12 Sep 2026 18:45:08
Individual mentions.
McAtee looked good first half and was superb second half. Ran the show in midfield.

Schlager the hod carrier, under the radar, got through a ton of work.
Aina looked excellent as part of the back 3, bringing it out from the back and getting us moving forward.

Diomonde looked composed and a good run out against a light weight Villa attack.
Sels the usual solid apart from when Murillo did a bit of Keystone Cops defending which required him and the post to save us.

Murillo definitely a bit below par. But, as they say, form is temporary, class is permanent. With Cunha and Milenkovic to come back it will be a big decision for OG to make.

MGW, incredibly slightly outshone by McAtee. With them both stepping up second half we played some delightful stuff.

1.) 12 Sep 2026
12 Sep 2026 18:54:17
Good post Stokey.??.

2.) 12 Sep 2026
12 Sep 2026 21:03:31
Yep, good post Stokey.

3.) 12 Sep 2026
12 Sep 2026 21:30:48
Did anybody else think villa were lightweight. Or did we see Forest play one of the the better 2nd half's we seen in a long time - just wondering ?.

4.) 12 Sep 2026
12 Sep 2026 22:16:49
Better 2nd half me thinks.

5.) 12 Sep 2026
12 Sep 2026 22:29:13
Yes stokie just reminded me of one of the match of the day pundits. saying how good we are but saying how poor villa are and thats why we looked good. Just saying reading your posts mate ?.

6.) 13 Sep 2026
12 Sep 2026 22:54:43
BTW, I do love your term 'hod carrier' Stokey! It sums up the defensive midfield role perfectly.

7.) 13 Sep 2026
12 Sep 2026 23:01:17
'Midfield General' or 'Destroyer' is a better description. ?.

8.) 13 Sep 2026
13 Sep 2026 10:15:54
Skegs, I did mention in a previous post that Villa aren't the team they were last season. They've sold Martinez, Roger's, Tielemans, Watkins and Konsa. They haven't really replaced them. All world class players.


But like I also said, you can only beat what's in front of you, which we did.
I never listen to MOTD or Sky pundits. Except Murphy occasionally, he's the only interesting one with something to say.

9.) 13 Sep 2026
13 Sep 2026 10:34:26
I was surprised that Emery only made one change ( and that was enforced, injury or suspension can't remember which) from the team that played in Brussels on Tuesday evening. I'm not really concerned with Villas problems but does it show lack of squad depth or, as I remarked, Emery is a stubborn old do and so trying to prove a point about poor recruitment?
It's no coincidence that they faded drastically second half, they looked knackered. The loss of a player to injury when there were no subs finished them off.

They lost another defender early too.
Credit to OG at HT too. I think he knew Villa would run out of steam and Forest would bring this about quicker by stepping on the gas, which they did.
That, and the masterful subbing of Ndoye for Jesus. Not only that the Son of God applied the coup de grace by scoring but also, psychologically, the last thing a tiring defence needs in to come up against a bundle of fresh energy like our scorer.
Great management and tactical masterclass.

10.) 13 Sep 2026
13 Sep 2026 10:41:41
I like the rugby term " enforcer” myself. I think " Hod Carrier” was a term used by Eric Cantona to describe Didier Deschamps for derogatory purposes.
However Deschamps had the last laugh by captaining France to glory whilst the much more gifted ( but mercurial) genius that was Cantona hardly played for his country.