Nottingham Forest first team coach Brian Eastick believes that returning striker Matty Fryatt will provide the club with a much needed attacking boost.
Nottingham Forest made a blistering start to the Championship season under new manager Stuart Pearce, racking up 17 points and 17 goals from the first seven games of the campaign. Yet since then, Forest have drawn 0-0 three times in a row, with the goals really drying up for Pearce’s men.
It’s hard to truly place what the issue is. The front three has remained the same throughout – Michail Antonio and Chris Burke flanking Britt Assombalonga. The latter, a £5.5m signing from Peterborough this summer, hit eight goals in his first seven games of the season but has failed to find the back of the net since hitting a hat-trick against Fulham last month.
Now, fellow new arrival Matty Fryatt has returned from injury, featuring in the final 20 minutes of Forest’s 0-0 draw with Wigan and Tuesday night. The former Hull City and Leicester City forward couldn’t find the back of the net, but provided his side with a much needed attacking boost – and first team coach Brian Eastick is delighted to have the experienced goalscoring prowess of Fryatt back in the side.
“The pleasing thing for us was that Matty Fryatt has been out injured for a few weeks and got 20 minutes at the end of the game coming off the bench,” Eastick said. “He’s only had two or three days training. Matt is an experienced forward who is capable of scoring 15 goals a year if he plays the games in the Championship. It’s good to have him back. We have got a goal threat, there’s no doubt about that.”
Fryatt, 28, has always been a valuable poacher in the second tier, with his last full season in the Championship reaping 16 goals for Hull City. Injuries have been prominent for the former Walsall man, but if Forest can keep him fit, then they have a potent partner for Assombalonga.
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