It’s been a rollercoaster of a season for Nottingham Forest, who find themselves in the relegation fight.
They were coming off a historic season in which they were in the top four until Matchweek 33, eventually falling to seventh place.
Nuno Espírito Santo did a masterful job tactically turning Nottingham Forest into one of the deadliest counterattacking sides in the Premier League.
This season, though, has been a different story.
Due to issues with the owner, Evangelos Marinakis, Nuno Espírito Santo was sacked after only three matches.
Marinakis went with a bold hire, bringing Ange Postecoglou to town.
Postecogolou tried to implement the same ball-dominant, high-pressing, build-out-of-the-back style of play that eventually caused his downfall at Tottenham Hotspur.
It was a complete disaster, as Nottingham Forest didn’t win a single one of the eight matches he was in charge and were outscored by 18 to 7.
After Postecogolou was out the door, Marinakis did what any team does when they are in relegation trouble: he called Sean Dyche.
Sean Dyche grew up in the Nottingham Forest youth system and spent one year in the early 1990s with the senior team before moving around to many different clubs throughout his career.
He recently saved Everton from relegation and is now trying to do the same with Nottingham Forest.
In this tactical analysis article, we will take a look at the two tactical systems he’s employed, depending on the opponent, along with his out-of-possession tactics that have made Nottingham Forest difficult to break down.
Nottingham Forest Vs Weaker Opposition
One of the things both Nuno Espírito Santo and Ange Postecoglou tried to change this season was to make Nottingham Forest into a team that could control matches.
The next step after laying the foundation of a solid low block, counterattacking team is to try to at least control and dominate the opposition below you in the table.
Nottingham Forest certainly has loads of talent throughout their roster.
Per Transfermarkt, Nottingham Forest have a squad value of £525.6m, the eighth-highest in the Premier League.
One thing that Dyche has done is not abandon what both of the previous managers were trying to implement, but do it against the right opponents.
Here, against West Ham United, you can see they are building up in a 3-2-5, with one of the full-backs pushing up the pitch.
The key to making all the build-up work is Elliot Anderson.
He is absolutely everywhere on the pitch, often the deepest midfielder, helping to aid the press, but he honestly is roaming everywhere, trying to find pockets of space.
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