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The teams are out! Forest in red, City in second-choice neon yellow and black. A typically fine City Ground atmosphere on a lovely spring day in Nottingham, not a single wisp of mist rolling in from the Trent. Nevertheless, take it away, Macca.
Pep Guardiola speaks to TNT. “When there are 11 games left and you [Forest] are third, it’s because you’ve done many good things … home and away … their quality up front … speed …. physicality … a top side … everyone has to support defensively for each other … of course we want to be in the Champions League next season … but we have good contenders … Liverpool was not in it and look at them now … we are going to try, yes, until the last second … this club have not been used to be in this position for one, two, three decades … for the last ten or 11 years we are there … so of course we want to do it next season.”
Stuart Pearce is a bona-fide Forest legend, as well as a popular former City player and manager. Some good news to report after his health scare on a flight from Vegas: he’s recovering in hospital in Canada. Here’s to a full and speedy recovery.
More on Dibblegate. “I wondered if you might be interested in my new blog out looking back at Gary Crosby’s goal?” asks friend of the site Steve Pye. Sure would! Here it is, courtesy of That 1980s Sports Blog. “I’m sure if this kind of incident happened today then there would be a very measured response from everyone on social media.”
The Crosby-Dibble affair: a reappraisal. “Thing is with that Gary Crosby goal,” begins Bill Hargreaves, “if Andy Dibble had been less concerned with appealing to the ref, I think there’s a good chance he could have got across to dive on that ball. Ah, the morals to the stories.” Ian Copestake adds: “Mr Dibble missed a trick not immediately going down holding his face.”
All of which would have robbed us of a genuinely iconic happening, with each frame of the film timed to comic perfection. It can’t be bettered, and there’s added poignancy in Dibble’s reaction, which faithfully follows the rules of the five stages of grief. Denial: the shocked, disbelieving look on his coupon as Crosby tips the ball off the platform of his palm. Anger and bargaining: haring after the referee in the affronted style, with the express intention of debating the Laws of the Game. Depression and acceptance: the immediate deceleration of his run as the reality of the situation overwhelms him, and he realises he’s not got a leg to stand on, looking around impotently for a cavalry that will never arrive. Poor Dibble. But don’t let it define his career: he’ll always have his sensational performance in Luton’s 1988 League Cup final win over Arsenal. He’ll always have Wembley. Poor Nigel Winterburn.
Nuno Espírito Santo talks to TNT Sports. “We showed what we are as a team [against Arsenal] … we were solid … compact … a threat … we sometimes adapt to a different shape … but we play better as a four [at the back] … unity … it was tough [when Forest lost 3-0 at the Etihad in December] … we did not perform so well … they are an amazing team … we are in a good place … we have done nothing yet … a lot of hard work is in front of us … the City Ground has been fantastic for us … you will see in a while the noise they make.”
Forest name the same starting XI that secured a goalless draw with Arsenal in their last Premier League match. Manchester City are similarly stable, making just two changes after their 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur: Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva come in for Omar Marmoush and Mateo Kovacic.
The teams
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams, Dominguez, Anderson, Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Wood.
Subs: Hennessey, Morato, Sangare, Awoniyi, Alex, Jota Silva, Yates, Danilo, Boly.
Manchester City: Ederson, Matheus Luiz, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol, Gonzalez, Silva, Savio, Foden, Doku, Haaland.
Subs: Ortega, Marmoush, Kovacic, Grealish, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Vitor Reis, O’Reilly, Lewis.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh (Lancashire).
Preamble
To fans of a certain vintage, this particular fixture means one thing above all else. Rear-view mirror, Andy, rear-view mirror!
Anything today as cheeky, saucy, controversial and/or flat-out hilarious as Gary Crosby’s famous March 1990 winner, and we’ll be doing just grand. Keep ‘em peeled, everyone. Kick-off is at 12.30pm GMT. It’s behind you! on!
