Nuno Espirito Santo is not the reactionary type.
Defeat at the hands of Newcastle United will not prevent the Nottingham Forest head coach from seeing the bigger picture — and an encouraging start to the campaign that sees his side sitting fifth in the Premier League.
Nuno has given Forest an identity; an approach that has delivered a sense of promise and optimism, as well as raising a few eyebrows.
But, following a below-par performance at the City Ground, if he is considering making one or two changes when Forest return to action at Arsenal on Saturday, November 23, Nuno will have something that neither he nor Steve Cooper had at their disposal during the two previous seasons of struggle: options.
When it comes to strength in depth, this is the best squad Forest have had in decades.
In 1994-95, when Frank Clark’s Forest rampaged to third place in the top division, they used 20 players. Stuart Pearce, Steve Chettle, Stan Collymore, Bryan Roy, Steve Stone, Lars Bohinen and Ian Woan were outstanding, but just 13 of the squad started more than five league games — and this was in an era when the season spanned 42 league matches.
In the hypothetical scenario that the entire starting XI that faced Newcastle was unavailable, the alternative XI is pretty handy.
It does not possess the quality of the strongest XI, but it looks strong enough to escape relegation fairly comfortably.
As well as long-term injury victim Danilo, you have highly regarded defenders Andrew Omobamidele (aged 22), Eric Moreira (18) and Zach Abbott (18) also missing out completely.
Last season, had Forest been without their best players, the strength of the team would have been impacted hugely.
On the final day at Burnley, Forest’s bench included Gio Reyna, Divock Origi and Rodrigo Ribeiro, who all had little or no impact — as well as Cheikhou Kouyate, who was a useful squad player, but little more. Any ‘alternative’ XI would have looked very different in either of the last two seasons.
A well-judged summer of recruitment — including the additions of Nikola Milenkovic, Elliot Anderson, Alex Moreno, Jota Silva, Ramon Sosa, Morato, Carlos Miguel and James Ward-Prowse — has changed the dynamic. Forest could field two sides that would give the 2022-23 first-choice team a run for its money.
In the Alternative XI above, only Harry Toffolo and Carlos Miguel might have little confidence in being involved in the starting XI when Nuno picks his squad to face Arsenal. Those who are injury-free will believe they have a chance of playing.
Nuno frequently talks about the explosive talent of Jota (10 substitute appearances) and Sosa (seven substitute appearances), who have seen their impact come exclusively from the bench. It may not be long before one of them gets a starting chance.
Morato has also impressed in his five sub appearances. Forest are yet to concede a goal while the former Benfica player has been on the pitch. In the past, he would be a regular starter.
Anderson only lost his place in the starting line-up due to a foot problem, after making such an immediate and impressive impact that many people had speculated he should not be far off being in the England reckoning.
Ibrahim Sangare and Danilo have been sidelined by serious injuries, but started the campaign as the first-choice midfield and are expected to return to first-team contention next month. Sangare, with his hamstring issue, might be slightly ahead of Danilo, who suffered a broken leg on the opening day.
Ward-Prowse has not started a game since he was sent off at Chelsea at the start of October, but he is unlikely to be on the sidelines for long. Neco Williams has been in fine form with Wales, but Alex Moreno and Ola Aina have limited his opportunities, though he has looked bright in his cameos. Forest would have liked Taiwo Awoniyi to get some minutes for Nigeria during this break to help him gain some much-needed sharpness but he was not called up.
Whether starting or off the bench, players know they can still make an impact. Forest have used 54 of their 55 available substitutions in the 11 games, which is more than any other club, with Fulham, Brighton, Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Southampton all having used 53.
Nuno uses his bench to add fresh energy and dynamism in games whether Forest are looking for a goal or trying to see the game out. But it is also a sign of the options the head coach has available to him. Forest have used 23 players in the league this season. Only Southampton (28), Brighton (28), Ipswich (27) and Crystal Palace (25) have utilised their squad more extensively.
In the summer, Nuno was more than happy with the work Forest did in the transfer window. But, as well as sensible recruitment, the Portuguese was encouraged when Forest kept the core of their squad together and lost no one fundamental.
There had been anticipation — including within the club — that either Murillo or Morgan Gibbs-White might have to be sacrificed for profit and sustainability regulations purposes. But the £27million sale of Moussa Niakhate to Lyon and the deal that saw Odi Vlachodimos move to Newcastle for a fee of £20million as part of the Anderson package, ensured that did not need to happen.
“What I value the most is that we were able to keep the core of the squad. That is the best step forward we can have. It goes with identity — you cannot create identity if you keep selling players,” Nuno said before the Newcastle game.
“When your players perform so well, you can expect other clubs to come in and try to take them. It is up to the club to create a situation to keep them, develop them and improve them. If the right moment comes (to sell), do it. But I wanted to keep the core of the squad and the owner understood the situation.”
In the last few months, Forest have been more competitive than many expected. But that might be because they do not just have one team that is good enough to thrive, but two.
(Top photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
