Nottingham Forest's FA Cup exit at the hands of lower-league side Wrexham has left boss Sean Dyche fuming, with the former Crystal Palace manager branding their first-half performance as "unacceptable".
The 3-3 draw was forced after extra time and Nottingham Forest ultimately lost 4-3 in a penalty shootout. Dyche made eight changes from Tuesday's Premier League win at West Ham but his side trailed Wrexham 2-0 at the break. This change of approach proved unsuccessful, with the team lacking "intent" and failing to take on their opponents.
Dyche was scathing about Forest's first-half display. He claimed that certain players had not taken their responsibilities seriously and had looked like they did not want to play, a sentiment echoed by former Liverpool and Real Madrid winger Steve McManaman.
The loss means Nottingham Forest have now conceded 46 goals in all competitions this season, the most among Premier League clubs except for Wolves who are one goal worse off.
Despite the poor first-half showing, Dyche praised those players who came on as substitutes, with two-goal Callum Hudson-Odoi among them. However, his frustration at the team's performance will be palpable after an evening to forget in north Wales.
The exit from the FA Cup has left Nottingham Forest 17th in the league table - seven points clear of the bottom three. While Dyche was keen to highlight that the side had turned their game around after coming on strong in the second half, his anger at Forest's first-half performance will not be quickly forgotten.
The 3-3 draw was forced after extra time and Nottingham Forest ultimately lost 4-3 in a penalty shootout. Dyche made eight changes from Tuesday's Premier League win at West Ham but his side trailed Wrexham 2-0 at the break. This change of approach proved unsuccessful, with the team lacking "intent" and failing to take on their opponents.
Dyche was scathing about Forest's first-half display. He claimed that certain players had not taken their responsibilities seriously and had looked like they did not want to play, a sentiment echoed by former Liverpool and Real Madrid winger Steve McManaman.
The loss means Nottingham Forest have now conceded 46 goals in all competitions this season, the most among Premier League clubs except for Wolves who are one goal worse off.
Despite the poor first-half showing, Dyche praised those players who came on as substitutes, with two-goal Callum Hudson-Odoi among them. However, his frustration at the team's performance will be palpable after an evening to forget in north Wales.
The exit from the FA Cup has left Nottingham Forest 17th in the league table - seven points clear of the bottom three. While Dyche was keen to highlight that the side had turned their game around after coming on strong in the second half, his anger at Forest's first-half performance will not be quickly forgotten.
Ugh, who knew a 3-3 draw could lead to so much drama? I mean, 17th in the league table is pretty average, but hey, at least they won't have to worry about relegation... yet 
. The thing that really gets me is how many changes did Dyche make, like, 8?! Is he trying to confuse everyone or what? 
It's almost like he was hoping to lose on purpose so his team could 'learn from their mistakes' 
. And Callum Hudson-Odoi scoring two goals out of nowhere... magic, right? 
. wrexham came out all guns blazing and nottingham forest just looked kinda...off 
. it's like they forgot how to play football or something 
. the fact that forest conceded another 3 goals in extra time just shows how unprepared they were 
. anyway, callum hudson-odoi did come on strong in the second half so there's some positives to take away from it 
. still, dyche's gonna be seething about that first half performance for a while now 
I mean, come on, 8 changes and you still lose to a lower-league team? That's like, what's the point of even making those subs if they're just gonna get roasted by your bench players? 
The fact that Dyche is so upset with his own players for not taking it seriously in the first half is pretty telling. I mean, I've seen some bad performances in my time, but this one takes the cake. 
What's next, is he gonna start benching his entire team for a 3-0 loss? 
Nottingham Forest came into this game on a high after beating West Ham, but it was like they forgot what that meant. And Wrexham, I mean, I've heard of 'giant killers' before, but this is ridiculous! 
They got outplayed 2-0 at half-time and still managed to come back? That's just not possible. 
I can imagine how frustrating it must be for Sean Dyche and the team to lose a match like that, especially after a decent win just a few days ago... 3-3 is definitely a tough result to swallow 
. On the bright side, there were some positives, like Callum Hudson-Odoi coming on and scoring two goals 
... but for Dyche, it's gotta be tough to shake off that frustration 
Oh boy, Nottingham Forest can't even make it past Wrexham 
. Eight changes from Tuesday's win at West Ham and it shows, huh? 
I guess it's always easier to blame the bench than face the music 
. On the bright side, Callum Hudson-Odoi got two goals out of thin air... magic, right? 
. I mean, 2-0 down at halftime and still can't get their act together? It's unacceptable. And you're right, those players who came on as subs like Callum Hudson-Odoi showed what they're capable of, but when do we see that kind of performance from the starting lineup again? 
! Wolves are one goal worse off and they're still in better shape than Forest. It's like they're not taking their responsibilities seriously or something 
. But you know what? Dyche is right to say they turned it around after coming on strong in the second half. We just need to see that consistency from start to finish, you know? 
Nottingham Forest is having such a crazy season! I mean, they're doing alright in the league, but this FA Cup exit just shows how much work they need to do on their team dynamics... Interesting 
. dyche's right though, some of these players looked like they didn't wanna play. callum hudson-odoi scoring two goals on the bench? that's not exactly what you want to see coming off the bench 
.
But seriously, Forest needs to sort out their defensive issues ASAP. This FA Cup exit won't be forgotten anytime soon and 17th in the league table? That's not where you wanna be. 
dyche needs to sort out his tactics, not just vent on the players 
forest's still 17th in the league table, they've got a way out of this, no need to get too worked up 
and those subs came on strong in the second half, what's wrong with giving them a chance? 
