Nottingham Forest will not be ignored

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This article was published 01/11/2024 (701 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The slogan “Hated, adored – never ignored” has typically been claimed by an English club of red and white. With Manchester United presently incapable of living up to the bellicose phrase, the motto seems to have transferred itself to a Premier League rival slightly more than two hours to the southeast.

Another red-and-white club, as it happens, and one enthusiastically embracing the polarity.

They are, on the one hand, among the feel-good stories of the season, a tightly-knit group that takes pride in reaching out to their community; they are, on the other hand, a nasty team with a frightful boss, continually at odds with the powers that be.

They are Nottingham Forest, and when they host West Ham Saturday at the City Ground (10 a.m., FuboTV), manager Nuno Espirito Santo will be watching from the stands as he serves out a three-game touchline ban for his diatribe late in the second half of a September match at Brighton, which he launched at the referee after Morgan Gibbs-White was sent off.

So, it might be best to begin with the other hand.

Nuno, for starters, has been fined twice and suspended on two occasions (the first was conditional) during his 10 months in charge of Forest, which makes for quite the rap sheet. Though he’s practically a choirboy when compared to club owner Evangelos Marinakis, who isn’t even allowed inside the stadium for today’s match — and the next three — after he appeared to spit as the referee walked past him in the moments following an early-autumn loss to Fulham.

He then mocked the disciplinary procedure by claiming he’d felt a cough coming on because he’d been smoking cigars — an assertion the Football Association dismissed as “completely implausible.”

Forest take a certain delight in tormenting on-field and VAR officials and infuriating league administration, but they’ve discovered even more pleasure is to be found in the exasperation of their opponents. The feeling isn’t mutual.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot, for example, was so frustrated after a mid-September loss to Forest — still the Reds’ only defeat of the season — that he continued to stew over it two days later in the build-up to a Champions League match at AC Milan. A team like Liverpool, he remarked, “should be disappointed if you lose to Nottingham Forest.”

Given that Forest, should they beat West Ham and watch other results go their way, could enter next week as high as third in the standings, that’s a lot of disappointment.

Or a lot of enjoyment, depending on the pole you’re drawn to.

Nuno, while reviled pretty much everywhere apart from the south bank of the Trent in West Bridgford, is just as universally cherished at the City Ground. And his players — with the odd exceptions such as Ryan Bennett and Patrick Cutrone, who dared to cross him — – greatly admire the 50-year-old ex-goalkeeper.

On Thursday, James Ward-Prowse hailed the team’s spirit and willingness to “suffer together,” adding going to training each day had so far been a “pleasure.” Nuno, a few hours later at his pre-match press conference, underscored the midfielder’s comments when he pointed out that players and staff were all pulling in the same direction. “Being together is the best thing,” he said.

That quality of togetherness has also been extending from within the club to the surrounding community. Just in the past week, Nuno has taken part in events for young adults with learning disabilities, and Forest have facilitated an all-girls football school and hosted a mental health-themed presentation at the stadium.

“We are getting close,” said Nuno, smiling as he spoke of “the bond between us, the club and the beautiful city of Nottingham.”

Even the international press have been noticing, and reporting on, Forest’s feel-good vibes.

Early last month, The New York Times revealed the club had purchased Viv Anderson’s 1980 European Cup winner’s medal from the 68-year-old, who’d put it up for auction. Anderson, who won back-to-back European Cups and the old English First Division as part of late manager Brian Clough’s iconic teams, was also the first Black player to represent England at senior level.

For Nottingham Forest, the episode was a reminder of the club’s proud history and success at the highest levels of the sport. While the current squad might not be winning the Champions League anytime soon, they can reasonably target European football for next season — or a top-half finish at the very worst.

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That, at least, is the latest prediction from the Opta super-computer, which previously had them finishing 17th, same as the previous season. The way things are going, however, it’s likely Nuno and Marinakis and Ward-Prowse and all the rest would pass up on 10th place if offered it.

On the one hand, they might well deserve to finish higher, which would further elate the City Ground and their worldwide supporters. On the other hand, they might well deserve to finish higher, which would incense the officials, enrage the FA and rile up Liverpool and everyone else.

Hated? For sure. Adored? No question. For this season, anyway, Nottingham Forest will not be ignored.

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