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Chris Wood: Nottingham Forest need expectations to be exceeded again

October 29, 2025
Opinion

After spending two seasons back in the Premier League fending off the threat of relegation, Nottingham Forest set up camp at the opposite end of the table in 2024-25. After a 30-year absence from continental competition, European football returned to the City Ground.

 

Under the guidance of Nuno Espirito Santo, the Reds forged a counter-attacking style that few rivals could live with. Blistering pace going forward was countered by dogged defending that allowed Belgian goalkeeper Matz Sels to claim a share of Golden Glove honours.

 

Foundations on Trentside are not looking as solid as Forest had hoped, with there a very real threat of being dragged back into a basement battle as campaigns veer wildly on an annual basis between the sublime and ridiculous.

Seasoned stars

 

 

 

The football odds that favoured Forest 12 months ago, as they held their own in heavyweight slugfests, are suddenly predicting more pain than points. Having forced their way into the top-five picture last season, Premiership bets now have them at 9/4 to tumble through a trapdoor that leads into the Championship.

 

Time is still on the Reds’ side when it comes to steering another course to safety, with three changes in the dugout being made by mid-October. After seeing Nuno and Ange Postecoglou ushered through the exits, Sean Dyche is now charged with the task of getting Forest to fire.

 

He needs seasoned stars to not just deliver on expectations, but to exceed them. Nobody epitomised that more when surging back into Europe than New Zealand international striker Chris Wood.

 

Unexpected efforts

 

Chris Wood became the first man to register 20 Premier League goals for Forest in a single campaign since Stan Collymore, while also becoming the club’s all-time leading scorer at that level. Much was made of Wood posting numbers well above his xG figures.

 

A stunning goal haul is considered to have been at least four higher than it would usually have been, taking into account the quality of chances that came his way, with some suggesting that he may have raised that bar above six unexpected efforts.

 

Unsurprisingly, given how important he has become to the collective cause, Wood was handed a new contract in January 2025. Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis said of those terms: “More than just his goals, he epitomises everything that it means to wear the Garibaldi Red – hard work, a fighting and winning spirit, and the attitude to never give up. He is a winner and a role model to inspire all of us, and we reward his dedication with ours.”

 

Focal point

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Wood is considered to be a perfect fit for Dyche’s philosophy of football, having previously highlighted as much when netting 53 goals for Burnley under the gravel-voiced ex-Clarets boss. He reached double figures in the Premier League across four successive campaigns.

 

Those standards have been maintained in Nottingham, with more of the same being demanded. He can be the attacking focal point around which Forest work under Dyche, with the Reds prepared to go from back to front quickly if the ball can be held up in that area.

 

With big money being invested in more fleet-footed wingers, there is also the promise of crosses being fed into the box regularly. That approach plays to Wood’s strengths, but can he be relied upon to perform above expectations once again?

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