It has not been a year to remember for anyone, for reasons that go well beyond the boundaries of sport, but 2020 has been particularly miserable for Nottingham Forest.
Here is a reminder of the highs… and, I’m afraid, the many lows.
Player of the year: It sums up the start Forest have made to the campaign that two of the most obvious choices for this have not played a game for the club since July.
Matty Cash departed for Aston Villa in a deal that could ultimately be worth £16 million to Forest and Ben Watson joined League One side Charlton Athletic as he wanted to return south for family reasons.
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Cash has been badly missed at right-back and the subtle value of Watson to the side has only been enhanced by his absence. Sabri Lamouchi called him the “brains” of his Forest side.
But, more than that, Watson was a shielding presence sitting in front of the back four. The veteran midfielder would drop in and almost become a third central defender, allowing both full-backs to bomb on and the midfielders ahead of him to focus on providing attacking threat.
Forest signed a host of midfielders this summer — including a few with decent Championship pedigree, such as Harry Arter and Jack Colback — but somehow the void left by Watson still hasn’t been filled.
Joe Worrall deserves a mention too.
Best moment of the year: February. It feels like a world ago, doesn’t it?
The majority of the 29,455 people packed into the City Ground all took to their feet the moment Joe Lolley won possession off the last man inside the Leeds United half and raced through on goal.
The winger only had the keeper, Kiko Casilla, to beat. But he unselfishly squared the ball to Tyler Walker, who had been screaming for the pass, 10 yards to his left.
Walker took a touch before sending the ball into the back of the net from close range and lift the roof off the stadium.
It was the last goal Walker scored for Forest before his summer move to Coventry City. More significantly, it was the most recent win that Forest fans got to celebrate in the stadium.
Worst moment of the year: Do we really have to talk about it?
After collecting only three wins from their next 14 games, Forest still arrived at the final day of the Championship season knowing that anything other than a heavy defeat would see them secure a play-off place.
Stoke City had little to play for, having already secured their Championship status following a flirtation with the relegation fight. But they showed no mercy.
(Photo: David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)
A 4-1 defeat, coupled with Swansea City’s win by the same scoreline at Reading, saw Lamouchi’s side miss out on sixth place on goal difference. No moment was more painful or symbolic of Forest’s failure than the second in which Nuno da Costa slid the ball into his own net, while desperately trying to clear, to seal Forest’s fate.
Funniest moment: More than a few seasoned, toughened Premier League footballers will have experienced “the look” (it’s more of a glare) that could inspire a sense of nervousness in even the most hardened of players as they lined up in the tunnel.
The slight narrowing of the eyes, the blank, menacing expression and a tilt forward of the head, in the manner of a man about to burst into sudden, violent action.
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Roy Keane is perhaps the only man on the planet who could pull off this exact look while holding a fast-melting Mr Whippy ice cream.
And the return of Keane to the Nottingham, where he had initially forged his reputation in the early days of his career and later returned as assistant manager to Martin O’Neill, could hardly have been more inspired.
Fans may not have been allowed in stadiums, but their sense of humour remained. The club gave them the chance to fill their seat with a cardboard cutout image of themselves… or somebody else. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Stuart Pearce, Buzz Lightyear and one or two less tasteful efforts were among those in the “crowd”.
But the sight of a cardboard version of a glowering Keane — very obviously having begrudgingly agreed to a photo with a fan in between licks of said ice cream — in the stands, was a moment of pure genius, during a period when Forest fans have had little to smile about.
(Photo: Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)
Goal of the year: There are not many contenders among the measly 15 goals Forest have scored this season — and, after February, Forest’s form was patchy at best last season too.
But Forest were still full of hope and optimism when they headed to The Hawthorns last season to take on a West Bromwich Albion side they were pushing hard for promotion. Heading into stoppage time, Forest were trailing 2-1 and seemed to be looking at a defeat.
But, as he collected the ball on the periphery of the penalty area, Cash had other ideas. A neat sidestep left a couple of defenders chasing shadows and provided him with the room to pull back his foot and unleash a spectacular, driven shot across goal and high into the corner of the net.
It was a complete “thunderbastard”, an outstanding goal — but also one that allowed Forest to remain on the shirt tails of the teams above them, as they continued to dream lofty dreams about automatic promotion.
Game of the year: As Lamouchi firmly shook the hand of Marcelo Bielsa at the final whistle, after seeing Nottingham Forest triumph 2-0, he was not the only person in the stadium daring to dream of automatic promotion with 15 games left to play.
After beating the side who had been title favourites in the eyes of many, Lamouchi’s side climbed to fourth in the table, where they trailed leaders West Brom by only two points.
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The victory was easily the best result of the year and the game was action-packed.
Brice Samba produced his most impressive save of the season, when he improbably reached up an arm, while lying on the turf, to swat the ball off the line and hold Leeds at bay.
Most honest thing said: There are a few options here, but they are largely all from the mouth of Worrall.
As a young player, Worrall once created an awkward mood ahead of the Forest’s Christmas do, when he conducted a searingly honest interview in which he questioned the attitude of his more senior team-mates, asking whether they “wanted it” enough just moments before departing for London.
And he trod similar territory earlier in December when he warned that there was room for Forest to “work harder” and “run more” as they looked to pull themselves away from the wrong end of the table.
“If we do not try hard enough, talent will not replace hard work,” he said. “I have to choose my words carefully here… we just have to work harder. It is as simple as that. We are not running as much as we should. When the ball bounces, you have to make sure a red shirt wins it. I am a firm believer that you earn your luck. If you get your head down and work hard, you find that things start to go your way.
(Photo: James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)
“We are above the relegation zone on goal difference. Run about, work hard, go back to basics. I was speaking to (academy manager) Gary Brazil recently and he suggested that it was time for home truths — to stick a rocket up a few people. He is bang on. It is difficult when you are down at the foot of the table to do that, without being nasty or causing a ruckus. But lads have to realise the position we are in. It pains me to stand here and be in this position. It has to change.
“There have been some harsh words said in the changing room. But nothing is personal. We need to put our bodies on the line, to play every game like it is your last.”
Piece you most enjoyed writing: When I was driving to Beeston to meet Paul McGregor for a coffee, I was still not expecting what was to follow. I’d met the former striker a handful of times and he’d struck me as being a nice guy. But he still barely knew me from Adam, so it was great that he opened up with searing honestly and brilliant colour about his experiences in football and music.
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McGregor had scored in Europe with Nottingham Forest, while also playing in front of packed crowds as lead singer with band Ulterior.
“I didn’t like it when you could see the whites of people’s eyes, when I was playing football. Playing for f*cking Northampton in front of 2,500 people at Sixfields? That is not where I wanted to be. That is not why I got into football and it showed. I f*cking despised it,” says McGregor. “But when you have 30,000 people roaring you on at the City Ground or 50,000 at Anfield, screaming at you, singing… you do not see the whites of their eyes. They are one. That is the dream. That is the sound you have imagined in your head. That is everything you hoped it was.
“The other way around, when you are in a band on stage, when you can see the whites of people’s eyes, it is brilliant. When you have written a lyric that you want to get across and you have a moment with somebody when you look them in the eyes… you are almost looking for that connection. You want that. You crave that.”
You can have a read of it here.
Stat that sums them up:From beating Leeds in February up to drawing with Stoke City on December 29, Forest’s record in all competitions stands at won 7, drawn 14, lost 17. A run of seven wins in 38 outings.
Four of those wins came under Hughton in the first 15 games of his tenure.
Nothing better illustrates the manner in which the wheels came off.
Wish for next year: Anything but League One football, pretty please. We have been there, we have done that. Let’s not do it again.
It is not a mini-adventure. This wouldn’t be a chance to visit a few different grounds and watch a bit of winning football. It is a nightmare. There is nothing to like about it at all. Not one thing. Just ask Sunderland.
Every team will arrive at the City Ground feeling like they are about to play at Wembley. Few opposition sides will allow Forest to play any kind of passing football. It would be a constant, painful grind.
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And that is without mentioning the financial implications and cost-cutting measures that would follow.
I promise there will be no improbable appeals for a late play-off push; no daft dreams of this season turning into something incredible. Just not relegation, please. Survival is all I ask for.
Retain Championship status — then we can dare to set our sights higher all over again when the new season starts again in August. Pretty please, with a cherry on top.
(Photo: Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Nottingham Forest writer for The Athletic. Previously spent 25 years at the Nottingham Post. Unsurprisingly, Nottingham born and bred. Meet me by the left lion.
