[Albion] Do Forest have a better squad than us?

[pigmanovich]

Football is chaos and no one really has any clue what's going to happen - otherwise let's see all your pre-season predictions showing the table as it is now.

Indeed - lots and lots of people, myself and prominent pundits included, had Forest going down or at least flirting with relegation this season!

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Chris Wood

 

[Deadly Danson]

Indeed - lots and lots of people, myself and prominent pundits included, had Forest going down or at least flirting with relegation this season!

Absolutely and even a few weeks ago everyone on here was proclaiming that Forest had had an easy start to the season and would start dropping down the table when their tough patch started. Nope, no one has a clue.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Is squad only measured by points earned then ?

Over a full season yes it is. I know we win the “selling an unknown player for a shitload of money” competition but either that money is getting trousered and the fans don’t see it (and yes, I know we didn’t get hit by the losses either) or it gets reinvested so that you can, er, win games and get points.

 

[Weststander]

Over a full season yes it is.

In May 2023 every almost NSC’er would’ve agreed with you.

 

[Bozza]

It’s not even a close call. Wood has always been massively under rated, even when here the first time, and is miles better than Ferguson.

As said above, their defence is also a lot, lot better than ours.

Overall, there aren’t many of our players who would get in a best 11 combined currently. Baleba, Joao Pedro and Verbruggen probably it for now.

I think there's probably a bit of recency bias there, although I've not looked at his stats, and acknowledge that much of his top-flight career has been spent with struggling teams where service to him may not have been great.

It's a decision between jam today or jam (hopefully) tomorrow, isn't it?

Chris Wood may get you more goals today - although we have no idea what Ferguson could do if he played week in week out, but he has a limited career left, and near-zero resale value.

Ferguson on the other hand could develop into anything, although anything could be lower-league journeyman, and have a stratospheric value.

 

[Krafty]

I don't think so and nor do they have a better squad than Manchester City, Tottenham, etc. and they are above them too. It seems the squad has started to gel with Nuno in charge and the momentum is in full swing. You don't see many fairytale stories like Forest's. Good on them!

 

[oldboyroy]

Forest are better than us currently hence their position in the table. They play to their strengths and know how to get results. They have a system and a manager who knows how to implement it.

 

[chaileyjem]

Is squad only measured by points earned then ?

Over a full season yes it is. I know we win the “selling an unknown player for a shitload of money” competition but either that money is getting trousered and the fans don’t see it (and yes, I know we didn’t get hit by the losses either) or it gets reinvested so that you can, er, win games and get points.

Presumably points can also be affected by the coach , or injuries, or just luck. Eg: So Was the Palace squad better than Albion’s last season - in January ? When they were fighting relegation ? Or in May when they finished a point ahead of us ?

 

[Invicta]

Does look that way, no fluke where they are after half a season.

 

[OvingdeanSeagull]

Our squad is MUCH better on paper. That doesn't always translate to results though.

Spurs finished above Chelsea last year. Since then, they improved their first team squad by getting Solanke and Gray in, without losing anyone really of note. Chelsea brought in Neto, got Joao Felix back but lost Conor Gallagher. With this in mind I would argue that Spurs are the ones who improved their squad more over the summer, but look at the difference between the two clubs now.

Before the season, Forest were considered relegation candidates by most. They're doing incredibly well, but it's ridiculous to say they have a better squad of players than us, IMO.

 

[chaileyjem]

Forest are miles better than us currently hence their position in the table.

But that’s not the question. Yes. They have more points. But how much of it is down to the coach ? Or timing ? (He’s had longer to work with them). ? Or is their bench better ? (How do you measure that ? )

 

[Jackthelad]

I don’t think they will keep this up. They’re organised and hard working but let’s have a look later in the season where they are.

 

[POSKETT AT THE VALLEY]

I wouldn’t say so. But as a team they seem to have an endeavour and purpose about them. Fair play to them and their manager.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Presumably points can also be affected by the coach , or injuries, or just luck. Eg: So Was the Palace squad better than Albion’s last season - in January ? When they were fighting relegation ? Or in May when they finished a point ahead of us ?

To an extent but you can’t make up for a poor squad with a good coach. Look at McKenna and Ipswich.

We played European football last season so our points per game were way better than Palace.

 

[Dave the OAP]

Of course they do.

i think we do flatter ourselves at times, thinking we are a lot better than we are.

after the last weeks results ( and todays) it looks like the bottom 5 are the doomed ones picking 3 of the 5. Mid table mediocrity looked achievable for us, but I wouldn’t bet against palace jumping us again,

 

[WATFORD zero]

No, but they are on a great run of form, which means confidence is sky high, which is the best thing to maintain a great run of form.

And, before you ask, I don't know, (and I'm in great company), but keep doing what we did against Brentford will be a start

 

[chaileyjem]

To an extent but you can’t make up for a poor squad with a good coach. Look at McKenna and Ipswich.

We played European football last season so our points per game were way better than Palace.

So it’s not just about points then. Do Forest have a better squad than City ?

 

[Flounce]

I don’t actually care about Forest and their squad and manager, but having punched above our weight for a few seasons we are now looking bang average, lacking in confidence and I really am struggling to where the next win is coming from. It will not surprise me in the least if it’s tomorrow but I’ve seen nothing recently to suggest it will be.

How can I be so downbeat when we are 10th in the table? Probably because FH does not inspire me at all

I am not suggesting he needs replacing btw

 

[Machiavelli]

Defensively they are far superior. A manger who plays everyone in their BEST positions. SAME 11 most games not a project manager. We do like a project manager.
We spend £40m on a player who is now on the bench and isn’t sure where to be when he does play we have many problems with this rookie coach.

Just following on from a few posts that have listed our injuries this season, you post this which outdoes your usual output. I do agree that their defence is better though, but part of this is because it's settled, as is the case with the rest of their positions.