Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Gariboldy Red. Not over Zoom or the power of the internet for once. We are Hayes HQ, or shall I say, Gariboldy Red HQ. Dave has pot round for a cup of... What have you got? Peppermint?

A bit of Peppermint, Max. A bit of Peppermint. A bit of guerrilla broadcasting and a bit of Peppermint tea, mate. A bit of Gariboldy Red. Yeah.

God, if it was Garaboli Red, TA. We're here to discuss a huge game for Forest tomorrow. It is huge. We talk about nine Cup finals left, but it really is now. And Forest back in action after international National break, and obviously after the points deduction. So lots to play for, Dave. And it's interesting. It still feels like the points deduction news surrounds Forest at the minute. And it's dominating it and it's dominating the headlines. But to tomorrow, it's really going to be one of those games where Forest have to leave everything on the field.

Absolutely. It'd be nice. A win tomorrow, Max, and it puts a lot of that points deduction talk, speculation, gossip, hearsay, you name it. It puts it in the background. People then actually start talking about what actually happens on the field of play. And it'd be nice for us to get a win to feel like then we've moved. The thing is, Max, we win tomorrow and loot and lose at Tottenham, and we're back to where we were. It's almost like, oh, we just put the universe back in its normal place. But it's a colossal game. It's mahusive, to be honest with you. Hopefully, there'll be a nice confluence of the noise from the stand and some determination and skill on the field, and we get out of there with a much needed win and keep Palace quite close to us in the table, Matt.

Yeah. And it's interesting for Palace, I suppose. They've got Oliver Glassner, who was leading the Forest top before Nuno took over, obviously Cooper left. So that will play a little bit of a part of it in a way. And it'll be interesting to see how he does with Palace. But there is all the teams still in it. I think people do forget that the likes as Brentford, Everton will probably most likely get another point to seduction. This will be where Forest have to look at a game like tomorrow. It's almost a bit of we're playing a relegation rival here. All be it that Palace aren't near the bottom, they can still get dragged into it. And that's how tight the Premier League is, isn't it?

It is. It's so compressed at the bottom. I said about the Luton game, Max, that going into it, it was essentially a playoff game. And tomorrow, falls into the same category, really. You're right about these other teams. Luton knew they were always going to be in it. Rob Edwards knew that that was going to be the case, and everybody at Luton knew that was going to be the case. I think we had a feeling that we were going to be back in the mire again. Everton probably. I think the most vulnerable team at the moment in that little cluster at the bottom is Brentford. I feel it's because Brentford never entertained the idea that they would be in a relegation scrap. And lo and behold, look, there they are. The rest of those teams, I think down there had an inkling that that was going to be their environment for this season. Brentford, it never occurred to.

Did you think Forest, and I know the points of production part has played its part, but Forest never... At the start of this season, we never thought that we'd be probably in a relegation scrap, did we?

The thing is, Max, we had a decent start of the season. We went to Arsenal and we played some really good football. We should have got something at Manchester United. We beat Chelsea. We beat Sheffield United. At the start of the season, our away form, I thought was really good. Our home form was not as good as it had been last season. I think there was a while, a period of time, where we dared to dream that, Hey, we're going to be in that middle echelon with very little to worry about. But it's an unforgiving league that we're in. I always felt that it was never going to be as easy to progress into that middle part of the table as people thought. I go back to this, I have Brighton & Hove, I've been stuck in my head, Max. Their first four seasons in the Premier League, in each of those four seasons, they clung on to stay in the Premier League. Now Brighton are accepted as one of those established middle-ranking teams in the Premier League. I always feel that Forrest have to go through that torture of two or three seasons to establish themselves in there.

I mean, with Brighton, it was weird because they clung on and clung on. They were in a relegation scrap for these four years. I think they were 15th, 17th, excuse me, 15th and 16th. And then overnight, they just started picking up results, and then they became like, ninth, and then got into Europe and what have you, FA Cup semifinals and things like that. And so I always feel like the Forest have to grip their teeth, go through this initial phase of just being a Premier League team, not thinking that anything beyond that. And then who knows where it can go. But with Brentford, I have a slightly maybe sardonic view about Brentford. I think I'm speaking for a lot of Forest fans. I found the idolatry of Ivan Tony at the GETEC Community Stadium back in January. I found it just galling. My view is that Ivan Tony was a naughty boy, and he was welcomed back as a concrete a conquering hero. He wasn't a conquering hero. He was a miscreiant.

I'll never forget the five-minute video.

Exactly.

I remember, I think we looked at each other's day because you were a few- Yeah, that's right. We were looking at each other thinking, what on earth is this? This video of him welcoming back a player that's been out injured for a year. I would say this point, I know we might be slightly off topic here, but I'll never forget when David Brooks was here for Bournemouth. Did he get the same welcome from the media and from other people as Sohan did?

No. Max, Bruxie had Hodgkins and Vona, which is an awful thing. And the lad battled through it. He's now back playing. He's playing really well for Southampton. He's playing for his country. Bruxie got a relatively, which is an awful thing. And the lad battled through it. He's now back playing. He's playing really well for Southampton. He's playing for his country. Bruxie got a relatively, which is an awful thing. I heralded return back to football. And there was this guy who'd been betting against his own club. So what I'm getting around to say, Max, because I'm digression Dave, as always, is that- It's a name for a podcast. Yeah, it is. It's not much. It'd be a podcast that last about four days, Max. You know what I mean? God, has Dave shut up yet? No. But the thing is, it's just that little... It's calmer. And so Brentford, I think Brentford- It's an interesting- They're almost like putting their hands to their ears. It's not happening to. Brentford, it's happening to you. It's happening to Nottingham Forest. It's happening to Sheffield United. It's happening to Burnley, Luton, Everton. And Brentford, it's happening to you. Now, Brentford play Manchester United tomorrow.

Now, Manchester United have just come off an It's an unbelievable victory in maybe one of the greatest games ever played in this country, that FA Cup quarter final against Liverpool. Incredible game. Un believable game of football. So you'd like to think that United will carry that momentum. So what it's doing, it's adding to the context around our game. But what Forest need to do, they need to make all this talk of all the clubs and all the matches irrelevant by attending to their own business. For far too long, it's a case of Forest Lever's force us almost to think about, well, what are Luton doing? What are Brentford doing? What are Pallies doing? What are Everton doing? Blades, Bernie, you name it. And it'd be nice for us to think, well, for us to have done their stuff to hell with the rest. So I'm hoping that happens tomorrow.

The dog wants a bit of fussy.

This is the problem.

This is why I'm working with Dave Asprey.

I think little Jess has got a bit of a thing about me. I'm with children. You hate Dave Asprey.

Do you want to go in the podcast? Right. Let's pick up Dave back. Because you were talking about almost the Forest mentality in a way and having to use it against other clubs. I do feel like we are hard done by, but do you feel like Forest at the moment are maybe playing a little bit of a... I hate to use the word, but maybe like a victim's mentality in a way, and that potentially we need to almost roll the socks or get on with it. Everyone else is in a similar position. Everyone else gets decisions against them. Come on now. I'm conflicted, Max, because, yeah, I believe it right.

What's gone is set in stone in the tablets of history. It can't be changed and you have to move on. But you talk about victimhood, and it's understandable, actually. For me, all that matters is what's coming, not what's gone. And so all that matters to me is Crystal Palace tomorrow, full on Tuesday, and then Tottenham, 2:00 in the morning on a Monday morning or whatever they're I'm going to rearrange that game for. But at the same time, I understand totally why everybody connected with Nottingham Forest feels it. I saw the front cover of the O'Mist rolling in fanzine.

Which I'll give a shout out to. The guys that sent us a fanzine to Garibaldi read, and I haven't started reading it yet, but it's on the list to do. So I really appreciate that.

But the front cover, Max, is It's got all these things that have happened to Forest. So the Tierney decision against Liverpool, Willy's sending off against Bournemouth, VAR stuff, the tackle by Moda on Nico at Brighton. And it's listed It's listed. It's a a list of Forest grievances. It's a list of Forrests grievances. You look at it and you think, Yeah, it does seem like it would allow the conspiracy theories to run riot. I can understand why a lot of fans, and I guess the players and the coaching staff and everybody at Forrests, feels like somebody's got it in for them. But at the same time, where that kicks into play for me is, if I was managing Forest tomorrow and I was Nuno, I'd have the front page of that, Mr. Alien fanzine. Look at roll up and use it as motivation. I think I'm just so hoping tomorrow that those of us are in the ground, like me and you are, Max, and the thousands of others, and we all come together because You get picked on or you feel like you get picked on, you perceive that you're being picked on, and you get into a corner, and then you have to come out of that corner.

And Forest have to do that tomorrow. I wanted it against Brighton three weeks ago, Max, as a follow on from the injustices or the perceived injustices of the Liverpool game, and for Forest to take it out in Brighton. They didn't. They cannot be as passive of tomorrow against Palace as they were at Brighton. I thought they played all right at Luton. I thought they should have won at Luton. They were by far the better team, Forest. And they showed that there is capability there to win some of these remaining nine games and get out of this quagmire that they're in. But let's move on because you can't change it. But at the same time, I understand fully why people think somebody's got it in for us because O'Mister rolling it in and actually documented it.

In fact, a good friend who I actually live with and he's a Leeds fan said to me, You do start to question, though, has someone She got it him for 40. He said that the other week.

That was after the poor team. The thing is, though, Max, Gary O'Neill at Wolves could say that. If you go back to the very first game that Wolves played this season at Old Trafford, they utterly dominated.

They had a protest against VAR, didn't they? They did.

I remember O'Nana flattened one of the Wolves lads. Should have been a penalty, and it wasn't given. I think it's Forest at the moment. It might be next week in my own. Brentford might start thinking... It's all perceptions. It's a bit of It's not a nebulous thing. But what isn't nebulous is have to beat Crystal Palace tomorrow morning.

Yeah, and there's huge games coming up. And Forest do have, if you look at all the other relegation contenders, Forest do have a very decent running.

It's a more amenable running. Meets of mine who do the Back of the Net, AFC Bournemouth podcast, they'll Maybe this should get out a bit more, but they predicted, Max, every single football match left in the Premier League up to the end of the season. And they had Forest staying up. Only by a point, but they had Forest staying up. And I think They based, I think it was Luton that they had going down with Burnley and Sheffield United. And that was based on the idea that Luton's run in is far tougher than Forest. Luton are at Tottenham tomorrow. I think they have to go. I have a feeling they play Arsenal on Tuesday or something like that. Luton have to play city at city. Mind you, we play city at home. I mean, to be honest with you, Max, of the nine games left, the two I've said, I don't think we'll win are Tottenham away and city at home. I think they are beyond us. But I really firmly believe that we can get something from all the- We can get something from the other ones. I personally think that there are 21 points on offer to us out of the 27.

If we were to get something at Tottenham, that would be astonishing. We need to get something against City. But you know, Max, we played City last year and we got an amazing one-on-draw and our lads were out possessed on the day.

We only lost two now this season away from home. Yeah, we did. They had 10 men, there were spells, but Forest really... I remember sitting the away in that game and I thought things are coming together now in terms of away form under Cooper and then fast forward and it all went wrong.

Just when you think you've got life pegged, it goes off down a different rabbit hall mates.

Yeah. So tomorrow's game then, Dave, really. Because Palace are a good side. Because they've got players.

They're a good side, but there's no Alisa.

It's true, which I was just about to mention. That must be a positive for Forest tomorrow, going in knowing that their star went down.

Yeah. I think Michael Alise is a lovely footballer. I love him at Forest. I watched him in the game at the end of last season, which was for all of us, the greatest away day of our lives, weren't it? At the party at the Palace, which was just fantastic, wasn't it? But I remember watching Ali say that he's a beautiful footballer. Whether the Palace like it or not, it is a deficiency for him not to be there. That said, Eber Echeze is still playing as a fine player. Jefferson Lermer, Jockey Manderson, they've got a good side. It's going to be difficult. No game in the Premier League is easy. I mean, it's a cliché and it gets trotted up, but it's true match. You know what I mean? So, yeah, Michael Alicé not being there is a help for Forrest. But to me, the imput... With Gwena, he came in. I think he won his first game against Burnley, and then I think they were leading at Tottenham and got pegged back.

Forest did her own talk with Oliver Gwena and it never came to anything. I don't think Forest felt that they were on the same.

His work at Frankfurt stands the test of time. What he did, didn't they beat Rangers in the final to win the conference league or something like that? So he's obviously a fine coach. Then I think we've got a fine coach as well.

I was going to mention that, which was my last point. There was some speculation this week about Nuno and managers being approached, which the club came out and said weren't true. In the summer, Dave, even if Forest go down, we touched on this a few weeks ago in the podcast. Forest stay up. Do you think with time, with not too much money because we won't probably have too much money to spend it.

This is it.

Restrictive recruitment. But with more time to bond with the fans, do you think Nuno would be the right manager to take us?

I think if he keeps us up, Max, he's every right to expect to stay in the job. He keeps us up. If we're safe, he's in the job. Because if you like, at the time, that he was brought in to keep us up. To me, he gets a free pass to the start of next season if he stays up. If we go down, I think there will be a change of direction because I think that the Forest hierarchy will feel that somebody has to carry the can. I mean, all of us carry the can. We're all Nottingham Forest. Really, all of us shoulder the blame. The thousands of us who follow the club, the people who run it from the top, the coaching staff that plays. It's all one great blob of an entity, Nottingham Forest. We're all as culpable as the He's the next man. But I think if we were to go down, Nuno would be... I said to you, I think it was a couple of weeks ago, Max, if we go down, I don't believe Nuno will be here next season. If we stay up, absolutely he is. And then, like you say, How much money do Forest have to spend?

How much money are Forest brave enough to spend? Do you know what I'm saying? He's a good coach, Nuno. I think he's spiky tinker at times. I wouldn't like to get on the wrong side of him, but I think he's a very focused man. Again, as you say, if he keeps us up, then I think that will secure his bond from the dugout towards in the stand. I don't think it's there yet. He did get some stick at looting, what I saw. Wasn't very happy with it. I I mean, the Luton thing, it just all changed in one second. If Forest had 1-1-0 at Luton, everybody's been saying, Isn't there no brilliant? It was one set piece. And unfortunately, where Forest can't escape scrutiny is set pieces. It's awful. It's truly dreadful. And it's become a thing now. They can't put it to bed. Everybody know. Palace will know tomorrow if they put a ball in the box for the likes of Jefferson Lermer or Mateta or Jockey Manderson or Wardy or whoever, they're going to think, Forest can't defend it. This is why I feel Willy Bolley is so important for us. I thought Willy at Luton was excellent.

He might have gone off towards the end because I don't think he was at the point where he could last 90 minutes. But to the point he went off, I thought Willy was really commanding at the back.

Doc really wants to get in the podcast.

She does.

She might need a walk to the fair. Do you know what, Dave? I was just thinking the last time we did one of these in person in this exact spot, it was before Forest went to Wembley.

It was, mate. Yeah. We won. That's a chance. Maybe us two sitting here, mate. Drinking. With a cup of Rosie Lee and our little Jess down here with her tail wagging.

I really, really I need you during this podcast. She's all right. Bless her. I think that does us nicely. I think so. Thanks for coming over, Dave. My pleasure. Appreciate it, as always. One last thing before we do go, I'll give a shout out. New location for Fan Park where I'll be You can have your word in a minute.

I'm as needy as the dog.

New location for Fan Park tomorrow. It was at Bink Shard, but the step things up a level. We've moved to the Brewhouse Bar and Kitchen, which is on Trent Bridge. I'll be there tomorrow doing some presenting. So if you do fancy coming along, then do that. We've also got a special discount code for tables, which is like from the Forest Fuller game on Tuesday. You can just use the code Garaboldy Red, and you get tables with 50% off £2.50 per table plus £5 credit to spend at the bar. Not bad. All right, isn't it, Dave?

Proper sales pitch there.

Proper sales pitch. Maybe I can get a job as a salesman.

Absolutely, definitely you can mate.

Anything else to close?

Yeah, just a couple of things. For people of my vintage, we have to remember Big Larry. What a great player he was for our club. And a hell of a character from what I can gather. When he was signed, a lot of the lads that were already there and then went on to make be part of our great team, our Miracle Men, got this feeling that, blimey, this guy's a big-time player. We might end up being a big-time club, and that's exactly what happened. Larry's contribution, can't forget Big Larry. Great player, as tough as they come, The Burns-Loyd thing at the back. Our great team was built on solid defense, keeping clean sheets. The great man always said, If they got past Lloyd and Burns, they had to get past Shilton. Larry is a huge a part of our history. Sending all our love and condolences to his family and friends, but he'll never be forgotten. He's a great player, Larry. The other thing is I just want to send out a big shout out to our Thespian friend, Mr. Pat Lally. So if you're watching Pat, love to you and the girls, mate.

Yes, that's very nice. Some nice messages there, Dave. I think that does us nicely. And a lovely touching tribute to Larry as well. He was a great player, mate. We send our condolences to his family and fingers crossed for a Forest win to remember him tomorrow. It's a big game. It will be one that we're going to be talking about. Our main episode will be back next week. As well, you can always keep up to date with us on Twitter, GareapoldiRED, and across Spotify, Apple Podcasts. Leave us a review and like, share, and subscribe on YouTube. That's enough of the sales, bitch. We're off to Forest Palace. Come on, You Red. You Red. See you next time.