The reluctant Chelsea match thread….do we Storm the Bridge or is it a Bridge Too Far?

Only allowed one per game aren't you so it wasn't?

Surely the concern here is whether Gibbs-White was concussed and therefore unfit to play on Thursday for his health. Not whether it was technically classed as a concussion sub at the time.

Looks a broken nose and a dozen stitches.

Even if he declared himself fit, will he be?

Quite. West Ham are six points behind us with a vastly inferior goal difference. Their next game is at home to Arsenal, who were outstanding in the first half on Saturday and blew Fulham away.

Nine times out of ten, Arsenal win that fixture comfortably. If that happens, then it doesn't matter if Forest lose their last three. Even if West Ham somehow manage to beat both Newcastle and Leeds, they can only draw level on points with Forest at best, and they ain't doing that with a 17-goal swing.

Again, Fray put this question to Pereira after the game and he said Gibbs-White was not concussed - his injury was a 'deep cut to his face'.

I've no idea whether it's possible for that to heal sufficiently in less than three days. Suspect maybe not.

You get that deep cut to the face by being hit really fucking hard and your face splits...

Which causes concussion, Shirley?

Can only repeat (I think for the fourth time) that the manager said after the game - when directly asked by Radio Nottingham - that the player had not been concussed.

Might be fibbing, of course, but he was clear there was no concussion.

Concussion is an injury to your brain. A deep cut on your face doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve got a concussion

It's quite the gash - that's some hole above his left eye...

x.com/i/status/2051367063285899281

Thursday night, 92nd minute, Gibbs White rises at the far post to head the ball back across goal to the far corner. The ball opens his stitches and blood sprays everywhere. He sprints across the pitch to the Forest fans, which is also in the direction of Wolverhampton, to deliver his trade mark celebration, blood streaming down his face.

It is written.

Decided not to try and stay up to watch that one… have got a lot on at the moment and sleep is important, kids.

So got up and put the 10 minute highlights package on… saw who was playing and thought ‘wise choice by me, there’.

What the fuck happened? Remarkable stuff by team and manager. Not just that game, but everything since half time in the Burnley game.

It’s not mathematical but anyone who reckons WetSham have a hope of getting 7 points from 9 needs to take that shit to Ladbrookes and get the mortgage paid off.

Vitor always looked like a ‘whoever we can get’ appointment to try and wrangle enough points to stay up so we can go get a shinier manager in the summer. He still might be, because EM is a brutal man.. but it’s looking very much like he’ll be in charge until mid-October.

Reading this thread from the start, knowing what happened, was great fun.

The trouble with this comment is, it wasn't an attempt at humour.

Another fantastic away trip. I get a sadistic kick out of seeing home fans faces when they're well and truly beaten. After we scored the fifth against Sunderland we were doing the usual chants as home fans streamed out and one guy applauded us (could be a tricky season for Sunderland next season).
Of course, it's shite when you're a home fan and concede, but I sit nowhere near the away fans so it doesn't bother me.

Anyway, shades of Midgetland pre-match (what the fuck is he doing etc.), and the point was made that Chelsea are currently shit and Vitor got a performance from them in Denmark. My belief all season has been that the team is far better than the league position shows, and we only needed a half decent manager to get a tune out of them. I've never thought we'd be relegated this season, and have had fun teasing guru a few times (Brentford away was especially fun when I kept pointing out that we were only 20 minutes from doing the double over them). Dyche showed some early promise, but it seems he can only manage a team of they are stuck in 17th position. Having said that, thanks Dyche for Liverpool away, that one will live long in the memory.

I did say that I thought we'd finish 11-13th even after the abysmal start. I'll admit 11th is a stretch now, but 13th is doable.

As for the match, the early goal made all the difference. It gave the players belief and Awoniyi played really well; shades of the purple patch on the first season after promotion. Morato looked solid, though tired before the end. Netz was solid and yes, his first touch let him down a couple of times but with match sharpness I think he'll be adequate backup for Aina/Neco.

Vitor has found a way of getting the best out of MGW; he's looked awesome since VP came in and even though today was a brief appearance, he still had time to have a big impact on the game. As for the penalty I had a strong vibe that Sels would save it; the delay was so long that it made an out of form Palmer hit a poor shot. Sels was due one.

For the Chelsea disallowed goal, as soon as the VAR check came up on the screen I told the bloke next to be that it would be overruled; it just felt like that sort of day. When you play with confidence and commitment things seem to start going your way.

A final mention for the Chelsea goal; it was a fantastic finish and I don't begrudge them a late consolation. It would have been nice to help them break their record for not scoring, but a goal that special was worth witnessing live.

Karl Mark: passport ready for Thursday