Nottingham Forest

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It is probably fair to say that being in the top four is not something Nottingham Forest as a team or as a set of fans anticipated, but the belief is certainly there around the club at this moment.

Their win at Anfield has aged incredibly well and that has taken them to this stage of not caring who they are playing, home or away, they know they have a really good chance of getting a result.

Nuno Espirito Santo has proven he can build defensively solid squads in the Premier League and he led Wolves to a place in the Europa League only a few years ago. He will have that in the back of his mind now he is at Forest, but he also knows it is a long season and to reach Europe you have to maintain your form.

The depth of their squad is an interesting debate.

I think of it as people filling in those gaps when players are injured, but the reality is that the vast majority of their players will be available for most of the season.

Instead of thinking about whether they have depth, you could pose the question of the importance of keeping those key players fit.

There are certain positions where Nuno can rotate and we have seen that already this season with Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga sharing game time. They alternate the forward line and that has been working fine.

As long as the spine of the team remains similar then I think they have a chance to be successful this season.

Being on 19 points at this stage of the campaign is a good way of already cementing Premier League survival for another season. Nowadays you need 39 or more points to do that and now they would need less than a point a game to not hit that target. That seems unlikely.

Forest will be grounded in terms of their approach to success this season. They have gone through tough times but they are playing good football and they have the crowd right behind them.

It seems settled at the club and that is what they have been striving for.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

Former Brighton manager Graham Potter says Nottingham Forest "look organised as a club" after spending the past two seasons "transitioning" from the Championship to the Premier League.

Speaking on the latest episode of Planet Premier League, Potter praised the Reds' progression: "They have transitioned from the team that looked a little bit chaotic, from the outside, in the early stages of their life in the Premier League.

"It isn't straightforward going from the Championship to the Premier League. There is no formula there to go: 'Oh, how do we survive this?'

"They have done it by signing lots of players - some of them have been good, some of them have been not so good - but I think they have settled on something now that looks structured.

"They look organised as a club, they made really good recruitment decisions in the summer, and they are in a fantastic position [so far this season]."

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Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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Last week I answered a question about the most surprising team this season and plumped for Nottingham Forest. It got even better for them at the weekend with their win against West Ham and they now sit proudly and amazingly in third place after 10 games.

‌It is now beginning to feel less like a freakish set of results and more like a well organised, well balanced and growing team. Two former Chelsea academy graduate players in Ola Aina and Callum Hudson-Odoi caught the eye again this week.

‌So well done Forest and Nuno Espirito Santo. If they are still in third place in a month's time after facing Newcastle, Arsenal and Manchester City as well as Ipswich, they will have to be considered serious contenders for a top-six finish.

‌Although this isn’t quite the fairytale of Leicester City winning the league it would be the most unexpected story since the Foxes flew in the face of history.

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Former Arsenal sporting director Edu rejected a lucrative new contract to stay with the Gunners in favour of taking up a multi-club role with Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis. (Mail), external

Premier League clubs have reserved the right to seek compensation for lost earnings if Manchester City are found guilty of breaching the league's financial rules. (Times - subscription required), external

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Former Nottingham Forest forward Robert Earnshaw joins The Football News Show to discuss why current Forest striker Chris Wood has started the season so strongly, why Taiwo Awoniyi is a capable understudy, and why losing Wood could upset the rhythm of the team.

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Nottingham Forest have the fourth toughest fixture list in their next 10 games, according to Opta.

But with the Reds flying high in the Premier League, should fans be nervous about sliding down the table?

Forest fan Saveena Johal tells The Football News Show why she's confident in their improving home form and why the "sky's the limit".

Watch The Football News Show on iPlayer

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Does Nottingham Forest's third-place position in the Premier League justify their spending in recent seasons?

Forest, under Steve Cooper, were promoted in May 2022 and signed a British-record 22 new players that summer and made five loan signings. Their net transfer spend over the 2022-23 season was £142.8m.

They were deducted four points for breaching Premier League profit and sustainability rules last season but re-enforced the squad in the summer with the likes of Elliot Anderson and Nikola Milenkovic.

"There's now almost a justification for their crazy spending because they have a foot-hold in the Premier League," said Chris Sutton on the BBC Radio 5 Live Monday Night Club. "No matter where they finish, they are not going to get relegated this season."

Rory Smith from the New York Times added: "I don't think we should whitewash their spending too much just because they've started the season well.

"The reason they were criticised for their spending was because so much felt like a waste. They signed a lot of players that are no longer there.

"They simultaneously committed the money that you need to compete in the league while being reckless."

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Pat Riddell
Fan writer

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Nottingham Forest are not going to finish in the top four this season. Or the top six. Are they?

Of course we are overperforming. Of course other clubs are underperforming. And really, any sensible fan knows that 19 points is more than halfway to Premier League safety after just 10 games.

And we know Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal are going to stay up there, while Chelsea, Aston Villa and Tottenham - despite their Jekyll and Hyde - moments will probably complete the top six. Probably.

But what if? What if Nuno Espirito Santo continues to work his magic?

This team is only just getting started. A settled squad it may be, but they are still getting to grips with each other and the manager's tactics. There are still the likes of Danilo, Ibrahim Sangare and James Ward-Prowse to return. The best of Taiwo Awoniyi is surely just around the corner. And the rest of the squad is flush with talent.

What if the Reds grind out results against Arsenal, City, Manchester United, Villa and Spurs before the end of the year? That will be halfway through the season, most of the toughest away games out of the way and an opportunity to strengthen in the January transfer window.

What if Chris Wood keeps scoring at the rate he is? What if the defence remains as solid as it has been? What if we get even better?

Nuno is rightly only ever concentrating on the next game and definitely not getting carried away. As he said after Saturday's 3-0 win over West Ham United: "If you get distracted, football doesn't forgive you."

But with Forest in their highest league position in 26 years, supporters are entitled to get carried away.

Even if the Reds are not going to finish in the top four...

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Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club that Nottingham Forest "don't over-play or over-press" and their performances have been a collective effort.

"Nuno [Espirito Santo] has his own identity and people may view that as negative but they have a lovely balance. And for all the criticism of the owner - and he has been heavily criticised over the past couple of seasons, and some it deservedly so - he is an owner who is super-ambitious.

"They've got the pace in wide areas and the skill in Hudson-Odoi and Elanga. They don't concede many goals and Milenkovic has been a sensational signing.

"And Chris Wood is banging the goals in. People call him old-fashioned but I think that's slightly unfair. He's an excellent centre-forward."

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Nottingham Forest would like to take 19-year-old Bayern Munich winger Mathys Tel on loan, but the France Under-21 international has no plans of leaving the Bundesliga giants this winter. (Sky Germany), external

Edu is set to take up a role within the network of clubs controlled by Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, after resigning as Arsenal's sporting director. (Times - subscription required), external

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John Bennett
Final Score reporter

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That was a statement performance by Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Many of the home supporters sitting around me were talking about it being the best they’ve seen the club play since the 1990s and the statistics back that up: The biggest Premier League victory since August 1996, ending a day in the top three of the top-flight for the first time since September1998 and making it three back to back wins in the Premier League for the first time since 1999.

There are so many individuals you could pick out for praise in the Forest side right now. Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic compliment each other perfectly at the back, Chris Wood is getting numbers close to Erling Haaland levels and Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga look dangerous on every counter-attack.

After watching Saturday’s game inside the stadium though, I have a question for Forest fans: Are the full-backs the unsung heroes in your team? They were both superb against West Ham so I certainly think so.

Ola Aina was mostly up against Crysencio Summerville, a player not only full of confidence after his goal against Manchester United but also full of tricks and the Nigerian hardly gave the former Leeds winger a kick. Brian Laws, a brilliant full-back for Brian Clough’s Forest in the late 1980s and early 1990s, was singing Aina’s praises in the press box for the way he was closing down Summerville. Then at the other end of course he scored a goal of the month contender with a left-foot screamer. What a great all round performance.

As for Alex Moreno, he also made the defensive work against the likes of Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta look easy. On top of that he was also there to support and cut inside or outside of Hudson-Odoi, creating the crucial opening goal for Chris Wood with a clever run and perfect cross.

What a time to be a Forest fan. Everywhere you look on that City ground pitch there are players in the form of their lives. This is going to be a special season for the red side of Nottingham.

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Nottingham Forest and West Ham.

Here are some of your comments:

Nottingham Forest fans:

Luke: Without question the best win of our time in the Premier League. So much freedom and confidence in the team, it’s hard to not get carried away with where this season may take us. Must be tempered with the reality that West Ham were awful, but maybe it was us that made them look that bad? Can’t wait until the next game!

Matt: We’re a totally transformed team from our first 2 seasons back in the Premier League. Cohesion at the back, a threat at going forward. Still early days but to be third from top instead of third from bottom is something else! Nuno has worked extremely hard with these players and is getting the rewards! Three wins on the bounce!

Kris: Forest were irresistible, the back four immense with Moreno and Aina creating and scoring goals. Wood is thriving under Nuno and Anderson came on to show everyone why losing MGW wasn’t the blow it could have been. Third in the league…it’s like the Clough years are back on Trentside!

Ken: Contenders. City, and Arsenal definitely beatable and we've already beaten Liverpool on their own pitch and drawn with Chelsea. We have one of the most talented squads in the league, with excellent quality cover for every position and a truly superb coach at long last. If Leicester can do it, why can't we? Let's see how far we go! No fear.

West Ham fans:

Liam: I was there. We were hopeless. The body language of the players said it all. No communication, no pace, no plan and no desire. Manager will soon run out of time. Forest were everything we were not so fair play to them. Ten men or not, I suspect the result would have been the same.

Joe: The rhetoric will be the mistake was to get rid of Moyes. Wrong, the mistake was hiring Lopetegui. It's 12 competitive games now and I am still no clearer on what his style of play is or what his strongest team is. He’s clueless and the players are clearly not playing for him - Alvarez red and our constant capitulations when going behind are clear examples.

Matthew: Same old West Ham. No energy, no desire to get the ball forward and a real lack of cohesion appearing in the increasing cracks within our squad. Paqueta looks like he doesn't want to play for us anymore, we'll never get a goal at the City Ground and Chris Wood will keep on scoring against us till he's 49!

Roger: After 10 games there has been no discerning improvement. The strategy is lacking as is an absence of in-match tactics. The team are vulnerable at the back and the midfield absent at critical phases of the game. I can’t see that things are going to improve while Lopetegui remains.

Ex-West Ham manager David Moyes and former Premier League midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker have spoken on the BBC's Football Daily podcast about Nottingham Forest's superb start to the Premier League season.

Moyes: "Chris Wood has been fantastic and I'm really pleased because we spoke earlier [in the podcast] about the lack of centre forwards, but Wood is a bit of an old-fashioned target man and his spell at Forest is as good as he's had for a long time.

"I think they've got a really balanced team at the moment. The manager took some time to settle in there, but he's now getting used to the club, they're getting used to him and they're picking up great results.

"It's very difficult when you're in that position, there are some really good teams below Nottingham Forest, which will mean it will take a bit of doing to hang in there. We've had it a couple of times at West Ham recently, where it becomes so hard to hang in with the level of sides below you."

Reo-Coker: "I think they will be able to maintain it because they don't have to worry about Europe.

"Sometimes, when you've got certain players, managers don't always play to their strengths. With Chris Wood, you've got the two wingers who are providing service and using him at his best. When a striker starts getting goals and feeling confident, it's only going to get better.

"I think Forest could achieve something special this year."

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English midfielder Lewis O'Brien, 26, looks set to make a permanent £7m move to Los Angeles FC when his loan from Nottingham Forest ends in January. (Sun), external

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Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Saturday's seven Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Liverpool 2-1 Brighton

• Wolves 2-2 Crystal Palace

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Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo spoke after today's win: "You know me. Now I'm thinking about Tuesday and the next training session.

"This is what is important, you know better than me, it doesn't mean anything now.

"We just have to keep going, keep going, keep going. It's a very long season ahead, every player is going to be needed.

"It is a positive moment. We worked very hard this week, this is what we are focused on. We have to work and work hard and improve much more.

On what has been done differently: "Nothing has changed since the beginning, we have to keep on going. Believe me, there is no other way. If you get distracted, football doesn't forgive you.

"I think the longer the team is together, the better the players will know each other, the options we have coming back, the group should be stronger and as time goes by the bond will grow.

"This is my belief."

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Nottingham Forest vice-captain Ryan Yates speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live after today's victory: "We were really getting into it at the end and we wanted more goals. Unfortunately mine didn't go in but we are delighted with today's work."

On whether pre-season with Nuno has helped Forest's start to the season: "He can really implement the ideas. There are many things that have gone into why we were doing well. I think the recruitment has been fantastic. We have kept the core together and we are doing really well.

"There are still things we can improve on. They are a tough opposition and they went down to 10 men which changed things but you can only beat what is in front of you."

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• Nottingham Forest secured their biggest Premier League victory since beating Coventry City 3-0 back in August 1996. The Reds will also end the day in the top three of the top-flight for the first time since 7th September 1998.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Nottingham Forest’s performance, external

What did you make of West Ham’s display?, external

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies