9/9/2023 0 Comments Burn boot camp hq![]() ![]() It is likely Gibbs-White will be involved against Leeds United at Burton Albion’s Pirelli Stadium on Thursday, but Johnson might take another week or two to recover.įorest agree Elanga fee with Man Utd, Aina deal closeĮlanga, a 21-year-old 12-cap Sweden international, has plenty of potential, pace to burn, and could prove an astute buy. Gibbs-White has been given extra time off this summer following his exploits with the England side who won the Under-21 European Championship two weeks ago, while Johnson is currently out with an ankle injury. Levante did have chances but it was further evidence Cooper’s team are capable of seeing games out, even when the opponents have more of the ball.įorest will want to have more possession in matches moving forward, and it is something they are actively working on, but their knack for winning games when they do not is going to remain a vital asset.įorest can look short of creativity and threat when Morgan Gibbs-White and Brennan Johnson aren’t in the side. Unsurprisingly, the hosts dominated possession almost entirely in the second half - but Forest’s 10 men held out. Their shape, organisation and discipline were particularly important after Awoniyi’s red card - for the use of an elbow - on the stroke of half-time. ![]() Neighbours Notts, back in the EFL after four years away having topped 100 points last season en route to promotion, like to play a positive brand of passing football, but they did not dominate possession in that opening warm-up game at Meadow Lane the way Valencia and Levante did in the two subsequent friendlies on Spanish soil.īut it was against Levante where Forest’s ability to flourish despite often having little of the ball once more stood out. And their ability to win games without having much of the ball over the 90 minutes will be vital.įorest make offer for PSV midfielder Sangare But the overall mentality will still be to defend solidly and hurt opponents with fast, decisive counter-attacks. One of Cooper’s ambitions in the coming months is to make Forest better on the ball - to improve their ability to retain possession. Their average of having 37.2 per cent of the ball was way behind the league-leading 65.2 per cent of champions Manchester City - although few sides can reasonably be expected to play quite the way Pep Guardiola’s treble winners do - while the club second-bottom of the possession table were Bournemouth, who averaged 40 per cent as they finished a place above Forest. ![]() Last season, Forest had the least amount of possession of the 20 sides in the Premier League as they finished 16th. The timing of his runs was integral to both Forest goals against Levante and, while it was only one game, there are early signs that he is capable of linking up well with Danilo. He did not score in 26 appearances in his debut year at Premier League level but did net eight times in the league during Forest’s 2021-22 promotion campaign and, as he has said himself, is capable of adding more goals to his game. The prospect of him playing in a more attacking role next season is an intriguing one. The 25-year-old has largely been used as either a deep-lying midfielder or a box-to-box player so far in his Forest career, although there was also a very short spell playing in central defence. When Remo Freuler pounced on a stray pass in the opening minute, he delivered the perfect ball to the feet of Yates, who controlled with his right, before sliding a low finish inside the far post with his left boot. Up alongside Danilo and just behind striker Taiwo Awoniyi, within what was largely a fluid 5-2-2-1 formation that merged to 3-4-2-1, Yates had an immediate impact, scoring one goal and setting up the other. In the first half away to Levante, who lost the Spanish equivalent of the Championship play-off final last season, we got a glimpse of what Cooper might have been hoping for by playing Yates a little further forward. Yates’ dynamism, energy and work rate have long been his trademark - but so too has an ability to time his runs into the opposition box. “I want to bring more goals to my game, particularly if I am going to play a little higher as a No 8.” “I want to be relentless in trying to improve,” Yates said. Following that win over Notts, midfielder Ryan Yates offered an intriguing clue to Cooper’s thinking when he spoke about potentially having a more attacking role in the coming season. ![]()
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