Latest news with #ChrisWood
BBC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
How to remember 2024-25
That Nottingham Forest and their supporters were disappointed at missing out on a place in the Champions League speaks volumes about the strides the club has taken over the past 12 months. The final whistle at the weekend brought with it a strange mix of feelings. While celebrating European football returning to the City Ground for the first time in a generation and acknowledging the efforts of a small, ultimately too-thin squad in taking the behemoths of English football all the way in the race to finish in the top five, it did feel a little one equaliser away from the Europa League undoubtedly hurts, as does not claiming an extra couple of points somewhere along the way that would have meant Champions League this season will be remembered as the best in 30 years, with some huge landmarks along the way such as being the first Premier League team ever to double their points tally year-on-year and the first Forest team ever to win at Anfield and Old Trafford in the same season. Beating Liverpool was also their first win at Anfield in 55 was the huge win over Brighton, a golden glove for the excellent Matz Sels, a monumental first season in English football for player of the season Nikola Milenkovic, some remarkable goalline clearances (Murillo and Harry Toffolo spring to mind!), 20 goals for Chris Wood, a first FA Cup semi-final since 1991, and for the travelling fans, 10 away wins. For context, across their previous three seasons in the top flight, they had won a Forest fan? Find and follow your club hereAll this for a team and a club widely tipped to be relegated by a number of high-profile pundits ahead of the season. Even the most optimistic Forest fan might have struggled to see a top-half finish, and now they have a European campaign to prepare interesting summer lies ahead because the current squad struggled with a whole season of Premier League football. Ultimately, it was half a dozen games too thin as fatigue and injuries kicked in. As they try to develop further for next season, depth would have been needed - even without Thursday nights across Europe to consider!Listen to full commentary on every Nottingham Forest game, and In The Game every weeknight from 18:00, on BBC Radio subscribe to the Shut Up And Show More Football podcast on BBC Sounds.
New York Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Nottingham Forest's player of the season: Nikola Milenkovic
There was a moment early in the season at Stamford Bridge when — amid all the ceremony and pomp that comes before a modern Premier League game — Nikola Milenkovic stood perfectly still. With the two teams lined up and waiting to exchange handshakes, many players shuffled from foot to foot or fidgeted nervously. The big Serbian, however, stared straight ahead of him, his face a mask of pure focus. Stoic. Calm. Ready. Advertisement It is a moment that still stands out. This was precisely the attitude and demeanour that has helped him to flourish at Nottingham Forest. Milenkovic grew up playing football on the streets of Serbia, at a time when the Balkan War of the 1990s was not too distant a memory. He still has the Manchester United shirt he wore on many of those days, which carries the name of his idol, Nemanja Vidic. It is easy, but also entirely justified, to make comparisons between the two men. Like Vidic at Old Trafford — where he made 300 appearances between 2006 and 2014 — Milenkovic has already established himself as a transformative figure in a red shirt. His presence has made the entire Forest defence even stronger and more disciplined. Goalkeeper Matz Sels, who shared the Golden Glove award with Arsenal's David Raya, after keeping 13 clean sheets, and the other three members of that back four, Murillo, Ola Aina and Neco Williams, were all among the other credible contenders for the player of the season award at Forest. The 20-goal striker Chris Wood, winger Anthony Elanga, and creative heartbeats Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson could also have been spoken about as being in contention. But nobody else has quite had the same impact on the side as Milenkovic. 'Nikola has done great,' said Nuno Espirito Santo in his press conference after the final day defeat to Chelsea. 'Credit to him. Since he arrived, he has made a big impact on the team, not only on the games, but with his presence and leadership. But for me, it is not a player of the season, it should be the team of the season.' Like Vidic, Milenkovic is a powerful, no-nonsense defender. He is also the captain of his national side. Ryan Yates, the Forest club captain, has described him as being a 'warrior and a leader — exactly what you would expect', in a previous interview with The Athletic. Advertisement Murillo had already made a positive impact last season. But the arrival of Milenkovic, 27, seems to have helped the Brazilian to take another step forward. The duo have quickly forged one of the most formidable partnerships in the Premier League. Milenkovic cost around £11million ($14.9m) when he joined from Fiorentina last summer, and they each represent some of the best business Forest have done in the modern era. Milenkovic has scored five goals this season, four of which came in victories — away at Old Trafford, Portman Road and the London Stadium, and at the City Ground against Aston Villa. But it has been at the back where he has made the biggest difference. Last season, Forest conceded 22 goals from set-piece situations. This time, with Milenkovic in their ranks, they have conceded nine — only five teams have conceded fewer goals from corners and free kicks. At the other end, Forest have scored 17 times from set pieces, which is the most in the top flight this season. That is not down to Milenkovic alone, but his 6ft 5in frame has unquestionably been a factor, with the former Partizan player having also provided two assists. Milenkovic has won 71.63 per cent of his aerial duels this season — 101 of the 141 he has contested. Among Premier League first-team regulars, James Tarkowski of Everton has the best percentage, at 74.64. Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk has a percentage of 72.12. As Nuno pointed out, the player of the season award could reasonably have been renamed the 'team of the season award' during a campaign in which Forest followed up back-to-back fights against relegation by pushing for Champions League qualification. But it is the Conference League that they will compete in from next August — a competition that Milenkovic knows well, having twice reached the final with Fiorentina (2023 and 2024). Advertisement The Italian side were beaten by Olympiacos in Athens last May, but Milenkovic produced a performance that helped to persuade Evangelos Marinakis, the figurehead at both Olympiacos and Forest, that he was a player worth signing. A year later, it feels like an astute investment.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The story of the 2024-25 Premier League season in 100 photos
Liverpool started the season with a comfortable 2-0 win over Ipswich, while Erling Haaland scored back-to-back hat-tricks against the Tractor Boys and West Ham to leave City top of the pile at the end of August. Elsewhere, Everton remarkably coughed up a two-goal lead at home to Bournemouth – conceding three times from the 87th minute – becoming the first team in Premier league history to taste defeat from such a commanding position. The surprise result of September was Liverpool's 1-0 reverse at home to Nottingham Forest which ended Arne Slot's serene start to his debut season. Earlier in the month, the Reds had swatted aside Manchester United as Casemiro endured a torrid afternoon. Arsenal won the first north London derby courtesy of Gabriel's second-half header. And Manchester City's season was rocked when Rodri suffered a ruptured ACL during a 2-2 draw with the Gunners. Elsewhere, Everton did it again, losing 3-2 to Aston Villa after being two goals ahead. Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was finally put out of his misery by being sacked after a 2-1 defeat at West Ham. Nottingham Forest rose to fifth in the table as Chris Wood inspired them to a 3-1 away victory over Leicester. And free-scoring Brentford beat Wolves 5-3 and Ipswich 4-3, prolonging the pair's winless starts to the campaign. Manchester City's 32-game unbeaten league run came to an end at Bournemouth – and then the wheels well and truly fell off for Pep Guardiola's ageing charges with successive defeats by Brighton and Tottenham. For Spurs, the 4-0 thrashing at the Etihad was the high-watermark of an otherwise forgettable season. Off the pitch, referee David Coote was sacked after footage emerged of him taking drugs and criticising Liverpool's former manager Jürgen Klopp, while Ruben Amorim took the helm at Manchester United. Liverpool beat Manchester City 2-0 to go 11 points clear of Pep Guardiola's side and nine clear of stumbling Arsenal. They then put six past injury-ravaged Tottenham. Under Ruben Amorim, Manchester United won the first derby of the season thanks to late goals from Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo, but they then suffered three straight home defeats for the first time in 45 years. Chelsea's title hopes faded with back-to-back defeats against Fulham and Ipswich, while Nottingham Forest ended the year in second place. David Moyes returned to Everton after 12 years and quickly set about dragging them away from the relegation scrap. Meanwhile, Tottenham ended the month with four straight league defeats, the last of them against Leicester, who duly leapt out of the bottom three. The shock result of the month came at Anfield where Manchester United thwarted Liverpool thanks to Amad Diallo's late equaliser, as Ruben Amorim's charges delivered an uncharacteristically effective performance. Later that month United mourned one of their legends, Denis Law. Chris Wood bagged a hat-trick as Nottingham Forest thumped Brighton 7-0, but defeat by Fulham and coming off at the wrong end of a 4-3 scoreline at Newcastle left the top-four race wide open. Meanwhile the last men's Merseyside derby a Goodison Park ended with fisticuffs and red cards after Everton's James Tarkowski walloped an equaliser in the 98th minute. Defeat for Arsenal at home to West Ham signalled the slow death of the Gunners' title charge, though the month also brought a crowd-pleasing 5-1 thrashing of Manchester City. At the bottom of the table, Southampton recorded their first Premier League win since November as they beat fellow strugglers Ipswich at Portman Road. Liverpool had to come from behind to beat Southampton in their only league game of the month, while Arsenal slipped further off the pace with a 1-1 draw at Manchester United. Nottingham Forest beat Manchester City – handing Pep Guardiola's men their ninth loss of the season, more than they had lost in the previous two seasons combined. And Michail Antonio made an emotional return to the London Stadium after admiting he almost died in a car crash in December. The Reds wrapped up their second Premier League title in front of their own fans with a thumping 5-1 win over Tottenham on a balmy day at Anfield. Earlier in the month, Trent Alexander-Arnold scored his last goal for his boyhood club, thrashing in a late strike against Leicester. Wolves made it a remarkable six wins on the spin, as their uptick in form condemned Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton to the drop. Everton fans bade an emotional Premier League farewell to Goodison Park (although news emerged that the ground will now be used for women's games), Tottenham and Manchester United sank to extraordinary league lows before duking it out in the Europa League final, Southampton swerved the unwanted record of becoming the joint worst side in Premier League history as they picked up just their 12th point of the campaign at home to Manchester City, and the final day of the season saw Aston Villa potentially miss out on a Champions League spot after having a goal controversially disallowed at Old Trafford.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The story of the 2024-25 Premier League season in 100 photos
August Liverpool started the season with a comfortable 2-0 win over Ipswich, while Erling Haaland scored back-to-back hat-tricks against the Tractor Boys and West Ham to leave City top of the pile at the end of August. Elsewhere, Everton remarkably coughed up a two-goal lead at home to Bournemouth – conceding three times from the 87th minute – becoming the first team in Premier league history to taste defeat from such a commanding position. September The surprise result of September was Liverpool's 1-0 reverse at home to Nottingham Forest which ended Arne Slot's serene start to his debut season. Earlier in the month, the Reds had swatted aside Manchester United as Casemiro endured a torrid afternoon. Arsenal won the first north London derby courtesy of Gabriel's second-half header. And Manchester City's season was rocked when Rodri suffered a ruptured ACL during a 2-2 draw with the Gunners. Elsewhere, Everton did it again, losing 3-2 to Aston Villa after being two goals ahead. October Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was finally put out of his misery by being sacked after a 2-1 defeat at West Ham. Nottingham Forest rose to fifth in the table as Chris Wood inspired them to a 3-1 away victory over Leicester. And free-scoring Brentford beat Wolves 5-3 and Ipswich 4-3, prolonging the pair's winless starts to the campaign. November Manchester City's 32-game unbeaten league run came to an end at Bournemouth – and then the wheels well and truly fell off for Pep Guardiola's ageing charges with successive defeats by Brighton and Tottenham. For Spurs, the 4-0 thrashing at the Etihad was the high-watermark of an otherwise forgettable season. Off the pitch, referee David Coote was sacked after footage emerged of him taking drugs and criticising Liverpool's former manager Jürgen Klopp, while Ruben Amorim took the helm at Manchester United. December Liverpool beat Manchester City 2-0 to go 11 points clear of Pep Guardiola's side and nine clear of stumbling Arsenal. They then put six past injury-ravaged Tottenham. Under Ruben Amorim, Manchester United won the first derby of the season thanks to late goals from Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo, but they then suffered three straight home defeats for the first time in 45 years. Chelsea's title hopes faded with back-to-back defeats against Fulham and Ipswich, while Nottingham Forest ended the year in second place. January David Moyes returned to Everton after 12 years and quickly set about dragging them away from the relegation scrap. Meanwhile, Tottenham ended the month with four straight league defeats, the last of them against Leicester, who duly leapt out of the bottom three. The shock result of the month came at Anfield where Manchester United thwarted Liverpool thanks to Amad Diallo's late equaliser, as Ruben Amorim's charges delivered an uncharacteristically effective performance. Later that month United mourned one of their legends, Denis Law. February Chris Wood bagged a hat-trick as Nottingham Forest thumped Brighton 7-0, but defeat by Fulham and coming off at the wrong end of a 4-3 scoreline at Newcastle left the top-four race wide open. Meanwhile the last men's Merseyside derby a Goodison Park ended with fisticuffs and red cards after Everton's James Tarkowski walloped an equaliser in the 98th minute. Defeat for Arsenal at home to West Ham signalled the slow death of the Gunners' title charge, though the month also brought a crowd-pleasing 5-1 thrashing of Manchester City. At the bottom of the table, Southampton recorded their first Premier League win since November as they beat fellow strugglers Ipswich at Portman Road. March Liverpool had to come from behind to beat Southampton in their only league game of the month, while Arsenal slipped further off the pace with a 1-1 draw at Manchester United. Nottingham Forest beat Manchester City – handing Pep Guardiola's men their ninth loss of the season, more than they had lost in the previous two seasons combined. And Michail Antonio made an emotional return to the London Stadium after admiting he almost died in a car crash in December. April The Reds wrapped up their second Premier League title in front of their own fans with a thumping 5-1 win over Tottenham on a balmy day at Anfield. Earlier in the month, Trent Alexander-Arnold scored his last goal for his boyhood club, thrashing in a late strike against Leicester. Wolves made it a remarkable six wins on the spin, as their uptick in form condemned Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton to the drop. May Everton fans bade an emotional Premier League farewell to Goodison Park (although news emerged that the ground will now be used for women's games), Tottenham and Manchester United sank to extraordinary league lows before duking it out in the Europa League final, Southampton swerved the unwanted record of becoming the joint worst side in Premier League history as they picked up just their 12th point of the campaign at home to Manchester City, and the final day of the season saw Aston Villa potentially miss out on a Champions League spot after having a goal controversially disallowed at Old Trafford.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'Expect more big moves in readiness for Europe'
Here's my quick assessment of Nottingham Forest's Premier League season - and a return to my August prediction: 16thEnded the season: 7thThe fact there was even the mere talk of disappointment at missing out on the Champions League illustrates what a superb season Nottingham Forest have had under Nuno Espirito a strong position was wasted, but if you had offered any Forest fan solid safety at the start of the season, let alone European football, they would have signed up Chris Wood had the season of his life, while the coveted Morgan Gibbs-White was outstanding. Goalkeeper Matz Sels was top class, and defensive duo Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic provided the Evangelos Marinakis never hides his ambition, so expect more big moves in readiness for I said in August: "If Forest keep this squad together (and they are always looking to add), then I see them staying up."Read my assessments of the other 19 teams here
