Since the start of last season, no team in the top four divisions of English football have won fewer away league games than Nottingham Forest.
Following their return to the Premier League 15 months ago, they have won only twice on the road in 26 top-flight matches. It is a statistic that almost got them relegated straight back to the Championship after one year back in the domestic elite.
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Yet it is a subject that has escaped close scrutiny in the opening quarter of the current campaign. Part of the reason for that is the sheer quality of opposition Forest have faced, after the fixture computer spat out a run of games that felt almost unfair — Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool in their first six away matches.
Performances have also been a significant mitigating factor. Steve Cooper’s side might not have returned from such challenging games with many points, but they did emerge from most with some credit.
Their one success came at Stamford Bridge. Beating Chelsea 1-0 at the start of September felt like evidence the issues that haunted them last season might be a thing of the past.
There was a sense then that something had changed.
Amid it all, the one thing that has not is the results.
Forest could have climbed into the top half of the Premier League table for the first time this century had they beaten hosts West Ham yesterday. That would have been a landmark moment; a sign of progress. Instead, they were left to contemplate the notion that their continued inability to win away from the City Ground could undermine another Premier League campaign.
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Forest’s previous visit to the London Stadium was only nine months ago, but the scale of change since has been remarkable.
Morgan Gibbs-White was the only player from the starting XI in the 4-0 defeat against David Moyes’ men that day to be included in the team this time around.
Back in February, Forest got exactly what they deserved. They were second-best throughout. A midfield trio of Jonjo Shelvey, Jack Colback and Remo Freuler lacked mobility and dynamism and four goals in 14 second-half minutes (71st, 73rd, 78th and 85th) emphatically decided it as a contest.
Respectfully, the contrast in midfield options available to Cooper this weekend could hardly have been more stark, and that was central to a Forest performance which was equally different.
Ibrahim Sangare was the club’s top target in the summer because he was seen as a player who could win back possession in midfield and immediately get them on the front foot with his passing range.
That is exactly what he delivered just before half-time yesterday, as his physical stature helped him to emerge with the ball, before he slotted in Gibbs-White with an inch-perfect pass. It was precisely this kind of moment that inspired Forest to pay Dutch club PSV Eindhoven £30million ($36.6m at current rates) for him.
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Gibbs-White’s subsequent driving run was followed by a crisp low shot that, while initially saved by Alphonse Areola, saw Taiwo Awoniyi guide home the rebound to make it 1-1.
It would be unfair to say that Sangare’s fellow midfielder Orel Mangala was poor last season, following his £12million arrival in Nottingham via the Bundesliga and Stuttgart. But, as Cooper testified, the Belgian is a player who is proof of the value of time when it comes to acclimatising to the demands of the Premier League.
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Sangare, who continues to suffer the odd nervous moment, is walking that same path now. Nevertheless, he, Mangala and Nico Dominguez had formed a promising midfield trio in recent weeks. Dominguez had a poor game yesterday — with his awful pass leading to West Ham taking an early lead — and he was withdrawn at half-time, when Forest were able to replace him with the dynamism and drive of Danilo.
Those are two qualities Forest have boasted since the latest round of squad strengthening last summer, when another 13 signings arrived.
When Sangare fed another of those new arrivals, Ola Aina, down the right side, it was the catalyst for the goal that put Forest in front just after the hour, as he intelligently played the ball across the face of the penalty area for Anthony Elanga, a £15million capture from Manchester United, to finish accurately.
Unlike their last visit to West Ham, Forest were always in this game. They believed they could win it.
Awoniyi missed a golden chance for a second goal. Areola made big saves to deny both him and substitute Divock Origi. Forest’s xG figure away from home this season has been 1.05, which is not great but is an improvement on the 0.85 during their fight against relegation a year ago.
The difference on the day ultimately was West Ham’s dominance from set pieces. The pinpoint delivery of James Ward-Prowse gave Forest problems throughout — and was the catalyst for the two goals that helped West Ham come from 2-1 down to win.
Forest have now conceded seven goals from set pieces this season, which is joint-top in the division, along with struggling Bournemouth.
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Losing Murillo to a hamstring injury was a defensive blow, but he was on the pitch when Jarrod Bowen headed home the equaliser from a corner, before Tomas Soucek was left unchallenged to produce a powerful header to win the game after the Brazilian had departed.
Forest have improved away from home; they no longer look like Premier League newcomers. But they need to be more streetwise, more savvy when seeing out games, having also seen two points slip from their grasp when Luton came back from 2-0 down to take a point at the City Ground recently.
“We are doing a lot of things better,” said Cooper, when questioned over whether performances had improved away from home. “But this was still a case of us throwing the result away. For us to lose the game was our own fault.
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“We have to keep believing. This was a real opportunity for us to win here. You see us play away. I have sat after many away games thinking of all the areas where we need to get better. This time, I find myself thinking that we have thrown it away. We were good tactically and we created chances. It could have been a comfortable day, but we only have ourselves to blame.“
Things do feel different for Forest away from home this season. But while their results remain the same, it will continue to be a talking point — and a dangerous problem.
(Top photo: Ami Ford/NFFC via Getty Images)
