Nottingham Forest and its free-scoring striker Chris Wooden are proving to be the shock bundle of the Premier League season thus far.
The two-0 win over Everton final weekend and Chelsea’s loss to Ipswich City on Monday meant Forest, which battled in opposition to relegation for a lot of final season, completed 2024 at No. 2 on the Premier League desk — its highest place on the finish of a 12 months for greater than 30 years.
Unlikely hero?
A central determine in Forest’s unbelievable first half of the 2024-25 season is Wooden — an unlikely hero, on the face of it. However look nearer and you start to understand the 33-year-old New Zealander’s appreciable worth.
The 6’3” Wooden is a centre-forward with many qualities which are related to the normal, old-school No. 9. An aerial menace, who can win headers and outmuscle markers, he’s a nightmare to defend in opposition to within the field when the crosses pour in.
He may also assist his personal defence launch stress, serving as a goal for swiftly hoofed ‘out-balls’. By holding defenders off and defending the ball, he provides his teammates a possibility to advance up the pitch; on the very least, he wins them some respiration room.
However to restrict Wooden to a lumbering target-man from a bygone period is to do him an injustice. He has many different aspects to his recreation, a few of which have been evident within the win over Everton. Sean Dyche’s facet has confirmed tough to interrupt down, as Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester Metropolis found throughout Everton’s run of three consecutive attracts, however Wooden and Forest discovered a manner.
Area invader: Wooden’s clever motion in and across the field is a big contributor to his success. | Getty Pictures
For the primary objective, Wooden nodded down a protracted ball to Anthony Elanga on the counter-attack, which the Swedish winger headed again into the centre-forward’s path. What adopted was beautiful, Wooden deftly lifting a fragile lob over the advancing Jordan Pickford. The run within the channel, giving his staff an outlet; the imaginative and prescient to first spot Elanga after which management the headed cross; the poise and consciousness to seek out essentially the most environment friendly end: this was the work of a first-rate striker.
Wooden turned supplier for Forest’s second, organising Morgan Gibbs-White. Gibbs-White deserves credit score for his neat footwork earlier than firing residence, however Wooden’s help, whereas understated, was pivotal. The large Kiwi dropped deep, discovering house to rescue a broken-down counter-attack. He then slid the ball into Gibbs-White’s stride, exploiting Everton’s short-term disorganisation.
Racking up numbers
With 11 Premier League targets this season, Wooden has netted double-figures for the sixth time in England’s top-flight — commendable in itself, however much more exceptional given he has achieved the feat with Forest and beforehand Burnley, not the best groups in assault. What’s extra, he has outperformed his anticipated targets (xG) of seven.51, which displays nicely on his ending.
It was at Burnley that Wooden performed below Dyche, who now holds Everton’s reins, and his former supervisor was nicely conscious of the menace the 33-year-old posed. “I assumed he was wonderful [against us], doing all of the exhausting yards… not touching the ball fairly often however every part he must to be an armful,” stated Dyche. “He provides them an enormous focus and he was the distinction in my view.”
Dyche additionally spoke of how Forest’s game-model below Nuno Espirito Santo, with “large gamers” and the power “to get the ball to Woody shortly”, was serving to. “Lots of credit score to him, credit score to his professionalism to maintain on high of himself,” stated Dyche. “He had a quiet spell when he first went there, a number of query marks over him. That may occur with strikers. He’s had that earlier than and he’s come by way of it. Definitely an excellent participant, and somebody I’ve bought numerous respect for.”
Others are starting to understand what Dyche has lengthy recognized. Gary Lineker, certainly one of England’s best strikers and now a broadcaster, confessed he had underestimated Wooden. “I have to say I misjudged the standard of the participant,” stated Lineker. “He’s a greater footballer than I assumed he was initially, I don’t thoughts proudly owning that he’s performed very well. And once more you’re speaking about intelligence, he makes the very best of his belongings together with his motion.”
Wooden’s self-awareness has performed an enormous half in his capacity to maximise his strengths. The mix of his physicality and the pace of the remainder of the Forest ahead line has labored to nice impact thus far this season, not least as a result of Wooden is aware of the way to play off his teammates.
Aerial monster: The 6’3” Wooden’s capacity to win headers and outmuscle markers makes him a nightmare to defend in opposition to. | Getty Pictures
“I’m not a person who’s going to beat two or three gamers and stick it within the high nook, I’m a person who depends on service,” he instructed the BBC. “If they’ll’t provide me, I can’t rating. It’s a must to discover the place you’re appreciated. Managers have their very own type. That’s not something I can management. It simply means you won’t be in the correct space or the supervisor’s cup of tea. It’s about looking for the function which inserts everybody and luckily below Nuno it has.”
Wooden, who constructed a fame in New Zealand as a pure goal-scorer earlier than shifting to England in his teenagers, has made it to the highest stage the exhausting manner. After becoming a member of West Brom’s academy in 2009, he had a number of mortgage spells earlier than breaking by way of with Leeds within the Championship.
Contract scenario
Following a profitable interval at Burnley and a much less memorable stint at Newcastle, Wooden has discovered his footing at Forest. The 15 million kilos the membership spent on his switch is more and more wanting like one of many higher bargains in Premier League historical past. Along with his contract operating out on the finish of this season, Forest dangers shedding him on a free, with each AC Milan and Napoli reportedly fascinated by including Wooden to their attacking vary.
Experiences within the English media counsel the discussions between Wooden and Forest centre on the size of his extension, with the participant wanting a two-year deal and the membership providing one. No matter how these negotiations progress, Wooden is on target to surpass his greatest top-flight league tally (14 targets for Burnley in 2019-20) and energy Forest to its highest Premier League end since putting third within the 1994-95 season.
Forest followers, who’re having fun with the season to the fullest, are dreaming of Europe, however Wooden is specializing in the current. “It’s about working exhausting and taking your alternatives when it comes,” he stated. Spoken like a real striker, for Wooden has performed nothing however work exhausting and take his alternatives in entrance of objective all his profession. It’s simply that this season extra persons are noticing.
Printed – January 03, 2025 11:57 pm IST
