Just back from Forest (Nostalgic thread)

[Davefevs]

With the trips on vpn airways and streaming services, tonight felt like a trip down memory lane, where most of us would be listening to away games on the radio and waiting for the first fans to arrive back and start a thread or a post with “just back from….”!

Was quite enjoyable listening to BBCRB again, been a few years.

So anyone that’s been, be good to hear what it was really like.

[ExiledAjax]

Just got back (it's an hour's drive for me).

I missed the first 20 minutes waiting in the queue for the ticket collection point.

So missed both goals.

But. I thought that for the 100 minutes I did see we played well on the whole. Mehmeti still pisses me off with his "I'll just do everything" attitude. Williams and James were brilliant in the middle. Knight as well until he went off. Conway worked his socks off and Wells did well once Felipe got such bad cramps that he had to stop being a little shit.

In general I thought we played very smart football. We pressed forward when we could but absorbed their attacks well...which isn't easy at all when they've got players like Neco Williams and Gibbs-White. 

it's a cliché as well...but the fans were great. It was a top away end to be in and a full home end helped create a really good atmosphere.

I am delighted that I went even though I didn't see the goals and we lost.

edit: oh and a word for Knight-Lebel filling in at RB and doing very well. I think his size helps a bit but he looked just about calm enough and didn't make any major errors. A decent debut (is that his debut??).

Edited February 8 by ExiledAjax

[boadle]

I live in Nottingham so I got home before the lot of ya! 

Terrible system for picking up away fan tickets.

Their goal looked like handball but VAR didn't think so (how strange to be waiting for a giant screen to tell you if a decision is going to go in your favour. Didn't enjoy that at all, felt... wrong).

We looked sharp and organised, but lacking in the final execution. Could easily have won it in the last few mins. Fine margins.

Felt so sorry for Sam Bell. 

[Davefevs]

18 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

edit: oh and a word for Knight-Lebel filling in at RB and doing very well. I think his size helps a bit but he looked just about calm enough and didn't make any major errors. A decent debut (is that his debut??).

Cardiff (a) was his debut.

[MarcusX]

Not too far for me so back already.

I was a bit harsh in the first game (probably elevated expectations after West Ham) and didn’t think it was that good a performance. Certainly some nice football played but never really looked like scoring - and I was critical of the atmosphere.

Well, tonight for 60 minutes that performance was very good. A little unlucky to go behind but forest started much better than they did a week ago Friday. Suspicion of handball from us in the ground, by Origi but VAR checked it out.

We got back into it quickly though, plenty of pressure and several shots. Some of more quality than others but we forced Turner into a few good saves.

I don’t know if we tired, or the changes disrupted us, or Forest just stepped it up but after the triple sub we were second best and didn’t create a whole lot that I can remember. Seemed to be hanging on for extra time at that point.

Extta time it livened up again and both teams had a good go at it. Sam Bell with some great wing play put a ball across the 6 yard box that was just begging to be tapped in. Somehow Wells ended up in the back of the net but the ball didn’t. Minute later and Bell has made an incredible recovery run and tackle to save the game and take it to pens.

Some observations tonight:

Williams was exceptional, felt like he was everywhere.

Bell probably had one of his best games for us, I still think there’s a player in there that needs a bit of time.

Wells was incredibly frustrating. Bullied by their CB to the point he was on the floor 5 or 6 times, then petulantly gave away a silly foul with a 2 handed push. He grew into the game in ET so maybe I’m just being a bit harsh there.

Max was very good again, some great saves and did well with crosses and a couple of one on ones.

Knight-label had a solid game, fair play coming in into that game against some top players.

The atmosphere was a bit hit and miss in my opinion. Forest were terrible for starters and barely heard a peep until the pens. Even at 1-0 they were silent.

We were good again up until 60 mins or so. That 20 min spell near the end of normal time was getting a bit downbeat, fair bit of moaning, I’m sure there were some boos too for some reason. Got good again in ET though and at the end of the game very supportive of the lads.

On the whole it was a good night and a very good performance, much better than the first game. There shouldn’t be any reason we can’t out that effort into the league now.

[Mr Popodopolous]

I quite like the odd game on the radio. Especially when it's cold and or wet outside.

Good commentators can really paint a picture.

Often I might for away games were the stream on quiet with Radio Bristol commentary.

[italian dave]

Just back, and happy to just agree with @MarcusX - I’m ready for bed! 

Only 50 odd hours and we go again to Middlesbrough! 

[frenchred]

2 hours ago, Davefevs said:

With the trips on vpn airways and streaming services, tonight felt like a trip down memory lane, where most of us would be listening to away games on the radio and waiting for the first fans to arrive back and start a thread or a post with “just back from….”!

Was quite enjoyable listening to BBCRB again, been a few years.

So anyone that’s been, be good to hear what it was really like.

I just got back!

Thoroughly enjoyed our performance, was a real team effort and the shots at goal we forgot in previous games was back!

Thought we looked strong at the back, o Leary did well (credit where it's due) and Williams was a monster all night!

Mehmeti doesn't do it for me, he just gives the ball away to much and as for Cornick, it was there tonight for him to be the hero, don't know how he missed in all honesty

Forget the few negatives after Fridays debacle this was champagne football, we really deserved more

[Paulton Red]

Just got back

bloody sat nav!

[ExiledAjax]

5 hours ago, MarcusX said:

I don’t know if we tired, or the changes disrupted us, or Forest just stepped it up but after the triple sub we were second best and didn’t create a whole lot that I can remember. Seemed to be hanging on for extra time at that point.

I'd agree that the subs by both teams changed it a bit. We'd dominated p until that point of the second half, and then they came back into it. I saw it as Forest stepping it up. First Hudson-Odoi and Awoniyi, and then N. Williams were just more attacking. Forest started hitting accurate cross-field passes and Williams gave Bell a really tough time. 

I still thought we defended that pressure well, but we did struggle to control things as we did between minutes 45 and 60.

6 hours ago, MarcusX said:

Wells was incredibly frustrating. Bullied by their CB to the point he was on the floor 5 or 6 times, then petulantly gave away a silly foul with a 2 handed push. He grew into the game in ET so maybe I’m just being a bit harsh there.

Felipe was just a *****. The ref didn't see enough to card him apparently. I saw it as being after he went down with cramps early in ET that Wells managed to get the better of him.

6 hours ago, MarcusX said:

Max was very good again, some great saves and did well with crosses and a couple of one on ones.

Had a couple of hairy moments though right! I'm a fan of his and don't think we desperately need an upgrade, but he still had his traditional once a match "oh god Max" moment in the second half where he went romping out of his box iirc.

Look, overall I agree with the sentiment of your post. We acquitted ourselves really well and really could have won it with either the Wells chance that miraculously didn't cross the line, or James' strike just over the bar, or Cornick's ET chance that also went incredibly close to the top corner.

Gutting really, but a night where we outplayed a bad Premier League/good Championship team at their own "world famous" ground. 

[Oh Louie louie]

One of my favourite memories involving a radio, huddling around a radio in the car park at Victoria park Hartlepool in the fa cup, I remember it because the game was Sutton Vs Coventry on the radio

[EstoniaTallinnRed]

6 hours ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

I quite like the odd game on the radio. Especially when it's cold and or wet outside.

Good commentators can really paint a picture.

Often I might for away games were the stream on quiet with Radio Bristol commentary.

I do that every game, if theres a good stream, I mute it and listen to the RB commentary on the OS. The stream is usually behind RB, but I hear about any goals before I see them. Love Owers comments and when he goes mental why City have a good chance of score.

[Port Said Red]

I listened to the 5Live Sports extra broadcast which was actually Radio Nottingham's commentary and it was very good. 

Apart from the odd mention of "we" the commentary was really fair and they weren't one-eyed at all. The commentator had really done his homework and knew a lot about individual players, and he called us "City" throughout. Steve Sutton was the summariser and he was a little more biased, but really impressed with Max, he did call us "Bristol" a lot though he did correct himself at times. 

At @Davefevs is right, it was a bit like the old days. I even had the lights off, so it felt like the days of the "3 day week". 

[TV Tom]

5 minutes ago, Port Said Red said:

I listened to the 5Live Sports extra broadcast which was actually Radio Nottingham's commentary and it was very good. 

Apart from the odd mention of "we" the commentary was really fair and they weren't one-eyed at all. The commentator had really done his homework and knew a lot about individual players, and he called us "City" throughout. Steve Sutton was the summariser and he was a little more biased, but really impressed with Max, he did call us "Bristol" a lot though he did correct himself at times. 

At @Davefevs is right, it was a bit like the old days. I even had the lights off, so it felt like the days of the "3 day week". 

Did you light any candles ? 

[Port Said Red]

Just now, TV Tom said:

Did you light any candles ? 

Unnecessary, the one thing that took me out of the nostalgia was sitting playing cards on my laptop.

[Olé]

6 hours ago, MarcusX said:

The atmosphere was a bit hit and miss in my opinion. Forest were terrible for starters and barely heard a peep until the pens. Even at 1-0 they were silent.

Agree with this and everything else in the rest of your summary.

I wrote a long reply to explain why I'm doing match reports less often (big away days and everyone is there or it's forgettable and I forget it) and to share my own thoughts, but it all disappeared when East Midlands Rail had its unusual internet meltdown and OTIB wasn't able to save what I wrote.

Suffice to say I thought we were great for large periods, controlled the game well without being defensive. Seemed to get better as Forest stretched the game by tidying up, working the ball around to force Forest to reset and then working it into the final third with quick combinations. Looked the better side.

Massive shift from all and I honestly felt we'd win it second half of extra time and we really should have done - Wells square to Cornick miss, James volley just over, Bell into Wells on the line) and Forest would have had no complaints had we done so. Penalties were always going to be a lottery after that.

Hard to single out any player but Bell and Williams were immense, Bell did not deserve his storyline, and Conway plays with a certain swagger against Premier League teams, his shoulder drop turn and finish was class. Surprised at the criticism of Mehmeti, thought that was one of his best games going at players.

The only player I didn't think was at his maximum was McCrorie but he was up against Gibbs-White and yes he had to counter balance all Mehmeti's freedom. And Cornick feels like someone who will never succeed with us, plenty of honest endeavour but seems to lack the quality where it counts. Poor man's Marley Watkins someone said to me last night. 

Finally special word for Nuno. He plays more like a conventional winger than a manager, out on the touchline and so often creeping slowly into the final third. He's done brilliantly well to get through another ninety minutes against us up and down the wing, always in space looking to affect play with his presence.

I think last night he must have been in his actual "technical area" for all of 2 minutes and spent more time on the pitch than some of his players. I'm not sure what the point of fourth officials is. He's literally wearing a dark top and is a metre or two out of his space literally on the wing. I swear we played out from the back to him twice in the first half of ET.

[East Yorkshire CideRed]

Must admit, it was a very nostalgic experience for me; sat in a pub with my phone clamped to my ear, Radio 5 Live blaring out like some transistor radio from yesteryear.

[supercidered]

49 minutes ago, TV Tom said:

Did you light any candles ? 

If you did, I'm guessing it was 4 candles.

(one for the kids).

[cheese]

The queue for away tickets were horrendous, they may be Premier League (for this season anyway), but the ground and organisation is non-league.  Absolutely awful.

Suprised no one has mentioned King.  Thought he had a good game and used his experience well.  Max was great again - really don't get people slagging him off for mistakes - that's goalkeeping these days - just look at Allison at Liverpool the other day - and he's supposed to be a top top keeper.  Felt sorry for Bell, if Wells had put the ball he gave him in the back of the net onstead of falling on his ass again then penalties wouldn't have been necessary.  Someone should advise Wells to use studs instead of daps.

[cheese]

3 minutes ago, supercidered said:

If you did, I'm guessing it was 4 candles.

(one for the kids).

I tried that joke on a few people the other day when had 4 candles in my hand - they looked blankly at me.  Made me feel really old!  Sadly.

[The turtle]

1 hour ago, Port Said Red said:

I listened to the 5Live Sports extra broadcast which was actually Radio Nottingham's commentary and it was very good. 

Apart from the odd mention of "we" the commentary was really fair and they weren't one-eyed at all. The commentator had really done his homework and knew a lot about individual players, and he called us "City" throughout. Steve Sutton was the summariser and he was a little more biased, but really impressed with Max, he did call us "Bristol" a lot though he did correct himself at times. 

At @Davefevs is right, it was a bit like the old days. I even had the lights off, so it felt like the days of the "3 day week". 

I listened on talk sport 2; they were very much "bristol city" the whole way through. To the point of correcting themselves on the odd bristol.

[Redshorts]

8 hours ago, ExiledAjax said:

Just got back (it's an hour's drive for me).

I missed the first 20 minutes waiting in the queue for the ticket collection point.

So missed both goals.

But. I thought that for the 100 minutes I did see we played well on the whole. Mehmeti still pisses me off with his "I'll just do everything" attitude. Williams and James were brilliant in the middle. Knight as well until he went off. Conway worked his socks off and Wells did well once Felipe got such bad cramps that he had to stop being a little shit.

In general I thought we played very smart football. We pressed forward when we could but absorbed their attacks well...which isn't easy at all when they've got players like Neco Williams and Gibbs-White. 

it's a cliché as well...but the fans were great. It was a top away end to be in and a full home end helped create a really good atmosphere.

I am delighted that I went even though I didn't see the goals and we lost.

edit: oh and a word for Knight-Lebel filling in at RB and doing very well. I think his size helps a bit but he looked just about calm enough and didn't make any major errors. A decent debut (is that his debut??).

I think you mean Williams and King.

[mozo]

10 minutes ago, cheese said:

The queue for away tickets were horrendous, they may be Premier League (for this season anyway), but the ground and organisation is non-league.  Absolutely awful.

Suprised no one has mentioned King.  Thought he had a good game and used his experience well.  Max was great again - really don't get people slagging him off for mistakes - that's goalkeeping these days - just look at Allison at Liverpool the other day - and he's supposed to be a top top keeper.  Felt sorry for Bell, if Wells had put the ball he gave him in the back of the net onstead of falling on his ass again then penalties wouldn't have been necessary.  Someone should advise Wells to use studs instead of daps.

Owers was full of praise for King on radio comms. 

[ExiledAjax]

1 minute ago, Redshorts said:

I think you mean Williams and King.

No I meant James, but yes King was decent for the time he was playing.

37 minutes ago, Olé said:

Surprised at the criticism of Mehmeti, thought that was one of his best games going at players.

I find him frustrating to watch. I understand it can be useful to have a player who is technically good with his feet, and who is brave enough to run at defenders. As you say he had a good game in terms of running at players. What frustrates though is that he is still failing to then make the right decision at the end of that run. Too often he seems to want to both create the chance and take the shot, when sometimes there's a much better option on if he passes or crosses instead of shooting. 

I don't expect him to make the perfect decision every time...but I find it frustrating that he does so much good work for so little return.

[GrahamC]

28 minutes ago, mozo said:

Owers was full of praise for King on radio comms. 

Probably because it was his own position & he recognises that coming in for your first game since October (I’m discounting the 89th minute one as a sub v Preston) at 35 against a Prem side away is a real ask.

We’re lucky to have Owers summarising, a bloke who played the game at the highest standard.

[Cityboy1954]

9 hours ago, Davefevs said:

With the trips on vpn airways and streaming services, tonight felt like a trip down memory lane, where most of us would be listening to away games on the radio and waiting for the first fans to arrive back and start a thread or a post with “just back from….”!

Was quite enjoyable listening to BBCRB again, been a few years.

So anyone that’s been, be good to hear what it was really like.

Played great football Dave really Battled not clinical enough upfront as per usual had some good chances shite journey back M42 closed back at temple meads 3am .

[italian dave]

6 hours ago, frenchred said:

I just got back!

Thoroughly enjoyed our performance, was a real team effort and the shots at goal we forgot in previous games was back!

Thought we looked strong at the back, o Leary did well (credit where it's due) and Williams was a monster all night!

Mehmeti doesn't do it for me, he just gives the ball away to much and as for Cornick, it was there tonight for him to be the hero, don't know how he missed in all honesty

Forget the few negatives after Fridays debacle this was champagne football, we really deserved more

Don’t know how he missed…..and someone with a no 9 on their back certainly shouldn’t!

I actually thought Mehmeti did ok last night. More than OK at times - there were spells as the game went on where most of our creativity was coming through him.

But otherwise agree, it was a good night. 

[nick jones of hereford]

I’m still in Nottingham & am getting a train home in an hour or so. It was a great experience, I was a guest in one of the executive boxes. It appeared that most of the executive boxes were empty (presumably season tickets are for league matches?) although there were two attractive faked tanned young women in the adjacent executive box. We surmised that they were WAGs as they spent most of the time looking at their phones, instead of the match.

After conceding early I thought “oh dear here we go. Is this a continuation of our performance against Leeds?” But no, we responded superbly. King’s shot was a thunderbolt & Knight’s finish was great.

In the first half we were arguably the better team. Before the match I was worried how players who might not be match fit would perform, it’s one thing against championship teams but another when playing a Premier league one. Roberts grew into the game and my fears were unfounded, he is now a defender who can come into the team without real fears. Andy King was superb and played with real football intelligence (which I suppose I should have expected), he inevitably faded before he was subbed. 
Mehmeti had perhaps his best game for us and whilst in league matches he irritates by what often appears as poor decision making. Maybe he’s being coached better? I don’t know, but he didn’t let anyone down.

Max O’Leary had another fine game. Yes, his mistake against Coventry cost points but, hey goalies who don’t occasionally get things wrong don’t exist. What does come across to me is that Max appears very cool under pressure & that must help the defence.

Williams was brilliant & ran himself ragged, so much so that I doubt he could play 90 minutes against Middlesboro in what is only a couple of days away.

Tommy Conway seems to be so much better when playing top teams & I echo the comments made by others.

Sam Bell had an excellent game & I feel so sorry for him for that penalty miss.

Centre backs Vyner & Dickie were dominant, the former being especially important to us.

We matched or bettered Forest until they brought their subs on (wow, Hudson-Odoi, what a great player) then the differences in class showed. I expected us to lose in normal time but we hung on in there and showed grit. Despite Forest looking more skilled and also looking fitter, we had the best chances late on (but missed).
Cornick I’m afraid looked like a player who isn’t up to Championship standard & don’t expect him to be here next season.

Knight-Lebel came on and I feared for him, but oh how wrong I was, he acquitted himself very very well & contributed to a great team performance. He looks to have a great future with us, I was particularly impressed at how during a set play he took charge and was shouting at others, telling them where to go etc,

No doubt I’ve missed a lot but my overall impression was of a performance that was memorable, not one would expect from a team in our current position in the bottom half of the Championship.

If I have a concern, it’s that we have such a short time lag before we play Middlesbrough & most of those who played last night will feel both physically & mentally knackered. I expect a lot of changes for Saturday.

[italian dave]

35 minutes ago, Cityboy1954 said:

Played great football Dave really Battled not clinical enough upfront as per usual had some good chances shite journey back M42 closed back at temple meads 3am .

Do they not have Sat nav’s - or being nostalgic, maps - on the coaches?!!

M6/M5 misses that closure and only takes 5 mins more than when it’s open! 

Seriously, I noticed that even more if the M42 looked like being closed all weekend - that will affect us Saturday

[redkev]

1 hour ago, mozo said:

Owers was full of praise for King on radio comms. 

People always go  OH KINGS PLAYING but tbf never lets us down and more often than not has a really good game , really think he is the type of player / personality that needs to stay at the club next year in some capacity