Player Focus: Forest Setting the Early Pace with Antonio Leading the Charge
It is still a little too early in the season to make grand predictions but, on the basis of the six games played to date, Michail Antonio might not be a bad shout for the Championship's best new signing. He is a major reason why Nottingham Forest are the early pace-setters, sitting a point clear of Norwich at the top undefeated, and he currently has the division's highest rating: 8.06.
The winger has scored three times and created another four goals in his six league games since arriving at Forest and provided the assist for Britt Assombalonga's opening goal in Sunday's fascinating East Midlands derby, which they drew 1-1 with last season’s beaten playoff finalists, Derby County.
Antonio arrived from Sheffield Wednesday having scored four goals in 26 appearances last season but his career to date has been pockmarked by inconsistency. The 24-year-old Londoner has made close to 150 senior appearances already and has a Championship title to his name from his time at Reading but his highest scoring season came in 2012/13 when he struck eight for Wednesday.
His start to this season signals that such distinctly average returns should be bettered.
Watching Antonio’s act of dribbling deception is a peculiar experience. Quite often, he appears to be losing control of the ball - as if his mind is a second or two ahead of his body, already thinking of what he is about to do next - only to somehow skip down the line past a defender and deliver a threatening cross.
His ability to beat defenders was highlighted over and over when up against Ryan Shotton at the City Ground - even if Shotton ended up claiming the bragging rights for Derby's equaliser 10 minutes from time.
At half-time Antonio had completed four dribbles, one more than the rest of both teams combined. He managed only one more after half-time but that led to Forest's goal, which Assombalonga finished brilliantly into the bottom left corner.
By the end, he had the highest WhoScored rating of 7.92 and was named the official man of the match. He even made a successful interception and tackle - showing he is capable of tracking back, too.
Already he looks to be fostering a strong relationship with Assombalonga, whose clinical eye for finding the net has him the division’s joint top leading goalscorer, with five, already justifying the £5.5m transfer fee paid to Peterborough in the summer.
Antonio’s speed makes him quite the proposition on the counter-attack and he also appears quite fond of cutting in once allowed a yard of space and having a shot. He is currently averaging 3.3 shots per game.
One area he could strengthen, however, is his passing ability. His completion rate of 64% was his one fault on Sunday - although it should be accounted for that several of those are more daring attempts rather than simple passes.
Indeed his overall rate is 59.7%, with 1.2 successful crosses per game. If he continues to keep creating and scoring, one would assume Stuart Pearce will turn a blind eye to some misplaced passes and the occasional skewed cross.
Above all, his consistency should be championed. In only one game to date - the 2-1 win at Bournemouth - has he failed to score or provide an assist. Even then he made up for it in the following game with a brace and an assist in the 4-0 rout of Reading, earning him a rating of 10.
He has appeared in the middle of the three in Pearce’s favoured 4-2-3-1 but he looks more dangerous on the flank, with Henri Lansbury playing inside him. Similarly, Lansbury likes a shot and there were a couple of occasions against Derby when Lansbury had the opportunity to play a simple pass to Antonio or Chris Burke on the right. Instead he took it upon himself to shoot and ended up with five to his name, though not a single one hit the target.
It’s a small complaint, which will hold even less stock if Forest can maintain their form and stay in the promotion reckoning as the season ages. On present evidence, they look quite capable of going the distance - especially if Antonio keeps motoring along.
How impressed have you been with Antonio's performances this season? Let us know in the comments below
