Forest Boffin

Forest fought their way back from a goal down to draw against an impressive Burnley side on Saturday, and were unfortunate not to take all three points in an enthralling encounter. This was never going to be an easy game when you consider what Sean Dyche has achieved at Burnley since his appointment last October. It is the free-scoring duo of Sam Vokes and Danny Ings grabbing the headlines, but Burnley’s real strength lies in the defensive improvements Dyche has implemented, organising and installing a defensive ethos into his team in a successful effort to slash the amount of goals they were haemorrhaging – the biggest improvement has been in away games; last season saw them concede an average of 1.5 less goals in away games under Dyche than before he arrived. So it was always going to be difficult to break Burnley down. Billy Davies opted to stay with his new 4-2-3-1 formation, but even considering The Garibaldi were missing some key players, the line-up always looked more...

Forest have assembled one of the strongest squads since their relegation from The Premiership . There have been mixed fortunes during various changing systems employed, but how have the players done through the first third of the season, starting with the defenders?   1. Karl Darlow - 1433 minutes played, 1.73 points per game* Darlow continues to impress. The 23 year old has consolidated his position this season, clinging onto the goalkeeper’s jersey with a string of excellent performances. I’ve been waiting for the first real blunder from the academy graduate – I’m still waiting after 35 games and 3343 minutes of his Forest career. With a particular habit of making saves when all seems lost, Darlow seemingly has no weaknesses – if he keeps this up he’ll be in the running for Player of the Season . This season, his minutes between goals conceded is the best of any Forest ‘keeper since the 2009/10 season ( see left – all graphs and diagrams on Forest Boffin can be enlar...

A continued look at how Forest are conceding their goals, which in turn is highlighting the main defensive problems Billy Davies is having to solve. This project is subjective, but also not set in stone; corrections, opinions & contribution are welcome. 12. Bournemouth (1-1) Marc Pugh I think everyone in the ground half expected The Cherries to equalise, and from a tactical point of view it's a revealing goal, exposing a recurring problem for Forest. The Garibaldi were under significant pressure, due to not being able to keep possession up the pitch, but they are caught out because of the gap in front of their back four. As the ball comes into this unguarded area, Kelvin Wilson comes out to deal with the problem. I've struggled to fault Forest's defence at all so far this season, and here, again, they are doing their job. Wilson advances to stop Bournemouth striker Tokelo Rantie being able to just turn and have a free shot on goal. This leaves a gap in the ...

As Forest have hit a bit of a rough patch, much has been made of manager Billy Davies’ tinkering with the side in their latest game, against Blackpool – where his tactical alterations did not work. I’ve been critical of Forest’s tactics myself over the past few weeks, but the manager’s tinkering has illustrated one thing which should give Forest fans hope; that he has isolated, and is tackling, the team’s biggest weakness – the defensive midfield situation. What has been the problem? Simply stated; the sale of Adlene Guedioura. In the five games Guedioura played this season, Forest unveiled a new, more fluid midfield which gave each player licence to move around the pitch as they deemed fit. The midfield system against Huddersfield was so interchangeable I dubbed it the washing machine , as Reid, Lansbury and Guedioura cycled through each other’s positions. Guedioura is good at driving forward, but is also prone to abandoning the area in front of the defence to go out wide to pre...

Forest made it three disappointing results in a row as visiting Blackpool snatched three points from a game where Billy Davies' tactical recalculations failed to pay off. The Garibaldi are having serious problems adjusting their midfield since losing the key figure of Adlene Guedioura - once more that played it's role in their misfortune as Davies abandoned his workable diamond formation in an attempt to plug the gap in front of the defence. I'd like to point out, with sincerity, that I am Billy Davies' number one fan. Without him, Forest have been nothing short of mediocre, under the Scot we are a force in this league, entertaining and (when in full flow) genuine promotion candidates - yet in my, albeit amateur, opinion King Billy has gotten things wrong in recent weeks. Davies welcomed The Tangerines by changing Forest's system. The diamond formation has been relatively successful since Billy's return, and had incurred problems, but over the summer it wa...