Nottingham Forest’s Salvation Lies In Qatar 2022

As ever has been the case this season, Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper was refusing to let results get him down.

Rooted to the bottom of the table with just five points and a goal difference of -15 he watched his side lose to fellow strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0.

Not for the first time this year, the defeat had the added bitterness of Forest throwing away a chance to take something from the game in the form of a missed penalty.

“No blame,” he told the media post-game, “we win and we lose together. Sticking together is going to be really important this season.

“You saw a team that never gave up. You saw a team that was committed to the game and wanted to get something out of it. That’s why there’s a real disappointment in the dressing room.

“We’ve got to support the players with keeping that spirit going because it’s going to have to be a massive part of us improving.”

Cooper knows all about improvement, few managers in English soccer have demonstrated the ability he’s shown to turn a sinking ship around in the last 12 months.

Just over a year ago, the Welshman swept into the club while it was sleepwalking toward relegation and somehow managed to engineer a return to the PremierPINC
League instead.

A victim of his own success, Cooper’s issue is now that the fiercely ambitious owners of the East Midlands side are not satisfied with just surviving in the top division.

“We will give all the ammunition to Steve for the new season to be able to be very competitive and to try, not only to maintain the position in the Premier League but also to perform well,” explained owner Evangelos Marinakis amid the promotion celebrations.

The Greek billionaire was true to his word, Forest’s $150 million summer transfer outlay was more than Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City.

In total 22 players have been welcomed through the doors of the City Ground for big fees or, in the case of Jesse Lingard, mega wages.

It’s hard to argue that Forest has not bought quality, players, like Remo Freuler, came with burgeoning reputations and track records of success.

The issue for Cooper has been trying to assemble his vast new array of talent into a coherent unit that can deliver results.

“There are parts of our game where we look like a new team and that’s the sort of stuff you address in pre-season,” Cooper said after a series of back-to-back defeats, “we’re addressing it right in the middle of the Premier League.

‘We have challenged ourselves – how do we become a team? Whether it’s our tactical ideas, our togetherness, our spirit, pushing each other, that comes when you have real trust with each other and trust is built over time.”

The problem was that, up until the start of October, it appeared those in power at Forest didn’t quite agree.

Why Cooper needs the World Cup

According to recent reports by The Athletic, the club sounded out the possibility of replacing Cooper with recently-axed former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel or ex-PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Journalists for the outlet claimed that when neither man showed an interest in joining the relegation-threatened side, and other clubs began showing an interest in its current boss Cooper, Forest decided to stick with their lot.

Well, what they did was double down, Cooper wasn’t just retained he was handed a new contract until 2025.

In his comments after putting pen to paper, the Welsh manager alluded to the uncertainty which surrounded the preceding weeks.

“It puts clarity on speculation. No one had ever questioned how much I love it here and want to be here,” he said.

“If there is talk about that it can stop. It doesn’t mean we are going to win the next match and everything is going to be OK. It has put an end to the questioning and that is great.”

However, things haven’t improved on the pitch since then.

A 1-1 home draw against Aston Villa saw the Reds once again surrender a lead and that was followed by a defeat against Wolves.

But here’s the good news: Just five games remain before the Premier League has an unprecedented six-week break for the World Cup.

With less than half of its fixtures fulfilled Nottingham Forest will get a second preseason for Cooper to assess the players he has at his disposal and devise a coherent strategy for results.

Not only that, the club has the added advantage of having relatively few players making the trip to Qatar.

Five first-team players will be heading to the Middle East, which leaves Cooper with more than enough talent to begin shaping a team.

Add into that that three of those, Brennan Johnson, Neco Williams and Remo Freuler, would be surprised to be involved in the latter stages of the competition and it could have an even more complete squad back even sooner.

More than anything though, the mid-season break will allow Cooper and his team to think.

So many new faces have arrived at the City Ground he’s barely had time to learn their names much less analyze their strengths, weaknesses and suitability for a tactical system.

If Forest can do just enough to stay within reach of the teams outside the relegation zone, and that won’t necessarily be easy considering Arsenal and Liverpool are opponents before the break, the East Midlanders have a good chance of survival.