A big week for Nottingham Forest got off to the perfect start as the Under-18s reached the FA Youth Cup for the first time in the club’s history.
Warren Joyce’s young charges came from behind to beat Chelsea 3-1 in a dramatic finale at the City Ground. They will now go toe-to-toe with Manchester United to try to lift the trophy.
And the first-team will be looking to follow that up on the banks of the Trent as they have successive home games in their fight for a play-offs spot. First up, Coventry City are the visitors on Wednesday night, followed by Birmingham City on Saturday.
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Ahead of the fixtures, Reds reporter Sarah Clapson answered fans’ questions and responded to comments in a live Q&A on our Forest Facebook page. Here’s how it panned out.
Q: Which goalkeeper should play?
A: It’s going to be an interesting one. The manager has said he accepts he has a decision to make, because both Ethan Horvath and Brice Samba have done well when they’ve played.
Samba did well on Saturday. He made some decent saves, although he did have the odd nervy moment, which is just part of who he is. Horvath is a very different character, with a very different temperament.
I don’t think you should chop and change goalkeepers too much. But the way Cooper answered the question on Saturday about whether he has a No.1 and a No.2 suggests it will be Horvath who comes back in.
Cooper said he looks at the Blackpool game in isolation, because Horvath wasn’t quite 100 percent. He was suffering from jet-lag and had been late linking back up with the squad from international duty. It made sense to play Samba for that one.
I think it will be Horvath back in on Wednesday night, though, and for the rest of the games. He’s done well.
You can’t say that Horvath was dropped on Saturday. It was just that he wasn’t quite right to play.
Whoever does get the nod against Coventry, I think Cooper will then stick with them. You really need stability over who plays in goal.
If you’re looking for a cool, level head, Horvath is your man. And he is capable of making really good saves. That gives him the edge at this stage, for me. But if Samba does keep his place, that’s still a really good choice.
It’s a difficult dilemma. But it shows how Forest have two keepers who are pretty much neck-and-neck. They’re both pushing each other.
Q: I wonder what the future will hold for these young players. Good from the U18s and U23s. Jonathan Panzo and Ateef Konate are players who stand out for the 23s. No wonder Cooper is having selection headaches.
A: There’s a lot of young players who are definitely doing their best to try to catch the manager’s eye. And they are pushing for their chance. They are really making a case for themselves, and they are on the manager’s radar.
A group of the younger players do train regularly with the senior squad. Cooper keeps very close tabs on how they are all doing throughout the academy age groups.
He was asked the other day whether any of the 23s players might get a chance before the end of the season. He did say he wouldn’t rule out anybody playing a part, but I’d be surprised if we see too many different faces in the last few games, because the stakes are so high. Cooper has also generally stuck with using a pretty settled group, and they are the ones who have built up momentum.
The younger lads are very much involved, though. Fin Back travelled with the squad to Blackpool, for example.
At some point in the nearish future, I expect we’ll start to see more of them blooded through. If it’s not this season, then perhaps next year. In pre-season, I’m sure we’ll see a few of the younger lads get a chance.
The future is really bright. There is a lot of talent throughout the club. The City Ground has a real buzz about it at the minute - it's a great place to be, with plenty to be excited about at all levels. Hopefully it can be a successful end to the season for everyone.
Konate is one to watch, for sure. And Panzo has looked good when he’s played for the 23s.
It just shows how well the first-team are doing that good players aren’t getting a look-in. Even amongst the senior squad that is the case.
It’s exciting to think there’s the next crop of young players ready to start knocking on the door. And for the U18s, Monday night will only have given them a taste for more of that kind of experience in the future.
Q: Should Lewis Grabban get his place straight back?
A: In the short-term, at least, it depends whether he’s ready to start games. He’s been out for a long time and hadn’t trained much prior to coming off the bench at Blackpool.
Beyond that, though, it’s definitely another selection dilemma for Cooper. Especially when you factor in Sam Surridge pushing for a starting spot, too.
Keinan Davis is just playing so well, I don’t think you can leave him out. He’s such a handful for the opposition.
Davis and Grabban were playing well together before injury intervened. That’s an option, but then you have to leave someone else out of the team to fit Grabban in, in a deeper role.
Against Coventry, I would just change goalkeeper and bring in Horvath, but keep the rest of the team the same. The first half performance was so good, I don’t think there’s a need to tweak the outfield line-up - unless Cooper wants to keep anybody fresh for Saturday.
Having Grabban and Surridge as options from the bench is a real asset to have. Both of them can come on and make a difference.
Rather Cooper than me picking the team at the minute. It’s not an easy choice. But having three forwards who are capable of getting goals is a good situation to be in at this stage of the season.
Q: Do you think Forest could hope for automatic promotion or is that out of reach?
A: I do think it’s going to be a pretty tight table right until the end. But for the moment, Forest just have to concentrate on making sure they are in the top six - because they are not there at the moment, they’re still outside of the pack.
You shouldn’t rule anything out. But the aim has to be just to pick up as many points as possible - starting against Coventry on Wednesday - and see where that takes them.
Either way, though, the priority has to be making sure they finish in the top six. Not trying to run before they can walk and thinking too far ahead about who they might be able to catch.
Just talking in those terms is remarkable when you consider the start Forest had. It shouldn’t be forgotten just how far they have come.
To get second spot would require Bournemouth to drop a lot of points, as well as Forest winning the majority of their remaining games. It could happen, but I think it might prove too big an ask.
That shouldn’t detract from the incredible run Forest are on, though. And the main focus has to be on finishing somewhere in the top-six.
You can count on Forest going into every game wanting to win. It’s just about seeing how far that gets them.
It’s all about timing your run at this point, and they’re timing theirs perfectly if they can keep this form going. But that’s the key - they have to keep picking up results.
