Nottingham Forest on the up with Vítor Pereira after months of turmoil | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest’s season has been anything but smooth. The team has already had four managers, went out early in both domestic cups, and now finds itself embroiled in a relegation battle that would have been hard to imagine in August. Reaching the Europa League quarter-finals is the high point for the British side, although it is clear that the main objective is to avoid dropping into the Championship.

After Nuno Espírito Santo, the Tricky Trees were once again placed under the command of a Portuguese coach, this time Vítor Pereira. But what has changed over these last two months under the Espinho-born manager? In this article, we analyse Nottingham Forest’s new dynamics and tactical approaches, as well as the players who have taken on a bigger role under the new coaching staff.

After a very positive season, which ended with qualification for the Europa League — and even saw the club occupy Champions League places for a time — Nuno Espírito Santo was dismissed by Evangelos Marinakis’s board due to disagreements over the club’s transfer policy. Defensive solidity and positional discipline paid off, making Nottingham a very difficult team to break down, with offensive transitions accounting for a large share of their victories.

Ange Postecoglou’s spell at Forest was short and had little positive impact. The intention to push the lines higher and dominate possession did not suit the squad he found in Nottingham, and the results were devastating: two draws and six defeats in 40 days were enough to bring the Greek-Australian coach’s time to an end.

Sean Dyche, meanwhile, was naturally seen as a conservative option and an immediate stopgap. Used to “survival football”, he was not initially associated with bold ideas or an attacking approach, and that is exactly what proved to be the case. Despite a promising start, with four wins in the first seven matches, the relationship between Dyche and the squad quickly deteriorated. After the home draw against bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton, the boos from the stands foreshadowed the British coach’s dismissal, which was confirmed just a few hours later.

Marinakis will certainly have realised that the decision to sack Nuno Espírito Santo was proving costly after the next two appointments failed. Dismissed by Wolverhampton in November, Vítor Pereira was without a club and was chosen to take on the mission of saving the East Midlands side from relegation.

Mostly using a 4-2-3-1, Vítor Pereira’s Nottingham Forest displays a style of play in which defensive cohesion — typical of Nuno Espírito Santo — coexists with more consistent, well-worked possession. Forest’s attack has stopped relying so insistently on long balls to beat the press and has instead begun circulating the ball more through central areas, with the two pivots, usually Elliot and Sangaré, serving as the key link between the defence and the forwards.

At the heart of both the pitch and the garibaldi tactical idea is Morgan Gibbs-White. The England international midfielder is the creative force and main playmaker, taking on a decisive role in the attacking process. Without the ball, he joins the forwards in an organised press, in contrast to the almost suicidal pressing Postecoglou tried to impose.

With a greater focus on tactical identity, Vítor Pereira has already managed to deliver more attractive football than his predecessor. For that reason, he seems to have won over the fans’ trust, at least for now — something that will only last if the results remain positive.

Vítor Pereira has yet to win at the City Ground, which may still cause some reservations among the English supporters. Even so, the improvement has been evident, and the run of five matches unbeaten proves it. This Thursday, the opponent is one the Portuguese coach knows well, and a win would seal a place in a European semi-final — something Nottingham has not experienced since 1984.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.