Nottingham Forest were beaten 1-0 by Wigan Athletic yesterday afternoon to bring an end to a 10-game unbeaten run which had seen the Reds sit second in the Championship.
Boss Sabri Lamouchi made five changes to the team which had won 1-0 over Brentford and that decision was one which he was ultimately left to rue at the final whistle.
Paul Cook’s outfit had taken 10 of their 11 points prior to yesterday on home soil and it’s easy to see why. Wigan were incredibly well organised and stifled Forest’s main attacking outlets.
One change that royally backfired on Lamouchi was his decision to hand a first Championship start to Spanish striker Rafa Mir.
Since arriving from Wolves the 22-year-old had made just five substitute appearances for the Reds, but he was given the chance to shine from the off against Wigan.
Although he occasionally looked like the physical presence which Forest craved, his finishing epitomised a player who is perhaps struggling to cope with the demands of the Championship at this stage of his career.
Forest need to come up with a solution sharpish. It is completely unfair for the Reds to rely on Lewis Grabban coming up trumps for the whole campaign and another option is seemingly required.
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Outsiders have spoken about the strength in depth which Forest possess. The Wigan game served to highlight where the squad is currently lacking, however.
Options
Mir’s performance clearly showcased a problem with the attacking options. His two chances in the first half fall into the difficult category, but his second-half miss was poor, to say the least.
He fired wired from a delicious John Bostock ball when it was simply easier to score or at the very least test Marshall in the Wigan goal.
Grabban is arguably one of the best strikers in the Championship. The £6 million has scored a wealth of goals at this level and is a real asset to the Reds and their promotion ambitions.
Mir hasn’t done anything yet to suggest that is in the same bracket as Forest’s main scoring option and on current form, the Reds might have been better persisting with Tyler Walker as Grabban’s deputy.
The Championship is a demanding league and not landing another forward option in the summer perhaps looks a little bit shortsighted.
After 12 games it is far too early to start predicting what might happen when the honours are dished out in May. Indeed, had you offered Forest supporters a place in fourth after 12 games, very few would have declined the offer.
If Forest are to get over the line, however, it seems likely that they will need to pursue another striker when the window reopens in January.
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