FourFourTwo’s Nottingham Forest season preview 2023/24 – can Steve Cooper work more miracles at the City Ground?
The Nottingham Forest season preview 2023/24 is sure of one thing: entertainment.
The sensible target is consolidation with an eye on gradual improvement, locking down Nottingham Forest’s top-flight status while ideally avoiding a relegation scrap. After last season’s 30 signings, some of whom proved to be hugely valuable, you would think the basis of a solid team is there, with the occasional judicious addition needed. After all, the club did spend more than £200m in fees across the two transfer windows.
But owner Evangelos Marinakis tends to look beyond the realistic and modest, so he may demand something bigger – maybe a top-half finish; maybe more high-profile and flashier signings. It’s a campaign that could go either way: the chaos could spur Forest on, or it could drag them into a spiral. The only certainty is that it won’t be dull. FourFourTwo previews Nottingham Forest’s Premier League season.
Nottingham Forest season preview 2023/24: The lesson from last year
Winning games – or even just picking up points – away from home is a good idea. Forest gathered a neat 38 points from their 38 Premier League games, but less neat was the mere eight they amassed on the road.
They won once, 1-0 against Southampton in January when Saints were at one of their many low ebbs. Forest scored 11 goals and shipped 44. Only Leeds lost more away matches. So, while there were a few decent performances, such as a narrow defeat to Liverpool and a vital draw with Chelsea, the priority will be to convert that promise into points.
The flip side of that was the magnificent home form – in spectacular, broiling, ear-splitting atmospheres at the City Ground, Forest’s record on familiar soil was
worthy of the top half, and gave supporters some unforgettable days.
The coach: Steve Cooper
Steve Cooper had reached deity levels after winning promotion in 2022, but came close to the sack last season, as only a lack of viable alternatives forestalled Marinakis’ axe. The chances of him still being at Forest next May appear slim: either he loses patience with the chaos or becomes a victim of it.
Key player: Bruno Guimaraes
There were a few intakes of breath when Forest paid up to £40m for relative Premier League newbie Morgan Gibbs-White. But he soon became key; the conduit through which everything runs and perhaps the most talented player seen on the banks of the Trent since Stan Collymore. £40m? He’s worth it.
The mood around Nottingham Forest
Giddy. Under Steve Cooper, fans have been happier than at any time since the 1996 UEFA Cup quarter-final run under Frank Clark; there’s a special connection between those sat in the stands, the dugout, even the dressing room.
It’s remarkable given the players were strangers last August, apart from the homegrown core of Joe Worrall, Ryan Yates and Brennan Johnson. There were grim days, but the final month was magical, creating a mood that has continued into the summer.
One to watch
If Danilo is still a Forest player this time next year, somebody’s missed out. The young Brazilian arrived in January for around £17m and by the spring he was making good on his promise.
Danilo, introduced as a holding midfielder, has excelled as a dynamic No.8, pressing and being a constant annoyance for the opposition while popping up with crucial goals. He’ll be key right up until another club doubles Forest’s money.
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