The Nottingham Forest promotion heroes of 2021/22 have all pretty much departed the City Ground with pastures new on the horizon for most of them after the Wembley masterclass.
Only Ryan Yates from that day remains as part of the playing squad, with Lewis Grabban – injured and unavailable for the play-offs – now working behind the scenes as a coach with the Forest academy.
The Reds fan base will forever hold that squad close to their hearts. However, it was a case of need must following promotion to the Premier League and Steve Cooper was forced to go in search of better players for an assault on the top-flight.
One of those players went to a slightly more glamorous location than some of the other players who were axed, and he’s now busy making memories on the other side of the world.
Joe Lolley breaks down after cruel Sydney FC blow
When Lolley moved to Sydney FC it came as a bit of a shock. The winger had not played too much in the promotion season due to a lack of form and several niggling injury problems.
However, it felt as though a club in England would pick him up no problem. Instead, after Lolley fell out with Steve Cooper, he chose to make the switch to Sydney, where he’s really done well to prolong his career.
Last night, Sydney FC suffered heartbreak in the AFC Champions League, with the team failing to make the final despite winning the second leg against Lion City Sailors.
Lolley scored the only goal of the game for Sydney last night but the team missed out on the final after losing the first leg 2-0 to their opponents from Singapore.
After the game, Lolley was inconsolable and things got just a bit too much for the former Forest man during the post-match interview.
Fighting back the tears, he said: “Yeah, I don’t know, I thought we were going to do it. We gave it our all. We could have scored more, should have scored more, I’m just devastated.
“Very fine margins, at their place, they had a couple of chances and scored great goals. On another day, we could win that game four or five but we just couldn’t get over the line.”
Lolley playing unusual role for Sydney FC
Intriguingly, the man who excelled for a few seasons at Forest is operating in a slightly different role for Sydney FC, with his manager deploying him as a left-sided wing-back.
That does feel somewhat strange, to say the least. Lolley’s main prowess is the ability to get at defenders, put them on the back foot and unleash shots by cutting inside onto his left foot.
Lolley is a bit of a menace in the A-League. He’s taken to the division seriously well and has scored 12 goals and registered seven assists from his 31 games in all competitions this season.
There isn’t a Forest fan anywhere who’s wise negativity on Lolley and hopefully, he can pick himself up after this setback and lead Sydney FC to more glories before the end of the season.
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