1 year ago
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I have my peppermint tea and the players are on the pitch. This is going to be MASSIVE.
Sky have just shown some footage of the last time Everton played at City Ground in 1998. The quality of the video makes me think I might have cataracts.
Sean Dyche on Everton’s poor away form: “The biggest thing is shaking that off, building a new mentality. We have to be consistent throughout 90 minutes.”
Do not worry, Mary Waltz has plenty of angst for us: “Good morning from pitch dark California. Angst? Any left? Of course! I have no way to know if it is true but when the alarm went off this morning it must be similar to someone on death row waiting for a call from the governor knowing it isn’t going to happen. Why get up? To see it through of course. Carry on.”
I spent yesterday at Wolves v Spurs. There was limited angst but plenty of disappointment in how Spurs played. I also did their match at Sheffield United on Wednesday. A bad week all round for them. It did mean Wolves pulled further away from the relegation zone, which is bad news for Forest and Everton.
“I spent the day yesterday in anxiety and dread, in anticipation of Everton’s latest relegation showdown,” says Eric Peterson. “Then, I went to see Spongebob: The Musical last night, and everything changed. Spongebob is right: today is the Best Day Ever! And, tomorrow will be too! And, the next day! And, the day Everton is relegated, and the day it’s found guilty of Financial Fair Play violations, and when it free-falls into League Two, and is forced to fold, and sells the new Bramley-Moore stadium at wholesale to Tranmere Rovers in time for their push for promotion out of the Championship! (Or, maybe Everton will clinch Premier League survival one day in May after all. But, that will be the Best Day Ever!)“
Surely Spongebob has enough money to buy Everton. That would cheer everyone up.
Joe Pearson feels the world needs to listen to this song: “Never one to let a musical cue go unfulfilled.”
“The Everton MBMers were so full of angst during yesterday’s MBM that I wonder whether they will have any left for today?” asks Richard Hirst.
There is no shortage of angst for football fans.
There is some good news for Forest in the shape of Ryan Yates’ return to the matchday squad. He has missed the past five games through illness. It took a bit of time to get to the bottom of the issue, so it is good to see him back.
Forest have gone from their summer plan of being a young, relentless one to being packed full of experience. The important thing for Forest is to stay up and that will be the proof of whether the chance in strategy has worked.
A big loss for the Toffees.
In order to solve Everton’s striking problems, Sean Dyche has decided to go without a recognised striker. I’ve guessed they will play with a 4-3-3, utilising Iwobi in an attacking role of some sort but I am almost certainly wrong.
Starting lineups
Forest (4-3-1-2): Navas; Aurier, Worrall, Felipe, Lodi; Shelvey, Clock, Freuler; Gibbs-White; Johnson, Wood
Subs: Hennessey, Mangala, Williams, Lingard, Toffolo, Surridge, Yates, Dennis, Ayew
Everton 4-3-3): Pickford; Coleman, Keane, Tarkowski, Godfrey; Gueye, Onana, Doucoure; McNeil, Iwobi, Gray
Subs: Begovic, Holgate, Coady, Maupay, Mina, Garner, Davies, Vinagre, Simms
Preamble
Sean Dyche returns to where it all began. The former defender came through the ranks at the City Ground under the watchful eye of Brian Clough. Admittedly, he did not actually play a game for Nottingham Forest’s first team but he has such fond memories of the club he owns a flat overlooking the ground (or so I am told).
There is, unfortunately, no room for sentimentality in the Premier League, especially when survival is at stake. Dyche’s Everton find themselves in the relegation zone and Southampton’s win yesterday will do nothing to cheer them up. A victory today would take the Toffees into the black and up to 16th place, a point behind opponents Forest.
Steve Cooper has made the City Ground a bit of a fortress for Forest, an important trait when aiming to maintain Premier League status. They have not lost at home since September and picked up a valuable point against Manchester City in their most recent match next to the Trent. Last weekend, however, they were shellacked by West Ham 4-0 and will be desperate to bounce back because in such a tight race for the drop, any team that puts together a run of defeats will be in serious trouble.
Here’s a fun game!
Kick-off: 2pm GMT
English (US)