No player better personifies the remarkable evolution and growth of Nottingham Forest than Chris Wood. The two are intertwined.
The New Zealander’s looping winning header in the remarkable 3-2 victory over Manchester United was significant in many ways. It sealed Forest’s first win at Old Trafford in 30 years, while the last time they won back-to-back league games against United — having also beaten them 2-1 at the City Ground last December — Brian Clough and Sir Alex Ferguson were in the dugouts, in 1992.
Wood’s 54th-minute effort meant that he has now notched up double figures in goals before Christmas. But his 10th of the season was also his 25th overall since he signed from Newcastle in January 2023, which means he is now the club’s all-time top scorer in the Premier League, edging one ahead of Bryan Roy.
Those 10 goals have secured 12 points for Forest, which puts him in elite company. Erling Haaland’s 13 goals have earned Manchester City 12 points, while Mohamed Salah’s 13 for Liverpool has helped his team to 11 points.
If the Premier League player of the year awards were held now, Haaland, Salah (who also has eight assists), Cole Palmer of Chelsea (nine goals, six assists) and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (five goals, 10 assists) would have a stronger claim to the title than Wood.
But given the team and the situation in which he has scored his goals, Wood has earned the right to be in the conversation. On his 33rd birthday at Old Trafford, Wood has proven that he is a top-level player and that Forest are beginning to prove that they too deserve to be competing with the best.
They are not going to win the Premier League title; let us not get ahead of ourselves. A top-10 finish would still represent significant progress this season. But following two years of fighting for survival, Forest have progressed to a point where it should not be considered a shock. At least not in the same way as it would have last season.
Under Nuno Espirito Santo, Forest go into games like this believing they can win. At their best, they can go toe-to-toe with the big clubs.
United manager Ruben Amorim described his side as a “massive club” but not a “massive team”, warning that there is rebuilding to be done at Old Trafford. At Forest, that process is already under way.
The outlook has been transformed and the scale of the growth under Nuno is underlined by Forest’s two other goalscorers: Nikola Milenkovic and Morgan Gibbs-White.
The guttural roar Milenkovic let out after heading home his first Forest goal was indicative of his mentality. The Serbia captain has to be considered one of the signings of the season. The £11million ($14.02m at current exchange rates) Forest paid Fiorentina for his services is remarkable value. No player has had a more transformative influence on this side than the 27-year-old defender.
Milenkovic has quietly added another level of organisation and solidity while helping make his centre-back partner Murillo better. Barring the opening game against Bournemouth when Milenkovic was suspended, the duo have started every Premier League match together, forming an exceptional union.
The Serbian has also helped transform Forest’s set-piece fortunes at both ends. His goal — the sixth set-piece goal Forest have scored this season (only Arsenal on eight have more) — put Forest in front after only two minutes.
Defensively, Forest have only conceded two set-piece goals — a huge improvement on the 22 they shipped last season. Only Brentford (one) have conceded fewer.
Nuno recently took umbrage slightly at the suggestion that Milenkovic is just a warrior; he regards him as a defender who can play as well. But his imposing presence has made a big difference. The block he made late on to deflect a goalbound Marcus Rashford drive wide of the upright was as vital as his goal.
Gibbs-White’s 47th-minute goal, which put Forest 2-1 up, owed plenty to some questionable goalkeeping from United goalkeeper Andre Onana. But that is no reflection on Gibbs-White, who went on to provide the inch-perfect cross from which Wood headed home Forest’s third.
The signing of Gibbs-White — for an initial £25million that could rise to £42m, a club-record signing at the time — from Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 2022 was a demonstration of intent from Forest. He is the player who has improved Forest the most and is capable of delivering magic. When Gibbs-White is absent, it leaves the biggest void.
In September, Gibbs-White became the first Forest player to play for England since Stuart Pearce in 1997 — an era during which Nigel Clough, Steve Hodge, Neil Webb, Des Walker, Steve Stone and Stan Collymore all regularly represent Forest on the England stage. That is another indication of Forest’s growth, and proof that a player does not have to move to a ‘bigger’ club to represent his country.
Forest fans had waited three decades to experience victory at Old Trafford, but the most enjoyable thought for supporters is the notion that Forest can deliver more days like this.
(Top photo: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
