Nottingham Forest had a poor start to the season, earning just one point in the first seven games under Chris Hughton. The manager was sacked, and the team’s form also got affected by this. Forest earned 21 points in the next ten games and have climbed up the table. One player who has benefitted from managerial change is striker Lewis Grabban. The forward has scored seven goals after Chris Hughton left the club and has returned to goalscoring form.
Hughton managed his last game against Middlesbrough. Grabban started three matches and came on in three matches under Chris Hughton this season. He attempted three shots, created an expected goal rate of 0.52, and scored one goal. His form changed after the departure of the manager. Grabban started in eight games and came on as a sub in the other two games. The forward has scored seven goals with an expected goal rate of 4.72 and has attempted 15 shots with a shot accuracy of 53.33%.
The above shot map shows all the shots attempted by Grabban this season. He attempted 18 shots, with 15 attempted from inside the opposition’s penalty box. The 33-year-old striker scored one goal from the penalty spot and has scored seven goals from inside the opposition 18-yard box.
The above chart is the shot map of Grabban after Hughton’s departure. He attempted 15 shots, with two of them from outside the opposition’s penalty box. Previously, he had attempted one shot from outside the opposition box and two from inside the opposition’s box. The shot map shows that Grabban has taken positions inside the opposition’s 6-yard box and scored three goals from a very close range.
When looking at the above chart, the general rule is that the longer the bar, the better the performance – you can see the league average in the middle, and the % is the percentile rank the player is in. This chart compares the stats of Grabban with other forward players in the league.
The goals per 90 rate of Grabban was lower than 0.25, and the xG per 90 was also around 0.13 before the match against Huddersfield Town. Grabban showed some improvement and increased his goals per 90 and xG per 90 rates. His attacking stats are not as good as the other strikers in the league, but the player has been clinical with his finishing and has a 50% shot accuracy rate.
Lewis Grabban scored a brace against Preston North End in the previous fixture. The forwards attempted two shots with a 100% shot accuracy rate. He created an expected goal rate of 0.97 from the two goals scored. His expected goal rate is more than the xG rate of other players combined.
Lewis Grabban has been clinical with his finishing in front of the goal. The 33-year-old has found his touch and has benefitted from the managerial change. He has made crucial contributions towards his side’s impressive run of 21 points in ten games. The striker will look to add more goals to his season tally and help his side reach the play-off spots.
