Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the Garibaldi Red podcast, a Nottingham Forest podcast. I'm Max Stays, your host, and as the Reds kick off their 2024 to '25 Premier League season with a point against Bournemouth after another late goal from the Cherries at the City Ground. Why is it always Bournemouth? Honestly. Was it two points dropped? We'll discuss all of that and more from quite a challenging afternoon, actually, of football all after Danilo's horror injury in the eighth minute of time. Delighted to be joined, first of all, by Mark Turner, who returns to the podcast in his usual pundatory chair after filling in for hosting a few weeks ago. Mark, good to see you, and you're looking good with a nice beard.

Thank you, Max. I wanted to show you how it's done. This is about four hours worth of growth.

Yeah, mine was about a week, so there you go.

I do appreciate the opportunity to host the And I have myself an agent, and it's on my Twitter account. So if anyone else wants to hire me, I'm available now for all comers.

Yeah, you'll be in the chair soon. Don't worry. Also delighted to say, joining us is someone that makes his podcast debut, a lifelong Forest fan, Carl Hudson. Carl, good to see you. Both you and Mark are over in the Ponds, so a US edition of the podcast. But how are you? How did you enjoy watching Forest this weekend?

All good, mate. Really nice to be here, breaking my duck or eight duck. It was nice for football to be back, truthfully. Again, just really, really excited, trying to spread the word in our home, new town here in Chicago of Nottingham Forrest. But no, it was good. Just a shame we couldn't get the three points over the line.

Yeah, it was. Real shame that Forrest couldn't do it. And let's start with that, actually. Mark, if you want to kick off, really, about really before we actually look at summarizing the game and what we all thought of it, just how difficult and challenging it was to see Danilo, a horrible injury for such a young talented player. And it's been recently reported that it's not as bad as maybe it looked initially, but still pretty awful and a break to the ankle. Just to suppose how difficult is that to watch it from a football fan's point of view and also for the players to continue you after as well, Mark?

Yeah, it really made your stomach dropped, didn't it? I don't know what it was like in the stadium, but watching it on TV, it makes you feel sick. And you can see Morgan Gibbs-White's reaction. He was Johnny on the spot there, and clearly It was a very ugly injury, and you could see that in Morgan Gibbs-White's reaction. And I mentioned several times in this pod before, my amateur kickabouts. I played that position. I played midfield. And so And I actually experienced an ankle injury like that myself. That had me out for about six months. Thankfully, the forecast for Danilo is far less. It looked pretty nasty at the time, but subsequent reports suggest he could be back within a couple of months, which would be fantastic. I think one of the things that really made it difficult, Max, was hearing the comments after the match, particularly from Nuno, talking about Danilo and his impact at the club, not just as a player, but as a person. How he's always smiling. He's always good energy. Great to have a round. And so, yeah, you don't want to see that happen to any player in Garibaldi. But I think it hurts, particularly with Danilo.

So obviously sending him all the best and hope that 6-8 week forecast that we've subsequently heard is accurate. We see him back out at the city ground here soon.

Yeah, no, definitely. And yeah, to totally echo what you just said. And fingers crossed, we see him soon at the city ground. Carl, were you surprised that Forest actually scored quite soon after? Because it must have been really challenging for the players to have to deal with that. And it does shape the game, doesn't it, going forward? It's a bit of an odd one when something like that happens.

Yeah, it took me about two years ago. There have been super injuries of that caliber happened in the past. I remember the Man United one when Peter Michael ran away, if everyone remembers that. But it was pretty horrific. And I just felt super sorry for him. I think based off of the success of last year, the excitement of the season, certain clubs having an interest in him and almost being able to show what he can do. So I felt super, super sorry for him, but I feel like Ryan Yates came on. He totally stepped up and obviously got the assist for the goal. But I think mentally, I've never seen anything like that in the. So I think the actual pressure a game day, obviously game one and all that, I think that the players took it in the stride. And obviously we got the goal, Chris Wood stepped up.

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, he did. And go on, Mark, do you want to come in there about- Yeah, no, Karl makes a good point there about an opening game of the season and the players are hyped up and have all the excitement.

You also have all the work that's gone into that opening game, weeks and weeks of it and traveling overseas to play teams in foreign climes and just to get ready for that opening whistle. And so then to be selected in that first 11 and have that happen within the first 10 minutes. I think, Max, that's particularly brutal for a player like Danilo, who we talked about before, and I've speculated as a confidence player. I think he really is a confidence player. I would have started Yates ahead of Danilo, personally, but I think Danilo would have taken that harder than Yates did. We talked about that, right? We talked about how Ryan Yates would just... That would be like a red rag to a ball. The minute I'm in now, I'm going to show him I deserve to start. But Danilo starting, I'm sure that was a real boost to his confidence. And so this is going to be a massive blow. But again, hopefully we see him back in the Garabaldi ASAP.

Yeah, for sure. It was a clean break, right? Yeah. So he should be back sooner than we all initially thought. So who knows?

Yeah, who knows? And I think it's such a shame as well for a player like Danilo be away from his family as a young lad. You I just feel for him more on a human element, really, than forget the football for that type of injury to happen to anyone. It's just really sad to see. Let's touch on Ryan Yates a little bit, Carl, and you mentioned him slightly there. I suppose if there's a player sat on the bench that needs to come in and replace a player in a situation like that, you want someone that's maybe been at the club for a while and has been around football for a while and really is almost a leader and a legend. I suppose Yates is all of those things.

Yeah, I mean, you know what you're getting, right? And I think to Mark's point, he might have started Yates above Danilo and the red rag to a ball, all that good stuff. I mean, obviously, he's the first guy to step up every single time. He comes on the field, more than gives white, gives him the armband. And I just thought he commanded it, truthfully. I mean, he just bossed it, I think. He was just a powerhouse. His confidence, again, for game one, I thought was spectacular. And you wouldn't want anyone else coming on for Danilo at that point, I think. So I was really impressed with his performance. Again, week one, everyone's fitness is not necessarily up there, but bearing in mind what happened, I think it was a solid performance from Yatesy.

Yeah, I completely agree.

Did you see the moment in the stadium itself, Max, when MgW, you passed the armband over to Yatesy and Michael Oliver's reaction? Did you see that?

No, I didn't. I'd been I actually saw the moment, but I didn't see Michael Oliver's reaction.

What was- Yeah, we put it on TV. Carl, I'm sure you probably saw it. So the three of them were having a joke between them, assuming along the lines of, Well, you didn't get to hold on to that arm band for very long, did you, Morgan? Or something. They were having a good chuckle, the three of them. So that was quite nice to see.

Yeah, definitely. And I will also throw in there. I am the first to criticize referees, but I thought Michael Oliver did an all right job on Saturday. I think he did a very good job dealing with an injury like that. Dermot Gallagher, the former ref, alluded to it Sky Sports earlier, how Michael Oliver actually dealt with the situation quite well. He brought footballs out and let the players almost kick a football about for a bit while the injury was ongoing, and he dealt with it almost mentally for the players very well. And his reaction as well, instantly to get the medical staff on was everything you'd want, really, from a referee. So well done, Michael Oliver. Never thought I'd be saying those words, but there you go. Right, let's chat about the performance on a whole, really. And for me, up until the goal, a particularly positive first half. Chris Wood doing what he does again, right place, right time. Fourteen goals last season. Mark, he's surely got to keep going. He'll add to those. I thought, really, first off, Forrest came out well. To say that sometimes it's hard after preseason, you don't know whether the players will be at it completely.

It's difficult. Often, the players, it can be one of those. We were talking to Robbie about it in the podcast last week where players It can have a great preseason, and then it comes out on the first game and it all goes wrong. But it certainly didn't first off, and Forrest played well.

I think until the Danilo injury, the two teams seemed relatively evenly matched. I wouldn't say that one particularly got the grip of the game more than the other. And weirdly enough, after the Danilo injury, Forrest did take over a little bit, of course, scored the goal shortly thereafter. I thought we were pretty strong for the remainder of the first half. Second half, similar pattern other than, I think, Bournemouth with the team on the ascendancy. I think, again, beginning of the second half, pretty evenly matched, but as the game wore on, and perhaps influenced by a couple of injury-related subs, maybe, that Nuno wasn't anticipating having to make. Forest did seem to be a little bit on the slide. So I don't think the Bournemouth goal, as frustrating as it was, was completely unexpected. And honestly, in balance, probably a fair result. And I'm going to try not to be a homer here by suggesting that actually, I think Bournemouth probably, overall, had the better of it. So I think to come away with a point on the opening day of the season, yes, I know it's at home. That's annoying. But I think Forest have to be happy with that imbalance despite the fact they conceded late on.

Yeah. Carl, do you agree there? You think that it was maybe still a good point, or would you say it was maybe two points dropped?

I mean, I think it's a bit of both, truthfully. Again, a point at home. I know we love our to talk about how we're usually undefeated at home. So in that regard, we started the season off in a positive way. I also will say I saw a ton of stuff online about, obviously, Bournemouth being our bogey team. And again, I think to finally stop that rot, if you will, I'll take that against Bournemouth I don't particularly think our fitness... Obviously, again, I keep repeating myself, but first game of the season, fitness levels and all that. I think a point against that particular team, I'll take that all day Yeah, definitely.

I think it's one of those sides that Bournemouth, where they always seem to hurt Forest, and we always seem to struggle against them, Solanky in their team or not. Just wanted to touch on Chris Wood slightly, in more detail. I mean, 14 goals again last season. He'll be crucial. We're going to get on to more striker talk shortly with obviously him and has been linked quite heavily today. But I suppose, what do you just... How do you see Chris Wood again being such an influential player for Forest. And were you surprised that he started over on Saturday?

No, not at all, because me and the other Max suggested that he should. So I'm quite sure Nuno watched that episode and selected the team accordingly. I think we said, if he's fully fit and he's firing in all cylinders, then Taewo is our number one striker. But Chris would deputize wonderfully this last season. That being said, with Chris woods, it's always a tale of two games, right? You have the incredible highs that we saw at New Castle, and then you have can't hit his backside with his own hand, the thing. Yes, he only had one chance this the weekend, then he took it. So fair play. I have to say, though, I think his hold up play in his movement, generally, again, as the game wore on, I think Forest, again, built Bournemouth on the ascendancy, Forest was struggling no more so than with Chris Wood. I think as the game wore on, he was less and less effective. And I think the need to have a fully fit, physical, and quick striker on the line, an alternative to Chris Wood late on in that match, it would have been, I think, essential. I don't know that we have that in Taewah yet because I don't think he's fully match fit.

So I know where we are going to come on to talking about depth in that position and where Forrest may go with that. But again, I think it was a typical Chris Wood performance. Took his goal well, was a threat in the first half as the game were on, his effect wore off, and that's not a slight on him. You got to take into consideration his age and also his limitations. He's a very specific striker. But I was glad that he was leading the line on Saturday and delighted for him in this goal.

Yeah, definitely. Some comments on Facebook from some Forest fans. Kieran says, Wood scored, but the rest of the game, he was awful. He doesn't hold up the ball well enough, bringing players in. The ball just bounces off him every time. Mark says they just need to play 90 minutes and not switch off at 70 minutes. If only it was as easy as that. Yeah, I think we all agree. It was almost similar to last season with Forest in that switching off phase, shall we say. And actually- Can I ask you, do you think the subs had an impact on that?

Because it did seem to be at least a couple of subs that Nuno had to make that he wasn't intending on making.

Yeah, I think they did. Talking of substitutions, I was actually really disappointed. Apart from Elliot Anderson, I was shocked that Jotter Silva didn't get a run in, especially when Callum Hudson and Adoy came off. I just thought that maybe Nuno would have given him a debut, but But he sees stuff on the training pitch that talk about Forest most weeks. I think Anderson had a good game still. I thought he looked bright, but I think it's still a long way to go from it. And it's difficult when he's coming onto the pitch in that area of the game, in that closing phase of the game. It's very challenging, I think, for a player to instantly make an impact. You're shaking your head, Mark Jude. You disagree.

I'm interested in what Carl thinks. I thought Anderson He looked sharp in moments, but he was a bit of a bull in the China shop.

I quite like that, though.

It's okay. What's wrong with that?

I mean, let's just say from what I saw, he was not lacking confidence, and I quite like that. I think it's a fine line between confidence and a bull in a China shop or headless chicken. I'm super excited to see what he brings. I Again, when he came on, I was super happy, a bit like what you guys were saying. I was hoping to see more of the signing, but again, I'm putting it down to levels of fitness at this stage of the season. But I'm excited to see where Anderson goes for sure.

Yeah, I am. We'll maybe touch on it later on in the podcast. But I just wanted to talk about, particularly after the few comments, obviously, that we just read out about almost Forrest struggling to see out games switching off at 70 minutes. And it can be the story of last season, and hopefully it doesn't become the story of this season. But I suppose, Carl, for the players, it must be a mentality thing at times. And it seems to be just the inability to kill off games, which obviously will just cost Forest lots of points. And yes, it was the first game of the season, but there is that fear, I think, inside a lot of Forest fans that it could happen again and again. And again, it could be the story of Forest season of almost not seeing out games. Would you agree?

Yeah, I'm sure every fan says it about their own individual clubs, but I mean, same old Forest, unfortunately. I sat watching it with a couple of lads, one being a Forest fan and one, I think he's seen a couple of games and stuff, and we ended up having this conversation about, we can be three nil up with three minutes to go. And we're all sat there panicking that we might lose 4-3. And now, obviously, in the old days, when they'd be three minutes of injury time, whereas now there's 33 minutes of injury time. Not that many, but you know what I mean? I don't know. I obviously never played the game at that level, so I don't think any of us did. Mark might have done in a previous life, but I don't know. It really is same old, same old. And again, the set pieces. Every time they get a corner, you your heart just... Your stomach just drops, right? You're like, Here we go. Here we go, here we go. I don't know what the answer is to that. It's just 70 minutes. Again, to Mark's point, I thought we looked good. I really did.

The first half in particular, I thought we looked great. But then you just know it's coming. Again, I don't necessarily think that's a forest thing. I think that's a football fan thing. And obviously the inevitable happened and Bournemouth started to step up. Again, I'm happy with the point, but I don't know what the answer is. What do you think, mate?

I think it's a challenging one, and I think that it often can come down to mentality of the players. I think the players know that they're under pressure, they know they're under threat. Maybe it's a mentality thing, but then in fairness to Bournemouth, they played very well at times. Bournemouth weren't mugs of soldier in that game and had so many chances. They had obviously a goal ruled out from VAR. So as Mark said earlier, it was almost inevitable that goal coming. You just didn't know when it was. And also it just always seems to happen with Bournemouth in that corner at the away end. I just have this vision of watching it from the main stand where I just knew that that cross came into the box and I knew it was going to end up in the back of the net. And I think a lot of Forest fans around me did. And it's just frustrating, and especially when in the club with fans of singing Nottingham Forest. It's happened again, Mark. But it is annoying, isn't it?

Yeah, it is. But balance in all things. I think I would summarize our performance as encouraging without being convincing. And I think that's okay in game one. I saw some comments online that, Oh, if our starting 11 hasn't really changed, and so why should we expect a different outcome? I just think that's really near-sight. I think Nuno has had a little bit of time to work with the players. Here it comes, Max. Here it comes on your Bingo card. There's more cohesion in the team. And again, I think it was encouraging without being wholly convincing, but It's the first game. We drew against the team who beat us at the city ground last season. We look far better, I think, from set pieces at both ends of the field. Yes, I know they scored a goal that was disallowed, but you know what? I'm going to tip my hat to Bournemouth, not say Brighton. I'm about to tip my hat to Bournemouth because that was a really well-worked play, something they clearly worked on on the training ground. Sometimes you get caught out by those things. The best teams do. But I think we look far more convincing.

I think if Milinkowitch had been available, he would have been in the starting lineup, so that would have been a change. I think we would have looked even stronger at the back had he been out there as part of a centre-back pair with Marillo or a three with Marillo and Boli. So I think there are lots of positives. We're not the finished article. If you're a Forest fan who thought we were going to rock up on day one of the season and beat Bournemouth 4-0 at the city ground, well, I want the gummies you're on.

Hang on a minute because that's what we do, isn't it? It's a good point. It's this amazing thing you might have heard of it called the Internet. Apparently, we're going to finish top three, some stuff I was reading. But it Look, I think talking to Gummies, we are all like kids in a sweet shop. And I think since our return to the Premier League, we've been shopping in the largest sweet shop of sweet shops, right? And I do. I think you wake up on a Saturday morning and obviously you're excited to see who's going to come in. And truthfully, we talked about it in the bar on Saturday, where I'm sure all of us were hoping we were going to see some of the new candy on show, so to speak. But on the flip side to that, it was super interesting to see that the start in 11 was as good as where we left off. When was the last time we could say that? That definitely spoke... I don't know. I thought that was a solid message about the players that we've had on the team. Again, obviously, looking forward to this season, not in the rear view mirror of last season, but I thought that was super interesting and that just spoke volumes to me.

I was excited when we were all sitting there waiting for the subs to come on. Who's it going to be? Obviously, the eight sub was forced. But I think the next couple of weeks, again, get that fitness up and just start to see the new guys and what they're going to bring to the team. So, yeah, again, I'll take it.

Yeah. I mean, Mark, I saw some comments online, and some people said it was quite Cooper-esque in particular, that second half performance. So for the last 20 minutes. What would you say to that? Because it did remind me a little bit, to be totally honest, of Steve Cooper. It was almost that sitting back and you knew it was going to happen. We're talking about that goal being inevitable, and it was. And yet Forest sat back sat back rather than going and getting another to kill off the game.

I'm going to give you a perfect politician answer here, and I'm going to swerve the question directly. And instead, coming it from the side. Because I don't want to talk about Steve Cooper. I get frustrated because I think there's too many among us who have very short memories. If you want to talk about Steve Cooper, are we talking about Steve Cooper the last three months of his reign at Forest. We're talking about Steve Cooper the first season at Forest. It was horses for courses in terms of the way he set his teams up and in the results he got. So I'm going to dodge that all together and just say, again, I'm going to come back to my summary of the match, which is encouraging without being convincing. And I'm going to look at that through lens of one player. Look at Morgan Gibbs-White. Morgan Gibbs-White was busy. He was out there harrying people. He was a great number eight, again, up and down, box to box. And yet much of what he tried to execute didn't come off. If you were watching, I was watching him, I was watching him like a Hawk in that second In half in particular.

I was doing an MGB, a CAM, almost. And he was trying some very sophisticated things, but even the more rudimentary things, connecting passes, just really weren't happening for him. And you know he's a great player, and you know three or four games from now, those things are going to connect. And suddenly, Forrest is going to turn those passes into opportunities or maybe even goals. But it wasn't quite clicking for him. His passing wasn't quite his calibration.

His face was there as well. Just to echo on that. I think, obviously, as we were looking at it on the TV down that left-hand side, just a lot of, as I would refer to it, tip-tap, tip-tap. And we were wide open on that far side.

Yeah. And he was trying to make those links. He was trying to get intercepted or it didn't quite have the distance or the weight. Another example is Nico Williams. Nico Williams, Max and I talked about this a lot, probably one of the best players last season for us. He looked a little off the pace game one. And Semenyo is a winger you don't want to be up against on day one if you're not quite feeling at the races. William could have been sent off. He really could have been. Semenyo had him on toast. I would not expect to see that happen again when the two teams face each other later in the season.

Yeah, it's very interesting point. Mark, because you dodged the question, I'll answer it and I think that it was quite Cooper-esque towards the last 20 minutes. And I think that Boris needs to find a way to kill off games, otherwise we'll be in the same situation as last season.

That's what the bench is for, and that's what potential players are coming in for. If you look at the bench, we talked about Anderson a little bit. You've obviously got Yota and Sosa now as well. There's real quality there. There's opportunities to create and score more goals. Okay, those players weren't thrown into the mix on Saturday, with the exception Anderson. But there's goals. There's goals on that bench. There's goals created to come on that bench. So, yeah, I'm not going to panic about it too much or start making parallels with the last three months of Steve Cooper's reign, just because, again, we weren't pounding Bournemouth 4-0 on the opening day.

Yeah, good point. Moving on towards Sangare and wanted to single him out, really, and actually talk about him quite a lot because watching match of the day, and he got quite a nice mention from Alan Sheerer who picked came out and talked about how he sat in front of that defensive line on Saturday. He was almost the workhorse for Forest, and he did a really good job, I thought. He had a positive preseason, and he certainly had a positive opening day. Carl, what did you think of him? Because he was a player last season, whether people agree with it or not, he struggled at times, and then he's had a positive preseason. You just hope it's going in the right direction for him now, and you hope he's going to be a crucial player for Forest.

Yeah, I think for me, there's just this certain players every now and then that come into a club, and you're really spurring on. You know what I mean? You really, really want them to do well, and particularly the club that they came for and the quality that that club have produced over the years. And so I was super happy when we bought him. When we bought him, excuse me, talking American there. And yeah, for some reason last year, it It didn't click, really. I could be wrong, but I think they were talks about we might be getting rid of him. I could be wrong on that. I was hoping that that was not the case. Did not see any of the preseason games, but obviously read up online and stuff and pretty encouraging from what I read. So hoping he was going to hit the ground running for this season. I thought he played well. I think that what they said match of the day about him was pretty spot on. Again, just want him to almost step up a bit more and just be a little bit more holding. But I really, really like him and I think he's an exciting prospect for the season, but we shall see.

Yeah, we shall see. He had the most tackles and interceptions out of all the players on Saturday. Is that right? Yeah, he won back possession more than anyone else. So there you go, really. And it's what Forest have needed, isn't it, Mark, at times? Because in particular, against teams like Bournemouth, when they can make it quite difficult, well, every team can make it quite difficult for Forest, but you need a player that offers something else and can break up and he's constantly working as well as a player like Morgan. But Morgan's particular, in the final third, you need someone just to sit in front of the defense, and Sangare could be that player, right?

Yeah, I think you and Carl have covered that base pretty comprehensively. The only thing I would add is, I think he's really the only player in our squad, Roster, Carl, who- It's like a squad, but different. Who is truly a six. I think we tried to have Yatesy play that role before. He's really more of an eight. Same with Dominguez, I'd say, likewise. Morgan Gibbs-Wright, obviously, isn't a six. We obviously know that. So you look across our midfield options, and I think Sengari is really the only one who is... He was so good on Saturday, I wouldn't even switch him for Rodri. I'm kidding, Max.

I think he's got hamstrings, so that's probably a fair shout.

No, obviously, going OTT there. But no, I thought he had a really good performance, and I'm really glad of it, too, because I was going head to head with Max on one of those earlier podcasts we were talking about the starting 11, and he had Danilo and Yates in there, and I had Sangari and Yates. I just thought we'd seen enough in season. And to what Carl said earlier, we know that there were some extenuating circumstances last year that meant we didn't see the best of Sangari. There's no doubt he's a quality player, and I'm glad we start to see evidence of that this last weekend.

Yeah, I agree. I agree. I think that as well as players like Anderson, we could see more of him. I mean, it's a bit of an interesting one, just staying on that mark quickly. I know that we've talked about it, talking about almost predicting lineups and things There was a lot of talk whether Yates and Sangare could work together, but when Yates came on, there was no sign of issues between the pair of them.

I mean, yeah, I never had those concerns. Clearly, I put them in my starting 11. So I felt that would work, and it did.

I mean, I think given how it went down as well, Yates coming on, I mean, things just happen, don't they? That chemistry, it happens. No one knows why. And again, I think it just It just worked. Will it work? Will it work next week? Time will tell. But I think in that moment, again, going back to that player mentality and given obviously why Yates came on when he did, it just worked. So let's see.

Yeah, I'm still waiting for that chemistry to work between Max and I.

Yeah, me too. We will get there one day. And nice to see you got the color memo as well, Mark, for another podcast, both in gray T-shirt. Its jumpers type thing. If only I could copy your beard, like Carl, I'll copy it. Gamistry, what's that? In fact, going back and talking about Anderson, because I know we mentioned him at the start, but I wanted to give him more of a bit of a discussion. Carl, you said you were quite impressed with Anderson. You like that energetic way from him. Would you start him next week? Would he be a player you'd be starting against Southampton?

I'm not froze. I'm just thinking about it. I don't think I would. I think, again, what we said was the confidence that I mentioned that Mark had referred to as something differently. But again, I think just early doors, I feel like that's my response to everything. I think game one over I think what I saw of him on the field on the weekend was great. I think a great start, great debut, and he's going to be going to build on that for sure. What I think, yeah, I think I'd have him on the subs bench at this stage of the season.

Yeah. Okay. Mark, do you agree? I'd actually be tempted to start Anderson next week. I think maybe a way, again, he's got a point to prove and give him a full 90 minutes if he can do it.

Yeah, I see the rationale behind that. I am with Carl, though, I would have him come off the bench again. That being said, I want to be quite clear. I refer to him as a bull in the China shop. I think over-enthusiastic puppy would be maybe another appropriate description. There's no doubt he has quality. I am not dismissing him. I am not one of those crazy fans who determines a player's entire Forest career based on the first 20 minutes of their time in a Garabaldi shirt. So I think he brings something different to the party. I like the look of him a lot. I like his directness, like his physicality. So yeah, absolutely excited to see what he does this season. Don't think I'd start him in the next game, though.

Got you. Right. Let's touch on some links today with Forest, just to close, really. I think we've covered a lot from the game, and as Carl has been alludinging to it, is game week one. We shall see next week, and as the season progresses.

Can we say that or is that just me being an American? What?

Game week one.

Do we say game week one? Do we say that?

I think so. I think I said before.

Okay. I need to try saying it with an American accent.

I'm not going I think I'm not going to embarrass myself any further, so I'll pass on that, but I appreciate the offer.

And I won't try it either. Right. Let's look at the player that Forest have heavily been with, which is a striker from Phenoid. It's always a funny one that. Phenoid, actually.

Phenoid, isn't it? I don't know.

There we go.

That's my American accent, Phenoid.

Three different pronunciations covering the basis for all of our listeners and viewers. There you go.

There we go. Santiago Jimenez, and he's a player that has been linked with many other clubs, not just Forest, but Forest seem to leading the race, shall we say. They've already submitted one bid, which is in the region of around 25 million, which reportedly has been rejected, but it's expected, according to media reports in South America, that Forrest will go in for him again. Mark, you have a little bit of inside info on him and as, don't you? From someone that has followed him quite closely.

I do, yeah. So I'm good friends with a journo over here, this side of the pond, a gentleman by the name of Arch Bal. Folks can check him out on Twitter @ARCH, B-E-L-L. Really, really good guy. I mean, again, legitimate journo. I work with him side by side with him in the press box at Austin FC, but his area of expertise really is CAF, so everything's Central and South America. I actually asked him both about Sosa, who obviously we just confirmed there's a signing of, and he was paraded around at the city ground pregame on Saturday, so I can give you some insight there if you'd like. But I reached out to him previously regarding him and He said, Probably Mexico's best striker now. By Mexico, he obviously means the men's national team. Good movement, decent hold-up play, good pedigree. His dad is Chaco Jimenez, who won a bunch of titles in Mexico and Concacath. He said, I like Santee. Now we know to refer to him as Santee Max. We'll have to butcher his name moving forward. I think he would relish playing in the Premier League. Any couple of things I'd add to that is in watching some footage on Santee, he seemed predominantly left-footed, and he does seem very strong in the air, which despite his size, we don't see a whole lot from Chris Wood.

Now, to be fair to Wood, I don't think we have wingers who are necessarily looking to get to the by-line and get crossers into the box. If you look at a langer and you look at Chou, they're wingers who are looking more to come inside and either get the shot on or the give and go, right? So maybe we'll see a change in our style here. Maybe we will see them be encouraged to get to the buy-line and whip balls in there for Santee to get his head on. I did also check in with another colleague of mine out here, Hernan, who runs the Top Flight Flight podcast, which is the premier podcast covering Austin FC. He's Mexican, and so I asked always his family are of Mexican descent. I asked him a little bit about Santee, and his feedback was very similar to Arch's. The other thing he said, additionally, is that he's really struggled on the international stage. He is Mexico's best striker, but he's He really struggled to find his feet and score goals, not so domestically. Well, obviously, he's been prolific. Clearly, we don't care about what he does for the Mexican national team.

He's already got, I think, four or five goals in the opening three games this season. He scored two in the Johann Croyff Trophy, which is essentially our community shield, and then bagged another brace again this past weekend in a 5-1 victory, I want to say. So he started the season strongly.

Yeah, he has, and it'll be a player. I think it'll be a big coup if Forest can get him He's a bit of a name. It would be big money. And as you've said, he's Mexican's best striker. So for Forest to get him and for him to play in the Premier League would be a good move. There is only so much we can talk about a player that we don't know much about. However, Carl, in terms of striker and if Forest are moving forward this season, we can't just have Chris Wood and Taewo, can we? We need somebody else to provide those goals.

We need something else for sure. I thought obviously Chris Wood took the goal. He banged more than enough in last season. But again, like Mark had alluded to where he's currently at, obviously, even from an age standpoint, he's earning his keep for sure. And I love Chris Wood. I really, really do. I like him a lot. I think, personally, I don't necessarily think he was Getting the service as much as it should have been on Saturday. Obviously, Taewo, I thought Taewo looked sharp in a few bursts. His power and speed and just being able to get past players. I was really, really impressed with that. But as we know, he's not been 100 % fit. He has had multiple injuries. So I think having Having another striker to be able to call on... I mean, look, as far as I'm aware, last season, he was banging them in. I think he scored something like 25, 26 goals. I mean, that's a lot of goals, right? And I think in 40, 41 appearances, I mean, those stats, you would take them. I mean, again, I'd like to see two up front. That's just me, old school.

But I think it could be a great coup, as you said, but we'll just have to see, I mean, back and forth, back and forth, which is... I feel that's what we like to do at Forest. We never let it go for someone and they come straight away. There's always this fun part, Is he Is he coming? Is he not? Is he coming? Is he not? So I get fingers crossed, we can sign. I think it'd be a great sign. And just from obviously living over here and brand forest, if you will, I think getting a Hispanic player on the books, I think that's great for us being able to spread the word of forest, particularly in the region where Mark and I live. So I'm super excited. Obviously, time will tell, but fingers crossed.

You're right. He's got a scoring record last year. I think it was one in two, which undeniably, the Premier League is more challenging right than the area divisi. But if it could come here and get one in three and just contribute that amount of goals, that still puts him into double figures. You have to imagine Chris Wood's probably getting to double figures this year. Taewo, who the heck knows, right? It depends how many minutes he gets. But if you have three strikers, all of whom are getting in and around double figures, then your chances of survival go up exponentially. The other thing I point out as well, Max, he is Mexican, but he's of Argentinian descent. And what's really interesting is that Sosa was with, I'm going to get the pronunciation entirely wrong here, but I want to say in Argentina. That's where we got him from. So we're seeing some Argentinian connections. Historically, we've seen a lot of Brazilian stuff. We're seeing some Argentinian stuff pop up now. Speaking to our scouting network, I think in South America, which seems to be really healthy. And there's definitely some joined up thinking here.

Yes, for sure. No good stuff. And I think in terms of recruitment for Forest this season, it's certainly been a strong point so far. So long may it continue on that front. Just to close, we got to touch on him because obviously Forest announced him on Saturday. I haven't done a podcast since then, but we've talked about him lots on the podcast. Mark, maybe just your thoughts quickly on Raymond Sosa. And it was quite funny, actually, when we had Graham Bailey on the transfer journalist, he said the pronunciation for me of Raymond was very Midlands-like. So Raymond Sosa- Why don't you go the whole hog and just call him Raymond. Ramon Sosa, obviously signed for Forest. What do you make of the sign? And can you see him playing straight away against Southampton, or do you expect to start on the benchmark?

Well, first things first. When you're being introduced to the crowd, a full city ground, and you're holding up a shirt, hold it up so that your name faces the crowd. You know who you are. You're introduced to yourself to Forest, so the Forest faithful. So anyway, someone needed to give him a top tip on that. I will say as well, if you're going to hold up towels to mask an injured player while he's receiving treatment on the field, can you please get the team logo the right way up?

Yeah, that's all right. I didn't want to put as a graphic designer. I didn't want to point that out.

Yes. Thank you, Carl. Anyway, he looks good, Max. I am very excited about the signing of Yota and potentially Jimenez as well. But Sosa is a lot of buzz around him. Paraguay and international. Super interesting, actually. He didn't go through any of the youth teams in Paraguay internationally, and then just jumped straight into being a full international. I think he's had 13, 14 in appearances, back to goal already. But he has blistering pace. And also he has a one-track mind. If he's in a one-on-one situation, all he's interested in is beating his man. He's not interested in the give and go. He's not looking to roll it back to his fullback. He's looking to take his man on and go. And what I think is really exciting about him is he can legitimately go out of either side. He can go left foot or right foot. He seems to be as comfortable either side. So I think that means you can play him either side. Although I think general wisdom is he does better coming out the left because he's more right-footed, but genuinely, he looks great on either side. Going back to Arch Bell, Arch's insight was very interesting player.

He scored the Paraguay goal against Costa Rica, actually at Q2, another shout out to your Austin FC there in the Copa America. Háptiles, qualify for the Copa Libertadores. Very much one of those... Okay, I can't say this, Max. I really should have sent this to you because I I'd love to have heard you say this, descilbrante, descilbrante, which I guess is a Mexican term for a certain type of player. Those of you know- No. There you go. Those of you know Spanish players know what that means, a descilguante player? Anyway, Meaning, oh, here we go. I read on? Meaning he can unbalance defenses. We'll be curious to see how he adjusts to the pram. So there you go. There's your Sosa breakdown from Archbou.

Do you know what, Mark? Brilliant. And if only All my fundits that came on the podcast did the same level of research as you. Take note, Dave. Take note. I'm only kidding. Carl, I'll give you the easier question. Don't worry, I won't make you do insight for your first one, but just you can have the last word on going into Southampton next Saturday. Again, it's a game on paper that you'd be targeting to win. Forest away from home. Got to kick on and got to start, hopefully, at the start of some good away form this season.

Yeah, I mean, as you know, we do struggle away from home, but again, just setting our stall early. I just love to see us go and just dominate, literally just turn up, dominate, Grab a 2-0 win. Hopefully, we can defend against set pieces. Hopefully, we can park the bus if need to be. But the stuff that we talked about earlier, not being able to protect these leads, et cetera, just I just want to see the tides turn a little bit. It's in them. I genuinely believe it's in them, but they're just not there yet. So hopefully, they're going to work on that this week and we'll see. I'm going to go 2-0, first away. First away game, first away game win. So don't put your money on what I said.

Yeah, I'm not. But yeah, there we go. Positive end to the podcast. And you never know, Forrest could Boris could get their first away win of the season. Hopefully we're talking about it next week. Wouldn't that be nice? Right, I think that does us nicely. We've covered a lot of stuff because there's a lot to talk about. So thank you both for joining. We'll be back this week with lots more stuff. We'll keep you updated, especially if Jimenez signs, and I'm going to go and work on my pronunciations, probably as well this week. That is my job tonight because I've let myself down in that area. But Mark, thank you as ever for joining us, mate.

You're so welcome. For what it's worth, 100 Forest. We have four away at Southampton, 1-0 Forest.

We will take that. Carl, thank you. I hope you enjoyed your podcast debut and you've enjoyed it. Come back soon. I hope we haven't put you off forever.

Perfect. Now, thanks so much. Really appreciate the opportunity to hang out with you guys and give you some of my personal insights. So thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

Good stuff. Good. If you've enjoyed this episode, have Garabody read, give us a like, share, and subscribe on YouTube. Follow us across Spotify and Apple podcasts. We will see you. We will see you very, very soon. Come on, you Reds.