Nottingham Forest was once a monument of English football, winning the European Championship twice in the 20th century. Later, when the team declined and gradually sank into oblivion, there was a time when fans thought that the City Ground would never be immersed in the atmosphere of top football again. However, they returned to the highest level of English football in 2022. Since then, each season, Nottingham has made its mark.
Nottingham last played in the Premier League before being promoted back in 1999. They then suffered a disastrous relegation to League One in 2005, becoming the first European champions to be relegated to the Second Division.
Then, in 2007 and 2020, Nottingham had the chance to return but could not succeed. Sometimes they lost on goal difference, sometimes they were defeated directly in the play-offs. Fans of the former European champions once thought that perhaps their strength was only that much and the most prestigious playground on the planet no longer had a place for them. They also avoided mentioning the glorious past because it only seemed to accentuate the negative emotions before the current difficult prospect.
Finally, the victories against the mighty Liverpool and many other big teams in the Premier League have helped Chris Wood and his teammates understand that now could be the time to create a turning point to bring the team back to its glory days. In the Big Six, Tottenham and Man United have declined badly while Chelsea is always erratic. The unruly teams like Brighton and Brentford are no longer too strong. If we are looking for competitors in the Top 4 race, Nottingham will only have Aston Villa and Newcastle in the near future.
To prove their current position, Nuno Santo and his team used the results of their Premier League matches against this group instead of words. Nottingham may have lost to Arsenal, Man City and Newcastle but drew with Chelsea. After that, they won a very long streak against their competitors such as Man United, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Brentford and Everton. The current results are not luck because no luck can follow a dark horse team for so long, only strength can help Nottingham stand firmly like that.
After a crushing 0-5 defeat to Bournemouth at Vitality, Nottingham crushed Brighton 7-0 at home at the City Ground. That is the spirit of a great team, not being defeated mentally by defeat. Now, Santo and his students can confidently set the goal of winning the right to return to the Champions League, an arena they have successfully conquered before.
The Premier League is two-thirds through and rivals will continue to clash for points. Nottingham's advantage is that they can conserve energy by playing only two competitions (plus the FA Cup). If the focus is on the Champions League ticket, the FA Cup may just be the spice to an exciting season.
