Nottingham Forest fans would probably be forgiven for thinking that any minute they are going to wake up and find that the 2024-25 season so far has all been a collective dream. After ten games of the campaign they are third in the Premier League.
They have taken 19 points and are the only team to have beaten Arne Slot’s Liverpool, having also taken a point away at Chelsea. These feats have earned manager Nuno Espirito Santo and forward Chris Wood the manager and player of the month awards for October.
The ten game mark is generally considered the point where the table starts to really take shape as teams have played half the league by this stage. So could European nights really be coming to the River Trent next season?
How did Nottingham Forest perform last season?
The 2023-24 season was an underwhelming one for Nottingham Forest. They finished 17th on 32 points, a new record low points total for a team surviving in the Premier League. Granted there was the caveat of a four point deduction, but they would have been in a lot more trouble had the three promoted clubs not performed so badly.
Despite the deduction and low points tally, Nottingham Forest still stayed up by a six point margin. All three promoted clubs- Burnley, Luton Town and Sheffield United, all went straight back down with a combined tally of just 66 points, itself a record low total for a relegated trio.
Chris Wood was their top scorer with 14 goals in the league, 15 in all competitions. Nuno took over from Steve Cooper as manager on 20 December with the club in 17th in the table. Even factoring in the deduction, their points per game tally was actually lower after Nuno took charge.
What has changed this season?
Nottingham Forest have improved at both ends of the pitch this season. Last weekend’s 3-0 win over West Ham United was their fourth clean sheet in the league- one more than they managed in the whole of the 2023-24 season. Goalkeeper Mats Selz is joint top of the Golden Glove standings with Manchester United’s Andre Onana.
Then there is the form of Chris Wood. The Kiwi forward has eight league goals so far, joint second with Brentford’s Bryan Mbuemo. Only Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland has more.
If their current form was to be maintained over the whole season, they would end the campaign with 53 goal scored, a goal difference of 26 and a points tally of 72- double what they would have had last season without the deduction.
Hope from previous seasons
Nottingham Forest fans can certainly take optimism from recent seasons. The last two seasons have seen Newcastle United and Aston Villa break the traditional ‘big six’ stranglehold and qualify for the Champions League, gaining famous wins over Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich once they got there.
It is also not that long ago that Leicester City managed back-to-back fifth placed finishes and challenged for the top four right up until the final day, so a team coming through the pack and upsetting the established order is more common than many may initially realise.
The club last competed in Europe in 1995-96, when they reached the Quarter Finals of the UEFA Cup under Frank Clark, having finished third in the Premier League the previous season- the same position they now find themselves in.
What is coming up?
The next few games will be a big test for Nottingham Forest. On Sunday they host Newcastle United in their last game before the international break. A trip to Arsenal is followed by a home clash with Ipswich Town, before back-to-back trips to Manchester in the first week of December.
Forest are unbeaten on the road so far this season, taking 11 points from a possible 15. Should they be able to keep that run going following the upcoming sequence of games, then fans at the City Ground really will be beginning to dream of what might be possible.