Nottingham Forest were eliminated from the Carabao Cup after letting a 2-0 lead slip to Swansea City, and Gabby Agbonlahor has said who he thinks are to blame.
The Tricky Trees looked set to enter the next round of the League Cup, but the Jacks managed to score three goals in the second half, including two goals after the 90th minute
Ange highlighted Forest’s complacency as a reason for defeat, and the new head coach was reportedly heard shouting in the dressing room following the match.
The shock exit is no doubt a blow as Postecoglou hopes to start his career at the City Ground with a trophy, and this makes achieving his goal much harder.
Gabby Agbonlahor has delivered his verdict, and he says the blame does not lie with the Australian.
Gabby Agbonlahor says Nottingham Forest substitutes let Ange Postecoglou down
After the first-half performance by Nottingham Forest, getting knocked out in the Carabao Cup seemed out of the question.
The players who started did a great job in the first-half to go two goals ahead, and the Jacks did not create much either.
However, in the end, a 3-2 defeat happened, and Gabby Agbonlahor has identified who he thinks were at fault for the loss.
Speaking on TalkSPORT, Agbonlahor said, “When the players had done a great job to go 2-0 up and the substitutes came on, I’m not sure if they were unhappy about not starting, but they didn’t follow the manager’s instructions and let him down.”
While it would be unfair to label all of the substitutions as the former Premier League forward has, there were severe lapses in concentration on Forest’s part once the likes of Dilane Bakwa, Igor Jesus and Douglas Luiz were removed from action.
Arnaud Kalimuendo, Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi, and Ibrahima Sangare were among those who came off the bench.
One substitute who did impress was centre-back Jair Cunha, and he was one of the main positives for fans after the match.
The Brazilian could give Ange a selection headache, and the game against Swansea may have provided him with some answers regarding their best line-up.
Ange Postecoglou must find his best starting XI soon
On TalkSPORT, Gabby Agbonlahor also told fans to, “Give [Ange] a break, he still has to work out, with so many players available that they have at Nottingham Forest, which is his best team.”
The cup game against Swansea did provide the Australian with a first-hand look at many of his players, with ten changes made to the team that played against Arsenal.
Dilane Bakwa continued to impress, and Igor Jesus popped up with two goals, and they are two players who took their chance, alongside the aforementioned Jair Cunha.
It will be interesting to see if any of the players from Nottingham Forest’s cup match against Swansea start against Burnley.
There are certainly a few who deserve to.
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