a likeable sort , comes on gets on with it and will probably get you 10 goals where Delap will get you 15 (nothing wrong with that ) - at this stage KM needs to look at playing both together , Hirst up front , Delap at no 10 , if it isn't tried betweem now and season end I'll be dissapointed with KM.
Taylor looked assured when he came on , he is always looking for the right pass but Jack Clarke was just a like for like for Philogene/Ensisco.
Overall we looked way behind in the physical stakes - other teams are just bigger and faster(in actual speed and speed of thought) and we are prisoners to the system we play. Our inability to tweak or change the system in games or week to week isn't something I expected with KM at the helm and it will stifle his development as a manager/coach long term if can't get around that ( the old adage applies here : definition of madness , doing the same thing every day and thinking something is going to change)
It's been a great adventure though, and a miracle aside we are back down, coming straight back up (easier said than done) would leave the club ,management ,fans better prepared for the Premiership. It's all very doom and gloom now but I'll take a 4 -2 premiership defeat to Forest over the 4 -1 league one defeat I was over for in February 2020 - dark days indeed and puts how far we have come in context.
On the last point on my longwinded post the pre-match meet & greet was hosted by Byran Hamiliton with Carlos Edwards & Mickey Stockwell . Mickey spent about 15 minutes with us at the table and is a sound man - absolute legend and very entertaing |  |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
