‘Embarrassment’… Nottingham Forest fans agree one player was ‘nowhere near good enough’ vs Brentford

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Very few Nottingham Forest stars can say that they played well against Brentford, but one in particular had Forest fans incredibly frustrated.

Murillo drew criticism from Forest fans, but truthfully, it was a bad night all round at the City Ground, with dreams of a Champions League place made significantly harder to accomplish.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
3	NewcastleNewcastle	34	19	5	10	65	44	21	62
4	Man CityManchester City	34	18	7	9	66	43	23	61
5	ChelseaChelsea	34	17	9	8	59	40	19	60
6	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	34	18	6	10	53	41	12	60
7	Aston VillaAston Villa	34	16	9	9	54	49	5	57
8	FulhamFulham	34	14	9	11	50	46	4	51

Now left in the Europa League spots, the night was made even worse for Nuno Espirito Santo as Callum Hudson-Odoi picked up an injury and was forced off at half-time.

While this unwanted change can’t have helped, it gave those on the bench the opportunity to change the mood at the City Ground. However, one substitution in particular had quite the opposite impact.

Nottingham Forest fans slam Taiwo Awoniyi’s display vs Brentford

Taiwo Awoniyi replaced Elliot Anderson on the hour mark to try and give the Forest squad extra impetus going forward, with Chris Wood largely uninvolved up front.

However, the Nigerian international did not achieve this at all, leading to Reds fans on social media expressing their frustration at him.

One fan said: “Awoniyi is an embarrassment,” while another added: “I’ve honestly seen better Sunday league footballers.”

Another Forest fan said: “Taiwo Awoniyi with possibly the worst substitute appearance ever.” One more added: “He’s not a professional footballer. Every time you watch him, you just can’t believe how he’s earning 60 grand a week.”

Another fan added: “Sick of seeing Awoniyi come on and totally miss the ball,” with another saying: “Did not understand Awoniyi coming on, we looked even worse.”

Awoniyi’s struggles represented a larger problem for Forest, though, one that could’ve been solved in the January transfer window.

Taiwo Awoniyi’s poor display highlights need for reinforcements

Ironically, Awoniyi was linked with a move away in January, but Thursday’s showing against Brentford highlighted a need for incoming signings in the forward area rather than outgoings.

Scorer of Brentford’s second goal, Yoane Wissa, was linked with a move to the City Ground in January, but reports after the window closed suggested that Forest weren’t close to signing Wissa in the end.

His blank against Brentford represents the eleventh consecutive time that Awoniyi has featured in the Premier League without scoring, a serious concern given the over-reliance on Wood.

Evangelos Marinakis will sign a striker in the summer to support the Kiwi international, but the delay in this decision could see the Reds lining up without Champions League football, something that could’ve been easier to achieve if the Forest coaching staff had a more impactful alternative to rely on.