WT Analysis

1st Team Scout & Data Analyst at Motherwell - previously at Barrow AFC. Posting analysis on #NFFC - Views are my own.
Subscribe here:

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

I'm very excited to announce that I'm joining @MotherwellFC as a 1st Team Scout & Data Analyst. I'm really looking forward to continuing some of the fantastic work already underway at the club.

Massive thanks to everybody on here for all their support and interactions, all of which has really helped me to get to this point!

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

@ChemTeachCGO Nobody does a meltdown like the Forest timeline 😀

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

#NFFC really pushing here. Schlager turns down a shot and plays in Ndoye, the pass is slightly deflected forcing Ndoye to readjust slightly, his shot looks to be going wide but is cleared away.

Muñoz can’t get to the rebound quick enough for a clear shot. The mentality from Forest is good so far.

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

@MonnyDachismo @doctorrauli Dominguez is wasn’t even available anyway

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

#NFFC definitely more proactive out of possession with Muñoz in particular pressing very high.

It’s a case of risk v reward as it is leaving Jair Cunha with lots of space to defend against Philogene.

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

@craigaradford For me he’s in the team on merit. Sangare hasn’t shown enough off the bench recently and Dominguez doesn’t offer enough on the ball.

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

Xaver Schlager action map for #NFFC v #ITFC

Another solid performance in the middle, made some really good passes to create some dangerous attacking moves, including two balls through for Ndoye.

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

Thoughts on #NFFC today.

It's not quite the same old story tonight as Forest do come away with a point, which was the least they really deserved. Again though it's a bad individual error, this time from Milenkovic, that has cost Forest more points.

It was a really good start where Forest showed absolute control over Ipswich, before the hosts gained a foothold after Forest's well worked goal. In the first 15 minutes, Forest had 78.7% true possession, but from minute 15-30 it was just 10.9%, and then 32% from 30 through to half time.

After Milenkovic's very poor error, Forest regained complete control in the second half. Having 11 consecutive shots before giving up the final shot of the game in injury time, Ipswich's only one of the second half.

Glasner has again set the team up really well and hasn't been rewarded with the points he and the team deserved, but again the signs are there that Forest are playing some pretty good stuff and just not able to be clinical enough to change the game.

Tonight I thought Forest were pretty good at set pieces, with Ipswich's only shot in this scenario coming from Enciso's direct free kick. Forest had 7 shots from set pieces, with good corner delivery, whilst also taking advantage of Dara O'Shea constantly playing everybody onside at free-kicks.

My biggest worry tonight actually comes from the lack of impact from the bench. Hudson-Odoi's performance against Arsenal was bright, but Forest were really pushing then and I felt it was never a serious option that he would come into the starting lineup.

He did however earn some extra minutes off the bench, but his final action tonight was really poor and I felt Forest were less of a threat from the left flank after Ndoye departed.

Netz also came on in slightly different circumstances but didn't settle into the game well and didn't stake a claim for the starting berth next week if Williams is indeed injured.

I'm also a bit baffled by the criticism of Ndoye I've been seeing tonight. He created Forest's best chance of the night for Gibbs-White, and also created the space for Neco's goal with an intelligent near post run.

Brentford away is next up for Forest, Glasner has a couple of decisions to make in the back line. Will it be the left-footed Netz, or Aina who comes in? And will Diomande, who hasn't really deserved to come out of the lineup, come in for Milenkovic, who essentially cost Forest an extra 2 points?

Either way, there's no reason why Forest can't continue their decent performances and come away with a positive result. An extra couple of days rest might also come in handy too!

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

Chris Wood action map for #NFFC v #ITFC

Perhaps the only thing I can criticise Glasner for on first viewing was how late it took him to bring Wood on - although it's not as if he's been performing off the bench recently.

Wood had no time to have any kind of impact tonight.

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

Luca Netz action map for #NFFC v #ITFC

Like Hudson-Odoi, Netz will be wanting more minutes. But also like Hudson-Odoi, I thought he was really poor when he came on.

It can be difficult to come into games cold, especially late on, but that is his role in the squad and today he fell below the standard with his early, sloppy actions. Glasner has a big decision on whether Netz or Aina come in if Williams is out injured.

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

Callum Hudson-Odoi action map for #NFFC v #ITFC

I wasn't someone calling for a start for Callum, but his performance off the bench against Arsenal did warrant more minutes tonight, albeit when the game was stretched when Forest were trying to get back into it.

Unfortunately, I felt he was pretty poor when he came on, the final action was bad throughout and it ends up being an overhit pass that leads to Neco's injury. He was sent through late on - albeit a little wide - but he never really looked in control of the situation and could only drag a poor shot wide.

This was not a cameo that gets him closer to getting more minutes.

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

Liam Delap action map for #NFFC v #ITFC

Forest's striker battled really well again, making life very difficult for O'Shea & Diop battling for long balls that were tough for everybody to judge considering the wind.

His issue today was the final action, against Arsenal you couldn't really be disappointed with him, but today there were moments you'd want your striker to do a better with. I think for his header he just slightly mistimes his jump meaning the contact makes the ball loop a bit more than he wanted.

Regardless of that though, Delap - like Igor Jesus for large periods of last season - is incredibly important in getting Forest into promising positions, and does that part of his job very well.

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

Dan Ndoye action map for #NFFC v #ITFC

I see Ndoye getting stick again - and again I'm not really sure why. Forest's goal doesn't happen without Ndoye's smart run to the near post to open up that space. He also created Forest's best chance statistically with a good ball across for Gibbs-White.

His big moment in the second half looked poor on first viewing, but Schlager's pass looked to take a slight deflection meaning Ndoye had to adjust to bring the ball under control. He's playing an important role for Glasner and barring injury his place is not under threat.

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

Morgan Gibbs-White action map for #NFFC v #ITFC

For a player that tries so much, to only come away from this game with two moments where I thought he made the wrong decision is a really good outcome. Gibbs-White was very involved in everything good Forest did today, and just had to stretch a little too far for his chance at the back post.

I thought his post-match interview was also very impressive - he sometimes gets a bit of stick for how his attitude looks on the pitch, but post-match he spoke very well and projected a calmness about Forest's performances rather than frustration about the poor outcome.

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

Neco Williams action map for #NFFC v #ITFC

I mentioned pre-match that I thought this could be a night for Williams to be heavily involved and that turned out to be the case. Perhaps didn't create as much as I thought he would, but his finish was really calm, taking advantage of the space created by a clever near post run by Ndoye.

Hopefully his injury isn't serious but it really didn't look too good. There was a severe drop off when Netz came on in my opinion and although Forest aren't exactly functioning well on the left at times, Neco will be a big miss.

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

James McAtee action map for #NFFC v #ITFC

For me he was easily Forest's best player on the night. McAtee was fabulous in all phases and continues to grow into this role. His vision and passing range was great, but more impressive is the defensive work that he's getting through.

Yet again McAtee covered the most ground for Forest tonight, and combined that with 22 defensive actions.

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

Daniel Muñoz action map for #NFFC v #ITFC

Pressing very high and attacking even higher - Muñoz's ball in for the opening goal was great, but unfortunately he wasn't really able to create anything else after that.

He's doing the job Glasner asks him to do when he's pressing high, and it did leave some space in behind him when Ipswich were able to play through the press, but people shouldn't take this as a positional error by the Colombian.

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

Murillo action map for #NFFC v #ITFC

Noticeable when feeding the ball wide to Williams, particularly in the first half, he would move forward to try and open up other passing angles for his team mate.

Apart from a sloppy couple of minutes around the hour mark, I thought Murillo was good today and involved in lots of good moments, with some nice balls into the final third.

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

Nikola Milenkovic action map for #NFFC v #ITFC

Thought he actually looked really good in the first half up until his horrendous mistake. Because of his good start I can't really put this error down to his lack of game time, as although he hadn't played in 48 days he looked fine to me.

Immediately in the second half he made a poor read but then regained his composure afterwards. A call for Glasner to make ahead of next weekend though with Diomande waiting on the bench.

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

Jair Cunha action map for #NFFC v #ITFC

Really heavily involved in the early stages - I think he is the centre back who has probably adjusted to the system the best out of all of them. Unfortunately his great run late in the first half ended in a heavy touch and the ball ended up in the Forest net only a few seconds later.

Had a really good effort early in the first half. He's keeping Diomande out of the team on merit for me.

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

Matz Sels action map for #NFFC v #ITFC

Didn't really have too much to do in all honestly. On this occasion I can understand his hesitancy on balls into the box considering the wind, but that still remains an issue going forwards.

Tough for him to do anything for Enciso's goal and although it looked like he may have fumbled one of the shots he had that situation in hand for me.

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

#NFFC come away with a point they more than deserve. Another performance that was decent at worst, but a poor error from Milenkovic costs the extra 2 points.

[WT Analysis @wt_analysis]

#ITFC almost do what everybody else does. #NFFC cant clear the ball and Clarke drives centrally before striking the ball a foot or so wide of Sels’ left post.