With 19 games now ticked off, the midway point of the Premier League campaign is upon us, and it’s a chance for Nottingham Forest to take stock of things.
Here, we look at our mid-season awards so far for the 2023/24 campaign.
Best moment…
Let’s start with the most recent game, shall we? Forest going to Newcastle United and winning 3-1 wasn’t in the script at all.
A Chris Wood hat-trick against the club he used to play for was just the tonic for Nuno Espirito Santo as he claimed his first win as head coach.
Honourable mentions must go to a win at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea and also against Europa Conference League outfit Aston Villa.
However, beating Newcastle on home soil is something that hasn’t really happened under Eddie Howe so that must go down as the best moment of the campaign so far.
Most improved player…
It would be quite easy to say Wood again for this one but we’re going to go for Harry Toffolo following some fine display from him at left-back.
Wood has seven goals to his name and we didn’t really see that coming given that he’s now 32-years-old but Toffolo gets the nod.
The 28-year-old signed from Huddersfield in the summer of 2022 but it’s fair to say that he was signed to be an alternative option to Renan Lodi.
This season he’s not been content with being a backup option and has grasped the chance to play and taken it with aplomb.
Biggest disappointment…
Take your pick. Forest started the season by selling Brennan Johnson to Tottenham and more recently they embarked on a run of games that saw just one win in 14 games.
We’ve gone for the home form in this category. Forest have lost their last four on home soil to Brighton, Everton, Tottenham and Bournemouth, with only wins over Sheffield United and Aston Villa at the City Ground.
If Forest are to ensure a comfortable fight against relegation during the current campaign, we simply have to improve at home.
Biggest surprise…
The surprise package has to be the form of Wood when he’s been called upon. An injury to Taiwo Awoniyi has earned him this chance and he’s taking it with both hands.
His hat-trick against Newcastle was just sublime and Wood is showcasing to Forest fans that he’s capable of scoring goals.
Long may his goalscoring antics continue and Forest might well have a decision to make when it comes to offering him a new deal in the near future.
‘What’s he still doing here’ award
There is only one person who can claim this award and he goes by the name of Harry Arter. When all is said and done, the central midfielder will go down as one of the worst pieces of business ever done by the club.
He earns around £40,000-a-week and these days he spends time training and playing with the B-Team. Forest have to get him shifted on by whichever means possible in the near future and move on from the disastrous episode.
‘Why did we sign him’ award…
Take your pick! All four of Forest’s loan signings have proved somewhat bizarre, although Gonzalo Montiel did at least play well in the win over Newcastle and has shown glimpses.
Nuno Tavares made a lot of sense signing on loan from Arsenal as Forest did only have Toffolo as their left-back option.
As a result, we’ve gone for a toss-up between Andrey Santos or Divock Origi. The youngster signed on loan from Chelsea has played for seven minutes in the Premier League, whilst Origi has started just twice.
The ‘What If’ moment…
This has to be dropping two points at home to Luton Town and the big ‘What If’ moment comes in terms of Forest throwing away a two-goal lead.
Had Forest held on to win that game against the Hatters it’s likely that the team would have kicked on ahead of some winnable fixtures.
Instead, it seemed to knock everybody’s confidence and led to a truly abysmal run of form that resulted in Steve Cooper losing his job as the head coach.
It can only get better award…
Taiwo Awoniyi has endured a pretty bittersweet 2023 and surely he can’t suffer as much misfortune on the injury front in 2024.
The Nigerian scored 11 goals last season, with six of those coming at the back end of the 2023/24 campaign. In total, however, he will have missed around seven months of 2023 in total and hopefully, he can stay fit next year.
Biggest villain…
Step forward Rob Jones! The PGMOL were forced to issue an apology to Forest for a truly woeful decision to send off Willy Boly against Bournemouth.
Forest have now requested that he doesn’t do Forest games in the future and that is surely a request that will be granted.
The Sportsman of the Year award
An accolade for someone doing something that they really don’t have to and this one goes to Nuno Espirito Santo.
The new head coach arrived at the club last week and immediately set about praising the work done by Steve Cooper.
That move instantly warmed him to some of his harshest critics and has ensured that the supporters have got off on the right foot with the new head coach.
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