Lewis McGugan has spoken of his surprise at one Steve Cooper decision during a 2-2 draw for Nottingham Forest against Luton. The Reds were forced to settle for a point after throwing away a two-goal lead.
McGugan spent many years turning out for Forest. These days he can regularly be found watching the Reds at the City Ground and he was in attendance again on Saturday.
Chris Wood scored twice for Forest and earned praise from his manager afterwards. It wasn’t enough, however, as Chiedozie Ogbene and Elijah Adebayo snatched a point for the visitors.
McGugan baffled by Cooper decision during draw
The man who served the Reds well during his time as a player was a little surprised by something that Cooper did. He felt that the timing of the decision to take Willy Boly off was somewhat strange.
The manager made the call immediately after the second goal was scored by Forest. At the time there was 14 minutes plus stoppage time remaining and he changed three players all at once.
Cooper claimed afterwards that Boly was fatigued. McGugan wouldn’t have taken him off altogether though and he believes another solution would have been ideal.
McGugan told The Garibaldi Red Podcast: “The strange thing for me is the timing. 78 minutes. At that point, if he makes it at 60-65 minutes there’s a large chunk of the game left. Sometimes when you change it to become solid you invite pressure that’s not there.
“The subs made the midfield a lot more defensive and you sit deeper and deeper and deeper. The first goal is a freak goal and it just changes the landscape of everything.
“I do feel with the timing of the subs, I’m just not sure. I listened to his interview after the game and he knows because he kept mentioning them.
“For me, make one change, stick Boly in the middle of a back three, his legs of gone but he’s 6ft 5in and a very good defender. You keep him on and make the unit more solid around him.”
McGugan has a point about huge Forest call
Boly is vitally important to the way in which Forest try and defend. He’s an uncompromising figure and ultimately he shouldn’t have come off at the weekend.
The 32-year-old is a massive influence on the younger players. Boly going to the heart of a back three would have allowed him to deal with Adebayo and wouldn’t have placed so much pressure on Joe Worrall.
The decision has now gone, however. Cooper and Forest have to learn quickly from Saturday and with four tough fixtures on the horizon, who knows where Forest will next pick up a positive result.
Receive a digest of our best Nottingham Forest content each week direct to your mailbox
