[FM22] Returning Nottingham Forest to the Glory Days - Youth Academy+ Challenge

[theBlackPrince]

Returning Nottingham Forest to the Glory Days - Youth Academy Challenge

It is well documented about Clough and his Nottingham Forest Team that won back-to-back European Cups when beating Malmo and then Hamburger. You only have to look at what has happened after that as Forest are the only European Cup winner who fell down into the third division of football in their own country (Steaua Bucuresti and FCSB is something I think is still in the courts and I need to look more into which will probably end up worse). The chart below shows the pain on the Trent, last in the Premier League in 1998/99 and with the infamous drop down for 3 seasons to League 1. Since 2008 it is now 13 seasons in the Championship with just over a decade since the last play-off appearance with a revolving door of managers and journeyman players on large wages.

But what I wanted to look at during this time was how the other teams who were in the European Final's within 7 years of the Forest Victories have done in comparison and how far behind this has left Forest. Are they still up there with the best or have the years outside of the top flight and Euro competitions hindered the development of the club and facilities? 

Ranked dead last in all the facilities, coaching and recruitment it shows how the years have not been as kind as it could have been. With this is mind, rebuilding Nottingham Forest is not just the results on the field, but building the facilities to rival those in Europe once again. The only way to do that is to follow in the footstep's of Ajax, who turn out world class players year after year. Ladies and Gentlemen, youth only for Nottingham Forest. 

Game Set-Up - What is classed as Academy+ Players?

• All players from our academy from the first intake are allow. These players will be designated with (26a) Year and letter after their name.
• Any former Academy players who have left and are bought back are allowed. These players will be designated with (For) after their name.
• Players from Nottinghamshire can be signed to bring through the ranks, we are going to access that as "We made a scouting error", these things happen in life. Sometimes a player just needs a different place to grow or is a late developer. But we can solve that and bring them home and still have several years at the "Academy" before joining the 1st team ranks. These players will be designated with (Not) after their name.
• Affiliate clubs - We want many of them to add another way to bring players into the "Academy". These will take time to develop and hopefully we can secure some players who we can bring on and see if they ever get to the dizzy heights of the 1st team. These players will have (Aff) after their name. **Season 6 update, I will not be using Foreign Affiliate clubs now but moving to the below East Midlands policy.**
• I am keen to try and build bonds and help the local Nottinghamshire clubs, Notts County and Mansfield (And Basford etc if they get promoted). I feel that the players they have we would get more updates for being local and playing against the players we would be taking on. These players will have (NC), (MT) after their name.
• Any relations of former players/coaches can be signed. These players will have (Leg) after their name for Legacy.
• From December 2026 (Season 6), the Nottinghamshire area was too small to generate enough players. In a nod to the Basque rule at Athletic Club, I am adding the East Midland Area as the region we should be able to dominate the top prospects. This will include Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Rutland and Northamptonshire. These players will have the (EM) tag after their name.

Edited February 21, 2022 by theBlackPrince
Updated Academy Rules

[theBlackPrince]

Season Summaries

Edited March 2, 2022 by theBlackPrince

[Ronaldo Beckham]

I was thinking of doing a youth only Nottingham Forest save with the aim of winning the Prem and Champions League with them so I will look forward to seeing how you progress. Good luck buddy.

 

[Blarney]

This will be interesting, especially as I'm running a County save.  Be nice to see how the other half does.  Good luck. 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

I am going to start a youth only Nottingham Forest save now as it really intrigues me. I will not bombard your thread or start my own but I will inbox you @theBlackPrince with how I am getting on. 

I even have found a Brian Clough tactic that I will use. 

I look forward to seeing how you get on.

[theBlackPrince]

22 minutes ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

I am going to start a youth only Nottingham Forest save now as it really intrigues me. I will not bombard your thread or start my own but I will inbox you @theBlackPrince with how I am getting on. 

I even have found a Brian Clough tactic that I will use. 

I look forward to seeing how you get on.

The youth facilities and set up are behind where it probably should be in purely stats wise for the game. I think this will add some longevity to the save rather than straight up to the Premiership as is easy to do with Forest in this years game. Played a few games late last night and defined how I wanted the save to go which took some time! Just have to get the update done now.

Look forward to your save and seeing how the save differ and yeh feel free to post up now and again. I have seen a few Brian Clough tactics for older games but not put anything together for FM22 but always enjoy seeing how they set them up!

14 hours ago, Blarney said:

This will be interesting, especially as I'm running a County save.  Be nice to see how the other half does.  Good luck. 

I need to catch up on that, is a brilliant story for a save now with County in the National League! Far too big a team to be there. 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

7 minutes ago, theBlackPrince said:

The youth facilities and set up are behind where it probably should be in purely stats wise for the game. I think this will add some longevity to the save rather than straight up to the Premiership as is easy to do with Forest in this years game. Played a few games late last night and defined how I wanted the save to go which took some time! Just have to get the update done now.

Look forward to your save and seeing how the save differ and yeh feel free to post up now and again. I have seen a few Brian Clough tactics for older games but not put anything together for FM22 but always enjoy seeing how they set them up!

I need to catch up on that, is a brilliant story for a save now with County in the National League! Far too big a team to be there. 

Nah I don't want to post in here to delude your thread. I might post just to say that a certain player you are having success with is also doing well for me etc but I don't want to take over your thread. I am glad you have figured out how you want to do the save. I am also glad that it will take a while to improve facilities etc.

 

[theBlackPrince]

Returning Nottingham Forest to the Glory Days - Youth Academy Challenge

It wouldn't be a proper youth academy challenge by playing a team full of players who never graced the Nigel Doughty Academy. A frantic month of July was had at the City Ground as every non-academy player was put on the transfer list and to give Forest a chance to stay up, all former academy graduates were allowed to return to the City Ground, well if they wanted to come back. Some players, think Newcastle's GK Karl Darlow and Defender Jamaal Lascelles were out, along with Aston Villa's fullback Matty Cash(ski) or Leeds United Striker Patrick Bamford.

We delved deep into players who have left and those who may not have previously been good enough are now finding themselves earning a starting role due to lack of depth, especially along the back 4. We still have some players at the team who are non-academy players as we just cant shift them and they are eating over £100,000 per week in wages which hurts, but they will sit in the under 23's until they run out of contract or find a club.

July & August 2021 - Transfer Madness

The first player on the list was a huge one as Ben Osborn returns 2 years later from Sheffield United. For a bargain £1,500,000 but a large £25,000 per week wages and add-on's was needed to get him back. The best part, Sheffield Untied will be paying Forest £1,000,000 in July 2022 as a final payment when they bought him fir £3,500,000 in 2019 and just 39 games played. The attacking threat's were bolstered when Tyler Walker, who only just left Coventry returned for £200,000 and a future sell on fee and is joined by Alvin Appiah from Almeria for a straight £1,100,000. That will go down as bad business for the Spanish club who paid £8,000,000 only a few years ago and they got just 22 games and 1 goal in that time.

Alex lacovitti may not be the biggest name but will be back into the starting line-up after playing for Ross County in the Scottish Premiership. He is better currently than any academy players and could be a feature for several season's at this rate. A second visit to Sheffield United for Oliver Burke who has been somewhat of a journeyman since leaving Forest for Red Bull Leipzig in 2016 for a mammoth £12,500,000. West Brom paid £12,000,000 a season later and he has been to Celtic, Alaves and finally Sheffield United for £4,000,000. A bargain £1,000,000 buy with 400,000 in goal additions is a bargain at this level for a player who is still only 24.

Kieran Wallace jumped at a chance to come back home and may be a starter on that left full back position. Finally we head to Atlanta to secure the signing of Mo Adams and Jake Mulraney. Neither will be starters but both could feature heavily off the bench and only one injury away from playing. There are another 5-10 targets out there which are much needed for depth, but currently they may have just signed a new deal or moved clubs so for now, we have to wait.

Outgoing Transfers - £11,250,000

I'm not going to dwell too much on these players as it hurts to lose many of them as huge fans of them in real life, but for the game, I'll highlight the key transfers. French Defender Loic Mbe Soc turned down a move back to France to sign for Burnley for £3,000,000 and a sell on clause. He had several clubs after him which pushed the price up. Keeper Brice Samba did return to France in a £2,000,000 move to Saint-Etienne which is a small profit as bought for £1,800,000. Record signing Joao Carvalho, in what will be a huge dent in the pocket sold for just £1,500,000 from a £13,250,000 buy from Benfica and returned to Portugal.

Overall this leaves around £5,000,000 in transfer funds currently which may be needed in the next window to add more depth to the squad in bringing academy players back home as it could be a few years before we have enough new Academy players to make a charge on the Premier League. 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

10 minutes ago, theBlackPrince said:

Returning Nottingham Forest to the Glory Days - Youth Academy Challenge

It wouldn't be a proper youth academy challenge by playing a team full of players who never graced the Nigel Doughty Academy. A frantic month of July was had at the City Ground as every non-academy player was put on the transfer list and to give Forest a chance to stay up, all former academy graduates were allowed to return to the City Ground, well if they wanted to come back. Some players, think Newcastle's GK Karl Darlow and Defender Jamaal Lascelles were out, along with Aston Villa's fullback Matty Cash(ski) or Leeds United Striker Patrick Bamford.

We delved deep into players who have left and those who may not have previously been good enough are now finding themselves earning a starting role due to lack of depth, especially along the back 4. We still have some players at the team who are non-academy players as we just cant shift them and they are eating over £100,000 per week in wages which hurts, but they will sit in the under 23's until they run out of contract or find a club.

July & August 2021 - Transfer Madness

The first player on the list was a huge one as Ben Osborn returns 2 years later from Sheffield United. For a bargain £1,500,000 but a large £25,000 per week wages and add-on's was needed to get him back. The best part, Sheffield Untied will be paying Forest £1,000,000 in July 2022 as a final payment when they bought him fir £3,500,000 in 2019 and just 39 games played. The attacking threat's were bolstered when Tyler Walker, who only just left Coventry returned for £200,000 and a future sell on fee and is joined by Alvin Appiah from Almeria for a straight £1,100,000. That will go down as bad business for the Spanish club who paid £8,000,000 only a few years ago and they got just 22 games and 1 goal in that time.

Alex lacovitti may not be the biggest name but will be back into the starting line-up after playing for Ross County in the Scottish Premiership. He is better currently than any academy players and could be a feature for several season's at this rate. A second visit to Sheffield United for Oliver Burke who has been somewhat of a journeyman since leaving Forest for Red Bull Leipzig in 2016 for a mammoth £12,500,000. West Brom paid £12,000,000 a season later and he has been to Celtic, Alaves and finally Sheffield United for £4,000,000. A bargain £1,000,000 buy with 400,000 in goal additions is a bargain at this level for a player who is still only 24.

Kieran Wallace jumped at a chance to come back home and may be a starter on that left full back position. Finally we head to Atlanta to secure the signing of Mo Adams and Jake Mulraney. Neither will be starters but both could feature heavily off the bench and only one injury away from playing. There are another 5-10 targets out there which are much needed for depth, but currently they may have just signed a new deal or moved clubs so for now, we have to wait.

Outgoing Transfers - £11,250,000

I'm not going to dwell too much on these players as it hurts to lose many of them as huge fans of them in real life, but for the game, I'll highlight the key transfers. French Defender Loic Mbe Soc turned down a move back to France to sign for Burnley for £3,000,000 and a sell on clause. He had several clubs after him which pushed the price up. Keeper Brice Samba did return to France in a £2,000,000 move to Saint-Etienne which is a small profit as bought for £1,800,000. Record signing Joao Carvalho, in what will be a huge dent in the pocket sold for just £1,500,000 from a £13,250,000 buy from Benfica and returned to Portugal.

Overall this leaves around £5,000,000 in transfer funds currently which may be needed in the next window to add more depth to the squad in bringing academy players back home as it could be a few years before we have enough new Academy players to make a charge on the Premier League. 

Some good transfers there mate. I thought you were going to do a Youth Academy challenge as in not signing anyone and just playing with your current squad and your youth prospects. I didn't realize you were bringing in former academy players. Mine will be a bit different to yours then as I will not be signing anyone.

It will be good to see you eventually bring back Bereton-Diaz,  Bamford etc.

I did something similar to what you are doing but with Coventry with the aim to get them back in the Prem and try bring back James Maddison and Callum Wilson. After 3 seasons I managed to bring back both I think but then a season after that I got bored lol.

[theBlackPrince]

17 minutes ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Some good transfers there mate. I thought you were going to do a Youth Academy challenge as in not signing anyone and just playing with your current squad and your youth prospects. I didn't realize you were bringing in former academy players. Mine will be a bit different to yours then as I will not be signing anyone.

It will be good to see you eventually bring back Bereton-Diaz,  Bamford etc.

I did something similar to what you are doing but with Coventry with the aim to get them back in the Prem and try bring back James Maddison and Callum Wilson. After 3 seasons I managed to bring back both I think but then a season after that I got bored lol.

Current squad was too good to start and keep them all (would easily get to the Premier League this season), just academy players in the team would have been too poor to survive the league (ran a test season on holiday, it was not pretty). This seemed to give an option to hopefully stay in the League and win some games along the way. The team is defiantly worse than the original squad, especially in defense and goalkeeper and have very poor cover currently. Working on the team update shortly!

[theBlackPrince]

Nottingham Forest 2021/22 Squad - Bringing the gang back together

The team is not as strong on paper as it was at the start of the season, but every player here is Nottingham Forest and will lay it all on the line for the team. We lack depth and some positions we will need players to play above their current levels to be successful. If we can stay injury free, staying in the league and mid-table safety should be possible. 

Goalkeepers

With the top two players leaving the club, it's left to long term back-up Jordan Smith to take the #1 Jersey. He has 47 appearances for the club that he has been at since 2011 and could almost double that this season. He has been signed to a longer term deal as this was due to end this season and at only 26, could lead the lines for the next 10 years if no-one else comes through the ranks. He really does not have much competition for the starting spot and George Shelvey is continuing his season out on loan at Mansfield. 

Defenders

This may be the weakest group but Joe Worrall is a top player for the Championship and will have to step up and lead as he brings on players. At only 24 years old he has a bright future ahead and seems to have come on for his year at Rangers on loan. But can he help turn this unit into one that can keep enough goals out? Kieran Wallace looks set to partner Worrall and may be the vital player this season with all players behind him well off a starting role. Fin Back is one for the future and at only 18, probably needs a couple more years in the under 23's but will be starting many games this year. He could be a star in the future but will have to grow up fast this season. Behind those 3, there looks to be plenty of playing time for Jayden Richardson and Alex lacovitti who both will be pushing for that starting role. Behind that, depth is minimal and the best prospect looks to be Aaron Donnelly.

Midfielders

This is the strength of the squad with Ben Osborn currently the best player on the team. His can play anywhere down the left, which could come in handy if we need to put a more experienced player at the back if we are letting in too many goals. At this point, we want to line him up with Ryan Yates in the middle of the park. Yates is a fan favorite who just bleeds Nottingham Forest and will run his heart out for 90 minutes. He will be vital in the midfield to not only win the ball back but to make things happen going forward. The star of the future, and hopefully sooner is Welsh international, Brennan Johnson. He showed brilliance on loan last year at Lincoln City and will need him to show that this year. He is best as an advanced winger but may have to play in an attacking midfield role this year to utilise other players. Oliver Burke will probably used up top but may see time on the wing but is a huge get for the team and adds options when attacking. 

Strikers

Tyler Walker will be given a chance to score goals and will be fighting with the youngster Alex Mighten for the starting role. Mighten can also play on either wing which makes him valuable in his ability to play anywhere up the top of the field. Arvin Appiah will also be looking to get game time and could be an outside option if the goals are not happening elsewhere.

[theBlackPrince]

Nottingham Forest 2021/22 Tactics

I'm going to start off with this, which is not my preferred formation but I need to try and get the midfielders we have into their key positions. If this is struggling I am to move to a back 5 (wingbacks) to help ease the pressure but this hampers us going the other way. I expect us to be under pressure so want to play a counter attacking game that uses the pace up front to open up space. I expect to lose the possession game but I can handle that. I think regrouping when losing the ball may be better long term but we will try the counter press to start. I don't think we can play a higher defensive line so will have to cope with the extra pressure that it will bring sitting back.

Outside that, trying to keep the tactics fairly simple, putting faith in the players to play. I would love to play Burke up top and Johnson AMR but I want to bring Mighten's development on so he has to start. Walker I am going to give the nod for the first 5-10 games to see if he can score, if not Burke will go up front and Johnson moves out wide. That leaves an issue what to do at AMC as Will Swan needs some time to improve. Yates and Osborn will be key in that central midfield and need to protect the back 4 as their first function. I would normally as the fullbacks to push forward but for now, I need them to not get caught forward too often.

[erikeagles]

I loved the youth only challenges. 

Good luck, I will definitely follow you. 

[theBlackPrince]

August 2021 Update

I wasn't planning on an update so early but with August and the Transfer deadline happening with some news, seemed to be a good time to check in. The month started with a bang with 3 goals in the second half to put Coventry down. Bournemouth secured a late draw and after 2 games the defense looked liked it was playing well and Keeper Jordan Smith was playing like a true veteran keeper, soaking up the shots for fun. The big game for the month would be the Derby game, as if any other was that important.

We absolutely battered them to make their season even worse than it already was. 20 shots with 13 on target against 8 with just the 1, there was only ever going to be one winner. Brennan Johnson would earn a 10.0 rating and player of the game as he created 6 clear cut chances and had 2 assists of the game. Tyler Walker would slot home 2 goals and with 4 goals in his last 2 games, looks to be leading the line nicely. A fantastic end to the month which then got even better as we headed to deadline day.

Anel Ahmedhodzic Returns

It was a hectic day for Anel as he flew from Malmo to Manchester to sign for Manchester City for £2,500,000. With just hours to go before the deadline he was heading south to Nottingham and with just 45 minutes left, he would sign a season long loan deal with Nottingham Forest, the team he spent 4 seasons with from 2015 to 2019. An imposing central defender who is now the best player on the Forest team and will form a defensive partnership with Joe Worrall. This may be one of the missing pieces to the puzzle and really set's the tone for the rest of the season. A huge transfer deadline loan signing for Forest.

AT 195cm he will be tough to beat in the air and has the physical tools to be a top player in the Championship. He has good pace, marking and tackling. He is a defender who does like the ball at his feet and can take the ball from the keeper to distribute out to start the attack.

 

 

[LowestLeagueHero]

Will follow this one for sure.

Not a big fan of youth only challenges but you chose Forest and so I can't resist the urge to read. ;-)

 

Good luck!

[theBlackPrince]

September to November 2021 Update

Well, this isn't how the story was meant to go....

On paper the team is much weaker, has little depth and has players who have the potential to be great, but a few seasons away. But the partnership of Oliver Burke and Tyler Walker has been scintillating and they have been banging goals in for fun! Over 2 goals per game and at the back we seem to be holding our own much better than expected. If these two were no scoring like they were, the whole season would look very different right now. Team spirit and cohesion is at an all time high and the early wins, especially the game with Derby seemed to set the team down a path that for now, is staying the course. We have seen Brennan Johnson and Alex Mighten head out with injuries but other players have stepped up and continued the run of performances that defy what they should be. Jordan Smith has only let in 18 goals so far and sits high up in all the key goalkeeping stats so far on the season. 

They may not have the glory, but Ben Osborn and Ryan Yates have 2 of the highest average ratings on the team and so far have been a superb partnership in midfield and really showing everything that is needed this season. Determination, pride and a never ending work ethic to finish the game as strong as they start. The real work-horses in the middle to allow the attacking players the freedom and ability to take more risks and as is happening, score more goals.

As Clough famously once said. "Players lose you games, not tactics. There's so much crap talked about tactics by people who barely know how to win at dominoes."

I think this is proving true here. Instead of overloading team instructions, apart from the base shape and a few key points, the team is allowed to play with freedom and this is breeding confidence in their own ability. I am almost tempted to simplify the instructions some more but whilst we are winning games, I am not going to mess with the system. When Johnson got injured for 4 weeks, we moved to a 4-4-2 formation with advanced wingers, allowing Walker and Burke to play up top together. This has started to show results and will be used alongside the 4-2-3-1 currently used.

In other news, probably more importantly we were able to get some solid upgrades approved. Had to fight the Greek on all of them but with us doing well in the League, pressed the issue and we have upgraded 3 of the 4 sections to date. We will need more this season and will press to upgrade again once options become avalible. 

 

 

[theBlackPrince]

Youth Intake Preview

“Talent is lovely, but character, character gets you a footballer,” 

What can be said about Gary Brazil? He has been at Forest since 2012 and has been instrumental in pushing the Nigel Doughty Academy to Category 1 Status which was gained in May 2021. With that in mind, and Gary a beloved feature at the club, the usual route of just bringing in the most talented HoYD in the game will not be followed here, in Brazil we trust! We shall be allowing Gary the next few years to continue the great work he has done so far and see what he can do once the facilities catch up to Premier League standards.

In his first Youth Intake Preview I'm happy we have some solid keepers and central midfielders coming through, we definitely need to get cover in these positions and maybe that next Karl Darlow to help us for the next decade? We can only hope a few of the defenders are better than initially reported but an "Excellent" Intake is music to our ears for this challenge. Not much else to be said a this point, the proof is in the pudding and we shall see if they have a bright future at the City Ground.

[Blarney]

Youth intake is always one of my favorite things to look forward to.  I get very excited when I see that email pop up and can't wait to see what we've uncovered.

[theBlackPrince]

13 hours ago, LowestLeagueHero said:

Will follow this one for sure.

Not a big fan of youth only challenges but you chose Forest and so I can't resist the urge to read. ;-)

 

Good luck!

I hear that and does waste a whole aspect of the game, scouting for talent and taking chances on future stars. That's why I'm trying to still use some recruitment with Nottingham based regens (And sneaking some talent from Notts County and Mansfield as Nottinghamshire teams) and been able to re-sign former academy stars! 

Think down the line may also try and get some feeder clubs in the mix to have first refusal on talented youngster to add another avenue to getting young talent to the Nigel Doughty Academy!

1 hour ago, Blarney said:

Youth intake is always one of my favorite things to look forward to.  I get very excited when I see that email pop up and can't wait to see what we've uncovered.

This one sets the scene and now just the wait to see what the first crop of players is like. Not expecting any World beaters just yet....

[theBlackPrince]

First Affiliate Club and Academy Rules Definition 

As eluded to this is not the usual "youth only" save where you can only just use the players that come through. I love these saves, but I do want to wheel and deal a little bit to bolster the number of players to come through the academy. No, we won't just be loading up on Brazilian wonderkids as that is just too easy. But the below rules should enable enough interest in the transfer and scouting markets to not get samey.

• All players from our academy from the first intake are allow. These players will be designated with (26a) Year and letter after their name.
• Any former Academy players who have left and are bought back are allowed. These players will be designated with (For) after their name.
• Players from Nottinghamshire can be signed to bring through the ranks, we are going to access that as "We made a scouting error", these things happen in life. Sometimes a player just needs a different place to grow or is a late developer. But we can solve that and bring them home and still have several years at the "Academy" before joining the 1st team ranks. These players will be designated with (Not) after their name.
• Affiliate clubs - We want many of them to add another way to bring players into the "Academy". These will take time to develop and hopefully we can secure some players who we can bring on and see if they ever get to the dizzy heights of the 1st team. These players will have (Aff) after their name.
• I am keen to try and build bonds and help the local Nottinghamshire clubs, Notts County and Mansfield (And Basford etc if they get promoted). I feel that the players they have we would get more updates for being local and playing against the players we would be taking on. These players will have (NC), (MT) after their name.
• Any relations of former players/coaches can be signed. These players will have (Leg) after their name for Legacy.

Colchester United FC 

The first affiliate choice from the club came down to 5 teams, with really only Colchester United and Oldham Athletic. Colchester came through as they had the better Youth Recruitment and for a League Two side, have some facilities that rival ours. This seemed like a great option to start with and see if there are any players that could make the jump up to the Nigel Doughty Academy. As there was bigger issues at the start of the season, the January window was the best chance to have a look at their future players.

Boston United FC

This may come as a strange one to pick Boston United over League One Morecambe or Cambridge United but having played with Boston many times over the years, they do sometimes get some cracking gems and have the better youth recruitment. As those levels I don't expect the teams to improve them much so for now, Boston it is. I would have loved to have picked Basford and help grow them but maybe that can be done later on? Boston also fit the fairly local model and again, picking a team with good training and youth facilities to help younger players grow.

Richard Boateng (NC)

Richard is Nottingham born and was across the Trent at Notts County. We think his development can be aided here and brought him in as a prospect for the future. He may not quite have the ability for the first team but we believe he has the ability to be a Championship player in a few years time. One to put into the under 23's and look to develop and see how he does in 3 or 4 years time. At £66,000 the cost is minimal and should be able to recover that in the future. His off the ball and finishing skills were particular highlights for us.

We move onto Transfer deadline day. I feel this has been a long post already so will cut to a new one after getting the scouts busy!

[theBlackPrince]

Transfer Deadline Day

So we went shopping up North in Newcastle and came home with two players, both who started their careers at the Nigel Doughty Academy. One we had to pay a large amount for and the other was a cheaper option than others at that position. 3 players came in during the window, one we know about leaving the two below which Keeper Karl Darlow was a huge need if we are going to stay up next year, if we make it to the Premier League.

Karl Darlow - Goalkeeper - 31 years Old

So we got our keeper for the next 5 years. It's unfair to Jordan Smith as he is having a great season and will likely be a great cup keeper and back-up, but Darlow has Premier League experience with Newcastle United. The structure of the deal is £9,750,000 total with £2,500,000 upfront and then £6,500,000 over the next 3 years in installments. This was several million more than we wanted but options at Keeper are limited and he jumped at the chance to come home. We will need him if we go up and keepers can play well into their mid to late thirties. 

Matthew Bondswell - Defender -  19 Years Old

He left Forest for Germany with a spell in Holland before returning to England with Newcastle United. He has cost and initial £1,100,000 with another £1,500,000 over the next year in 2 installments. He is not the finished player and will have to work hard to reach his potential, but could be the best left back at the club by the time he is 21. We had also gone in for Blackpool's 4. Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel but they wanted over £4,000,000 and that was just too much for him.

[theBlackPrince]

And then came February.....

It was bound to happen sooner rather than later, the crash that was always going to happen, happened! 5 losses in 7 games and the pack behind was closing in like a pack of vultures over a fresh kill. That is strange to say for a team leading the Championship, but we were awful in that period. Yates and Osborn both managed to get 3 game bans for straight red cards which gave us pretty much 6 games without our starting central midfielders and the lack of depth behind showed. Adding to that the once red hot partnership of Burke and Walker started to fizzle out as they just could not put the ball in the back of the net!

Do you know what was even worse, the team turned on me, the manager. Can you believe that?? They wanted to know what I was going to do about the poor dressing room atmosphere, which had been off the charts for the whole season. I mean, all they had to do was score more than they let in, simple.

The Bournemouth game was a big one, if we had lost that we may have spiraled out of control and out of the top 2 spots. Bournemouth would have been within 3 points of us and it would have been a tough dressing room to recover. Sometimes an unlikely player takes the spotlight, step forward Alvin Appiah! Going behind head could have dropped but he slotted home the first of his two goals calmly from 12 yards out. I mean, a draw would have been fine but at the death, Ben Osborn set him free for him to slot home neatly in the 94th minute. What a finish to the game and a much needed boost after 5 losses in a row. Bristol City then gifted us the final game of the month after a straight red in the first minute, that really turned the pressure off and meant we finished February 6 points clear. 

I'll be totally honest, with 11 games to go I'm nervous. The team is still over-performing in the league by at least 20 points so you have to take it. If we end up outside the top 2, the playoffs will be tough. I can't see us dropping outside the top 6 and with the next match against Sheffield United, these 11 games are going to be hard. Can we hang on, if we stay injury/suspension free sure. Will we, I have my doubts.....

[theBlackPrince]

Luck of the Irish?? Is this the start of a Golden Generation?

Along with Gary Brazil, lt looks like we have coach Steven Reid and under 23's Manager Andy Reid to thank for the trio of Irish stars that look set to be the next Roy Keane's? When the report finally hit my email, like a kid at Christmas, it looks like we got a lot of the toys we were asking for! We may have found our Keeper of the future in Thomas Wilson 22a. This will fit in perfectly with Karl Darlow's expected time-frame at the club. Shane Rooney 22b and Eddie Craig 22c who all grew up in Dublin, looks set to be masters of the midfield with Rooney 22b the workhorse in the middle whilst Craig 22c is more of a play maker. The top English recruit is another central midfielder in Scott Chiltern 22d who has a great left foot and may find himself out on the wing more than down the middle. Finally to wrap up the "Elite" Talent is Dutch Fernando Thicket 22e who is an interesting prospect. He is strong on both feet and can play left back or right midfield. The need right now is more in defense so may see is future as an attacking wing-back.

All of the top talent will be kept on and offered contracts to see if they can develop more than their initial rank. They tend to be in positions I feel we are quite strong but Carl Marshall 22f may have the best change for playing time as we look right now.

Individual view of each of the top prospects are linked below.

• Thomas Wilson 22a
• Shane Rooney 22b
• Eddie Craig 22c
• Scott Chiltern 22d
• Fernando Thicket 22e

The aim now, to lock these all to long term deals and bring them along over the next 2 or 3 season's. Genuinely extremely excited about this intake and the whole Academy Team has gone above and beyond so far. They almost, almost made me forget about the League and the gap down to just 1 point with 7 left to play....

[LowestLeagueHero]

Impressive season so far, especially considering that you turned the whole team upside down and probably completely killed team cohesion by all those transfers in and out.

With an exciting finish ahead, don't let the prize (a couple dozen millions of TV money, for example ) slip out of your hands.

 

Go, Forest!

[theBlackPrince]

45 minutes ago, LowestLeagueHero said:

Impressive season so far, especially considering that you turned the whole team upside down and probably completely killed team cohesion by all those transfers in and out.

With an exciting finish ahead, don't let the prize (a couple dozen millions of TV money, for example ) slip out of your hands.

 

Go, Forest!

The Cohesion came back really quick. But this would be such a typical Forest thing to do, to throw the season away.... 

[theBlackPrince]

Squeaky Bum Time

Well, we are still hanging on by the narrowest of margins and Sheffield United play 4 teams in the top 10 to end the season, If they finish ahead of us, they probably deserve it. Fulham vs Bournemouth next week is a huge game for everyone in the to 4, right now we may take Bournemouth finishing above us to leave some more points between us and them. The team in form is West Brom, who we face this week and this really will be a tall task to get the win here. They cannot make it into the top 2 can they, win against us and well, they have an outside chance.

If we lose to West Brom, we should be able to secure at least 6 points from the final 3 games and that has to be enough to go up in the top 2?!? 

[Blarney]

12 hours ago, theBlackPrince said:

And then came February.....

It was bound to happen sooner rather than later, the crash that was always going to happen, happened! 5 losses in 7 games and the pack behind was closing in like a pack of vultures over a fresh kill. That is strange to say for a team leading the Championship, but we were awful in that period. Yates and Osborn both managed to get 3 game bans for straight red cards which gave us pretty much 6 games without our starting central midfielders and the lack of depth behind showed. Adding to that the once red hot partnership of Burke and Walker started to fizzle out as they just could not put the ball in the back of the net!

Do you know what was even worse, the team turned on me, the manager. Can you believe that?? They wanted to know what I was going to do about the poor dressing room atmosphere, which had been off the charts for the whole season. I mean, all they had to do was score more than they let in, simple.

The Bournemouth game was a big one, if we had lost that we may have spiraled out of control and out of the top 2 spots. Bournemouth would have been within 3 points of us and it would have been a tough dressing room to recover. Sometimes an unlikely player takes the spotlight, step forward Alvin Appiah! Going behind head could have dropped but he slotted home the first of his two goals calmly from 12 yards out. I mean, a draw would have been fine but at the death, Ben Osborn set him free for him to slot home neatly in the 94th minute. What a finish to the game and a much needed boost after 5 losses in a row. Bristol City then gifted us the final game of the month after a straight red in the first minute, that really turned the pressure off and meant we finished February 6 points clear. 

I'll be totally honest, with 11 games to go I'm nervous. The team is still over-performing in the league by at least 20 points so you have to take it. If we end up outside the top 2, the playoffs will be tough. I can't see us dropping outside the top 6 and with the next match against Sheffield United, these 11 games are going to be hard. Can we hang on, if we stay injury/suspension free sure. Will we, I have my doubts.....

Ouch... that's a tough run.

[theBlackPrince]

Season 1 Summary 2021/22 - Championship Champions 

As predicted, we ended up losing badly to West Brom and Bournemouth took the top spot, the first time we had not occupied it since game 14. That seemed to spur the team on as they would destroy Peterborough 6-2 as Tyler Walker wold score a hat-trick to help him secure the Championship Top Scorer, actually beating his own teammate Oliver Burke. Burke would however win /Championship player of the season award to cap off a clean sweep as Brennan Johnson secured the young player of the season award. Fulham provided the helping hand that was now needed as they drew 1-1 with Bournemouth. Belief was high in the team and after that win over Peterborough, the title never looked in doubt as Swansea would go down 2-0 and on the final day of the season, with a draw needed to secure the title, Tyler Walker and Oliver Burke would put Forest 2-0 up within 20 minutes to ease the nerves and would run out 3-1 winners. A delighted Forest Team celebrated lifting the title. Dominating at times in the season, shaky in February and then finally, clinical as the season ended, what a season it was.

With 3 players winning awards it shows the type of season we had. Much weaker on paper than we started the season and some players were playing a league above their ability, but that did not seem to matter this season. Everyone played their part, everyone contributed to the team first ethics and it showed when looking back at the season and what was achieved. 

What may be most hurtful, despite the advances in the Nigel Doughty Academy drops straight back to Level 2 rather than the top Level 1 after a review. All the hard work that has gone in, what a kick in the face that is. As soon as we can, we fight to get this Level 1 status back as that is vital for our long term plan.

Fixtures 1     Fixtures 2     Fixtures 3     Final Table     Best XI     Finances

Onwards to the Premier Legaue, and this will be mission impossible I fear. We somehow played above our ability all season but next year, that will not cut it. We have players with the potential to be Premier League players, but they are several seasons away from having a team that is ready. It is going to be a battle every week to win points and fighting bravely not to go back down is the only option. We will probably not survive, but the money and experience will help set Nottingham Forest up for the future.

[theBlackPrince]

We just have to beat Derby's 11 Points in the Premier League

Historic return to the Premier League and we were only able to add a couple of players to the squad. We are 1000-1 to win the Premier League and the media have us dead last, which is a fair rank. We just do not have the players to stay up this time around. The aim is to get more than 11 points which is the record low Premier League points, which happens to belong to Derby County who are now in League One. It will be tough, we will go back down but we are starting to build the future with some highly talented 16 year olds in the under 18's. The problem is, we do not have much else coming through the under 23's with the exceptions of keeper Alex Akers, central defender James Clarridge and striker Richard Boateng (NC). The other with huge potential is attacking midfielder Will Swan, but he is already 21 and struggling to break through. Will he be a late bloomer 

Anel Ahmedhodzic (For) returns for another season on loan from Manchester City and has a mandatory £13,000,000 price tag at the end of the season. Even if we go down this is a good buy who will be needed to come back up again. He does have a relegation release clause but it is more than what we will be paying but we need to keep him long term. Leo Fuhr Hjelde (Not) has come across from Leeds United on loan, the Norwegian been born in Nottingham. He adds another option to that left side of the defense and can also cover the middle if there are injuries or suspensions. Not the finished article, but has the ability to grow into his potential this season.

We did finalise two signings at the end of last year. The one we are most pleased with his Ben Woodburn (Not) who comes in cheaply from Liverpool for only £200,000. He spent the last season on loan in Scotland for Hearts and had 34 starts in the Scottish Premier League. He can play anywhere as an attacking midfielder which the versatility will help, possibly allowing Brennan Johnson to move to his preferred AMR position where we need him to play. His touch, passing and dribbling skills are fantastic and will hopefully wow the Nottingham Forest faithful.

Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel (For) comes back to The City Ground after he was transfer listed by Blackpool. He will be in the mix to start and adds some valuable cover in defense. The other buys are more for the long term to bolster the ranks of the Youth Academy and the money paid for them represent good value. Mario Alagic (Aff) comes from Boston United and has good potential but may lack the physical's to become a first team player. Miles Hamer (Not)  was one we missed and ended up at Stoke and one we are excited about. He joins the talented group of players from our youth intake and could develop nicely with them in the same age group. Again, was worth the potential for just £200,000. Apart from that, no-one else out our affiliates look good enough to make the jump but we may try and bring a few more in to bolster the under 18 ranks after we had a clear out of players that were not up to standard.

Oh, the money is good here but we now pay £650,000 a month to start repaying a £73,000,000 loan. This is going to sting. I have requested an upgrade to the City Ground to increase capacity, the plans are fantastic, but will the Greek want to invest now when we are not a stable Premier League club?

[Ronaldo Beckham]

3 hours ago, theBlackPrince said:

We just have to beat Derby's 11 Points in the Premier League

Historic return to the Premier League and we were only able to add a couple of players to the squad. We are 1000-1 to win the Premier League and the media have us dead last, which is a fair rank. We just do not have the players to stay up this time around. The aim is to get more than 11 points which is the record low Premier League points, which happens to belong to Derby County who are now in League One. It will be tough, we will go back down but we are starting to build the future with some highly talented 16 year olds in the under 18's. The problem is, we do not have much else coming through the under 23's with the exceptions of keeper Alex Akers, central defender James Clarridge and striker Richard Boateng (NC). The other with huge potential is attacking midfielder Will Swan, but he is already 21 and struggling to break through. Will he be a late bloomer 

Anel Ahmedhodzic (For) returns for another season on loan from Manchester City and has a mandatory £13,000,000 price tag at the end of the season. Even if we go down this is a good buy who will be needed to come back up again. He does have a relegation release clause but it is more than what we will be paying but we need to keep him long term. Leo Fuhr Hjelde (Not) has come across from Leeds United on loan, the Norwegian been born in Nottingham. He adds another option to that left side of the defense and can also cover the middle if there are injuries or suspensions. Not the finished article, but has the ability to grow into his potential this season.

We did finalise two signings at the end of last year. The one we are most pleased with his Ben Woodburn (Not) who comes in cheaply from Liverpool for only £200,000. He spent the last season on loan in Scotland for Hearts and had 34 starts in the Scottish Premier League. He can play anywhere as an attacking midfielder which the versatility will help, possibly allowing Brennan Johnson to move to his preferred AMR position where we need him to play. His touch, passing and dribbling skills are fantastic and will hopefully wow the Nottingham Forest faithful.

Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel (For) comes back to The City Ground after he was transfer listed by Blackpool. He will be in the mix to start and adds some valuable cover in defense. The other buys are more for the long term to bolster the ranks of the Youth Academy and the money paid for them represent good value. Mario Alagic (Aff) comes from Boston United and has good potential but may lack the physical's to become a first team player. Miles Hamer (Not)  was one we missed and ended up at Stoke and one we are excited about. He joins the talented group of players from our youth intake and could develop nicely with them in the same age group. Again, was worth the potential for just £200,000. Apart from that, no-one else out our affiliates look good enough to make the jump but we may try and bring a few more in to bolster the under 18 ranks after we had a clear out of players that were not up to standard.

Oh, the money is good here but we now pay £650,000 a month to start repaying a £73,000,000 loan. This is going to sting. I have requested an upgrade to the City Ground to increase capacity, the plans are fantastic, but will the Greek want to invest now when we are not a stable Premier League club?

Great progress with Forest mate. Have you had any luck with the Youth Academy prospects other then Brennan Johnson ?

I try to play the youth prospects in the cup games and also 1 out of ever 4 league games to give them some game time. Dale Taylor scored on his debut for me and is doing well on loan at Harrogate Town 

[ITFC_Blue]

Really well written story, and a great start to you Forest career.

Look forward to seeing how you get on in the Prem, KUTGW! 

[LowestLeagueHero]

Congrats, great to see Forest back in PL.

Now go for the impossible and try to stay up.

(I know it's not likely to happen, considering the restrictions you put upon yourself regarding recruitment, but for some reason I'm pretty optimistic and expect Nottingham to stay up.)

Will you adjust your tactics?

If so, I'm highly interested in seeing it, along with some insight into your reasoning.

Tactics ist the part of the game where I struggle the most (playing an FM 20 journeyman still and managing Glastonbury in the 12th tier currently ).

 

Anyway, good luck in further restoring Nottingham glory.

Edited February 11, 2022 by LowestLeagueHero

[theBlackPrince]

1 hour ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Great progress with Forest mate. Have you had any luck with the Youth Academy prospects other then Brennan Johnson ?

I try to play the youth prospects in the cup games and also 1 out of ever 4 league games to give them some game time. Dale Taylor scored on his debut for me and is doing well on loan at Harrogate Town 

I was expecting a much harder year and to be mid-table at best but we kept scoring and the rest is history! We had some cracking looking prospects in the first intake tho which will change the game in a few years if they pan out as good as they look.

Alex Mighten has improved and I believe, the same as most of the youth prospects is on a variable potential ability so will vary in every game, which I like. He chipped in some great assists and mainly used as AML. 

Fin Back saw playing time and wouldn't be too far off first team if we was still in the Championship. Will Swan might have missed the boat and struggling to give him game-time with those before him all progressing quicker, maybe he needs a loan season? Dale Taylor broke his arm and was out for 2-3 months last season, not sure he will get to feature for me.

I'm excited for James Clarridge who the scouts are high on for his potential ability, he has been at the club since he was 6 so would be a great story if he could make it to the first team consistently! 

56 minutes ago, ITFC_Blue said:

Really well written story, and a great start to you Forest career.

Look forward to seeing how you get on in the Prem, KUTGW! 

Thank you! I'm not use to stepping up to the Prem and the signings been this limiting, but it will be interesting to struggle for once! Part of me wants to go down as it is something that hasn't happened much in my FM life.... but then again staying up brings progress!

50 minutes ago, LowestLeagueHero said:

Congrats, great to see Forest back in PL.

Now go for the impossible and try to stay up.

(I know it's not likely to happen, considering the restrictions you put upon yourself regarding recruitment, but for some reason I'm pretty optimistic and expect Nottingham to stay up.)

Will you adjust your tactics?

If so, I'm highly interested in seeing it, along with some insight into your reasoning.

Tactics ist the part of the game where I struggle the most (playing an FM 20 journeyman still and managing Glastonbury in the 12th tier currently ).

 

Anyway, good luck in further restoring Nottingham glory.

I would love to see it in real life, if Cooper had started the season it probably happens and this year via the play-offs is a lottery!

I honestly can't see us staying up unless 3 or 4 teams are really poor which they won't be. We have some individually great players but we are so thin in depth and current quality outside the top 5 or 6 players.

The tactics I don't plan to change, will see less of the 4-2-4 and more 4-2-3-1 but the same philosophy. I looked at moving into a back 3 with wing backs but we do not have enough central defenders yet to move to that. I may have to try that against the bigger teams and "park the bus" but If I do I'll post up the tactic.

Tactics I struggle with also, but I think less is often more. I have a few players with individual instructions instead. At the minute it is more fit it around the players I have rather than fitting the players to the tactic. 

[theBlackPrince]

If you're standing still you wont move forward

Steve Cooper has been very vocal in the media about Brian Trent (Yes that is the manager who I haven't really gone into any detail yet, but will at some point) and his tactical inefficiencies. I bloody love Steve Cooper in real life but in the game, Alan Tate was brought in by Cooper so it's almost like there is a conflict of interest and that Cooper wanted Tate at his new club, Huddersfield but couldn't make the payoff. Let's see if that happens now. I have to trust my Assistant Manger 100%, so for the story we had to make some changes to make it Trent's staff. Iain Brunskill has managed around the world to bring in someone a little different, but someone renowned for his people management and working with youngsters. He doesn't have the usual personality I would go for but at just £1,300 a week wages this is a considerable drop from Tate's £5,000 per week. 

We also had a huge re-shape in the first of it's kind to bring the best talent to the club. We started with the Performance Analysts as we brought in Stuart Metcalf who had been in Belgium with Cercle Brugge after 5 years with Tottenham. He come's in on a 5 year deal as one in his prime at only 35 to spearhead this side of the club. We would also bring in American Carlon Carpenter for the Under 23's and Sam Thacker to join Simon Houston in the under 18's. All, as shown below are a statistical upgrade.

[theBlackPrince]

Half the wage spend of the next lowest club and £5,250,000 lower than the top....

Well there was no big spending in this Transfer window as there was no-one of interest. Everyone was either priced too high or just not good enough to improve the squad. We finally managed to get shot of those players out om loan last season and we took some gambles on Colchester players for the future. Do we think any will every play first team football, probably not. Could they help build the Youth Academy Teams up and help them improve before heading off for a profit, probably. We did sent some players they wanted out on loan and gave a modest future fee sell on clause, so it is win win for all.

And then we look at the wage bill to really see how far we are behind the rest, that is just a staggering difference in spend. That may increase a little as we move some more players onto longer term but more expensive deals, but for now, operation survival is the only goal!

[theBlackPrince]

It's one record we don't want and so far, looks like Derby will keep the record Premier League low points...

It has not been pretty, but it hasn't been ugly at the same time. We have been so close against some bigger teams in causing an upset, rivals Leicester springs to mind. We got lucky on the opening day of the season to secure a point late on against fellow newly promoted Bournemouth but then felt the other side of that when going 2-0 up against Aston Villa we let them back into the game for a draw. These margins are NARROW to gain and lose points at this level. After 8 games without a win, the media was starting to peck away like vultures, looking for a reaction. But they got none. The team spirit remained high and we got our reward, 3 points and a victory in the 9th game of the season on the road to fellow strugglers, Crystal Palace.

We scored mid-way through the first half with new signing, former Liverpool trainee Ben Woodburn (Not) with a cracking shot from outside the box to open his scoring. The rest of the game Palace peppered the goal with 20 shots but Karl Darlow (For) won Player of the Game for his part in keeping his second clean sheet of the season to that point. We moved the AMC to a DM role around the 65th minute to offer more support for the back 4 and it paid off when the final whilst went. Nottingham Forest fans had to wait, but they finally had that vital first win of the season and with several other clubs performing about the same, there was 5 or 6 teams likely to be fighting off relegation.

We need to be able to secure some more goals and we might just scrape through this season. Both Tyler Walker (For) and Oliver Burke (For) are struggling and have had some good chances. Need one of them to step up or we may struggle to keep up with the other teams. 11 games, 8 points is 0.72 points per game, 36 games gives us 26 points....

[LowestLeagueHero]

Not a particularly good start, but way better than expected ("1000-1" springs to mind ...).

And looking at the results so far you are often close to take at least one point with you.

Seeing this, I am completely confident that Forest won't go down this season.

It will be close, that's for sure, but you'll stay up.

Edited February 11, 2022 by LowestLeagueHero

[theBlackPrince]

10 minutes ago, LowestLeagueHero said:

Not a particularly good start, but way better than expected ("1000-1" springs to mind ...).

And looking at the results so far you are often close to take at least one point with you.

Seeing this, I am completely confident that Forest won't go down this season.

It will be close, that's for sure, but you'll stay up.

Man City, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea is my next 4 games  We could be a good few points behind by then.

But yes, we are within teasing distance of staying up at this point. Those games against Palace, Fulham and Bournemouth are must win if we have a chance to stay up.

[theBlackPrince]

World Cup 2022 made me forget about this

We only have Oliver Burke (For) at the World Cup in Qatar so I took a nice 2 week vacation. It was getting to the end of December and thought they hadn't sent me my Academy intake preview email. Turns out, they had, I just missed it. And well, it looks like another one that I cannot wait for with several A rated departments. Could this be a second huge intake in a row? Will they be coming to a Premier League club or a Championship one? Merry Christmas one and all, January is going to be brutal!

P.S. We really really need those centre-backs and could do with those fullbacks not being E graded....

[theBlackPrince]

When are they turning off the life support?

We are hanging on by a whisker and dropped points against West Ham and Bournemouth which we could not afford to do. Luckily we scored late at Wolves to get another much needed win to keep us in touch with Wolves and West Ham. We managed to frustrate Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea and got 1 more point from them than expected, a 0-0 draw at home to Tottenham.

Our transfer deadline day was a snooze fest. We had deals lined up for the only two players that may have helped but we stopped both due to greed!

• Ben Brereton DIaz (For) - £10,000,000 deal plus international add on. Wanted £50,000 per week wages which blew the whole wage structure and I just couldn't do that.
• Jamaal Lascelles (For) - Ended on the transfer list for £4,200,000 but wanted a staggering £65,000 per week wage. He then signed for Aston Villa for £27,000 per week....

We also lost our loan signing from Leeds, Leo Fuhr Hjelde (Not) as he had not played in the right position enough. I told them to take him back if they weren't happy. They did, we wont miss him.

In other news, the City Ground is getting expanded and we upgrade our youth facilities again. Keeping the transfer money in the bank will pay for the Stadium upgrades and not get other players demanding wages that are madness for us. 

[theBlackPrince]

Huh? How did that happen?

With Newcastle coming to the City Ground not many days after the FA Cup 4th Round game at Tottemhan, we shipped in the under 23's to save the first team for the league. I don't think I have ever seen a game quite like this. We scored with the opening shot of the game to take a shock lead. Tottenham soon scored twice to take the lead before the half. We literally did nothing else the whole game and threw on a few first teamers with 13 minutes to go. Brennan Johnson would score 7 minutes later and with an unbelievable finished, Dale Taylor, who has not made a senior start turned instant hero as he scored in injury time to take a shock victory over a much stronger Tottenham side.

And a few days later, with Newcastle coming to visit we secured an historic victory over a team with Europe on their mind. Once again this was a crazy finish... A corner came in from Newcastle which looked to be cleared off the line by Ben Osborn (For) only for his kick to rebound off the back of Remo Freuler straight into the net from 6 yards out to score an undeserved equaliser in the 95th minute. The home crowd deflated instantly into silence. But they roared back into life when Ryan Yates, Mr Nottingham himself, drove into the box onto a superb Oliver Burke (For) pass and he slotted home from 10 yards out. The City Ground erupted, Forest had a 97th minute, last kick of the game winner to move them out of the bottom 3. 

But the victory came at a price, two starters injured to add to 3 more already missing time. A cruel blow at a time when Forest need every player fit and ready....

[theBlackPrince]

Gary Brazil - The man, the myth, the legend

Last years intake looked great, this year Head of Youth Development Gary Brazil may have smashed that out of the part with this year's intake. There are no less than 7 players highlighted as "elite" with a further 2 top talents. They tore up the game against the current under 18's 3-1 and looked all the part of future Premier League players. Absolutely joy down at the Nigel Doughty Academy as plans also went through to redevelop and make this an Academy to challenge the best in the world.

I'm more excited that the top 3 in the list are all local players who are Nottingham Forest supporters. I know it shouldn't make a difference but in the thick of it or when the chips are down, the love for the club will shine through. Obviously we have to see if they can develop to the potential that they have, we need to make sure all our facilities and coaches are at the top of their game at the end of this season!

Clive Nurse 23a - Goalkeeper - Nottingham - Nottingham Forest Supporter

• Nottingham born and bred, Clive was only ever wanting to play for Forest as a life long supporter.
• Touted as the next Gordon Banks
• Fairly professional personality
• Agility 14, Handling 13, Reflexes 13, 
• 187 cm and 72 kg

Dominic Diggin 23b - Striker / AM (RL)  - Alfreton - Nottingham Forest Supporter

• Dominic was only ever wanting to play for Forest as a life long supporter, born just outside the city.
• Fairly determined personality
• Determination 16, First Touch 15, Work Rate 14
• 188 cm and 74 kg

Kian Culverwell 23c - Defensive Midfielder / Midfield Centre  - Mansfield - Nottingham Forest Supporter

• Kian was only ever wanting to play for Forest as a life long supporter, born just outside the city in Mansfield.
• Balanced personality
• Teamwork 18, Work Rate 17, Stamina 15
• 178 cm and 71 kg

Mete Arıkan 23d - Defender Centre / DM  - Ordu, Turkey

• No ties to the club, favorite personnel Andy Reid (u23 Manager), Brent Dickinson (Fitness Coach), Gary Brazil (HoYD)
• Duel Nationality - Turkey and England
• Spirited personality
• Bravery 16, Work Rate 16, Tackling 15
• 182 cm and 68 kg

Jack Beckham 23e - Attacking Midfield Centre / Left - Mansfield

• Favorite personnel Jerome John (u18 Goalkeeping coach)
• Duel Nationality - England and Ireland
• Realist personality
• Natural Fitness 16, Determination 16, Pace 15
• 173 cm and 59 kg

Lewis Tomkins 23f - Defender Right / Centre - Nottingham

• Born in the city. Favorite personnel Tom Mallison (u19 Assistant Manager), Jerome John (u18 Goalkeeping coach), Des Walker (Coach), Chris Cohen (Coach) 
• Loyal personality
• Bravery 17, Work Rate 15, Determination 14
• 169 cm and 55 kg

Rohan Forbes 23g - Attacking Midfielder Left / Defender Left - Leek

• Born in the city. Favorite personnel Brent Dickinson (Fitness Coach), Andy Kalinins (u23 Fitness coach), Glynn Snodin (u18 coach), Ben Tempest (u18 Fitness coach)
• Has Duel Nationality - England and Jamacia
• Fairly loyal personality
• Team Work 15, Decision 15, Bravery 14
• 182 cm and 73 kg

[theBlackPrince]

Somehow we avoid the drop, was it them or was it us?

With 2 games to go, Nottingham Forest, who were tipped to finish dead last and go straight back down, have avoided the drop. A fantastic unbeaten April has been the difference with 11 points from 5 games, including winning at Leeds United before beating both Crystal Palace and the huge scalp of Everton at the City Ground. May was always going to be difficult to gain points with games against Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea so a huge April was needed to survive and they out performed the teams below them. In fact, all 3 promoted teams have survived with Nottingham Forest joining Fulham and Bournemouth, who may still finish in the top 10.

How did the last few months unfold?

Wolves would gain 7 points in their 6 games in April including a huge 2-1 win over Leicester to give them a chance to avoid the drop after just 1 point in the previous 2 months before that. Watford would also gain 0 points in Feb and March before picking 5 up in April but they were the first to fall (Crystal Palace not included as they have been down and out for a while).

It won't matter for anyone in the club, but this year was very weak at the bottom. Looking at the past 7 years you would need to make sure you have that 36-40 points to be safe. Nottingham Forest with Tottenham and West Ham left, have 35 points and -15 goal difference so are on the cusp of surviving all but 2 of the last 7 years. However thus year, Wolves are only on 28 and Watford 26 which are the lowest in this period. Did Forest get a little luck, sure. But this is football, and sometimes you need some luck! 

• 2020/21 - 17th place = 38 points & -17 goal different - Relegated Points Gained: 38, 35, 32
• 2019/20 - 17th place = 35 points & -26 goal different - Relegated Points Gained: 34, 34, 21
• 2018/19 - 17th place = 36 points & -25 goal different - Relegated Points Gained: 34, 26, 16
• 2017/18 - 17th place = 36 points & -19 goal different - Relegated Points Gained: 33, 33, 31
• 2016/17 - 17th place = 40 points & -28 goal different - Relegated Points Gained: 34, 28, 24
• 2015/16 - 17th place = 39 points & -14 goal different - Relegated Points Gained: 37, 34, 17
• 2015/16 - 17th place = 38 points & -26 goal different - Relegated Points Gained: 35, 33, 30

We will do a full recap on the season once we have finished but wanted to confirm safety which @LowestLeagueHero was always sure Nottingham Forest would achieve. In other news, Manager Brian Trent had his first job offer with Leeds United, which was swiftly turned down. Brian Trent is a one man club!

In final news, the story will slow down a little now as I'm back from a week off work on Monday so less game time. Hopefully still get an update a day as we go through the seasons!

[Ronaldo Beckham]

15 minutes ago, theBlackPrince said:

Somehow we avoid the drop, was it them or was it us?

With 2 games to go, Nottingham Forest, who were tipped to finish dead last and go straight back down, have avoided the drop. A fantastic unbeaten April has been the difference with 11 points from 5 games, including winning at Leeds United before beating both Crystal Palace and the huge scalp of Everton at the City Ground. May was always going to be difficult to gain points with games against Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea so a huge April was needed to survive and they out performed the teams below them. In fact, all 3 promoted teams have survived with Nottingham Forest joining Fulham and Bournemouth, who may still finish in the top 10.

How did the last few months unfold?

Wolves would gain 7 points in their 6 games in April including a huge 2-1 win over Leicester to give them a chance to avoid the drop after just 1 point in the previous 2 months before that. Watford would also gain 0 points in Feb and March before picking 5 up in April but they were the first to fall (Crystal Palace not included as they have been down and out for a while).

It won't matter for anyone in the club, but this year was very weak at the bottom. Looking at the past 7 years you would need to make sure you have that 36-40 points to be safe. Nottingham Forest with Tottenham and West Ham left, have 35 points and -15 goal difference so are on the cusp of surviving all but 2 of the last 7 years. However thus year, Wolves are only on 28 and Watford 26 which are the lowest in this period. Did Forest get a little luck, sure. But this is football, and sometimes you need some luck! 

• 2020/21 - 17th place = 38 points & -17 goal different - Relegated Points Gained: 38, 35, 32
• 2019/20 - 17th place = 35 points & -26 goal different - Relegated Points Gained: 34, 34, 21
• 2018/19 - 17th place = 36 points & -25 goal different - Relegated Points Gained: 34, 26, 16
• 2017/18 - 17th place = 36 points & -19 goal different - Relegated Points Gained: 33, 33, 31
• 2016/17 - 17th place = 40 points & -28 goal different - Relegated Points Gained: 34, 28, 24
• 2015/16 - 17th place = 39 points & -14 goal different - Relegated Points Gained: 37, 34, 17
• 2015/16 - 17th place = 38 points & -26 goal different - Relegated Points Gained: 35, 33, 30

We will do a full recap on the season once we have finished but wanted to confirm safety which @LowestLeagueHero was always sure Nottingham Forest would achieve. In other news, Manager Brian Trent had his first job offer with Leeds United, which was swiftly turned down. Brian Trent is a one man club!

In final news, the story will slow down a little now as I'm back from a week off work on Monday so less game time. Hopefully still get an update a day as we go through the seasons!

Well done avoiding relegation. I just completed my first season and I got into the play offs but most on aggregate to Blackburn in the play off semis.

I didn't want to get promoted straight away anyway so it suits me.

Hopefully you can build your team slowly and give Dale Taylor more game time.

[LowestLeagueHero]

Told.

You.

So,

 

Congratulations! 

And now for some spoiler: next season you'll end with more than 40 points, the season after that you'll be in for a somewhat secure midtable finish (13th or 12th place).

For the third season my prophecies are yet a bit vague, but if I'm reading the signs correctly, Forest will go to the European Conference League.

You don't believe me?

Just wait and you'll see!

Edited February 12, 2022 by LowestLeagueHero

[theBlackPrince]

4 hours ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Well done avoiding relegation. I just completed my first season and I got into the play offs but most on aggregate to Blackburn in the play off semis.

I didn't want to get promoted straight away anyway so it suits me.

Hopefully you can build your team slowly and give Dale Taylor more game time.

There was just 3 teams worse than us but we did play some good games when it counted and team moral stayed high which I think is the difference when you have a group that share the same goals rather than if it was all a group who had just come in.

Has anyone else broke into the first team in your save? How was the youth intake?

2 hours ago, LowestLeagueHero said:

Told.

You.

So, 

Congratulations! 

And now for some spoiler: next season you'll end with more than 40 points, the season after that you'll be in for a somewhat secure midtable finish (13th or 12th place).

For the third season my prophecies are yet a bit vague, but if I'm reading the signs correctly, Forest will go to the European Conference League.

You don't believe me?

Just wait and you'll see!

Yes, yes you did call it. The teams below us really, really helped us out as they were poor all year long and we may finish the worse of the 3 promoted teams. But all that matters was survival. Next year yep, I would say 40-50 points is the aim alongside building a long term tactic. I'll have to update about that also, added a few more bits to the tactic this season which seemed to coincide with the improvement in form. I think Europe is 4 to 5 season's away when these youth players start to turn into first team players.

 

Edited February 12, 2022 by theBlackPrince

[theBlackPrince]

Nottingham Forest - Season 2 Review

16th place after winning the duel with Fulham over the final games of the season. Both teams ended below the "40 point marker" with 36, but Fulham leaked goals all over the place to finish below Forest on goal difference. Crystal Palace, Watford and Wolves would be heading down after poor season's and all 3 newly promoted teams stayed up, that can't have happened many times before? The League was dominated by a Liverpool team that smashed everyone to win by 15 points and a staggering +78 goal difference, letting in only 18 goals all season and losing just once to Arsenal in the process. Talk about dominance. Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal would round out the top 4 and head to the Champions League with Southampton, Everton and Leicester all heading off to play in Europe. The gaps in the Premier League this season shows a huge gap in talent and ability.

In terms of the Forest squad it was a tough season where no-one really stood out but everyone worked their butt's off week in, week out to make sure we survived. We struggled to score goals and Tyler Walker (For) lead all with just 10, followed by Brennan Johnson with 9. Oliver Burke (For) somehow won the fans player of the year award but did lead the team in assists with just 6. What we have seen is that we have some players who are playing their heart's out, but they are just a league (or two) above their ability and we need to keep playing them as the players coming through will eventually be much better, but for now are still a couple of years away from joining the first team. We may also start to see players drift out of the club if their wage demands defy their own view of their ability, like Alex lacovitti who wanted almost £23,500 per week to sign, not on my shift! Totally honest, not sure who is going to step up next season but we are still short on depth able to play at this level or even Championship level right now.!

We are still favorites I'm positive for the drop next season, but we will fight bravely against that once more. And how about the council, blocking us from expanding the City Ground?!?!? That is a kick in the nuts and means we may have to move away from the World Famous City Ground sooner rather than later.... I'm not going to push for a new Stadium just yet, I feel we need to get back to Europe before we make that investment.

Tactic Update in Season

I forgot to add this to the season summary but said I would update tactics as they changed. Pretty much the same as before but added the focus the play down the left and the right. I noticed that our heat map and well the oppositions also were all down the middle. I wanted to try and make that a focus to play out wide and stretch teams and it seemed to help. I think this will need to be looked at more for the new season to try and get more width in the attacks  

[Blarney]

7 hours ago, theBlackPrince said:

Nottingham Forest - Season 2 Review

16th place after winning the duel with Fulham over the final games of the season. Both teams ended below the "40 point marker" with 36, but Fulham leaked goals all over the place to finish below Forest on goal difference. Crystal Palace, Watford and Wolves would be heading down after poor season's and all 3 newly promoted teams stayed up, that can't have happened many times before? The League was dominated by a Liverpool team that smashed everyone to win by 15 points and a staggering +78 goal difference, letting in only 18 goals all season and losing just once to Arsenal in the process. Talk about dominance. Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal would round out the top 4 and head to the Champions League with Southampton, Everton and Leicester all heading off to play in Europe. The gaps in the Premier League this season shows a huge gap in talent and ability.

In terms of the Forest squad it was a tough season where no-one really stood out but everyone worked their butt's off week in, week out to make sure we survived. We struggled to score goals and Tyler Walker (For) lead all with just 10, followed by Brennan Johnson with 9. Oliver Burke (For) somehow won the fans player of the year award but did lead the team in assists with just 6. What we have seen is that we have some players who are playing their heart's out, but they are just a league (or two) above their ability and we need to keep playing them as the players coming through will eventually be much better, but for now are still a couple of years away from joining the first team. We may also start to see players drift out of the club if their wage demands defy their own view of their ability, like Alex lacovitti who wanted almost £23,500 per week to sign, not on my shift! Totally honest, not sure who is going to step up next season but we are still short on depth able to play at this level or even Championship level right now.!

We are still favorites I'm positive for the drop next season, but we will fight bravely against that once more. And how about the council, blocking us from expanding the City Ground?!?!? That is a kick in the nuts and means we may have to move away from the World Famous City Ground sooner rather than later.... I'm not going to push for a new Stadium just yet, I feel we need to get back to Europe before we make that investment.

Tactic Update in Season

I forgot to add this to the season summary but said I would update tactics as they changed. Pretty much the same as before but added the focus the play down the left and the right. I noticed that our heat map and well the oppositions also were all down the middle. I wanted to try and make that a focus to play out wide and stretch teams and it seemed to help. I think this will need to be looked at more for the new season to try and get more width in the attacks  

That is one of my favorite formations if you can pull it off.  Have to have good defenders on the back and be absolutely solid in the middle with the 2 boys you have there otherwise you're easily countered and find yourself chasing the ball.  This was the issue I had with County last season, but I was very weak in my defense unfortunately.  If you have the players for it this is a very good attacking forward formation and very exciting for the fans. 

Here's to holding on though. 

Edited February 13, 2022 by Blarney

[theBlackPrince]

Nottingham Forest - Season 3 Pre-Season - Transfers and Loans

Transfers are always going to be minimal with the restrictions placed, but I'm pleased with the rules still enabling me to dip into the transfer market rather than just youth prospects. I got rid of the Boston Affiliation so will be looking to replace that this season. We had a look at all the bigger former Academy players this year but Matty Cash and Partick Bamford are out of reach and Ben Brereton Diaz is £21,000,000 and I Just don't want to pay that much for him. As part of the loan agreement to take Anel Ahmedhodžić (For) last year we had to have a future transfer arranged, which as a no brainer. At only 24 he is the best player at the club and could be for some time. We did break our record signing to bring him in at £13,000,000 with another £1,500,000 to possible be added. Not much to say apart from he will be our leading centre back for the next 5 season's and is vital to us staying in the Premier League.

It looks like Leicester got the jump on us for a promising young talent from Nottingham in Striker Robert Swaby (Not). There is not much to go on at only 16 and we have paid a fair price, but if he gets to the level we need that £4,000,000 will be returned ten-fold. Great finishing and technique at his age, he will join our promising youngsters from this years Youth Intake. Another buy for the future and we shall see how he develops. We also signed a couple other players for the future, Manni Norkett (Not) was released by Manchester United and Gordon Duff (NC) has come from Notts County. Both are for depth in the under 23's as we have a lot of players out on loan.

We have multiple players out on loan as we need them to be improving and gaining competitive games under their belt. We will drag anyone back who is not playing week in week out but loan focus will be high this year. The main ones for the this season I will be interested in.

• Richard Boateng (NC) - Oxford United - League One - Richard is on the cusp of the first team but we would like him to bang some goals in at this level to really show that he has what it takes to play at a higher level. A big season for the former Notts County player who trains really well week in week out. Can he get 20+ goals this season?
• Will Swan - Rotherham - League One - This one is a heart one, we want Will to feature for the first team and he has all the potential to get there, he just seems to be a late bloomer, hopefully. League One will be a good test for him to hopefully bring him along so he can fight for a spot in the first team in the next few years.
• Fernando Thicket 22e - Morecambe - League Two - The only one of the 22 intake crop to go to League Two, the rest all ending up in the Vanarama National League. He plays in that left back role that will be vital in our new 4-4-2 system so we hope he can start to show the promise we can all see.  

[Ronaldo Beckham]

12 hours ago, theBlackPrince said:

There was just 3 teams worse than us but we did play some good games when it counted and team moral stayed high which I think is the difference when you have a group that share the same goals rather than if it was all a group who had just come in.

Has anyone else broke into the first team in your save? How was the youth intake?

Yes, yes you did call it. The teams below us really, really helped us out as they were poor all year long and we may finish the worse of the 3 promoted teams. But all that matters was survival. Next year yep, I would say 40-50 points is the aim alongside building a long term tactic. I'll have to update about that also, added a few more bits to the tactic this season which seemed to coincide with the improvement in form. I think Europe is 4 to 5 season's away when these youth players start to turn into first team players.

 

My first intake was pretty good with some prospects. Nobody broke through into the first team as a regular but Lewis Barker played a few games after I sold McKenna and I was short on centre backs and he done well so he might get more game time.

Ideally I want to play a whole team of youth prospects but I know I can't do that. 

I will hopefully bed in 2-3 prospects as first team regulars as the season goes on.