Pete Lansley was at the City Ground to see it.
Ola Aina spoke to Sky Sports: “Massive win. We were disappointed last week but today we are happy, we fought for each other and got the win. My goal was one to remember. I am happy to get off the mark and help the team. We can all be proud, we stuck to the game plan, we dug in and fought for each other.”
Vlachodimos spoke too: “It was an amazing atmosphere. It makes everything more easier if you win the game. We keep going.”
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Kári Tulinius: “It’s odd how flat Villa were today. Emery’s teams are usually never lacking in intensity, sometimes to their detriment, but it’s almost as if they started the game thinking it was already won.”
A tale of two goalies: Emiliano Martínez had a shocker, beaten twice from distance, the second goal a terrible error, while Odisseas Vlachodimos almost lived up to his heroic name, looking solid and the defence in front of him very organised.
Justin Kavanagh gets in touch: “I hear tell that Paul McCartney is now a session man for some Hackney combo called the Rolling Stones. One of whom, as you were on about sopranos, sang at Queen Elizabeth’ coronation before you know… he found a lower register and became angry at his fellow Glimmer Twin for accepting a knighthood. “
Full-time: Nottingham Forest 2-0 Aston Villa
What a job Steve Cooper is doing by the way, and Unai Emery’s fliers have been downed. That was a well-executed plan, and such fine defending from Forest saw them through. On to West Ham next week for Forest, and Fulham next week for Villa, who were poor and never looked themselves from the start.
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90+5 min: The free-kick is a terrible waste and Elanga almost gets clear, though he was aiming for the corner flag and not goal.
90+4 min: Villa free-kick for an Elanga foul. Surely a consolation goal is all they can snatch.
90+2 min: Tielemans and Niakhate clash, and the Forest defender goes down. There’s some harsh words exhanged after Niakhate gets back up.
90 min: Six minutes have been added on. Villa look beaten here. Unai Emery is nothing like a energetic as is usual. He knwos.
89 min: Bailey runs the ball out to ironic cheers. Then it looks like Elanga has got through, only for him to be tackled.
88 min: Danilo offside shocker, and he’s also booked for hoofing the ball away to kill time.
87 min: More subs: Dominguez and Aina off, Yates and Williams on for Forest. For Villa, it’s Dendoncker for Douglas Luiz, who looks pleased to depart.
86 min: Diaby deliberates as the ball is headed to him, and can’t find a teammate.
85 min: Murillo has class on the ball but he takes the sensible action of clattering the ball as far out of defence as can.
84 min: Douglas Luiz, who has been so good this season, has been closed off and chased down. The ball is lost and Gibbs-White almost releases Danilo, only for another offside to be waved.
82 min: Forest change: Awoniyi for Danilo, back in the Forest squad after missing six matches.
80 min: Yet another Forest offside. This time it’s Gibbs-White.
79 min: Another Villa change. On comes Diego Carlos for Kamara. Murillo heads behind as Tielemans shoots. Then Luiz takes a poor corner. It’s still all Villa.
78 min: Another Villa miss. The ball comes out to Digne who can’t keep his shot down.
77 min: Bailey jumps up to head wide, not long after Luiz had been splattered by Morgan Gibbs-White.
76 min: Vlachodimos is down, having been clattered. Did Digne get fouled by a flying Sangare? VAR says no. And the keeper is eventually OK to continue.
74 min: Forest fans – presumably – are singing “Ingerlund Ingerlund Ingerlund:. Do they know Steve Cooper is Welsh?
72 min: Robbie Robinson gets in touch: “As regards someone joining his local choir as a soprano that could be an expensive procedure whereas it would only cost a little snip to join as a castrati.”
Michelle Brooks in Adelaide on Paul McCartney: “You’ll find him down under. He’s playing some rather odd venues. More accessible for those outside Sydney or Melbourne than T. Swift.”
71 min: Forest change: Toffolo for Aurier, who has been solid rather than his chaotic Spurs self in the east Midlands.
70 min: Diaby and Bailey seems to be occupying the same space, off the right-hand side, and then, as the ball comes out, Tielemans steps forward and hoofs it wide.
68 min: Diaby, the ball dropping to him on the edge of the box, turns and shoots and Vlachodimos makes another fine save. This can’t have made pleasant viewing for poor Matt Turner. Then Bailey heads over. Villa can’t catch a break.
66 min: Digne and McGinn link but Aina again steps in before Niakhate comes out to smash the ball clear. All Villa now, but Forest ready to pounce on the counter.
65 min: Kamara booked for cropping down Elanga. A fair ball.
63 min: Pau Torres attempt to play in Digne but Aina had it covered. Then, Torres does a neat spin to send Awoniyi the wrong way.
62 min: Forest compressed once more. Everyone in 2/5ths of the pitch. And Forest throwing in blocks and tackles aplenty.
60 min: That’s a Villa sub. Off goes Matty Cash, to warm enough applause from fans of his old club. Youri Tielemans arrives, and is greeted with “Leicester reject”.
59 min: Every player bar Martinez is pinned into Forest’s half and it’s as congested as the M1 at rush hour in there. Villa finally find space and Leon Bailey is laid up, only to whack the ball high and wide. Oh dear.
56 min: Forest try to escape on the counter again but Villa, who live dangerously, keep catching them out in being offside a few yards into their own half.
55 min: A golden chance for Watkins, the ball fizzed in from the left by Digne, and he misses. That was not the expected outcome.
53 min: McGinn wins a corner. Luiz will take, and Watkins flicks over. Niakhate has been outstanding in the Forest defence.
51 min: Unai Emery has the face of a man who has smelled something very off. His team have been rocked by Forest’s muscle.
50 min: Meanwhile, Dominguez had a shot saved by a far stronger Martinez hand, and then at the other end, Mangala falls on Watkins and treads in a very delicate place. Watkins may well be eligible to rejoin his local choir as a soprano.
48 min: The goal was scored in the same 47th minute Forest fans applauded for Adam Johnson, the Nottingham Panther who died so tragically last week. VAR’s intervention was as untimely as ever.
Goal! Nottingham Forest 2-0 Aston Villa (Mangala, 47)
Oh that’s a howler from Martinez, he tried to stop Mangala’s shot from the edge of the box and used one hand. But was Toffolo offside in playing the ball inside? No, the goal stands.
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46 min: Leon Bailey is on for Villa, with Nicola Zaniolo making way. There’s time for a blast of Mull of Kintyre. Whatever happened to Paul McCartney? You never hear much from him these days…Villa force the issue from the get-go, and Watkins fires wide.
Joe Pearson is back: “Weather update: the sun has come out! In other news, I have been googling Vlachodimos while listening to Chaka Demus and Pliers. Generally though, why is changing keepers such a big deal? I mean all the other players are rotated to some extent. It just seems like a lot of unnecessary drama.”
Half-time reading from The Wils.
Jeremy Boyce gets in touch: “Flag down on the play ! I’m in a very windy and yesterday very wet south of France, and was interested in EP’s views on VAR, especially as what is going on at the moment is clearly a load of boll...er..not working properly. What about trying the cricket version, where each team has a maximum number of reviews they can ask for, after that the ref’s decision is final. Personally speaking, I was much happier when the ref’s decision WAS final, however many mistakes they make. In cricket it is amazing how often the VAR confirms the umpire’s decision, in a game where the action takes place in a split second at 90mph. A friend once did a 3 month umpiring course, at the end of which they said “At the end of the day, you can only give what you see.” Very true.”
Half-time: Nottingham Forest 1-0 Aston Villa
That’s been an entertaining half in which Unai Emery the tactical master has been frustrated by the organisation Steve Cooper has instilled in his team. And Forest might have been more than a single goal up. Villa haven’t been poor, but they’ve been prevented from being their usual standard.
45+2 min: Now Villa want a penalty. Did Murillo handle it? There’s a VAR check going on as Villa pass the ball around. The ball goes out of play and despite Villa’s hopes of a penalty. Toffolo also accused but it looks like it his chest. That’s the end of the half.
45+1 min: Forest want a penalty, as Awoniyi is brought down. There’s an offside call, which is very very marginal….referee Gillet wanted to give that but was pulled back by his assistants. It’s the right call but again, as so often, so marginal that we have to wonder.
45 min: Digne trying to overlap but being pushed back and back. Really strong defence and organisation from Forest here. Ball played into Watkins but he has no hope of beating Niakhate.
43 min: Villa corner forced by Zaniolo, who’s been busy but not too productive. The corner is much the same. Villa not at the races, yearning for home comforts.
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41 min: Diaby fouls Sangare. It’s getting a bit more stop-start.
39 min: Aina, on one of his forward runs, beats Zanilolo, and Dominguez, just as in the first minute, can’t stop his shot heading for the River Trent.
38 min: Villa corner. Vlachodimos punches clear under pressure. Impressive goalkeeping so far. No Greek tragedy.
35 min: Gibbs-White and Elanga down the left. Toffolo loses it by overdeliberation. And Villa break at high speed. Watkins beats Murillo, and Diaby plays it left to Zaniolo, whose shot is saved well, by the knees of Vlachodimos.
34 min: Aina heads a Diaby ball clear. It’s all Villa at the moment but Forest are defending well, and strongly.
32 min: Niakhate launches a Challinor of a long throw and there’s a brief spell of panic in the Villa area.
30 min: Lucas Digne has been Villa’s most potent attacker and from his cross inside Zaniolo slips and makes a mess of what was a passable, if tough opportunity. Diaby, too, played in by Luiz then overdoes a lob and misses the target. Unai Emery is even more animated than normal. Matty Cash is being blasted for not joining the attack.
29 min: It’s back and forth, good Premier League fare.
27 min: Every man jack of the Forest team defending the corner. A rearguard effort for another hour may be difficult. Still, there’s always the counter. Elanga is released by Gibbs-White and Kamara has to make a fine recovery tackle to clear the danger.
26 min: The corner is taken short and Digne’s shot is blocked by Elanga.
25 min: Douglas Luiz loses the ball, and Awoniyi is annoyed when the ball doesn’t reach him. Villa go back on the attack, Digne’s cross cleared, and Forest are deep in numbers in defence. Villa are forced back. Aina though has to come back to knock behind for a corner.
22 min: There’s the first test for Vlachodimos (and Pliers?), Zaniolo’s shot span in, inadvertently, and the Greek goalie had to come across to palm away. That was awkward so well done.
20 min: Emi Martinez clanks the ball into the stands when Awoniyi was chasing hard a long ball through.
19 min: Villa dominating possession but doing little with it so far. But what’s this? Zaniolo blocked in the box? Matty Cash makes a hash of a shot but Ollie Watkins was always offside.
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17 min: McGinn, quiet so far, spins in midfield, but Kamara coughs up the ball and Elanga surges on and on. And into the box, but just as he looks to slip in Toffolo, it’s intercepted.
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15 min: Boos as Villa get very lucky. They had lost the ball in a very dangerous position, and Awoniyi had stolen in. Was it Zaniolo who fell over? He goes up the other end of the field and thwacks one wide.
13 min: Seems the VAR had a look at that Aina goal. Was Awoniyi in the keepers’ sightlines? Possibly but the shot came from many, many yards out. In the olden days….that would have been no problem.
11 min: Forest back into shape. Steve Cooper has clearly drilled them to keep that shape in defensive situations. Last week, against Liverpool, all was going well until Murillo decided he was Laurent Blanc and wanted to skate the ball up the other end. It didn’t go well.
9 min: Forest chasing hard as Villa try and spin the ball wide. Murillo steps across to deny Diaby. McGinn plays it to Digne on the left, the full-back forward. Him and Matty Cash have both been back on their heels.
7 min: Forest started with intent and Villa have been slow out of the blocks. Very slow. This isn’t like them but they can hit their groove quite quickly.
Goal! Nottingham Forest 1-0 Aston Villa (Aina, 5)
Dominguez shows a surer foot here, playing the ball wide to Elanga, and the ball is pulled back for Aina, up from defence, and he leathers it home. His first Forest goal and it’s a beauty.
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4 min: Awoniyi finds space and a neat interchange gives Dominguez chance to shoot. It flies wide, when that was a real chance.
3 min: Joe Pearson is among us: “Very foggy here in Indianapolis this morning. And to go you one further from another Ulysses, Matt Turner is definitely not sitting on the bench thinking ‘A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.’”
2 min: So, can Villa spring the trap in the same way as they have so many others? You’d think their style, all speed and pressing, was suited to playing away.
And away we go at the City Ground.
1 min: Loud atmosphere as ever by the Trent.
A wreath is laid, and a lone trumpeter sounds as Remembrance is marked. The young bugler played a bit of a bum note and looks very sorry for himself. The Forest players go to comfort him…that was hard to watch, poor lad. Something in my eye.
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Right, the teams are in the tunnel. Game faces on. “Welcome To The Jungle” is pumping. Will this game bring us to our k-n-n-n-e-es? And what did Waxl mean when he talks of his “serpentine”?
Steve Cooper spoke to Sky Sports about that keeper change: “I probably felt it was the right time and have been pleased with Matt Turner. We do have a strong goalkeeping department and we want our guys to be fighting for positions. It’s a change we feel is the right choice to make, so I made the call pretty early this week.
“I spoke to Matt about it and he understood the situation. There are still aspects of his game we still want to work with him. We are committed to it and we are going to support Odysseas Vlachodimos on his first game.”
Eric Peterson gets in touch: “Good morning from Pittsburgh! Observations about VAR as we spend another day in hand-wringing mode. First, and most crucial, VAR is not the problem; the implementation of VAR is the problem. A tool is only as good as your ability to use it properly. Lose the human-drawn lines; the drama about whether the lines will match reality adds nothing but unnecessary complexity to the situation. Better yet, develop the Hawkeye-style technology to detect a player’s position according to the rules, so these lines are digitally accurate. Second, introduce a challenge system.
“Enough of all these managers whining about VAR only because a close call went against them. Put the responsibility on them to initiate a review, and institute a proportional sanction to deter frivolous reviews (for example, a bench yellow for a failed review, so for a second failed review the manager must then select a player of his choice to withdraw and thus leave 10 men on the field). Here in the USA, every major sport has found ways to effectively implement technology to not only catch incorrect calls but do so in an efficient way. They’re not perfect, but they’re effective. I am at a loss to understand the collective blind spot that exists in football, especially the Premier League, to do this. People, it’s not as hard as we’re making it. It really isn’t.”
That’s a big call on Odysseas Vlachodimos by Steve Cooper. “Much have I suffered, laboured long and hard by now in the waves and wars. Add this to the total—bring the trial on!,” as the former Benfica custodian almost certainly didn’t say to his Forest manager.
Unai Emery spoke to Sky Sports: “I am focused on the present moment and I have seen the progress of the team. We will try to go and take this team to the next level. We are always evolving.”
“We proved ourselves at home, producing good work and getting the three points in every match we play. We are trying to replicate our performances at home into the away games by practising and getting the confidence. Today is a good opportunity to show we can manage 90 minutes both defensively and offensively to get our best performance. We have to be clinical up front and try to control the game.”
Talking of Aston Villa history, I still can’t unsee this picture of one of their former managers. Nor will you be able to.
Football men. pic.twitter.com/hcVn92uSj5
— John Brewin (@JohnBrewin_) November 5, 2023
How did we preview this game ahead of the weekend? Here’s Will Unwin.
Steve Cooper last tasted victory over two months ago when Nottingham Forest beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Since then they have drawn four and lost twice to leave them 16th in the table. Whisper it quietly but Cooper is under a little bit of pressure, with growing expectations and an expectant owner, Evangelos Marinakis, keen to avoid another relegation battle. Aston Villa are on a polar opposite run of form, having not lost since the first weekend of September, including five wins. Thankfully for Cooper, his teams often come up with big results for their manager when required and he will retain the full backing of a packed City Ground. The majority inside will be imploring Forest to relieve the strain on Cooper because if Forest do not get a result, his future could start to look precarious.
Three European Cups between these two clubs. And a whole lot of history since.
Aston Villa, unsurprisingly, opt for the same team that won away at Luton. Far more change for Forest, as there’s a debut for Odysseas Vlachodimos, after Matt Turner’s goof against Liverpool last week. Taiwo Awoniyi and Harry Toffolo are back and Willy Boly and Serge Aurier are both dropped.
The teams
Nottingham Forest: Vlachodimos, Toffolo, Niakhate, Murillo, Aina, Dominguez, Mangala, Sangare, Gibbs-White, Awoniyi, Elanga. Subs: Turner, Tavares, Williams, Kouyate, Santos, Yates, Aurier, Danilo, Boly.
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, McGinn, Kamara, Douglas Luiz, Zaniolo, Diaby, Watkins. Subs: Diego Carlos, Tielemans, Traore, Alex Moreno, Chambers, Lenglet, Olsen, Bailey, Dendoncker.
Referee: Jarred Gillett (Australia)
Preamble
Steve Cooper is a gem of a manager. That much is agreed upon among Forest fans, and those beyond. Though it’s not as simple as that. Forest are not on a great run of form and the bottom three are within reachable distance. Even Sheffield United have now won a game, so Forest in 16th, four points ahead of the bottom four, need to start winning soon. Or else Steve Cooper is in lumber. Aston Villa are not ideal opposition to face, though at least they are not at Villa Park where Unai Emery’s team have dismembered just about everyone who turns off the M6 to face them. Their away record is seven points from five games. Cooper’s squad has been hit by injuries but still possess the talent to give Villa a scare or two. And at the City Ground is where the team achieved safety last season and Cooper embellished his reputation.
Kick-off at 2pm UK time. Join me.
