Latest news with #CityGround
BBC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
🎧 A season to remember
The latest episode of BBC Radio Nottingham's Shut Up And Show More Football podcast has team reflect on an amazing season at the City Ground where Forest have secured European football for the first time in 30 to the full episode on BBC Sounds
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Champions League return could be transformative for Chelsea and Enzo Maresca
By midway through the second-half here at the City Ground, it would have taken not just one act of god to deny Chelsea a Champions League return, but several. They led, through Levi Colwill's close-range goal, against a Nottingham Forest side who were among a clutch of top-five rivals, while Aston Villa and Newcastle, two of the others, trailed in their own final games. Still, off came the entire Chelsea front-three, each replaced by a more defensive team-mate with designs on seeing the game out. Into stoppage time, Enzo Maresca refused to cease his touchline barking, even with final whistles blown elsewhere. The Italian was taking no chances and nothing for granted - and really, you could understand why. A return to the Champions League at this early stage of his Chelsea tenure ought to have transformative consequences, not only for a manager who has not exactly been the darling of Blues supporters during his debut season, but perhaps also for a project and leadership that, in three years in charge, has often been anything but. Are Chelsea back? That has been the season's volatile contention and in truth they are not there just yet. But for the first time in a good few years, there is concrete proof of travel in the right direction. This was supposed to be the game that did the heavy-lifting on a dull Premier League final day, but in truth it lacked much drama, impacted by surprising scorelines elsewhere and a Chelsea performance that kept Forest at arm's length once Colwill had struck on 50 minutes. The City Ground was revved up but their team out of gas, summed up by Chris Wood missing glaring chances in both halves, the kind he was gobbling up a few months ago. Sure, there is not much romance in Chelsea snapping up this spot at the expense of one of the year's surprise success stories. Indeed, for a season in which the status quo was for so long shaken up - one that at various points had not only Forest but Bournemouth, Fulham and Brighton dreaming of Champions League football - the end result feels a little plain. The top four teams in England comprise the traditional Big Six, minus the two of their number that produced historically poor campaigns - and one of those will still be in the Champions League anyway. By virtue of the Premier League's power, state-owned Newcastle will be there, too, despite losing at home to Everton on the final day. But none of that is Chelsea's fault and this squad, however expensively assembled, is still the youngest in the Premier League. Maresca conceded on the eve of this match that his players were under greater pressure than Forest's and that for some this would be the biggest match of their lives. This is not the Chelsea of old, blessed with a serial-winning spine of Terry, Lampard and Drogba, and this particular iteration is, however repetitive Maresca's refrain has become, ahead of schedule, at least compared to where most of us expected them to be when this season began. They had won just once in 10 away league matches before coming here, and that in the closest of the lot to home, at Fulham last month. In a red-hot atmosphere, could you really trust them to get the job done? But get it done they did, just as they had against Manchester United last Friday night when not playing well, and just as they had against a hungover Liverpool and stubborn Everton before that. Since Christmas, it has seldom been spectacular, but when their season's ambition slipped from a premature title challenge into a top-five race around the turn of the year, they were resilient enough to make sure the slide halted there. For the home side, this was an odd blend of an occasion. On one hand, it was a celebration of the prize already won, a banner at one end reading 'Destination: Europe', as if the precise resort mattered not for a club that had been to the third tier and back since last playing any continental football at all. And yet clearly, there was something more on the line, a shot at returning to the Europe's top competition for the first time since 1980, when they had qualified for it as defending champions. For Chelsea, by contrast, only the Champions League would really do, not least because Wednesday night's Conference League final against Real Betis would offer an emergency route into the Europa League anyway, if required. That final in Wroclaw now could be a crowning glory of sorts, the chance to put a first major trophy - however novel - on Maresca's CV and ensure this is back to being the only English club to have 'won it all'. Oddly, it might just be easier for Chelsea to embrace Europe's third-tier trophy without irony now, knowing they will be back where, really, they ought to be next term.
News.com.au
7 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Enzo Maresca has message for critics after Chelsea secure Champions League spot
Enzo Maresca told Chelsea's critics to 'F off' after his side secured Champions League qualification with a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest. Levi Colwill's goal early in the second half decided what was effectively a Premier League top-five shoot-out at the City Ground, meaning the Blues will be back in the top tier of European football again after two seasons away.
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Nottingham Forest's season is a success story, not a failure... the Premier League table puts a big smile on my face, writes club legend GARRY BIRTLES
Nottingham Forest is a success story. A massive one, make no mistake. Finishing seventh in the Premier League is not a failure in the slightest. I look at that table and it puts a big smile on my face. For goodness sake, we are back in Europe! If you had offered us this at the start of the season – the beautiful prospect of European evenings returning to the City Ground when so many thought we could be relegation candidates – I and everyone else who loves this great club would have snapped your hands off in an instant. I'm born and bred Nottingham. It's in my blood. I was in the team that got to two European Cup finals in 1979 and 1980. And I can't wait to see us back in Europe, even if that is the Conference League. Sure, there can be disappointment at the home form of late, losing three of the last four and drawing with Leicester. That's what ultimately cost us making it into the Champions League – not only this one defeat by Chelsea. Enzo Maresca 's side deserve credit for what they did. They are such a young side but they defended well, hardly allowed an attempt on their goal, and executed their game plan perfectly to finish fourth once all was said and done. Forest just didn't have enough to break them down. But overall, what a season it has been. You will do well finding somewhere that beats the City Ground for atmosphere. It's up there with the best in the country, and I for one cannot wait to take in those European evenings next season.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
The awkward logic behind Nottingham Forest's next major decision
After Chelsea did what truly mattered on the final day of the Premier League season, winning and securing a place in next season's Champions League. Now, Nottingham Forest are left to wonder about it all, settling for the Conference League to leave a mood of plaintive appreciation at the City Ground. There were a few shots of their scowling owner, Evangelos Marinakis. The Greek businessman didn't come onto the pitch in the manner he has made so notorious of late, but Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly did. The American hedge-fund manager ostentatiously celebrated Champions League qualification with the squad, the club returning to the competition for the first time in three years. 'Very proud,' Enzo Maresca said. 'We brought this club where this club has to be, the most important competition.' The Italian also indulged in a bit of a victory lap, even saying 'eff off to all" of the team's critics. He stopped himself from actually swearing when he remembered he had his young daughter sat in front of him for the press conference. They have qualified for Europe for the first time since 1995-96, but that is only after a campaign where they spent a long period in the top three, and looked like getting back into the Champions League for the first time since they were European champions in 1980-81. Nuno did make sure to add that they should also be 'proud'. They have significantly overperformed, even if it ended up underwhelming. A little like some of the manager's football and the season as a whole, there were no fireworks on this final day. It says much that five clubs were going for the last three Champions League places, and only two of them won. One was Chelsea, who properly dug in after Levi Colwill's 49th-minute strike. Maresca actually lamented how so much of modern football discussion is results-based, but this was all about just getting over the line. You could see it in their football on the day, and the focus. Maresca said the only time he was informed of results elsewhere was when Manchester United went 2-0 up against Aston Villa late on, which all but secured Chelsea's place in the Champions League. In truth, they'd looked comfortable for most of the day. Part of that was how they were playing, and a fairly compact performance. Pedro Neto was excellent for the goal to tee up Colwill. Marc Cucurella was solid as ever. Enzo Fernandez continues to evolve into a real leader. In Maresca's press conference, where he came across at his most charismatic all season, the manager was quick to point out that Chelsea managed all of this with the Premier League's youngest-ever squad. It was actually confirmed before the game that the average age of Chelsea's starting XI in the Premier League this season (24 years and 36 days) is the youngest-ever by a team in a single campaign in the competition. Two things can both be true: Maresca's line about 'where this club has to be' was correct in a few senses. Chelsea are so wealthy that they should still be a club that reach the Champions League, especially when we have the absurdity of allowing five in. In the same way that they won on the day, however, Chelsea also finished in the top four. Maresca's grand riposte still might have been a touch far: 'The doubt was from outside. All the ones that have the answers or the ones that have the truth, they were saying that we are too young, we are not good enough, they were waiting for Aston Villa to drop points for us to achieve the Champions League. They were saying that we were not able to win on this pitch because we are too young, because we are not experienced. Unfortunately for them, they have all been wrong. All the ones that have the truth and have the answer to everything. So in English, how you say? Eff-off to all of them, because the players deserve that.' The season will look even better if they win the Conference League on Wednesday, but there is another financial footnote there. A fair argument exists that clubs from the big five leagues shouldn't even be in the competition, and Chelsea also have an immense financial advantage over most of those - like their final opponents Real Betis. It is about a par performance for the season given financial power, even if it obviously won't feel like that for the fans - or Maresca or Boehly. This isn't to be churlish but it is the framing of modern football that ownerships like this have ensured. Chelsea's own PSR considerations have been significantly eased. There was then the other part of the day. Forest just never looked like scoring. The pre-game table ensured they had to be the team to take the initiative here and they just couldn't really do it. Even when Chris Wood was given a 94th-minute chance just yards out, you couldn't quite see it. You could see why Forest's season has gone as it has, mind, almost split into parts. When they were on that streak in the first few months, such a chance would have been seized. It was the same with another Wood opportunity in the opening minutes. His streak is over, though, and so is Forest's. A European run is possible, which shouldn't be forgotten. Chelsea may have done too much in modern times for the Conference League but Forest can value it. They can also have a real go at winning it. As to whether Nuno is the man for that, that is where there is now a bigger discussion, that he was directly asked about after the game. The Portuguese clearly did well for the moment. He has overachieved. That doesn't mean the moment hasn't passed, though. The underlying numbers show Forest should have finished 14th. People might scoff at that and point to the table, but these figures are usually borne out over a longer period of time. That is probably what we have seen with Forest's slide from - a brief - second to seventh. Nuno spoke afterwards as if he was expecting a difficult conversation, and even spoke of a 'bad day' like this. You wouldn't have quite guessed that from the supporters' hearty applause afterwards, but you would from Marinakis' facial expression in the final minutes. And here's an awkward little thought experiment. If Marinakis were to change manager, it would likely be presented as harsh, and typical of his type of owner. But would there not be a logic? Could it not be akin to Bournemouth going for Andoni Iraola or similar. Nuno's football was revelatory for one moment, in terms of how it was an approach that many clubs had forgotten how to solve. It looks like it has since been rumbled. He and some Forest fans would of course say the manager now deserves his chance. Whatever happens, Chelsea deserve their Champions League place. They, unlike most rivals, did what was required.
