Nottingham Forest’s performance against Sunderland was far away from a typical Ange Postecoglou team, showing there may still be teething issues during the transition.
The first-half performance against Real Betis pointed towards signs of the Australian fully stamping his identity onto the Tricky Trees.
However, against the Black Cats, the Reds looked short of ideas in attack, and ultimately the controversial free kick given against Forest resulted in the only goal of the game.
While Neco Williams was stunned by the decision, and Andy Reid was left in shock by it, the lack of creativity was a real issue during the match.
That was until Ange Postecoglou introduced Omari Hutchinson into the fray.
Omari Hutchinson must start against Newcastle
Omari Hutchinson has had a turbulent start to life at the City Ground.
Under the tutelage of Nuno Espirito Santo, the record signing was left out of Forest’s Europa League squad, and that would have come as a major shock to the player.
He was used sparingly by Espirito Santo, only being brought on as a substitute against Crystal Palace and West Ham for a combined nine minutes.
Under Postecoglou, he started his first game against Swansea City, and the winger made a big impact. His blocked shot fell to the feet of Igor Jesus before he later set the Brazilian up for another goal.
It was a bright performance by Hutchinson, and it perhaps should have earned him another start but he was then an unused sub against Burnley.
After he was ineligible to play against Real Betis, the former Ipswich man was finally handed more minutes against Sunderland, and in just 18 minutes, he showed his quality.
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He created the most chances (4) in the game despite the lack of playing time, and his threat out wide brought tempo to Forest’s attack.
His crosses should have resulted in a goal after Chris Wood squandered multiple quality chances.
It was an electric display by Hutchinson and he should certainly be at the fore of Ange Postecoglou’s thoughts when it comes to team selection vs Newcastle.
Omari Hutchinson has proved his worth in his limited minutes already
Hutchinson has not been given much chance to show his quality, but when he has been given more than just ten minutes to perform, he has impressed.
He arrived for a record fee for Nottingham Forest, and already he is showing why they were willing to fork out that much money on him.
It is time to start giving him more opportunities to perform, as he has performed at each chance he was allowed to do so.
The decision to leave him out of the European squad is looking increasingly questionable as the weeks go on.
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