Nottingham Forest’s false start places early focus on Glasner and Delap

Sitting 19th in the Premier League was not the plan for Nottingham Forest after the arrival of a highly acclaimed manager and a £45m striker to fuel their ambitions. The fates of Oliver Glasner and Liam Delap are intertwined and with the stark stats of zero home goals and a solitary point at the City Ground it is not the dream start they were aiming for.

As Delap prepares to return to Ipswich, where his career ignited, on Friday night, Forest are remaining calm. There is a desperation to get away from the short-termism that caused so many problems; 12 months ago, they were on their third head coach of a disappointing season. This summer they were ruthless with the removal of Vítor Pereira, who had done a fine job to escape the drop, because they saw an opportunity to upgrade with Glasner, hoping he could transform Forest like he did Crystal Palace.

Pos Team P GD Pts 16 Tottenham Hotspur 7 -4 6 17 Coventry 7 -8 6 18 Fulham 7 -3 5 19 Nottm Forest 7 -4 5 20 Sunderland 7 -8 4 It cost plenty to acquire Glasner and Delap, which many fans believe should lead to instant results, but that is rarely the case in an industry as complicated as football. For the coach, it is a case of learning the club inside out while influencing performance through his carefully choreographed methods. For the striker, he needs to rebuild confidence and that comes via goals.

In Glasner’s first full season at Palace, they won one of their first 13 league matches but ended comfortably in mid-table and FA Cup winners. It was similar at Eintracht Frankfurt, getting one victory in 10, but going on to win the Europa League.

Learning the Glasner way is not straightforward. Playing three at the back is rarely the norm and nor is having two No 10s, all with the background of Forest losing their best player in Elliot Anderson.

The recruitment was measured, targeting positions that required strengthening and avoiding needless purchases that dogged the club after promotion. Replacing Anderson became a priority, but Glasner felt James McAtee could adapt to a deeper role in midfield alongside the shrewd free signing Xaver Schlager. Ousmane Diomande was a coup in defence and Glasner convinced Daniel Muñoz to follow him from Selhurst Park.

Behind the obvious figures, there is plenty of underlying encouragement for Forest. Based on chances created and conceded, Glasner has had the best start of any Forest manager in the Premier League era. His team rank seventh, according to Opta, for expected goals (xG), but have scored the fewest – five – and are the biggest xG underperformers at -6.2. It is a huge discrepancy, missing out on almost a goal a game. It includes 62 shots at home that have come to nothing and if Glasner wants buy-in from the fans, that needs to change quickly. If every team had scored and conceded the goals measured by xG, Forest would be fourth.

It is understandable that Delap is yet to find his feet after a disappointing year at Chelsea and the lack of pre-season set him back. Forest tried to sign him before he went to Stamford Bridge and have great faith in him, but he needs to improve his record of one goal every five league appearances. He is the ideal No 9, possessing pace, power and sharp finishing, but unless he is on peak form, turning that into guaranteed output is not straightforward.

Delap has scored once for Forest, but is putting in the effort through being the front line of defence, relentlessly pressing opposition centre-backs. He has shown plenty of quick thinking, demonstrated by his quick throw-in to set up a goal at Anfield, something almost replicated against Arsenal only for Chris Wood to miss the chance.

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Forest allowed Arsenal a single shot on target last Sunday – it just happened to be deflected in for a winner. Glasner can also point in that match to the absence of his captain, Morgan Gibbs-White, the team’s attacking fulcrum. “It feels very unfair,” Glasner said of the result. “We have to accept we are missing some bits. But the performance in many parts was very good.”

In two full seasons at Selhurst Park, Glasner won two major trophies for a club that had gone almost 120 years without one. He has two European titles and his own distinctive formation and execution, something he has harnessed over 12 years in coaching, so he knows how long it takes to develop the complexities.

The picture looks clearer after almost four months together. The hope at Forest is that the endeavour is rewarded with greater luck, the missing ingredient among well thought-out recruitment led by the chief football officer, George Syrianos, and his team and clever coaching. Syrianos is Glasner’s biggest advocate and told fans the manager would be given time.

Friday will be Glasner’s eighth Premier League match at Forest, three more than Ange Postecoglou was permitted before being sacked this time last year by the owner, Evangelos Marinakis. Glasner, unlike the Australian, can show progress and will be justifiably confident points will come.