Pressing Issues

When discussing Nottingham Forest’s Premier League success this season, much of the talk has revolved around Chris Wood’s impeccable form, the dynamism of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga on the wing, the impenetrable defence of Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic – but there is one man who rarely receives credit for his work.

Forest captain Ryan Yates goes largely under the radar as an important figure within Nuno Espirito Santo’s side. As a Nottingham-born local lad, his leadership qualities are obvious: he comes across as willing to die for the badge, leaves absolutely everything out on the field, and has a knack of winding up the opposition which further endears Forest fans.

But when you look deeper into his performances, it becomes evident that he is an intelligent footballer – which more often than not compensates for him not being technically brilliant.

Yates takes ownership of situations – such as above where he suggests Sels’ pass, sends the forwards running, and asks for the ball all in the space of 10 seconds. His intricate understanding of Nuno’s intended way of playing allows him to not only lead by example, but to orchestrate movements and sequences from others.

The Dirty Work

It is a very common leadership trait to lead by example. There is great virtue in showing willingness to do the things that others don’t want to do.

Yates shows this repeatedly – while running stats for this Premier League season aren’t publicly available, it is visually clear that Yates covers more distance than most Forest players.

He is almost always around on the edge of the Forest box to recover the ball or offer a passing option, and is also frequently seen busting a gut to provide an option on the counterattack. With the low block, fast break style that Nuno has employed this season, Yates’ versatility goes a long way to making it possible.

Yates is at heart, a defensive midfielder, and this is repeatedly shown in his ball recovery.

Clearances per 90	Blocks per 90	Aerials won per 90	Passes blocked
2.57 (Top 7%)	1.35 (Top 30%)	2.17 (Top 5%)	1.22 (Top 24%)

Yates is also well-versed in the ‘dark arts’ which tends to frustrate opposition and is a big part of why Forest have been so successful defending leads this season. He is fouled 2.44 times per 90 minutes – putting him in the top 4% in the Premier League for fouls drawn.

Decoy Runs

While he undoubtedly provides defensive quality, Yates would be the first person to admit that he doesn’t have the same technical ability as many of his teammates.

But as previously mentioned, his game awareness allows him to best use himself to create opportunity for others.

The below screenshots are indicative of this. Yates finds himself with the ball in the right half-space. He has ample space to put a cross in, but makes the decision to lay the ball into Ola Aina at right back and make a run into the box.

This attracts the attention of 3 Ipswich defenders and pushes the defensive line back, opening up space for Elliot Anderson, who does then put a teasing cross into Hudson-Odoi who makes a back post run.

What this demonstrates is that Yates’ unselfish nature leads to his teammates having more space and opportunity. He frequently makes these dummy runs – dropping into positions that allow Ola Aina time on the ball, or creating openings for more creative midfielders Morgan Gibbs-White or Anderson as shown.

The same is evident here: Anderson receives the ball in a tight space and dribbles out of it well – but his job is made significantly more manageable by Yates acting as a shield and delaying two Crystal Palace players.

It is these actions that truly make Ryan Yates the unsung hero of this Nottingham Forest team – and should he be presented the chance to lead his team out at the Bernabau in the Champions League next season, he will absolutely deserve it.