3 things Steve Cooper will have learnt about his Nottingham Forest side after 1-1 draw with Millwall | OneFootball

Icon: Football League World

Football League World

·26 September 2021

3 things Steve Cooper will have learnt about his Nottingham Forest side after 1-1 draw with Millwall

Article image:3 things Steve Cooper will have learnt about his Nottingham Forest side after 1-1 draw with Millwall

Steve Cooper got off to a decent start as Nottingham Forest boss, with the team coming from behind to draw 1-1 with Millwall at the City Ground yesterday.

Whilst there was an element of fortune for Max Lowe’s equaliser, which was intended to be a cross, the Reds will feel they deserved a point in what was a hard-fought contest.


OneFootball Videos


Cooper only had a few days working with his squad ahead of this game, and he will obviously need more time on the training ground to get his ideas across to his players.

Nevertheless, he will have seen the game as a good chance to assess what he has inherited, and here we look at THREE things the new boss will have learnt…

24 questions about some of Nottingham Forest’s best ever forwards – Can get 100% correct?

1 of 24

Robert Earnshaw joined the club from which side?

West Brom

Norwich City

Derby

Cardiff

They need more cutting edge

Forest had ten shots on goal yesterday, but they only hit the target three times, and, as mentioned, the goal was a fortunate one. So, it’s clear to see that Cooper needs to work on creating more chances.

Fans will perhaps understandably point the finger at the strikers, with Lyle Taylor once again not impressing, but it’s a team effort as well.

Forest have quality in their ranks but eight goals from nine games isn’t good enough and it needs to be addressed moving forward.

There is quality in the squad

It’s not all negative though, as Cooper will have seen that he is working with some quality players.

Millwall are a side that provide a stern test, so it was always going to be a tough afternoon, but the Reds showed signs of promise. On paper, Forest have plenty of proven Championship players and the boss needs to do all he can to get them playing to their best level.

The 3-4-3 formation can work

Another positive for Cooper is that the formation he went with looks as though it can work with this group.

Djed Spence and Max Lowe appeared to benefit a lot as it gave them the freedom to get up and down the flanks, whilst the back three were generally solid, even if Joe Worrall should’ve defended better for Smith’s goal.

More work needs to be done on patterns in the final third, but it seems a formation that can get the best out of plenty of players at the club.

View publisher imprint