Nuno Espirito Santo has some credit in the bank at Nottingham Forest but yesterday’s defeat at home to Fulham didn’t cover him in glory.
The Portuguese boss chose to rip up the home blueprint as he got a glimpse of what life could be like without Morgan Gibbs-White.
The Forest captain was suspended for this one and – spoiler alert – Gibbs-White showed how important he is to the Forest cause without even being on the pitch.
Espirito Santo seemed knocked for six by the absence of his squad and chose instead to pick four central midfielders to start the game.
Forest didn’t manage to create much at all during the game but in truth neither did Fulham who got the win courtesy of a controversial penalty call.
Forest were denied two possible penalties of their own with one in particular on Anthony Elanga looking like it should have at least been recommended for review.
There were mistakes by the Forest head coach, however, and the statistics show that one decision backfired spectacularly.
Nuno dropped disasterclass with one decision he made vs Fulham
The Reds boss decided to try and get Taiwo Awoniyi up front, sticking him in attack alongside Chris Wood for this one.
Awoniyi hasn’t started a Premier League match since February and he’s desperate for some match sharpness after missing all of pre-season.
The striker missed a crucial penalty in a shootout defeat to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup and that won’t have done his confidence any good at all.
Yesterday, the decision to play two strikers backfired – not least because there was no service to the two frontmen.
Who Scored highlighted this showcasing an alarming number of touches for the two centre-forwards.
Wood – scorer of 14 Premier League goals last season – touched the ball just 15 times during the contest and he was on the pitch for 90 minutes.
That was the lowest of any player who managed the whole game, with Jota Silva touching the ball 17 times in 34 minutes on the pitch.
Awoniyi didn’t get much more of the ball, touching the ball 20 times before coming off at the half-time interval.
Espirito Santo must learn from error of his ways vs Fulham
It’s an alarming run of no wins in seven at home for Forest stretching back into last season.
After seemingly sorting out the away from this season, it’s something that Espirito Santo desperately needs to get sorted out.
Yesterday was a good chance to see how Forest could cope without Gibbs-White and there are other options to play in the number 10 role.
Playing two strikers was admirable but by playing four central midfielders, he basically ensured there was no service to them from wide areas where Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga would normally play.
Espirito Santo’s decision was an odd one and he must now face the criticism for that call that left Forest looking like a chaotic, disjointed rabble of a team.
With Chelsea to come next there is time to work on a few things and hopefully, the team can bounce back next weekend at Stamford Bridge.
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