FC Midtjylland v. Nottingham Forest (Minceylland Strategy Meeting part 2)

It's been nice while it lasted, and I've really enjoyed my visits to Seville and Braga, but it's most likely time for Nottingham Forest's Grand European Tour 2026 to come to an end. Consider this the prediction thread and memorial of our adventures.

I for one want us to put out a second string ... but I still really want to win it. It's a tough dilemma. I suspect we will lose. But there's just a tiny glimmer in the back of my head that something crazy happens like a McAtee hat-trick and we go through. It's going to be slightly edgy for them. They are likely to sit back again, but 1-0 is a tough lead to defend (just ask us going to Brammall Lane after David Johnson's strike at the CG in the play-offs all those years ago).

I'll be arriving in Copenhagen, all going well, at about 8am on Thursday. Updates and photos (!) will be provided. Stay tuned.

I can't decide between a repeat of Sunday's sinking feeling as we again fail to score or winning 1-0, missing loads of chances to win on aggregate and losing on penalties.
Fortunately it's not up to me.

I want us to go for it in Denmark, but it seems we won't be.We're 90 mins away from a european quarter final, and it's mad to think we could potentially half throw it.

It's so difficult trying to put a respectable team out of mainly 2nd stringers, particularly in the full back positions, and still give ourself a chance. I really don't want to see Abbott, Morato, or Murillo at full back, and I don't think we registered Netz.

Heres the best I can do..

Sels,
Abbott - Murillo or Serbinator - Morato
Ndoye - Yates - Sangare - Ola or Neco
Macatee - Hutchinson
Jesus

It rests at least one full back, one centre half, MGW, Ando, CHO and Dominguez, all of whom I assume will start at Spuz. It gives us a few big lads to cope with their height. And it keeps Lucca out of it.

It does involve Macatee looking like a footballer again, and Hutchinson not wearing face cream if it's raining.

Send Yates out with a bunch of kids. The worst that can happen is we lose. It's not like the first team will score.

I'm here, it makes me very cross. We're Nottingham Forest, if we haven't got Europe we're just another Leicester or Derby.

Yep. Sad and angry. If we weren't a fucking basket-case we'd be sat in 14-15th place, resting players in the league to give ourselves a really good go at the Europa League.

It’s not us being a basket case; it’s there not being three utter basket cases this season. Leicester (in 18th) finished last season with 25 points. If the three promoted teams had filled their roles and been shit, even on 29 points (and we’d probably have a few more from those games - we only have 4 points from 4, so far by my reckoning), we’d be concentrating on the Europa league now.

(Obviously, that’s good for football as a whole but whatevs.)

I’m assuming a one goal win in normal time, leading to extra time and a defeat on penalties. With all the big players required for more than an hour.

Engaging inner Chic mode:

Play Jesus for as long as he can last and start Taiwo on Sunday.
Lucca can come off the bench in both games.

Lucca? In the premier league? Are you mad?

Isn't the buy clause for him £40 million? He must be Premier League quality at that price.

Has there ever been a more despondent player in red than Jesus? He ain’t scoring in the premier league anytime soon, he doesn’t even know which direction to run in anymore.

That was 1-1 after the first leg wasn't it?

Probably. We've established I have a terrible memory. I just recall Andy Reid playing it through for Johnno.

Penalty for them I think. Possibly why Dawson was sent off but I'm hazy on that detail.

And as others have said maybe this is the moment the reserve guys shine. The first team can't score so maybe (quite likely not but maybe...)

Yes, it was a penalty but for a Louis-Jean foul on (I think) Michael Brown. My recollection is that the roof came off for the Johnson goal, only for Sheffield United to equalise quite soon afterwards.

Dawson was red-carded for twatting someone (maybe Steve Kabba) on the half-way line. Not literally of course, he arrived slightly late into a tackle and cleaned the bloke out.

Got a feeling the referee who flashed the red card (and therefore ruled Dawson out of the second leg) was a young Mark Clattenburg.

Definitely Clattenburg. He was refereeing enemy number for a while. Despite the red being only mildly contentious.

Yep, even back then it was probably a 50/50 call. It was just such a shame he missed the second leg as he'd been superb that season.

A mistimed tackle rather than anything malicious, but he could easily have snapped Kabba's leg in half.

At the time I wish he had done