On the pitch, at least, it wasn’t quite the end to January that Nottingham Forest had hoped for as they played their final game of the month.
Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg defeat to Manchester United means February will begin with the Reds facing a near-impossible task as they head to Old Trafford trailing 3-0. But it has still been a positive start to the new year for Steve Cooper’s side.
They also have a few more days in which to complete any further transfer business before next Tuesday’s 11pm deadline. As the month comes to a close, here’s our look at the latest goings-on Trentside...
READ MORE: The transfer deals bubbling away at Forest as deadline looms
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VAR frustrations
There was a collective groan around the City Ground when it became clear Sam Surridge’s strike against United was being checked. Up until the semi-final stage of the competition, VAR had not been in use, regardless of whether ties took place at Premier League grounds or not - a perplexing scenario, and just Forest’s luck that it should be on hand to decide the narrowest of calls.
VAR continues to play the role of party-pooper, preventing anyone from celebrating too wildly when the ball hits the back of the net for fear of the goal being scrubbed off. Owner Evangelos Marinakis was watching on from the directors’ box and certainly didn’t seem too happy about the decision. Indeed, he looked none too impressed, animatedly expressing his frustration.
Spotted in the stands
A number of familiar faces turned out at the City Ground for the first leg tie. Stuart Pearce and Steve Hodge, who was on punditry duty for BBC Radio Nottingham, shared a warm embrace ahead of kick-off. Roy Keane, Michael Dawson and Wes Morgan were also there, amid plenty of nods to Forest’s past.
It is one of the faces of the club’s future who is generating plenty of excitement at the minute, however. Fingers and toes are being tightly crossed that the ankle problem Morgan Gibbs-White suffered against United isn’t anything too serious.
The summer signing earned praise from Gary Neville for his performance during the game, with the ex-United defender saying Gibbs-White had given Casemiro some “difficult moments”. And no doubt England boss Gareth Southgate will also have been looking on with interest, having taken his seat in the stands. Maybe not just yet, but given his undoubted quality, Gibbs-White has surely got to be in with a chance of a Three Lions call-up at some point in the future.
Settling in
New signing Danilo made his full debut in the cup tie, and he gave a very good account of himself. The Brazilian looks a fantastic prospect.
Cooper has been keen to make sure the youngster, along with fellow countrymen Gustavo Scarpa and Renan Lodi, feel settled Trentside. And that extends to trying to learn Portuguese - although he quipped: “I keep saying Bonjour to them, I don’t know why!”
Lodi has been having English lessons since he joined the club in the summer, while Scarpa arrived already speaking very good English. Both act as translators for the latest arrival.
“Fair play to Renan, he’s committed so much to learning English,” said Cooper. “He probably does more English lessons than he does football! He really engages now.
“Danilo looks like he will do the same. The only language we are speaking to him at the minute is football, which is the best language anyway.
“All he does is smile! We try to make sure Gustavo and Renan are not too far away from him. On his first day, when we were planning the sessions, I said, ‘wherever Danilo is, we have to keep one of the guys close to him, to translate’. But Renan is that used to us trying to explain to him, that when I was explaining to Renan to explain to Danilo, he was going, ‘okay, okay’, so I was going, ‘well, tell him!’.
“It’s a good coaching challenge for us. We’ve got to learn Portuguese terms as well. It can’t be one way, it’s got to be mutual. We’re going to send out a simple comment sheet to all of the lads, because they need to help them as well. It will be good to see how Jack Colback deals with that!”
Opportunity taken
Speaking of Scarpa, it seems the makers of Rubik’s Cubes have wasted little time in capitalising on an opportunity. Recognising there is an increased interest in their product among Reds fans, thanks to Scarpa’s antics, an advert promoting the puzzles was placed in the club’s match programme for the United game.
They remain popular with the Forest squad. After much practice, Gibbs-White seems to have mastered completing the challenge, while Scarpa posted a video of Lodi doing the same. It remains to be seen where Danilo’s skills rank on that front, however.
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