Nottingham Forest take on Derby County in the first East Midlands derby of the season at Pride Park tomorrow and the feelings are already, just four matches deep into the 2021/22 campaign, that this particular red verses white encounter will not be ‘just’ another game.

‘Let’s all laugh at Derby’ they sang during a pre-season of non-takeover-turmoil for the Rams but sleeping beauty Wayne Rooney has fared better than the two rivals managers thus far having put those summer antics behind them and scraping to five season points with two draws, a win at Hull and one late late defeat against Peterborough from their four games played.

Forest have slumped, a start as bad as last season and four losses from four sitting bottom of the table with a huge fat zero, hugely mounting pressure on Chris Hughton who is hardly winning over the return of fans with his style of football. A defeat against those from across the A52 will surely see Hughton out through the exit door and away from Trentside for good?

The frustrating part of Forest this summer, having rid a whopping wage bill full of averageness released and chucked out the door, is that the club have not replaced, leaving themselves well light in areas, often asking boys to do men’s jobs.

Last season Jordan Gabriel was struggling to get in Blackpool’s first team, now he starts in Forest’s… Last season Finn Back was playing Academy football… now he starts with Forest, with key injuries to centre halves it seems letting the likes of Michael Dawson and Tyler Blackett go could backfire, in not signing any full-backs (other than an injury prone young loanee from Arsenal) it could leave Forest short, Ribeiro and Christie are much better than we now have, last season defensively solid, this season frail, fragile, an Achilles heel… Although that could also be said about the forward line, who in fairness, just as young in Alex Mighten and Brennan Johnson, who currently don’t look to be cutting it, not down to their own skill and technique, but down to the lack of support they are given by those around them (or not which is more to be the case).

Depressing is that the ‘experienced’ players are not ‘doing their bit’ either. Grabban looks like a lost cause, Taylor a hopeless isolated figure, Yates runs around a lot, but doesn’t get much help from Colback who’s identity has been vanished since his return from his initial loan spell. Figueiredo, McKenna, Samba, all struggling for form, it looks a hopeless cause with little optimism, will James Garner really make such difference? At least Zinckernagel has done ‘okay’.

A scrappy 1-0… Even a point at Derby would be progress, not all Forest fans want ‘champagne football’ but a single point on the board would be nice to start our season and end our rut. To not lose against our bitterest of rivals who in depth have a squad that is probably worse than ours would be something to cheer about at least, our fans deserve ‘something’ don’t they?

Many would take defeat, Chris Hughton to leave and Forest to build again with something new but that never seems to work if previous years are to go by either, what Forest really need is some ‘quality’ additions and some ‘identity’ back. Right back, Left back, Centre half, Centre mid, up front, out wide, a player in each position would surely make the Manager’s job much easier. Perhaps then he might play with some ‘attacking intent’? At least at home when the likes of Blackpool and Millwall come to town??

Credit to Hughton for what he did last year, credit to how he comes across, he’s been dealt a crap hand, and he’s played his hand in the way he thinks he can get something, anything, to work, but statistics don’t lie, and he’s now up there with the worst. Not quite reaching Megson standards yet.

Whether the Reds money is tied up which has led to the lack of permanent signings, whether this season is needed to ‘balance the books’ or whether the club just feel that ‘youth’ is the answer? Hughton has been asked to do a job which started off the failure of gambling everything for the love of Lamouchi, which is now at a point where getting eleven experienced players on the pitch seems impossible…

For tomorrow afternoon at 3pm, if Hughton loses he’ll be out the exit door and it’ll be all his own fault, that fault probably for taking on the job in the first place.

Should he win, the reality is, the celebrations will again be cut short sometime soon, if the ‘club’ don’t act quickly and ‘acquire’ some better footballers.

*Article provided by Daniel Peacock (Editor).

*Main image @ForestTill1Die the day Nathan Tyson annoyed the Derby fans and players with his antics.