Nottingham Forest have not had the fairytale start to their Premier League campaign that the supporters would have dreamed of, however, there is still plenty of time to turn their season around yet.
The Tricky Trees have struggled to make their presence known in the top flight and as a result of their last five consecutive defeats are now rock bottom in the league table, although there are still 30 fixtures left to retain their status in the Premier League, the same can’t be said about Steve Cooper’s management status at the club.
It was been widely reported that the Forest boss is hanging on by a thread and the club has now scrapped their plans to extend the Welshman’s contract after leading his team to only four points out of a possible 24 so far, but he will have the chance to prove he is the man for the job against Aston Villa on Monday night.
This could be Cooper’s final chance to convince Evangelos Marinakis that he can turn the season around himself, and deploying the right players at the right time will be nothing short of career-defining for the manager when he leads his team out at The City Ground against Steven Gerrard’s side.
As a result, Cooper must finally unleash Loic Bade in the backline to improve their chances of not only conceding fewer goals but also assisting the team with a fresh perspective, something that may well save their torrid campaign.
The 22-year-old talent who was dubbed “dominant” by talent scout Jacek Kulig hasn’t had an opportunity to play and make a positive impact on the team since his arrival at The City Ground, but it could finally be his time to shine against Villa.
Bade ranks in the top 12% of positional peers across the top five European leagues for pass completion, progressive carries and clearances, proving that he is clearly a high-quality player that is worth being given a chance by Forest.
Last season with Stade Rennais, Bade made 14 Ligue 1 appearances in which he delivered one assist, tallied up a 90% pass completion rate, made 3.3 clearances and took 60 touches per game. It provides evidence of a complete centre-half who is elegant when playing out from the back, but no-nonsense when he has to be.
Perhaps that best comes across in the fact that he won 57% of his duels, all while completing a whopping 80% of his dribbles too.
In terms of the current team’s form, Cooper has nothing to lose by deploying Bade in the defensive set-up on Monday. However, in terms of his own future, it could be a huge risk that could either cost him his future at Nottingham Forest or save his career at the club, with no in-between.