Was suspended for one match over Christmas period in both 2023 and 2024.
One booking away from Christmas 2025 off too.
Today's Football
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jamesedwards
- Posts: 5100
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jamesedwards
- Posts: 5100
- Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2018 6:16 pm
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jamesedwards
- Posts: 5100
- Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2018 6:16 pm
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MrJoeBlack
- Posts: 102
- Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2016 7:58 pm
Fulham vs Nottingham Forest
This has a fairly obvious shape to it.
Fulham should control where this game is played. Expect them to keep Forest pinned back for long spells, moving the ball through the middle and asking Forest the same question again and again, knowing the answer probably won’t change.
They won’t rush it. Fulham are quite comfortable recycling possession rather than forcing shots, trusting that territory, pressure, and repetition will do the work for them. That usually leads to fewer speculative efforts and more sustained pressure, which is why home corners are worth looking at here. If Forest are defending for long periods, those situations tend to stack up naturally.
Forest’s involvement is likely to be brief and occasional. A counter if the timing’s right. A set-piece if they can earn one. Long attacking sequences aren’t really part of the plan unless Fulham decide to make it easier than it needs to be. As a result, Forest’s shot volume should stay low unless the game breaks in a way it usually doesn’t.
One thing that consistently follows long defensive spells is fouling. Forest defending deep for extended periods tends to bring little interruptions — late steps, clipped heels, broken phases — the sort that stop play without changing control. That’s where away fouls come into play, and where cards can follow if those fouls keep arriving in the same areas.
The useful thing to watch is whether Forest are actually getting out, or whether they’re just defending in phases and calling it progress. Blocks and clearances feel encouraging when you’re under pressure. They matter less when they’re all you’re doing.
If this stays tight for a while, it might just mean Fulham haven’t finished the job yet. “Defending well” can look respectable for a time, right up until it starts to look like not being allowed to play.
And if Forest do come away with something, it’s worth asking where it came from. A counter. A set-piece. Or a moment Fulham switched off because they could afford to. Because if they lined this up again tomorrow, you’d expect Fulham to control the same areas again — and Forest to spend most of it responding.
This has a fairly obvious shape to it.
Fulham should control where this game is played. Expect them to keep Forest pinned back for long spells, moving the ball through the middle and asking Forest the same question again and again, knowing the answer probably won’t change.
They won’t rush it. Fulham are quite comfortable recycling possession rather than forcing shots, trusting that territory, pressure, and repetition will do the work for them. That usually leads to fewer speculative efforts and more sustained pressure, which is why home corners are worth looking at here. If Forest are defending for long periods, those situations tend to stack up naturally.
Forest’s involvement is likely to be brief and occasional. A counter if the timing’s right. A set-piece if they can earn one. Long attacking sequences aren’t really part of the plan unless Fulham decide to make it easier than it needs to be. As a result, Forest’s shot volume should stay low unless the game breaks in a way it usually doesn’t.
One thing that consistently follows long defensive spells is fouling. Forest defending deep for extended periods tends to bring little interruptions — late steps, clipped heels, broken phases — the sort that stop play without changing control. That’s where away fouls come into play, and where cards can follow if those fouls keep arriving in the same areas.
The useful thing to watch is whether Forest are actually getting out, or whether they’re just defending in phases and calling it progress. Blocks and clearances feel encouraging when you’re under pressure. They matter less when they’re all you’re doing.
If this stays tight for a while, it might just mean Fulham haven’t finished the job yet. “Defending well” can look respectable for a time, right up until it starts to look like not being allowed to play.
And if Forest do come away with something, it’s worth asking where it came from. A counter. A set-piece. Or a moment Fulham switched off because they could afford to. Because if they lined this up again tomorrow, you’d expect Fulham to control the same areas again — and Forest to spend most of it responding.