Expert season review: 'Fans would not have been forgiving'
Has it been a season of progress, stagnation or indifference?
What many fans hoped would be a season of consolidation and a little progression became one of frustration and annoyance, but crucially, it ended with the club safe in the Premier League for a third season. In terms of points won on the pitch, Forest were slightly down on their first season back in the top-flight. Throw in a four-point deduction and things became very tight again in terms of avoiding relegation. It’s been a stressful watch for the fans – both in terms of what’s happened on the pitch and off it, and Premier League safety drew another big sigh of relief.
Biggest success for club this season?
It’s not been a season with much success to cheer, but for me, the form of three new signings who caught the eye during the season has been a highlight – and when you consider the prices paid, it has to go down as a success for the club. Those players are Callum Hudson-Odoi (a bargain at £3m), Ola Aina (a free transfer) and Murillo. The Brazilian defender cost around £11m (plus add-ons) after only playing 13 senior games in his career. He’s been a delight to watch, and has hugely increased his value in just one season.
Biggest let down or frustration?
Has to be allowing themselves to be caught out by the PSR rules and so being deducted four points. They felt they had a strong case in mitigation – the sale of Brennan Johnson for an increased profit. But the independent panels took a dim view of that happening after the June 30th deadline – even if Forest would have made less profit by selling before then. Fans would not have been forgiving if Forest had been relegated by four points or fewer, but thankfully they were good enough on the pitch to overcome the issue. Not far behind is the huge frustration with VAR. There’s not time here to go into the 10 Premier League matches affected by perceived (and often proven) poor officiating decisions, but it’s not difficult to come up with six or seven points those proven incorrect decisions have cost them. It could be more. Hypothetically, if you add those points to their total, it becomes a far more comfortable season.
Key item on the summer agenda? Recruitment, recruitment, recruitment! For the third summer in a row, Forest are recruiting for a Premier League campaign. The first, understandably, was a whirlwind. The second remained busy and was hit and miss in terms of success. Between them, they led to that PSR rule breach. This summer, they need to make absolutely certain that they don’t fall foul of that again. Make timely sales, and if they can unearth more signings like the three mentioned above, that would be ideal!
