Nottingham Forest

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

As the dust settles on the 2024-25 Premier League season, we have been taking a look at some of the alternative ways the the table could have finished...

"We never do it the easy way."

Something muttered by many a football fan as they watch their side go 1-0 down again.

As frustrating as it can be watching from the stands or on the TV, it is a position some teams thrive in.

Luring the opposition into a false sense of security, it is almost as though they do not get going until they have given the other team a chance.

And if the league was measured on how well a team bounces back after conceding the first goal, then this season would have seen Brighton coming away with a Premier League title.

There were 17 occasions in 2024-25 when the Seagulls conceded the first goal, but from those they came back to win five and draw five - rescuing 20 points in the process.

It will not have made for comfortable watching for the fans, but it does show the tenacity of Fabian Hurzeler's side to turn a match around.

The sign of champions is to win when you are not at your best and that is what Liverpool did this campaign. They may not have have conceded first as often as Brighton, but they still came back to win four times and draw seven.

It will not have always helped the cause of those chasing European spots, but Newcastle, Fulham and Aston Villa all showed the resilience that they could go one-goal down and still get much-needed points from a game.

At the other end of the scale, while some teams thrive in this situation, others flounder.

Nottingham Forest surprised many onlookers going from relegation candidates to battling for a Champions League spot in less than 12 months.

But key to that was their defence. There were not many occasions where they went 1-0 down - however, when they did, their ability to turn it around was in relegation territory.

The silver-lining for Reds fans, though, is that they really did make it difficult for the opposition to get in front and this is a strength they will hope to build on going forwards.

Pat Riddell
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Ideally, this summer will see Nottingham Forest build on the success of European qualification and near-misses in the FA Cup and making the Champions League.

It is pretty obvious where we need to recruit – injuries and fatigue caught up with us at the end of the season and losing the likes of Chris Wood, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Murillo cost us in important games.

Last summer's business, adding Elliot Anderson and Nikola Milenkovic, was particularly astute. But the other signings did not strengthen the squad as we might have hoped, and the recruitment team will do well to find a few more rough, or even polished, diamonds.

We are well stocked in central midfield but really need competition in defence and attack.

Our position now, compared with 12 months ago, is a different proposition for potential players - rather than battling relegation, those looking to make a name in the Premier League outside of the 'big six' have a new destination. And financially we are in a fairly good place to be growing the squad sustainably.

That said, beyond new signings it is a time to consider how we develop tactically.

Steve Cooper tried and failed to move from a 4-2-3-1 formation to 4-3-3, and it is no easy transition without well-drilled players and strategic nous.

Foregoing possession and playing on the break has served Forest very well in recent seasons, but it was evident in the latter games of the campaign that when teams offered up the ball the Reds were not really sure how best to capitalise. What happens when we have more than 50% possession? How do we adapt to those games?

That problem will rear its head again. Of course, I'm not the only one thinking this - and Nuno Espirito Santo will have inevitably started thinking about how we progress.

Greater depth in players, as well as a settled squad and management team, will make the transition easier.

But, for the first time in a generation, we can start a new Premier League season without nervously looking over our shoulder and instead setting our sights above us.

Find more from Pat Riddell at The Famous Club, external

BBC Sport pundit Nedum Onuoha has given us his insight and opinion every fortnight on your Premier League club throughout this season.

But this week, he's in the hotseat for your questions.

Maybe ask him who should be on your club's radar this summer, or where a rumoured target or new signing might fit into the team.

Perhaps see what he thinks about how successful a new recruit might be, who it is vital to keep, or what is needed to make next season a success.

Send in your questions here and we'll put a selection to him

As the dust settles on the 2024-25 Premier League season, we have been taking a look at some of the alternative ways the the table could have finished...

Many of us will have been there in school.

It was not always about being the best, but about being better. Not trying to beat the others' scores or times, but about beating your own.

In sport too, it is why personal bests exist. It is a way of measuring your own improvement against what has gone before - we can't all be Usain Bolt and Florence Griffith-Joyner.

So if the Premier League season was all about how you compared to the campaign before, who would have come out on top?

Well, there is one clear winner.

With 29 points more than they had in 2023-24, Nottingham Forest would have been lifting that trophy.

They may not have finished the season quite as they hoped having spent so much time in the Champions League spots, but having narrowly avoided relegation a year ago, this shows the sheer scale of the improvement this term.

Their nearest challenger on this basis would have been Brentford.

With 56 points, they were three points short of their best ever Premier League tally, but having flirted with relegation last time out, it made for a more enjoyable season this time around.

Brighton, Bournemouth and Fulham may have just missed out on European adventures in the real league, but they are also teams who can be happy with the improvements they are showing as now well-established top-flight sides.

And despite the chaotic nature of Chelsea since the new ownership came in, they too can look to steady progress.

At the other end of the scale (or table), it is a very different picture.

Many question whether the traditional 'big six' teams is still relevant, given how others have broken that mould in recent years.

But if the season was based on improvement, four of those six would have been at the bottom.

Tottenham dropped-off in the league nearly as much as Forest improved. Manchester City had a high bar to reach, but a torrid spell proved costly. Manchester United have set multiple unwanted club records, while Arsenal struggled to maintain a real challenge for the title.

They say beware the wounded tiger, and it is hard to see all these sides having the same difficulties next season, but they will not have it all their own way with those teams that are on the up.

*All data from Opta and only teams who were in the league in 2023-24

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for you to tell us what Nottingham Forest need to do in the summer transfer window.

Here are some of your comments:

Mark: Like any organisation that relies on stats to support decisions, Forest should now look to release players twho are liabilities and costing them matches with their mistakes. One look at the number of free-kicks awarded against players should highlight where reckless tackles have had serious consequences. If that behaviour can't be rectified in training then it's time to let a player go. So, Ryan Yates, play with your feet, not your arms...!

Jesse: Forest have a strong squad at the moment but if we want to challenge for the Champions League places next season and win the Conference League, we need to make the squad even stronger. The other teams at the top of the Premier League seem to be looking at making big signings this summer and if we want to compete with those teams then we need to sign players as well. Specific areas we need to improve are the midfield mostly, but also the bench. We do not have a strong enough bench to be rotating in all competitions. I think we also need to try to hold on to the big players.

Jack: Nuno needs to be realistic. We were fortunate with injuries last season and still struggled with depth. Now we have a potential European campaign on the cards, despite Nuno's preference for a small squad we simply must get bigger. I think we cash in on Morgan Gibbs-white now. In that back third of the season, I'm not sure how he was being deployed but it seemed all he wanted to do was beat players and shoot. I think he's a much better centre mid than being a pseudo number 10, but he wants the glory and attention so won't do it.

David: Complete confidence in the club to continue our progress. To compete deep into more than one competition, though, we need big bench upgrades but particularly need a younger, more mobile forward, more goal threat out wide and competition at full-back. Sangare fit again is like a new signing.

Peter: Most of us accept Gibbs-White will be off, likely to Manchester City. If/when he does, it's just the reality of how a club like us has to operate. He has been excellent for three seasons and now we will cash in on him. Eventually, Murillo will go the same way, but hopefully not until at least January. In terms of incomings, our lack of squad depth became painfully clear as we stumbled out of the Champions League and into the Conference League. So I expect this to be addressed and early, so that Nuno can foster the exceptional squad unity that was the bedrock of our still exceptional season.

Thank you for the feedback you submitted on the Premier League club pages.

Our aim is to contain all of the BBC's in-depth coverage of that team in one place, so it helpful to hear from you - you are who the pages are for after all.

We are going through all your responses and will take suggestions on board for next season.

As the dust settles on this Premier League campaign, we asked former England international Fara Williams for her underrated XI for the season.

She selected Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest as part of her midfield.

I've been so impressed with Anderson this season. We saw glimpses of his quality at Newcastle but I was not sure how he would perform as a regular starter in a Premier League midfield.

He has shown himself to be an assured and consistent performer who was a key cog in a team that enjoyed a really impressive season. He is so calm on the ball, rarely gives it away and is a excellent dribbler.

I'm really excited to see how he does in Europe next season.

Anderson started 33 Premier League games this season, scoring twice and assisting six times.

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Nat Hayward

Image source, Getty Images

The transfer window opens on Sunday - albeit for 10 days initially, mainly so sides competing in the Club World Cup can get early business done - before reopening for the rest of the summer on 16 June.

Are there certain players you are desperate for Nottingham Forest to sign, or an area of the squad that needs improving? Or maybe holding on to a key player is your biggest priority.

And what about sales - who needs to go?

So over to you... what names need bringing in and shipping out?

Let us know here

Image source, Getty Images

Former Nottingham Forest midfielder Steve Hodge believes that the Reds will struggle to hold on to their best players going into next season, particularly Morgan Gibbs-White.

Hodge told BBC Radio Nottingham's Shut Up And Show More Football podcast that Gibbs-White needs to be in the Champions League in order to make a World Cup squad.

"It's a fact, it's the way of football," he said. "If he wants to go to a World Cup he'll probably believe that Thomas Tuchel wants him in a Champions League team, either in England or Europe somewhere.

"These players are here for their career, to enhance their career, and if they see a better opportunity elsewhere they will want to move on. I think that's genuinely how players should look at it.

"Opportunity comes along every now and then and the players will look at it and think: 'I want to be at the World Cup next year so I need to be playing in the Champions League.'

"Thomas Tuchel and the like will say: 'You need to be with a team that's challenging with the pressure of having to go somewhere and win a game.' At Forest, it's a bit different."

Listen to more from Hodge on the Shut Up And Show More Football podcast on BBC Sounds here

Image source, Getty Images

The team at BBC Radio Nottingham's Shut Up And Show More Football podcast looked back on a mixed season for Forest, after missing out on Champions League football by only two points.

Host David Jackson asked Colin Fray for his reflection on the Premier League season at the City Ground and he said: "Overall you have to commend them for what's been an incredible season.

"A totally unexpected challenge for anywhere near the top half of the table which ended up prolonging into a challenge for European football, and they've ended up getting European football.

"They doubled their points tally from last season, they've take so many strides in so many areas but at the same time, I'm sure that there is some regret about what's happened over the last few weeks of the season.

"I'm sure there are very good reasons for it, I'm sure a lot of the players have just hit a brick wall in terms of fatigue, tiredness, injuries and I think some of them have been playing through injuries and I think that's affected them over the run-in.

"It's easy to say now if they had added a couple of players [in the January transfer window] then I'm fairly sure it gives them an extra couple of points."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds here

The latest episode of BBC Radio Nottingham's Shut Up And Show More Football podcast has landed.

The team reflect on an amazing season at the City Ground where Forest have secured European football for the first time in 30 years.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Crystal Palace wing-back Daniel Munoz ranked second in distance covered (242 miles) last season and he also made the most sprints in the Premier League with 907.

Bryan Mbeumo and Milos Kerkez also rank highly, just behind Fulham's American speedster Antonee Robinson.

Newcastle's Anthony Gordon completes the top five.

While Gordon ranked fifth for sprints overall across the season, he sprinted more often than any other player, averaging 29 sprints per 90 minutes.

What's in a name? Well if the name's Anthony (or Antonee) then it is sprinting, with Gordon, Elanga and Robinson all in the top five.

Munoz is here again, coming in at fourth, behind Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson.

Image source, Getty Images

The BBC's Ask Me Anything team have done all of the research ahead of the announcement detailing next season's Premier League matches.

The fixtures for the 2025-26 season will be released at 09:00 BST on Wednesday, 18 June 2025 and the release will include the weekly schedule of all 380 matches.

The season will begin with a single fixture played on Friday, 15 August 2025 and conclude on Sunday, 24 May 2026, when all matches will be played at 16:00 BST. There will be 33 weekend rounds of fixtures, plus five midweek rounds.

The exact date and time at which individual matches are played during each weekend will be determined at regular intervals throughout the season, based on TV selections made by broadcasters.

Read the full article here

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Speed has become such a defining aspect of Premier League football for years now. Whether it's lightning-quick wingers tearing down the flanks or centre-backs chasing down counterattacks, speed can be the difference between winning and losing.

With that in mind, let's have a look at the fastest players in the Premier League this season.

Tottenham Hotspur's Micky van de Ven was the fastest player in the top-flight during this campaign, reaching a top speed of 23.1 miles per hour

Manchester City midfielder-turned-right-back Matheus Nunes was the second-fastest, just ahead of Nottingham Forest's speed merchant Anthony Elanga.

Not only does Bryan Mbeumo run a lot and sprint a lot, he's fast too…the whole package!

As for the slowest players, the above data looks at outfield players that racked up at least 10 full games' worth of minutes – to give them a chance to build up some steam.

In that metric, Wolves' 35-year-old defender Craig Dawson was the slowest player, reaching a top speed of 18.4 miles per hour.

Manchester City's Bernardo Silva and West Ham's Tomas Soucek may be among the slowest players, but they were also two of the hardest runners - covering over seven miles per 90 minutes - which shows they were built for stamina over speed.

We asked you to select your Nottingham Forest player of the season from the four candidates chosen by our fan contributor.

And with the poll now closed, we can reveal the winner is... Nikola Milenkovic!

Here's what Pat Riddell at The Famous Club, external said about him:

One of the Premier League's signings of last summer, Milenkovic has shored up a leaky defence - solving the club's set-piece problem in an instant and given Forest a platform this season that few could imagine. His centre-back partnership with Murillo is surely one of the league's best and there must be several clubs wondering why they didn't act sooner.

See the final poll breakdown

Image source, Getty Images

Colin Fray
BBC Radio Nottingham reporter

Image source, Getty Images

That Nottingham Forest and their supporters were disappointed at missing out on a place in the Champions League speaks volumes about the strides the club has taken over the past 12 months.

The final whistle at the weekend brought with it a strange mix of feelings. While celebrating European football returning to the City Ground for the first time in a generation and acknowledging the efforts of a small, ultimately too-thin squad in taking the behemoths of English football all the way in the race to finish in the top five, it did feel a little flat.

Being one equaliser away from the Europa League undoubtedly hurts, as does not claiming an extra couple of points somewhere along the way that would have meant Champions League football.

But this season will be remembered as the best in 30 years, with some huge landmarks along the way such as being the first Premier League team ever to double their points tally year-on-year and the first Forest team ever to win at Anfield and Old Trafford in the same season.

Beating Liverpool was also their first win at Anfield in 55 years.

There was the huge win over Brighton, a golden glove for the excellent Matz Sels, a monumental first season in English football for player of the season Nikola Milenkovic, some remarkable goalline clearances (Murillo and Harry Toffolo spring to mind!), 20 goals for Chris Wood, a first FA Cup semi-final since 1991, and for the travelling fans, 10 away wins.

For context, across their previous three seasons in the top flight, they had won nine.

• Not a Forest fan? Find and follow your club here

All this for a team and a club widely tipped to be relegated by a number of high-profile pundits ahead of the season. Even the most optimistic Forest fan might have struggled to see a top-half finish, and now they have a European campaign to prepare for.

An interesting summer lies ahead because the current squad struggled with a whole season of Premier League football. Ultimately, it was half a dozen games too thin as fatigue and injuries kicked in.

As they try to develop further for next season, depth would have been needed - even without Thursday nights across Europe to consider!

Listen to full commentary on every Nottingham Forest game, and In The Game every weeknight from 18:00, on BBC Radio Nottingham.

And subscribe to the Shut Up And Show More Football podcast on BBC Sounds.

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Bournemouth and Tottenham were the most physical teams in the Premier League this season when considering the distance they covered and the number of sprints performed.

The results might explain why they had a lot of injuries.

Newcastle and Brighton were not too far behind though, with Brighton actually covering the most ground in the league, with fewer sprints.

Chelsea and Liverpool's style of play saw them sprint a lot but not cover a lot of ground, while Manchester City and Arsenal were the opposite (ran a lot but didn't sprint a lot).

Nottingham Forest very much had their own style of play this season as they both ran and sprinted the least.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Paul Robinson praised Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels.

Sels was instrumental in Forest achieving European football for next season as he recorded 13 clean sheets during the campaign. The Belgian shot-stopper made 120 across the season, with only three goalkeepers making more.

"The big compliment you can pay Matz Sels, I don't think he's technically one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League," Robinson said on BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast.

"But you look at another stat this season, which is what I like to look at, is the amount of saves he's made and the biggest stat I like, save to shot per cent ratio - that's how you can judge a goalkeeper.

"Selz has won the Golden Glove, but he's also second in the number of saves he's made. So, he's not only relied on the brilliance of Milenkovic and Murillo in front of him and the defence being solid and the team being organised, he's had to make a number of saves to contribute to that. You've got to take your hat off to him, he's had a fantastic season."

Pat Riddell
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Season rating: 8/10. Another two goals on the final day, or another two points in the run-in, and it could have been a nine. That and winning the FA Cup would probably have made it a 10.

Happy with your manager? Absolutely delighted. Nuno Espirito Santo took the bones of this squad, spent pre-season instilling his methods and tactics, and brought the best out of every one of his first XI. Granted, there were a few moments when you could question his judgement - but they were rare. He got almost everything right in almost every game.

Unsung hero: It was hard to pick a player of the season - although Nikola Milenkovic was probably easily ahead of everyone else - but I think Neco Williams deserves huge praise for his season. He very clearly had talent and commitment when we signed him but, switching from right-back to left-back, he has been exceptional this year. Defensively and attacking, he has been as consistent as anyone could ask.

Player you would most like to sign: We need several new additions this summer, as our only deficiency this season has been squad depth. But I think the obvious name is Liam Delap. He may well end up elsewhere but we're desperately lacking competition up front and his strong, aggressive forward play is the kind of signing we need.

Right now, my overriding emotion from the season is: Pride. I mean, the disappointment hurts - being so close to the Champions League and FA Cup glory is a lot to get over. But we have massively overachieved with very few injuries, a squad that cost a fraction of the clubs around us - and completely baffled the pundits, who had us down for relegation again. It is huge progress from where we have been and we can only hope it is just the start of things.

Do you agree with Pat's answers? Pick one or two categories and send your views

Find more from Pat Riddell at The Famous Club, external

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Here's my quick assessment of Nottingham Forest's Premier League season - and a return to my August predictions.

Pre-season prediction: 16th

Ended the season: 7th

The fact there was even the mere talk of disappointment at missing out on the Champions League illustrates what a superb season Nottingham Forest have had under Nuno Espirito Santo.

Yes, a strong position was wasted, but if you had offered any Forest fan solid safety at the start of the season, let alone European football, they would have signed up instantly.

Striker Chris Wood had the season of his life, while the coveted Morgan Gibbs-White was outstanding. Goalkeeper Matz Sels was top class, and defensive duo Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic provided the bedrock.

Owner Evangelos Marinakis never hides his ambition, so expect more big moves in readiness for Europe.

What I said in August: "If Forest keep this squad together (and they are always looking to add), then I see them staying up."

Read my assessments of the other 19 teams here

Image source, Getty Images

After missing out on Champions League football on the final day of the Premier League season, we asked for your feelings on Nottingham Forest's campaign.

Here are some of your comments:

Steve: A season that promised so much, but delivered so little. I know Forest have third-tier European Conference League qualification, but it's not the Champions League. This reduces the chances of attracting top-quality recruits, which has clearly hampered the challenge as the season drew to a close. Can't help thinking that not making a couple of signings in January didn't help!

Doug: A slightly disappointing end to what has been a remarkable campaign for the Reds. Any Forest fan would have gladly taken finishing seventh this season and claiming European football next season. We will, however, need to strengthen our squad to ensure we don't do a Manchester United or Spurs next season.

David: I have supported Forest for 60 years and after promotion I said I would enjoy the Premier League ride for as long as it lasted. What a ride it has been. Following two stressful seasons, what a time we have had this time. In the top four for much of the season, we ended up seventh - an amazing performance. Thank you Nuno and all the players - all your efforts are much appreciated. European football next season - can't wait.

John: Nuno has a well known preference for a small squad but, the corollary to this is that is has eventually left him having to utilise players who were either unfit or exhausted, because he was unable to rest them nor be able to call upon replacements of a similar calibre.

Iain: By the end of the season the tiredness showed. Passes and crosses weren't as accurate, responses weren't as fast... But we achieved far more than expected! I am pleased and proud of how well we've done. So why does this currently feel worse than securing safety on the last day?