Splashing the cash
Nottingham Forest forked out £1.2m on agents’ fees in the last two transfer windows - making them among the lowest spenders in the Championship.
Eight clubs spent less than the Reds on intermediary and agents’ fees from February 1, 2019 to January 31, 2020, according to the Football Association.
That period includes last summer’s transfer window - when Forest brought in 12 new additions as Sabri Lamouchi took charge - and January, when three new faces arrived, along with the early recall of Tyler Walker from his loan spell at Lincoln City.
Last summer, Sammy Ameobi joined while Martin O’Neill was still at the helm, and was followed by Tiago Silva, Yuri Ribeiro, Alfa Semedo, Albert Adomah, Arijanet Muric, Rafa Mir, Samba Sow, Carl Jenkinson, Brice Samba, Chema Rodriguez and John Bostock.
Hopes dashed
Supporters’ hopes of celebrating pubs reopening by watching next Saturday’s East Midlands’ derby between the Rams and Nottingham Forest in their favourite local, appear to have been dashed.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed the government’s latest measures for easing lockdown, which included the opening of pubs along with hairdressers, barbers, bingo halls and various other industries.
That news was greeted with joy around Nottingham and Derby, with fans planning on going out with friends and watching next Saturday’s televised 12:30pm kick-off at Pride Park - a game which will be played without supporters for the first time.
In a cruel twist for those supporters desperate for an ale with their friends, the guidance released on Wednesday morning advises pubs against screenings of live football matches where fans are likely to scream and shout, whilst also reiterating pub-goers should only socialise with one other household inside.
EFL explanation
The EFL have explained the reason why so many Nottingham Forest supporters were unable to watch the first 15 minutes of Saturday’s draw at Sheffield Wednesday on the club’s iFollow platform.
Given supporters are currently unable to attend Championship games due to the coronavirus pandemic, non-season ticket holders were urged to pay £10 for the Hillsborough clash, while those with season cards were sent codes to access the game.
Prior to kick-off, hundreds of supporters reported problems with accessing the match feed on some mobile devices, with Forest advising fans to use a desktop machine where possible.
For many, that didn’t work either, leaving fans increasingly frustrated before the EFL explained a technical glitch had been the cause and service was largely reinstated by 3:15pm.
Injury latest
Nottingham Forest’s next opponents are sweating on key injury news ahead of Sunday’s clash at the City Ground.
Sabri Lamouchi’s men return to play their first home game in nearly five months – their last outing before lockdown resulting in a miserable 3-0 defeat by Millwall.
The Reds will be looking to secure their first win since to resumption of football, knowing that three points will strengthen their hold on the play-off places and as they hope to close the gap on the automatic spots.
Relegation battlers Huddersfield Town stand in their way on Sunday, the Terriers having got off to a losing start in their opening match of the restart when they lost at home to Wigan Athletic.
