If there’s one thing we learned on Friday night, it’s that five at the back might not be the best way to attack things going forward.
That and that Rafa Mir probably isn’t the solution to who is the best backup for Lewis Grabban. Although I do feel somewhat dory for Mir, if Lamouchi had just waited a minute more then it could have been him that tapped in from close range rather than Grabban and the whole debate surrounding the Portuguese forward would have been slightly different.
In the build-up to the game, Forest boss Sabri Lamouchi spoke about the plans that he had for dealing with the busy Christmas rush, and how he would be changing things up every now and then in order to get the best results out of the players at his disposal, saying that “I will put the best line-up for each game.”
Thing is, I probably would have written this even if we’d have won the game, because the way the game played out, it’s clear to see that Nottingham Forest have a strength when it comes to playing, and five at the back is not it.
When Joe Lolley came on, it required a change in formation back to the 4-2-3-1 that Forest have become accustomed to this season, and with that Forest were able to dominate the game, and would have won it if not for a mistake by Brice Samba right at the end. It might only be less than 45 minutes worth of evidence, but it’s still enough to show you what works, and more importantly, what doesn’t.
Forest have got where they are this season because that formation has worked so well for them, and you don’t need to fix what isn’t broken.
Was Lamouchi right to switch formation against Millwall?
Yes
No
Whilst Lamouchi may talk about playing a certain way for each opposition, the Millwall game showed that the only changes that need to be made are to the personnel, rather than the formation.
