Tree-mendous Week - The Forest Report: Gibbs-White Brilliance and Flowing Optimism

Tree-mendous Week - The Forest Report: Gibbs-White Brilliance and Flowing Optimism

Football Blog

Nottingham Forest's Stellar Week At It

It's incredible what a couple of good results and a drama-free week can do for the ode mental clarity, isn't it?

Nottingham Forest's season has been an up-and-down rollercoaster both on and off the pitch. A streak of six without a win in any competition has now been dismissed in favour of a seven-game unbeaten run that features three wins, including a mammoth victory over Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon to put the Reds in a really strong position amidst their relegation battle.

As per the norm, it felt pertinent to put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) and provide my musings on the week that was for Nottingham Forest, that nobody asked for.

Morgan Gibbs-White is the Best on Earth

How could I possibly start anywhere else?

As a writer, my time in the industry has led me to build up quite the lineage of buzzwords and metaphors and long phrases that make you go 'oo-er'. However, there isn't a single word in the English language that could quite correctly emphasise just how important Morgan Gibbs-White is to Nottingham Forest.

It's not a ridiculous thing for me to say that he is the very best I have seen in a Forest shirt in my lifetime. Granted, I'm 23 and spent my early years watching Forest cheering on the likes of Nicklas Bendtner and Gil Dias, but you take my point.

The first half against Burnley left plenty to be desired. We hadn't exactly been second-best throughout, but we looked leggy, stale and bereft of any ideas on how to break the Clarets down. However, Gibbs-White took the game by the horns in the second 45 and delivered a first-ever career hat-trick, and a first by a Forest player since Chris Wood's treble against Brighton last season (which was also the last time we scored four-or-more goals in a Premier League match).

The contrast between performances was damn near startling to behold. We played the second half with a fire under us, and with a highly necessary sense of purpose and direction. Though Burnley haven't had a great season, are near-certain to be going down and shouldn't have posed much of a threat to Forest on paper, the game remained a must-win occasion with Tottenham once again dropping points at the weekend.

James Ward-Prowse, one of two former Reds in the Burnley squad on the day with Joe Worrall (their impacts at the club may differ somewhat) sent a header back towards his own goal for Gibbs-White to slide home with precision, before our talisman sent home an excellent volley following some great work on the flank by Omari Hutchinson.

With the game having been turned around in the space of seven minutes, he would finish his treble not long after - an outstanding cross by Ryan Yates (which he was definitely trying to win a corner with instead) met his head from the edge of the box, near enough, and his looping effort had Dubravka sprawling as we effectively wrapped the game up. Igor Jesus would put on the seal, combining with fellow sub Nico Dominguez (side-note, I love that bloke) to slot home a first home league goal of the season.

In the four years that we have had with Gibbs-White now, it's fitting to say that we would not be anywhere without him. His quality was paramount to us surviving our first two years in the Premier League, and he shone as we made it into Europe last term. However, amidst all the chaos we have experienced this term, this version of 'MGW' may very well be his best form we've seen.

His 12 Premier League goals have him sat fifth in the scoring charts, and Mr Thomas Tuchel may have to be sectioned citing insanity if our special talisman isn't on his plane to North America in the summer. He is just that good. This, of course, being written in a week where he also scored the goal that secured our place in a major European semi-final - a place and an accolade not attributed to our club for decades, and something I never thought I'd see in my lifetime.

Gibbs-White represents a player that, whilst holding obvious qualities himself, carries something far more important than his individual talents - an innate ability to lift the performances of everyone else around him. In these late stages of the Premier League season, that ability has been seen and then some. I'm not naïve enough to believe that he will stay at Nottingham Forest for the rest of his career, but I am damn sure that no fanbase on earth will love him quite as much as we do.

Confidence Restored

As I mentioned at the top, it's a wonder what one good result can do for you upstairs. I came into the last couple of weeks fraught with worry, wringing my hands together at the thought of a Forest game like a nervous town crier. Or a fruit fly, I guess.

And yet, here we are in a very solid position - though more work needs to be done, of course, the Reds now sit five points clear of safety with Tottenham occupying the third spot in the relegation zone, and I am permitting myself the very slight chance to breathe out ever so slightly.

With five games and 15 points left to play for, there is a chance that just a few more points from that potential haul could seal the deal for Nottingham Forest's fight against a return to the Championship. It seems that the 'biggest game of the season' for us almost indefinitely follows what we were previously deeming the 'biggest game of the season' beforehand. Tottenham away was massive, and a point against Villa and dropped points for Spurs meant Burnley was huge as well, particularly with a very hard run-in coming our way too.

Up next is Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Friday night, and it's yet another huge occasion. But, for a stunning change, I feel like I've got a bit of confidence. What I have learned in my decade-or-so of watching Forest is that getting your hopes up is near to footballing suicide. So I'm not going to come out swinging and say we will absolutely be fine. But I don't quite doubt our abilities to put up a fight amidst the chaos now.

This form has landed at a perfect time for us. We've managed to strike a chord between maintaining our competitive edge in domestic affairs whilst not dismissing a once-in-a-generation run at European football. It might have taken boardroom drama, four managers and a shed-load of pain, but I'm starting to see a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel.

Louis Wheeldon
Louis Wheeldon Lead Writer and Editor

An avid gambler, football obsessive and loyal Nottingham Forest fan, Louis has been writing about football and wider sports since he was just 15 years old.

Armed with a Football Journalism degree from the University of Derby, he initially joined the Football Park team in April 2025 as a Freelance Writer, before quickly being offered a full-time position as the site's Lead Writer and Betting Strategist. His time working in football has taken him to every corner of the sports media landscape possible, with roles for GiveMeSport, Reach PLC and VAVEL included amongst the 15 different websites he has written for in the past, whilst his roles in club media include non-league sides Hucknall Town and Basford United - he can still be found on live radio commentary with the latter from time to time - as well as Nottingham Forest themselves.

During his tenure at GiveMeSport, Louis showcased his range by producing everything from historical deep-dives into Liverpool's greatest-ever finishers to tactical breakdowns. His expertise also extends to the betting markets, where he has provided sharp match analysis and predictions for fixtures such as England vs. Finland in the Nations League.

Louis holds a knowledge of the 92 and it's various combatants that is as varied as it is mildly concerning. He channelled this keen interest in the sport into a hopeful career in professional journalism back in 2018 with the launch of his own personal From12Yards blog whilst studying for his GCSE's, before expanding his list of clientele with articles on his beloved Nottingham Forest for a local newspaper and freelancing for different publications over a range of sports, including darts, professional wrestling, MMA, boxing and Formula 1 (he talks about Daniel Ricciardo a concerning amount).

View all articles by Louis Wheeldon →

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