Match report
Thanks for joining me. Especially to any Baggies fans in Spain.
I am off. Bye. The report is coming.
Bilic says his side showed character after an indifferent start. He then goes off a number of tangents which I can’t really follow.
Bilic adds that he had told Edwards to go make a difference in the box, which he certainly did.
West Brom should probably invest in a new striker as Zohore was the big disappointment to day. They don’t even have much of a second choice, which is an even bigger worry.
Ferguson describes the experience of his debut as “surreal”. He seems like a nice chap as he thanks the fans.
Full-time
The goals might have come from two goalkeeping mistakes but West Brom were worthy victors at the City Ground. Forest were pretty pitiful in the final third, justifying the fact they came away with nothing.
90+2 mins: A deep cross finds Grabban at the back post but it basically hits him on the head and slowly bounces into the arms of Johnstone.
90 mins: Five minutes added on. Can Forest pull something out of the bag?
89 mins: Brennan Johnson, sorry of ex-Forest striker David, comes on for his debut. Lovely stuff.
87 mins: Adomah smashes a cross into the box which finds it way to Dawson who turns on it and hits a low, goal-bound shot but it’s blocked before it can cause any damage.
85 mins: Edwards is the one who is withdrawn in the end, meaning captain Livermore will have to see out the game with his crampy legs. He sprays a 30-yard pass out to the left and then hobbles after it. Down the other end, Mir whacks a shot which is deflected wide for a corner.
83 mins: Two West Brom players are treated for cramp. Livermore wanders off but Edwards is also off at the same time with a calf issue. At one point West Brom have just nine men on the pitch.
81 mins: Forest have been pretty woeful in the final third, summed up by Cash bursting onto a throw-in and then jabbing the ball straight out of play when trying to find a through pass.
79 mins: Dawson looks like he’s pulling his hair out while trying to set Forest up to defend a corner. It looks as the ball is headed clear.
77 mins: A lovely run from Semedo sees him ride a couple of challenges, before cutting in and whacking a shot from 20 yards just over the bar.
75 mins: Adomah chips a cross which Grabban can’t get on the end of and Ferguson just about forces it behind under pressure from Ameobi. Cash takes a couple of corners in quick succession but West Brom clear the danger.
73 mins: West Brom have plenty of pressure in the final third but nothing comes of it.
71 mins: Gibbs goes off with an injury and is replaced by Conor Townsend.
69 mins: Forest are yet to have a shot in the this half, which means it’s time for Sammy Ameobi!!!
67 mins: Dawson whacks a 40-yard pass out to Adomah on the left and his dangerous cross causes problems but it’s turned behind for a corner which is eventually cleared.
65 mins: Adomah pings a cross from the left into the box but it is easily header clear by Bartley. Forest really lacking any form of ingenuity.
63 mins: Leading shithouse Silva is taken off and Mir is brought on. Forest will have to change things here seeing as Mir is a striker. Forest are almost punished when Phillips players a low corner into the box for Sawyers to run onto but his shot is deflected over.
Ex-Forest man Burke replaces Zohore, looking pretty muscly in the green and yellow.
Updated
61 mins: Silva once again gets away with a foul. He cleans out a West Brom player pretty late for a free-kick but the referee is not interested. Silva seems like he is a proper shithouse.
Edwards almost gets his second by getting in down the left and whack one towards goal but Muric gets things right and blocks the shot. It’s a shame he then and comes to flap at the corner.
Updated
59 mins: Grabban has so far had just one touch in the West Brom area, a sign of how badly Forest are doing in the final third.
57 mins: West Brom are still chucking bodies forward, which makes Edwards smashing a cross over the top of them even more infuriating for them.
55 mins: A relatively quiet start to the half. Forest are trying to force the issue but are yet to really achieve anything on that front.
53 mins: While I watch Jack Robinson smash a clearance into the stand my brother is at Old Trafford closely monitoring Neil Fairbrother eating a pie. Will keep you updated.
51 mins: Phillips makes a dart into the box, finding some space on the right but his shot from an acute angle flies well over the bar.
49 mins: Lolley swings in a corner from the left but West Brom head clear and break through Krovinovic who once again can’t find the right pass at the crucial moment.
47 mins: A few long balls have been lumped down the field but not much else.
Second half
Here we go again!
The first error ...
Twist. Turn. Finish.
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) August 3, 2019
Love it, @KyleEdwardo. 🔥#NOTWBA pic.twitter.com/puF0cQZYhY
Maybe Lamouchi will just bring off Muric at half-time ...
JR rightly points out: “It doesn’t matter who West Brom has up front. If the opposing goalkeeper every week plays like Muric the Baggies are going undefeated!”
You’d hope other goalkeepers won’t make as many mistakes.
Get your Football League fix with John Brewin’s roundup:
Updated
Half-time
An incredible swing in the the first-half from Forest dominating to looking meek, not to mention Muric looking like a Sunday league goalkeeper.
45 mins: Chants of “Slaven Bilic” are going around the away end.
Two minutes added on.
44 mins: No more dropballs! In my day we use to scrap for the ball with the opponent until we were covered in blood and mud.
42 mins: West Brom calmly pass the ball inside the box from a goal-kick like it’s the most normal thing in the world. Edwards gets some treatment after a heavy fall to the ground when attempting to jump for a header.
40 mins: Krovinovic misses the chase to slip either Phillips or Zohore through on goal, much to the West Brom pair’s annoyance.
38 mins: The home fans are not very pleased about the fact Livermore is holding onto Semedo’s shirt just inside the box for 10 seconds or so. The referee watches the whole incident but does nothing to appease those in red.
36 mins: Forest have been pretty awful since they opened the scoring. Can they can their early rhythm back? Grabban is yet to do much, so maybe Mir could be worth a go.
34 mins: Adomah tries to take on the rookie Ferguson but the debutant shows he is up to the task, perfectly timing a sliding challenge to dispossess the winger. He then shows a bit of naivety by taking a poor touch into the area, resulting in him bundling Adomah over but the referee is not interested.
32 mins: Due to the awfulness of Muric’s debut, Phillips whacks an optimistic low drive from 30 yards but even the Forest stopper can’t make a shot going 20 yards wide end up in the back of the net.
30 mins: Lolley cuts in from the left and then smashes a shot roughly 20 yards high and wide. Lamouchi applauds the effort but not the execution.
28 mins: Maybe Forest should have asked to take Claudio Bravo or Eike Immel on loan - it might have worked out better.
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 1-2 West Brom (Phillips, 26)
Muric will not be watching this hame back in a hurry. Phillips whacks a hopeful cross into the box from the right flank but it ends up looping over the goalkeeper and into the top corner. Muric seemed to pull out of trying to save it, too, which makes it look worse. What an awful debut.
Updated
24 mins: Silva whips in a free-kick from the right, forcing Ferguson to head the ball behind his own goal to avert any further danger.
22 mins: A very late challenge from Sawyer takes down Dawson are a loose pass in the middle of the park. The referee plays on but only has a quick word with the Baggies midfielder.
20 mins: Edwards forces his way through down the left but his cross only makes it to the front post and is cleared. Down the other end Adomah chips a ball across the box where he almost finds Grabban but Bartley flicks it clear.
18 mins: Forest taking the sting out of the game by passing the ball around the back. This game cannot stay at the same tempo, to be fair.
16 mins: Edwards looks lively and can use both feet, which might worry makeshift right-back Cash. He certainly does not lack confidence.
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 1-1 West Brom (Edwards, 14)
Another goalkeeping mistake ensures the scores are level. Edwards shows some trickier in the box to get sufficient space to fire a shot across Muric with his left foot. It’s close to the goalkeeper but goes through his hands and into the bottom corner.
14 mins: Sawyers tries to make something happen for West Brom on the edge of the Forest area but all he succeeds in doing is chip the ball into Muric’s hands.
12 mins: West Brom have offered almost nothing in the game so far. Forest are playing at a high tempo, while the visitors are just finding their feet.
10 mins: Lamouchi enjoyed the goal on the sidelines. His job is now to keep the Forest players calm while the City Ground bounces.
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 1-0 West Brom (Cash, 8)
He might be playing right-back but Cash gets forward to exchange passes with Adomah, before letting the ball to bounce perfectly, allowing him to drive a low shot into the corner. Johnstone will be disappointed not to stop it, though.
6 mins: Bartley takes a needless risk at the back by turning on the edge of his area but rather than being dispossessed a Forest forward fouls him instead.
4 mins: Lolley seems to be of the impression that Phillips has elbowed him in the face, so stays on the ground for far too long after coming together on the touchline. It’s been a pretty lively start overall, though.
2 mins: I’ll be honest, I am not completely sold on this version of the yellow and green away kit from West Brom. It seems a bit horrible.
Cash whips over a cross from the right, which lands at the feet of Robinson, following a pitiful overhead kick attempt from Adomah, whose fearsome shot is blocked by debutant Ferguson.
Kick-off!
Peep! Peep! Peep! Let’s get ready to rumble!
I am very pleased that West Brom go against the tide by being sponsored by Ideal Boilers rather than some random betting company. I do hope their legendary mascot is in attendance.
Don Goodman has thrown out roughly 15 cliches in about 30 seconds of speech. Lovely stuff.
I did the minute-by-minute for Luton v Middlesbrough last night, so if it’s another six-goal thriller I might not survive the day.
Updated
Bilic spends a minute bigging up the Championship and then explains his team are good at football, claiming “we couldn’t be in better shape”.
JR emails in to ask: “What do you make of the Throstles chances this season? Please feel free to say they’ll be mid-table because it seems pretty much everyone who tries to predict the Championship is wrong. Last season I was assured that Stoke would coast to the title and Norwich were no great shakes.
“I’m really liking the looks of this squad. A bunch of nice additions have almost entirely erased the Pulis era from my memory.”
Can I let you know at full-time? At the moment I don’t think they have enough up top with Zohore leading the line to challenge the top two. But who knows?
Lamouchi says: “The first game, the stadium will be full, so it will be fantastic. We must make them proud with our players and our team”.
I went to university in Nottingham but have no affinity for Forest as every time I went to watch them play they were bloody rubbish. Including in a goalless draw with Oldham, which involved no shots on target.
I’ll be honest, I know nothing about Filip Krovinović, so watching him will be good fun. He’s on loan from Benfica, meaning he should be able to pass it a bit.
A couple of West Brom arrivals have made this list of the best Championship signings ...
Manchester City’s Aro Muric starts his first game for Forest after his loan move. He impressed in the League Cup last season but will be aiming to show what he can do over the course of an entire season.
This the first game of the Lamouchi era. Daniel Taylor explains where it all went wrong for Martin O’Neill ...
Lots of debuts around but Nathan Ferguson seems the happiest ...
When you find out you've made the starting XI and you're about to make your Albion debut... 😲
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) August 3, 2019
Smash it, @Nathan6Ferguson!#NOTWBA | #WBA pic.twitter.com/TDj2nNdAze
Sabri Lamouchi is up for the challenge.
Starting lineups
Forest: Muric, Cash, Worrall, Dawson, Robinson, Semedo, Watson, Lolley, Silva, Adomah, Grabban
Subs: Smith, Ribero, Figueiredo, Mir, Ameobi, Johnson, Richardson
West Brom: Johnstone, Ferguson, Bartley, Ajayi, Gibbs, Livermore, Sawyers, Krovinovic, Phillips, Edwards, Zohore
Subs: Bond, O’Shea, Townsend, Furlong, Harper, Burke, Leko
Preamble
There is no doubting that football has returned to our bosom for us to hold and cherish.
Like last night’s frenetic 3-3 draw between Luton and Middlesbrough, this clash also involves two managers enjoying their first match in charge of their respective clubs.
Sabri Lamouchi has turned up in an attempt to bring back the glory days to the City Ground but he has the tough challenge of utilising a squad of 3384 players in order to do so.
Slaven Bilic, on the other hand, will bring his good guy persona to West Brom in order to get his traditional new manager bounce before the wheels come off.
Let’s see how wrong I am.
