Steve Hodge was on hand to witness Nottingham Forest beat Fulham 3-1 and he’s made an amazing claim about one of last night’s star players.
It was a vintage night in the pouring rain on Trentside as things clicked into place for Forest.Callum Hudson-Odoi and Chris Wood set Forest on their way with a couple of goals inside 19 minutes.
It was a sobering first half an hour for Fulham. Marco Silva – previously linked with Forest – made three substitutes after just 33 minutes as he aimed to get a foothold in the game.
Morgan Gibbs-White put the seal on a sparkling first half by slotting home on the stroke of half-time to leave the City Ground purring. Tosin Adarabioyo did get a goal back for the Cottagers after the break but Forest weren’t to be denied.
Hodge was in position to provide co-commentary with Colin Fray at the City Ground. One player left him brimming with pride and he felt it was the best performance he’s seen for 10 years atForest.
Steve Hodge saw the best Forest performance for 10 years last night
Well, the former City Ground favourite might just have a point. Forest star Gibbs-White was very much the star of the show and he collected the Man of the Match accolade after the 3-1 win.
A goal and an assist was absolutely no less than he deserved. From the word go, Gibbs-White was on it and his ball to tee up Hudson-Odoi was just ridiculously good.
Forest signed Gibbs-White for an initial fee of £25 million and he was immediately handed the number 10. Many greats such as Stan Collymore, Garry Birtles and Trevor Francis have worn that short and the 24-year-old is doing it justice.
Hodge was brimming with pride at the Forest performance of Gibbs-White. He gave him some serious praise after last night’s win and felt it was a performance that will live long in the memory.
He told BBC Radio Nottingham: “Their star player and pulling the strings all over the shop – he played a little reverse ball for Elanga when he hit the post – was Morgan Gibbs-White. He’s made one for Hudson-Odoi, he created one for Elanga. In the first 10 minutes, he’s flicked one over Palhinha and then put Hudson-Odoi in again. There’s three assists he could have had.
“He’s got to get his goals figures up but tonight, I’ve been doing this now for 10 years, I’ve watched many, many games here at Forest and I don’t think I’ve seen a better performance from a number 10 ever. Not many players play like that at that standard for 45 minutes. It was a truly brilliant first half from him.”
Gibbs-White is going to the very top
Forest fans are quickly running out of superlatives to describe Gibbs-White. Who Scored show that he made four key passes last night and he’s way out on top in that area across the whole season.
From the first whistle to the 76th minute when he was substituted last night, Gibbs-White laid down a marker for Forest and this was a truly sensational performance.
The man who helped the England under-21s win the European Championships last summer will surely dream of featuring for England at some point in his career.
On this level of performance, it does feel like a matter of time. If Gibbs-White can add even more goals and assists – and improve his set pieces – there really is no ceiling to how far the Forest man can go.
Hodge knows a thing or two about playing in an advanced midfield role for Forest. He served the club with distinction as a player and helped the team reach the FA Cup Final in 1991.
It’s quite something that he feels this is the best performance from a number 10 in the last decade. Gibbs-White was comfortably the star of the show last night and Hodge is the latest to praise his efforts.
Clubs eyeing Morgan Gibbs-White and Forest must stand firm
Okay, Forest are small fry when it comes to the vulture of the Premier League, particularly the big six clubs. However, if any top flight outfit wants to sign Gbbs-White they better dig deep.
There’s an argument that Forest might have got a bit more for Brennan Johnson in the summer. When it comes to Gibbs-White the club has to make sure they get the very best transfer fee.
West Ham and Tottenham have been linked with Gibbs-White. If Forest stay in the Premier League, it’s hard to imagine the club asking for less than £60 million, in our view, and the club has to stand firm.
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