Nottingham Forest still have a very good chance of making the play-offs this season despite Saturday’s draw with QPR, but their counter-attacking style is showing signs of weakness.
In particular, the Reds have been far from convincing in their last two home games even though their opponents in the shape of QPR and Charlton have struggled this season. That is likely because the onus is on Forest to take the game to the opposition at the City Ground, with a number of visitors probably more than happy to settle for a draw or aim to keep things tight with the aim of snatching a late winner.
In recent games, Sabri Lamouchi and the Reds have failed to come up with an answer to solve this issue, with just two shots on target to show from 52% possession on Saturday.
On Saturday, the Frenchman turned to Joao Carvalho to inspire some creativity and urgency in his side, and the winger’s performance impressed several fans. The Portuguese has displayed a talent for winning games on his own, such as Middlesbrough at home last term, but his inconsistency has prevented him from acting as a reliable source of goals or assists for Lamouchi.
His three-goal contributions this season evidence that, but it is worth noting that he has started just eight league games in 2019/20, so it is little surprise that some supporters are calling for him to play more often.
https://twitter.com/RedDogGary/status/1231518920529543168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1231518920529543168&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Ftwitter.com%252FRedDogGary%252Fstatus%252F1231518920529543168%26widget%3DTweet
Too lightweight for our midfield. A technically very gifted player but he’s too easily knocked off the ball in our league. Silva is much stronger than him- more of a battler if you will.
— Davo M (@davo261088) February 23, 2020
100% yes. He looked up for it yesterday when he came on and won the ball back in some dangerous areas. I don’t buy this “too easily pushed off the ball” stuff as much. Why not give him a run? It’s such a waste.
— Matt Buxton (@TrickyBiccy) February 23, 2020
Yes it damn well is. Miss him so much on the pitch 🙌🏻
— ❤️ Jax ❤️ (@forestjax) February 23, 2020
Let’s give him ago again we need to score more goals
— Mark fanning (@markybaby42) February 24, 2020
Full 90 mins for the next 10 games. Get him up to speed.
— Matty P 🔴⚽ (@MattyPNFFC) February 23, 2020
He hasnt worked as a 10 or a winger. Last chance for me would be a straight swap for Grabban.
His finishing, dribbling and vision could be better than Grabs.— joss dixon (@jossdicko) February 23, 2020
Do you share the view above that Carvalho should play more often? Do Forest lack his creative spark? Let us know!
