Beware the Tricky Trees
Nottingham Forest are second in the Premier League at the halfway point.
Five at the back? Boring. Handing over possession away from home? Cynical. A big man up front? Anachronistic. Except Nottingham Forest are doing all these things and playing great stuff, and they’re second in the Premier League.
OK, maybe they’d call it three at the back. But what’s the difference when you’re willing to settle for 38% possession at Goodison Park, home to one of the worst outfits in England’s top flight? If Everton survive this season, they’ll rarely do it by having 62% of the ball, and honestly they might be better off playing the Forest way. But can they? Can Sean Dyche do what Nuno Espirito Santo is doing?
Because there’s more to it than defend-defend-defend-and-counter. The way the Trees flow forward when they win possession is a joy to watch. Morgan Gibbs-White is often the engine, carrying the ball past players or combining with a teammate to get them running on top of the opposition defense. From there, they’ve often got an advantage in men or momentum, and their front-foot fliers can pick a pass. Anthony Elanga is chief among them, and he’s been in the kind of devastating form this season that makes you wonder why there was no place for him at Manchester United.
Perhaps this system is a version of what Ruben Amorim wants from his own setup at Old Trafford—but does he have a Neco Williams to bomb down the left-hand side, combining devilishly with partners-in-crime so Forest can tic-tac-toe their way up the field? Does he have an Elanga, or even a Jota Silva? Does he have a Chris Wood?
That last one needs asking, because rarely do you see a 33-year-old striker hit the form of his life, essentially from nowhere. The New Zealnder has forged a fine career in the Premier League, sure, but he’s gone ballistic this season. 10 minutes in at Goodison, he took a looped pass on his chest 25 yards from goal and, without a moment’s hesitation, thwacked it full on the volley. It bounced wide, but the confidence was flowing through him like electricity. He has been everywhere over these first 19 games, using his size and power but also often his brain, finishing off those flowing moves with strength and cleverness.
After 14 minutes, Gibbs-White launched a long ball towards Wood, running in behind the marooned James Tarkowski. Wood stretched to pop a header towards Elanga, who’d drifted into his orbit to play a two-man game up front. The Swede returned the ball to Wood with a header on the bounce and again, with the utmost instinct, the big #11 deftly looped an effort over Jordan Pickford with just a bit of topspin. It was balletic movement and a touch finish, classy behavior.
Forest were tidy and organized after that, seeing off what threat Everton produced primarily through the whizkid wanderings of Iliman Ndiaye, who’s probably too good for this bunch. And when Elanga jumped on a slack Everton square ball in the 60th minute, the Trees took their chance to seal the game. Elanga attracted two defenders and found Wood lurking at the top of the box. He took it in but didn’t try to turn, waiting for Gibbs-White to make his far-post run into the box so he could find him with a slide-rule ball. The young Englishman allowed it to run across him and then slipped it back behind his planted leg—and behind defender Abdoulaye Doucouré—with a bit of a mini-Cruyff turn. Then he buried it high in the net above Pickford.
It was enough to get Forest over the line at Goodison, and this has all been enough to get them into second here at the season’s halfway point, at least until Arsenal and Chelsea play their 19th games. Who would have predicted this for Nuno Espirito Santo, run out of the English game after a poor spell with Tottenham that felt lab-tested to fail? The Portuguese has come storming back now, and even if Forest can’t maintain this kind of form through the second half of the season, they’re now looking at a finish that even Nuno’s best Wolves sides would envy.
And if they can maintain it? The Tricky Trees will be back in the European Cup, a competition they’ve won no less than twice.⚽︎