1 for Ibrahim Sangaré, marked 7.84, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Gabriel Martinelli and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nottingham Forest they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
13 goals in 29 games at Eintracht Frankfurt — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Nottingham Forest updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Minute 94, against Manchester City, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Lorenzo Lucca will call it something else in private.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nottingham Forest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murillo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Dan Ndoye was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.38. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Nottingham Forest, and 12 appearances in 35 say he has earned the hearing.
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Two goals and a mark of 8.68 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nottingham Forest, and it is not being withdrawn.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Igor Jesus wants continental football; whether Nottingham Forest can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nottingham Forest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
17 goals in 33 games at LOSC Lille — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Nottingham Forest updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Nottingham Forest and Sunderland, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
In brief
Player ratingsGabriel Martinelli was on a different afternoon to everybody else
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.72 for the rest of it.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Nottingham Forest can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nottingham Forest is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murillo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Liam Delap. 2‑0 against West Ham United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nottingham Forest is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murillo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nottingham Forest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
14 goals in 31 games at Swindon Town — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Nottingham Forest updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Murillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
15 goals in 30 games at LOSC Lille — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Nottingham Forest updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Nottingham Forest, and 10 appearances in 31 say he has earned the hearing.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Nottingham Forest told Nikola Milenković something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nottingham Forest, and both men came out saying it was fine.
24 appearances away from home and 9 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Charles Bell chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nottingham Forest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Murillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Dan Ndoye. 2‑0 against Burnley, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.08 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
In brief
The dugoutIgor Jesus dropped after a run of poor form
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Willy Boly will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Nottingham Forest the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Nottingham Forest can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Gabriel Martinelli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Something was said to Xaver Schlager and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nottingham Forest they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ousmane Diomande and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nottingham Forest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Murillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
13 goals in 26 games at Swindon Town — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Nottingham Forest updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Accrington Stanley waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Nottingham Forest is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nottingham Forest can pretend not to have heard.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Nottingham Forest hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Callum Hudson-Odoi and Nottingham Forest agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murillo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Dan Ndoye and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
12 goals in 25 games at LOSC Lille — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Nottingham Forest updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Successful dribbles: 26. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Nottingham Forest asked and Fulham said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
2 in and 6 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Nottingham Forest heard it as anything else.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Willy Boly will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Nottingham Forest the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Wolverhampton is saying, and nobody at Nottingham Forest is enjoying the guessing.
Ousmane Diomande was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Murillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with John Victor: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Fulham paid $25.1M and Nottingham Forest took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Gabriel Martinelli and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Murillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The name of Jair has come up in conversations Nottingham Forest were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Manchester City paid $33.2M and Nottingham Forest took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Nottingham Forest people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murillo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
5 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Wolverhampton were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
The fee is $11.5M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Hull City drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Nottingham Forest asked and Burnley said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nottingham Forest can pretend not to have heard.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Nottingham Forest has to find a result from somewhere.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Ryan Giles has just signed for Nottingham Forest, and for once the answer mattered.
5 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nottingham Forest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nottingham Forest have gone to Al-Hilal with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Nottingham Forest have gone to Burnley with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
$11.5M on the table at Hull City. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
The offer from AFC Wimbledon for Jair was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Nottingham Forest can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nottingham Forest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Nottingham Forest can tell you which week it ends in.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Morgan Gibbs-White wants continental football; whether Nottingham Forest can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Murillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Nottingham Forest can tell you which week it ends in.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Murillo wants continental football; whether Nottingham Forest can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murillo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I did not go to Exeter City to sit and watch. I want to come back to Nottingham Forest and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 19 matches say the rest.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nottingham Forest, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Charles Bell was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Nottingham Forest dressing room was either.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Nottingham Forest know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ola Aina is on it.
Morgan Gibbs-White was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Nottingham Forest, and 6 appearances in 18 say he has earned the hearing.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Donnell McNeilly has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Marked 8.16 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
A performance of 8.04 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Charles Bell chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
In brief
Loan watchThe goals keep arriving from Lamin Sillah’s exile
0‑3 to Manchester City, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Nottingham Forest has to find a result from somewhere.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nottingham Forest, and it is not being withdrawn.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nottingham Forest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murillo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I watch every Nottingham Forest game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Harrogate Town runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Nottingham Forest has to find a result from somewhere.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Nicolás Domínguez wants continental football; whether Nottingham Forest can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Successful dribbles: 30. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Morgan Gibbs-White and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murillo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Nottingham Forest, and 0 appearances in 15 say he has earned the hearing.
Something was said to Liam Delap and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Morgan Gibbs-White was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Murillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
With 6 players away on international duty the sessions are small and the manager can actually hear himself. It is the one break in the season, and it never quite feels like one.
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then West Ham United scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Nottingham Forest, and 4 appearances in 14 say he has earned the hearing.
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 2‑2 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Nottingham Forest hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nottingham Forest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murillo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I watch every Nottingham Forest game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Harrogate Town runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Murillo signs something — a contract at Nottingham Forest or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lorenzo Lucca trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say James McAtee is on it.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Samuel Silvera provided it, and the 8.32 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nottingham Forest can pretend not to have heard.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Nottingham Forest heard it as anything else.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Ousmane Diomande and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
He is 18 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
In brief
Player ratingsJames McAtee was on a different afternoon to everybody else
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nottingham Forest can pretend not to have heard.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 91th minute. Burnley will replay every second of the added time for a week.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
A brace, and Igor Jesus takes the afternoon — 9.21
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Igor Jesus provided it, and the 9.21 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Morgan Gibbs-White wants continental football; whether Nottingham Forest can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Morgan Gibbs-White and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
8.03. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Nottingham Forest has to find a result from somewhere.
6 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Morgan Gibbs-White was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Jayden Powell is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
9 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
“I did not go to Wigan Athletic to sit and watch. I want to come back to Nottingham Forest and fight for my place.” 3 appearances in 10 matches say the rest.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Nottingham Forest can tell you which week it ends in.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nottingham Forest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I did not go to Harrogate Town to sit and watch. I want to come back to Nottingham Forest and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Ousmane Diomande has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
With 6 players away on international duty the sessions are small and the manager can actually hear himself. It is the one break in the season, and it never quite feels like one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolás Domínguez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nottingham Forest can pretend not to have heard.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Nottingham Forest can tell you which week it ends in.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murillo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Morgan Gibbs-White and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Murillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Nicolás Domínguez wants continental football; whether Nottingham Forest can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
“I watch every Nottingham Forest game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Exeter City runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Morgan Gibbs-White was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolás Domínguez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I watch every Nottingham Forest game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Wigan Athletic runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lorenzo Lucca trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Murillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” John Victor and Nottingham Forest agree another 3 years.
“I watch every Nottingham Forest game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Harrogate Town runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nottingham Forest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The offer went to Derby County this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 6 signed and 12 gone
That is the business done at Nottingham Forest until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Marked 8.34 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
6 call-ups is a compliment to the squad and a headache for the man running it. He will get them back in a fortnight, tired, in various states of repair.
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Two goals and a mark of 8.36 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Nottingham Forest asked and Derby County said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Jair had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Nottingham Forest offered $4.8M; Derby County said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Chelsea paid $1.2M and Nottingham Forest took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Morgan Gibbs-White and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Successful dribbles: 30. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Nottingham Forest have gone to Derby County with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nottingham Forest can pretend not to have heard.
Morgan Gibbs-White was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Chelsea will make the call about Matz Sels this week. Nottingham Forest have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Samuel Silvera has, at Nottingham Forest, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murillo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
In brief
The dugoutScott Hamilton dropped after a run of poor form
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Nottingham Forest have lost him in all but the paperwork.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nottingham Forest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Paul James is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Paul Spencer has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
The ground is getting bigger
The plans are signed off at a capacity of 41893. Decisions like this are judged twenty years later, by people who were not in the room when they were taken.
The offer from Manchester United for Matz Sels was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Nottingham Forest offered $5.3M; Crystal Palace said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Levante have kept their man, and Nottingham Forest go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Nottingham Forest hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Morgan Gibbs-White and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murillo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Nottingham Forest, another week without a signature from Xaver Schlager.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Tammer Kumar is in the works
Squad6 new faces, and Nottingham Forest are still learning each other
Nottingham Forest asked and West Bromwich Albion said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Xaver Schlager and Nottingham Forest agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Nicolás Domínguez wants continental football; whether Nottingham Forest can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
The phone has started ringing about Esapa Osong again, and this time the name on the line is Wigan Athletic. Nottingham Forest are listening politely and promising nothing.
In brief
The dugoutMurillo asks for a word with the manager
The terracesThe stands have heard the Matz Sels talk too