Forest Boffin

Last season was a strange one defensively - Forest probably have the most quality in this area of the pitch since their promotion to The Championship , yet these players have struggled to consistently measure up to their predecessors. It would be wrong not to mention the circumstances which saw players in this area of the pitch underperform. 2014/15 was another tumultuous season; two managers arrived with contrasting defensive styles, and each were unable to make up their mind what their best starting XI were. Forest used 40 (forty!) distinct defensive line-ups, the most common of which (Fox-Lascelles-Collins-Lichaj) only appeared together on 5 occasions, clocking up just 453 minutes together. This inconsistency hardly seems conducive to a settled, organised defence. Eric Lichaj: 7.5/10 Full-back Lichaj - released by Aston Villa last summer - proved himself a good defender at this level. It was refreshing to see such an aggressive player in the...

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...