Matt Turner has made a strong start to his Nottingham Forest career but a shaky performance against Brentford has put him in the spotlight.
Ordinarily, one bad showing from a first choice goalkeeper would be brushed off, but Turner has Odysseas Vlachodimos breathing down his neck after his summer move from Benfica.
Former Arsenal keeper Turner was at fault for Brentford’s goal moments after Moussa Niakhate was sent off. He was also arguably lucky not to concede a penalty for a foul on Yoane Wissa. Nonetheless, former Forest midfielder Guy Moussi hopes manager Steve Cooper backs Turner for the weekend game at Crystal Palace.
“For me, you have to give him a chance,” he told the Garibaldi Red podcast. “It was a personal mistake by the keeper, but as an ex-player I can tell you that also it’s a lack of focus from the whole team. When you get a red card your head can go down.
“Brentford played a quick free kick. For me in the ground, I was thinking about how do we refocus and who will come on for Niakhate and what will the strategy be. Before we got to this we forgot a proper line-up to defend the free kick.
“For his mental health and confidence I think it would be bad to leave him out at Crystal Palace. I’d keep him in.”
“We were a bit sloppy. There’s a mistake from the goalkeeper but the team wasn’t lined up right.
“For Cooper, it would be nice to give him a second chance to readjust. I think that would be fair.”
Fellow panellist, Reds fan Emily Anderson, also hopes Cooper sticks with the American international at Selhurst Park.
“It was arguably his worst game for Forest. Before we conceded there was the howler he made where Boly cleared off the line,” she said.
“I don’t think he was confident after that. You could see something wasn’t quite right with him after that mistake. He owned up to his mistake and we’re allowed a bad day at the office. Considering he was bought into be back up, he’s doing alright and I’m not one to pile on a player after one bad game.
“For his mental health and confidence I think it would be bad to leave him out at Crystal Palace. I’d keep him in.”
