Willy Boly was handed a rare Nottingham Forest start against Tottenham and he was one of the standout players.
The ex-Wolves defender had only featured once prior to last night since signing from Molineux in August.
Boly has been forced to wait patiently for a chance but he could be the answer to Forest’s defensive conundrum.
Last night he was mature, composed and didn’t look like a player that has been sitting on a bench for some time.
Boly has endured some critics. BT Sport pundit Darren Fletcher said on the Garibaldi Red podcast this week: “Why play him against Tottenham? Those sorts of players are no use to you.”
Steve Cooper has clearly been trying to get something to stick defensively. As a result, he’s utilised Steve Cook and Scott McKenna as a partnership.
Boly shouldn’t be discounted though. He’s an uncompromising figure and he was one of Forest’s better players last night.
Some statistics from Who Scored showcase just how fantastic he was during the 2-0 win over Tottenham.
He made three tackles, five clearances and also won two headers during his 90 minutes on the pitch.
Boly made 41 passes too – the most of any Forest player – and finished with a success ratio of 80%.
Boly is standout during Forest win
The 31-year-old has come in for some pretty harsh criticism since he checked in and a lot of it has nothing to do with the player.
Some cynical supporters believe that it wasn’t Steve Cooper who chose to sign Ivory Coast international.
To some extent that might be true but recruitment in modern-day football involves lots of different people.
Boly has only played twice but he looks like an astute signing already, with the player showing real quality last night.
Forest are still striving for a winning formula that involves the team conceding fewer goals and ultimately winning more games.
Boly might just be the answer to Cooper’s conundrum and he deserves a run in the team after this showing.
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