Dave Holmes

this squad wasn’t assembled for a relegation battle and they need to prove that they’re better than that pretty quickly to make sure we’re pushing towards mid table by Christmas.

COYR.

maybe someone like Abbott or Cunha can come in and play right back if we’re comfortable in the latter part of games, but we haven’t been in that position for a while.

It’s time to get back to basics and start picking up points again…

McAtee will get a chance and has every chance of getting starts if he can show some consistency, he’s clearly very talented.

The defence picks itself but the full backs need to be monitored as they’re going to have to play every game for a while due to injuries…

Gibbs-White remains an important player for Forest but is in a sustained poor run of form, and with Graz in midweek and Leeds the weekend after this might not be a bad time to try something different and utilise him more in those games where we should have more of the ball…

The wide positions are there to be won and even with Bakwa unavailable it feels like a change will be coming sooner rather than later, Hutchinson on the left and Hudson-Odoi on the right to get wide and put crosses in early for a Jesus or Awoniyi could cause United problems…

I think Dyche will back Anderson and Luiz to compete well against a midfield two at United that have had their own issues, although there may be some concern about the two tens sat behind them that could mean adding a third midfielder like Dominguez to try and dominate the space makes sense…

It’ll be interesting to see how #NFFC line up at the weekend as the team at Bournemouth was arguably our best available team, but that performance and the squad options now available to us almost demand changes…

If you’d offered me a 2nil win against Porto and a 2nil defeat at Bournemouth for #NFFC I’d have taken it, followed by a clear week for Dyche ahead of United at home, Graz away, and Leeds at home and the picture could look very different after the next international break.

There was a reaction second half but the game was lost at that point, and it was the bare minimum that was expected. #NFFC don’t do well down here and with a full week for Dyche to work with them you’d expect a lot better against United.

We need to start picking up points.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few changes at half time, we need a reaction.

The ref isn’t helping matters, basic decisions are being messed up and just incredibly inconsistent.

It’s not an excuse but Bournemouth look rested, and we look terrified of being pressed, it’s completely killed any chances we’ve been able to create…

We’ve seen worse performances this season from this #NFFC team but after Thursday night this one is particularly disappointing.

They haven’t got anywhere near their midfield and then the usual bizarre things that somehow always happen to Forest when they come here have happened…

No arguments with that #NFFC XI, they all deserve their spots and the bench has plenty of quality to refresh things after an hour or so if we start to tire.

It’s important to start well today, but Bournemouth are flying so it’s not going to be pretty at times.

It’s one of the toughest games of the season, but not a free hit, seeing a continuation of the performances from midweek will be the target, and any kind of positive result would be massive.

Sels

Savona, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams

Luiz, Anderson

Ndoye, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi

Jesus

bringing on the likes of Dominguez, Sangare, Hutchinson, McAtee and Kalimuendo as the game goes on…

He was late with the substitutions against Porto but that may have been caused by the state of that game rather than a reluctance to use the options available to him, in this game he’ll have four or five quality options who can come in and maintain the performance levels…

I can see the logic in not wanting to overload Douglas Luiz but if we can get an hour out of the team that played on Thursday then maintaining that consistency has value, especially with a clear week after this game for recovery…

Bournemouth aren’t a crazy possession team but will have more of the ball, they are pressing machines and maybe a more direct approach from Dyche will mitigate that and force them to drop back if we can get the ball forward quickly and keep it there…

Despite that I do see some positives heading into the game, and have a lot more confidence with Dyche now in charge, and the team having a more solid base than what would have been there under Ange…

Under normal circumstances #NFFC travelling to Bournemouth would be a difficult task, but add in their current form and a Forest team in transition, and it looks like it could be a long day…

Nottingham Forest Football Club… #NFFC

an absolute shocker tonight even if the reaction from the Porto bench completely losing it late on was very entertaining.

Dyche being a bit more proactive with his subs would be my own critique, but wow doesn’t it feel a million times better than just a few days ago.

COYR!

It was Gibbs-White’s best performance since the opening day, and Ndoye and Williams were superb.

A player being booked for diving for a penalty ghat was then given by VAR summed up the refereeing performance…

It’s not difficult is it, defend properly, attack with pace, and take a chance however it comes.

The great thing is that we know this #NFFC squad can still be better, let’s build on this win and clean sheet and get back on track…

and its two good attacking units against defences that both have question marks against certain players, hopefully it’ll be a good game.

and great to see the academy so well represented on the bench, what an experience for those young lads.

A return to sanity with the #NFFC team selection, and with Wood and Bakwa out that’s probably our strongest team.

It’ll be interesting to see how they cope three v two in the midfield but Gibbs-White can drop back out of possession if needed…

five wins was enough last year and with some tricky away ties to come getting a positive result at home will take some of the pressure off.

Start fast, get the crowd involved, embrace the conditions, and let’s start the Dyche era in the right way.

It helps Forest that the game comes now with a wave of new optimism and positivity after the change of management, we need the players to step up and the fans to drive them on to a result.

If we want to finish in the top eight then we need to start winning games…

When the draw was made this looked like being the toughest game for #NFFC, and even if you have to take their results with plenty of context due to the opposition they’ve faced Porto are still a very good team who will cause us problems…

A very different vibe to that press conference than we’ve seen recently, and some vintage Dyche moments to start his #NFFC tenure, it’ll all settle down soon and if the results come quickly that positive energy should be able to propel Forest back to where they should be.