Nottingham Forest won on the road in the Premier League for the first time since January, beating Ipswich Town with the disappointment of the recent England squad announcement still in the air.
Forest fans aimed a dig at Thomas Tuchel in their chants which was to the surprise of nobody, given the anger displayed since the German’s first England squad was announced with no Reds players to be seen.
Perhaps most disappointing was Morgan Gibbs-White not making the cut, highlighted by Forest fans reacting angrily to Gibbs-White’s England snub on social media. He and his teammates were ruthless at Portman Road, though, perhaps aided by the motivation to prove Tuchel wrong.
Another who missed out was Elliot Anderson, who will instead link up with the Under 21s squad for their clashes with France and Portugal.
Despite this, Tuchel hinted that Anderson was a backup for the England squad should somebody pick up an injury, giving Forest supporters some hope that they might still see one of their stars in the Three Lions kit in March.
Beating Ipswich was the priority on Saturday, though, and judging by how Forest fans reacted to Anderson’s display, he was more than motivated for the match.
Nottingham Forest laud Elliot Anderson’s display against Ipswich Town
Since Anderson signed for Forest from Newcastle, he has continued to grow into his role as an all-action midfielder for Nuno Espirito Santo, with Saturday’s showing against Ipswich no different.
One Forest fan said: “Anderson specifically has been superb,” with another saying: “Anderson impresses again.”
Another Reds fan added: “Elliot Anderson absolutely running the show here,” while another jokingly said, “imagine how good we would be with Jordan Henderson in out midfield!”
One fan made the bold claim that: “With Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White, Nottingham Forest have the best midfield in the Premier League.”
It’s easy to see why Anderson was singled out against Ipswich, with his stats showing that he was everywhere at Portman Road.
Elliot Anderson was the complete midfielder against Ipswich Town
Dion Dublin thought Anderson deserved a call-up, along with the whole City Ground and its performances like Saturday’s against Ipswich that highlight why.
| Statistic | Elliot Anderson vs Ipswich Town |
| Assists | 1 |
| Pass accuracy % | 86% |
| Aerial duels won | 3/4 |
| Recoveries | 9 |
Anderson claimed his sixth assist of the season as he played Anthony Elanga in for his first of the afternoon, contributing to his solid 86% pass accuracy.
He was also reasonably strong defensively, winning 75% of his aerial duels, but what will have pleased the Forest coaching staff the most was his nine recoveries, highlighting that Anderson was willing to track back to fulfil his defensive duties at all times.
Bizarrely, Anderson was of interest to Roma in January but of course, no deal was struck. Evangelos Marinakis will be aware, though, that these performances are going to make the Englishman a midfield target for some of the elite European sides soon enough.
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