The Red Report - Hope, Misery and Lovely Memories

Oh, Forest...

Where to start. Where to bloody start...

I want to be upset with Forest. I want to seethe over the manner of our performance, one that saw us bounced soundly out of the Europa League at the semi-final stage, missing a showdown with Freiburg for a shot at a major trophy for the first time in decades. I want to boil over at the lack of quality on display, or indeed fighting spirit in the wake of a Villainous onslaught that saw Ollie Watkins, Emiliano Buendia and John McGinn (twice) put us to the sword in Birmingham.

But, on the morning after the night before, I just can't. Well actually, that's bollocks. I probably can, but I feel more overwhelmed by the incredible memories and incredible achievements laid down by Nottingham Forest amidst this European run.

A disappointing night, but so much to be proud of as our European journey comes to an end.

Thank you for your support along the way, Reds. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/4E5Y7ScrDc

— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) May 7, 2026

Maybe it's the memories that have watered down my disappointment. Finances and timing allowed me just one opportunity to forray out into Europe for a continental away day, but it was amongst the very greatest memories I have had in my life following the club. Fox and Hounds, the pub in the center of Herning, Denmark, will hold a special space in my heart for a very long time.

Perhaps it's the circumstances we had to battle with going into the game instead. No Ola Aina or Zach Abbott meant we had to throw poor 6'6 Jair Cunha in at right-back, where he was forced into an uncomfortable display. That also goes along with Morgan Gibbs-White, cutting a battered and bruised figure on the bench after his head collision against Chelsea, joining Ibrahim Sangare and Murillo who were present in the squad, but not fit to start. Maybe we would have held a fighting chance with them available.

Whatever it is that is keeping me subdued, I can't bring myself to stay angry at Forest after last night. But my day job dictates that I should probably talk about the game itself, before getting all misty-eyed over the wonderful memories made. Oh... fine.

Villa Run Riot as Reds Bow Out

The first leg of the Europa League semi-final, played out at the City Ground last week, was as tough and as tense an affair as you're likely to see.

Emi Martinez pulled off one of the greatest saves we'd seen at the place since... well, Emi Martinez a couple of years ago in the same fixture, and a moment of madness from Lucas Digne allowed Chris Wood to slot home a slim, tender lead from the spot to take to Villa Park the week after.

Wild celebrations followed from the home contingent, which did cause a bit of a debate that I, quite frankly, am not going to get involved in. But the general warning from plenty of Villa fans (and a fair few Forest fans) was not to take the half-time lead as gospel that the tie was over.

Nottingham Forest’s exit from the Europa League will hurt.

But amid a torrid campaign, it has been the one competition that has provided a sliver of optimism.

Their European journey might be a sign that, in Vitor Pereira, they have a manager who is capable of inspiring the hope… pic.twitter.com/jm71vcOe0k

— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) May 8, 2026

It is certainly over and done with now, and Unai Emery - the perennial master of the Europa League - made sure that in the midst of a ferocious Villa Park atmosphere, Nottingham Forest would be blown away by pure fighting spirit and necessary moments of quality. Forest had a couple of flickers that they might have something to show, like Chris Wood's missed 1v1 that looked onside, despite an initial flag, and a fantastic pass from James McAtee in the first half, but that was about it.

Emi Buendia produced a moment of magic to get things started. A tepid clearance from Cunha was worked back to the Argentine in the left channel, and he weaved magically through a pair of challenges to put it on a plate for Ollie Watkins. A Watkins bandaged up after a pretty nasty (and accidental) headbutt from Morato. Why does that keep happening, by the way? That's Abbott, Gibbs-White and Morato all involved in grim head-to-head collisions like the Wild Samoans in the space of two matches. Anyway, moving on...

We put our European campaign in the hands of Sean Dyche, who duly registered 2 full backs in our squad, loaned out our only mobile striker and murdered the confidence of players who could have helped the team. Lost to braga and sacrificed top 8 all for Dyche’s hubris #nffc

— Brandon (@brandonnffc) May 8, 2026

A daft pull on Pau Torres' shirt from the normally-astute Nikola Milenkovic allowed Buendia to add a goal from the spot. Forest woke up a little bit from the 70th minute and started to push on, but it seemed as if we decided to play without a left-back for the late stages as we committed as many as possible to the attack. John McGinn took advantage of all the freshly-found space, adding a pair of excellent finishes to compound the Reds' misery.

From a performance perspective, there wasn't much to cheer about at all from the game. We looked bereft of ideas and whimpered in the middle of an Aston Villa team that, in many views, wanted it more than us and were more 'up for it' than we were.

We were dealt a bad hand going into the game for a multitude of reasons. The registration of the manager in before Vitor Pereira, Sean Dyche, could come into question for some. Luca Netz was branded as 'one for the future' and was left out of the squad, which meant that double injuries for Aina and Abbott left us without a senior right-back able to play last night (Williams could have filled in there with the German on the left), forcing Cunha out of position.

Without wanting to wax lyrical about him, the decision to loan out Arnaud Kalimuendo in favour of Lorenzo Lucca also looks a bizarre one, as did the choice to leave Taiwo Awoniyi, and his difference in profile to Chris Wood and Lucca, out of the squad as well. All of this was inherited by Pereira, and it hadn't bitten us until now. But when it did, it bit lethally.

Don’t think Morgan will be playing any time soon,compared to yesterday his face looks more swollen really hope we see him on the pitch before the end of the season,could be the last time we see him in a Forest shirt #nffc pic.twitter.com/WiVbceTlPV

— Kieran (@KieranCallum29_) May 8, 2026

And then, of course, the injuries were perhaps the biggest catalyst behind the collapse. The aforementioned Aina and Abbott missed out entirely, whereas Sangare, Murillo and Gibbs-White were all unable to start and, seemingly in the case of the former-most and latter-most, unable to actually come onto the pitch despite being in the squad. With a fully fit Nottingham Forest squad available, with our main talisman and Premier League Player of the Month in Gibbs-White the main key to that, we might have stood more of a chance.

But that doesn't totally dismiss the fact that, last night, we didn't hold a candle to the pure grit and determination that Aston Villa had on display.

It's a sad way for our time in Europe this term to come to an end, but as I said earlier I don't want to get too upset over the manner of the defeat and exit.

Cheers, Europe. See you Later.

The reason for the above is because this season, amidst all the noise and chaos, has still beheld an achievement deemed impossible to imagine just a few short years ago.

On the 7th of May, 2017, Nottingham Forest were staring down the barrel of a relegation down into League One.

It was a territory that they had become familiar with amidst their years in the EFL wilderness, and maybe had become more closely related to in comparison to their esteemed heritage on the biggest and brightest of European stages. Britt Assombalonga helped himself to a brace on the final day, helped along the way by a Chris Cohen screamer and an immortal save from Jordan Smith which saw us defeat Ipswich Town to preserve our second-tier status.

I was sat at home that day playing PlayStation with my friends who, like me, couldn't yet afford a season ticket at the City Ground, listening to the game on the radio and celebrating wildly when we kept our space in the Championship. The pitch invasion that followed and the wild celebrations surrounding the game promised a spark of life being shown in a side so far removed from those great history books they had previously written.

If, then, you had told the sparkly-eyed 14-year-old me that celebrated that result from his bedroom that day that, in nine years to the date, I would be sat with my head in my hands as Nottingham Forest suffered a gutting defeat to Aston Villa in a semi-final, I would have assumed that we had been knocked out of the playoffs and offered a little bit of initial surprise that we had finally made it into them, after all this time.

John McGinn gets Aston Villa's third 🔥

The captain surely puts the nail in the coffin 💥

📺 TNT Sports and HBO Max pic.twitter.com/xJFcdktUxf

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 7, 2026

If you had told me then that my dismay would come due to our exit from a major European competition, with one more good result seeing us fight for a major trophy for the first time in decades, my head might have exploded.

The run in Europe was a welcome distraction to what had been quite the rollercoaster on and off the pitch. Forest performed well above expectations last season, maintained a genuine top-five push and flittered out into a European qualification still deemed highly improbable for a side that had battled against the trap door of the Premier League for two consecutive seasons prior.

"We did not have the level to compete today"

Vitor Pereira reflects on Nottingham Forest's defeat to Aston Villa...

🎙️ @OliviaBuzaglo

📺 TNT Sports and HBO Max pic.twitter.com/gd5s7qSA5Q

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 7, 2026

We came into the season expecting progress, and instead were treated to drama at every corner which has centred around four different managers and some pretty bleak moments on the field, such as the entirety of Ange Postecoglou's ill-fated reign at the City Ground.

However, Europe on the whole has been a delight to experience. A veritable menu of mouth-watering European away trips lit up the calendar for a travelling Forest contingency, who took their passionate support to a range of destinations, from the sunny hills of Porto in Portugal to the quiet bars of Herning in Denmark.

For Forest, surviving against a somewhat surprising relegation battle will have always been of the upmost importance. We seem all but safe, with just a small points haul necessary from our final three matches to confirm our top-flight status and condemn one of West Ham or Tottenham to the Championship. At times this term, it felt as if we may have flown too close to the sun, but our wings have not been totally clipped just yet.

So What's Next?

Well, for Forest, the season isn't quite over as outlined above.

Newcastle United is on the menu for Sunday afternoon, before an away battle with Manchester United and a final-day showdown against our perennial bogey team, Bournemouth.

A run of three-straight Premier League wins has seen us rise six points away from the basement door of the English top-flight, ahead of Tottenham in 17th and West Ham, occupying the final relegation spot with Burnley and Wolves, sat 18th with Arsenal next on their calendar.

A revamped run of form in all competitions has left Vitor Pereira with some serious credit in the bank. Outstanding performances against Burnley (in the second half, anyway), Chelsea and Sunderland saw an amazing max-points haul from those three fixtures, and now only a Stoke-esque level of throwaways and bad luck would be the catalyst to Forest's Premier League journey ending along with their European one.

Aston Villa are back into a European final for the first time since 1982 🟣🔵

It’s party time at Villa Park after smashing Forest to book their ticket to Istanbul.

↳ UEFA Europa League. Live & Exclusive on Stan Sport.#StanSportAU #UEL pic.twitter.com/kjYXLwEV1z

— Stan Sport Football (@StanSportFC) May 7, 2026

And then what else? Well, the transfer rumour mill has been spinning around ever since our shock good form of last season. From the star core of the team - Morgan Gibbs-White, Elliot Anderson, Murillo and Anthony Elanga - only the latter-most departed the club, even with a bizarre transfer saga surrounding the former-most and Tottenham.

With Forest no longer having the muscle of a strong Premier League campaign and European football to offer these stars, it does beg the question behind who may still be Trentside when the summer is over. It will be a huge shift in the team, should all three of Gibbs-White, Anderson and Murillo depart, but the fees potentially generated could springboard the next step of the Nottingham Forest project.

Anderson may be the most key part of this all. The former Newcastle United midfielder has been tagged with a fee in excess of £100m, and the money recouped from a sale of that size could echo similarities to the side that dismissed Forest from Europe last night - Aston Villa.

Star talisman Jack Grealish was flogged to Manchester City for a record-breaking sum around the nine-digit mark, and a healthy nous of re-investment back into the playing squad now sees Villa blessed with a fantastic level of squad depth, which was a stark paramount to the damaged levels of backup available for Nottingham Forest last night. Should a big sale or two happen this summer (and it seems likely that it will), then Forest will be sure to lick their wounds at the departure of a pivotal fixture in the squad, but will also face a big chance to get it right and make big continental nights a more regular fixture on their calendar.

But, for now and in this very moment, it's a sombre mood in the East Midlands. Last night's defeat was a sad way to see such a magical journey come to a screeching halt, but there is nothing to say that this will be the very last time we get to experience this in our lifetimes.