Nottinghamshire

Colin Fray
BBC Radio Nottingham reporter

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That Nottingham Forest and their ers were disappointed at missing out on a place in the Champions League speaks volumes about the strides the club has taken over the past 12 months.

The final whistle at the weekend brought with it a strange mix of feelings. While celebrating European football returning to the City Ground for the first time in a generation and acknowledging the efforts of a small, ultimately too-thin squad in taking the behemoths of English football all the way in the race to finish in the top five, it did feel a little flat.

Being one equaliser away from the Europa League undoubtedly hurts, as does not claiming an extra couple of points somewhere along the way that would have meant Champions League football.

But this season will be ed as the best in 30 years, with some huge landmarks along the way such as being the first Premier League team ever to double their points tally year-on-year and the first Forest team ever to win at Anfield and Old Trafford in the same season.

Beating Liverpool was also their first win at Anfield in 55 years.

There was the huge win over Brighton, a golden glove for the excellent Matz Sels, a monumental first season in English football for player of the season Nikola Milenkovic, some remarkable goalline clearances (Murillo and Harry Toffolo spring to mind!), 20 goals for Chris Wood, a first FA Cup semi-final since 1991, and for the travelling fans, 10 away wins.

For context, across their previous three seasons in the top flight, they had won nine.

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All this for a team and a club widely tipped to be relegated by a number of high-profile pundits ahead of the season. Even the most optimistic Forest fan might have struggled to see a top-half finish, and now they have a European campaign to prepare for.

An interesting summer lies ahead because the current squad struggled with a whole season of Premier League football. Ultimately, it was half a dozen games too thin as fatigue and injuries kicked in.

As they try to develop further for next season, depth would have been needed - even without Thursday nights across Europe to consider!

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Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Bournemouth and Tottenham were the most physical teams in the Premier League this season when considering the distance they covered and the number of sprints performed.

The results might explain why they had a lot of injuries.

Newcastle and Brighton were not too far behind though, with Brighton actually covering the most ground in the league, with fewer sprints.

Chelsea and Liverpool's style of play saw them sprint a lot but not cover a lot of ground, while Manchester City and Arsenal were the opposite (ran a lot but didn't sprint a lot).

Nottingham Forest very much had their own style of play this season as they both ran and sprinted the least.

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Former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Paul Robinson praised Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels.

Sels was instrumental in Forest achieving European football for next season as he recorded 13 clean sheets during the campaign. The Belgian shot-stopper made 120 across the season, with only three goalkeepers making more.

"The big compliment you can pay Matz Sels, I don't think he's technically one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League," Robinson said on BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast.

"But you look at another stat this season, which is what I like to look at, is the amount of saves he's made and the biggest stat I like, save to shot per cent ratio - that's how you can judge a goalkeeper.

"Selz has won the Golden Glove, but he's also second in the number of saves he's made. So, he's not only relied on the brilliance of Milenkovic and Murillo in front of him and the defence being solid and the team being organised, he's had to make a number of saves to contribute to that. You've got to take your hat off to him, he's had a fantastic season."

Pat Riddell
Fan writer

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Season rating: 8/10. Another two goals on the final day, or another two points in the run-in, and it could have been a nine. That and winning the FA Cup would probably have made it a 10.

Happy with your manager? Absolutely delighted. Nuno Espirito Santo took the bones of this squad, spent pre-season instilling his methods and tactics, and brought the best out of every one of his first XI. Granted, there were a few moments when you could question his judgement - but they were rare. He got almost everything right in almost every game.

Unsung hero: It was hard to pick a player of the season - although Nikola Milenkovic was probably easily ahead of everyone else - but I think Neco Williams deserves huge praise for his season. He very clearly had talent and commitment when we signed him but, switching from right-back to left-back, he has been exceptional this year. Defensively and attacking, he has been as consistent as anyone could ask.

Player you would most like to sign: We need several new additions this summer, as our only deficiency this season has been squad depth. But I think the obvious name is Liam Delap. He may well end up elsewhere but we're desperately lacking competition up front and his strong, aggressive forward play is the kind of g we need.

Right now, my overriding emotion from the season is: Pride. I mean, the disappointment hurts - being so close to the Champions League and FA Cup glory is a lot to get over. But we have massively overachieved with very few injuries, a squad that cost a fraction of the clubs around us - and completely baffled the pundits, who had us down for relegation again. It is huge progress from where we have been and we can only hope it is just the start of things.

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Here's my quick assessment of Nottingham Forest's Premier League season - and a return to my August predictions.

Pre-season prediction: 16th

Ended the season: 7th

The fact there was even the mere talk of disappointment at missing out on the Champions League illustrates what a superb season Nottingham Forest have had under Nuno Espirito Santo.

Yes, a strong position was wasted, but if you had offered any Forest fan solid safety at the start of the season, let alone European football, they would have signed up instantly.

Striker Chris Wood had the season of his life, while the coveted Morgan Gibbs-White was outstanding. Goalkeeper Matz Sels was top class, and defensive duo Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic provided the bedrock.

Owner Evangelos Marinakis never hides his ambition, so expect more big moves in readiness for Europe.

What I said in August: "If Forest keep this squad together (and they are always looking to add), then I see them staying up."

Read my assessments of the other 19 teams here

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After missing out on Champions League football on the final day of the Premier League season, we asked for your feelings on Nottingham Forest's campaign.

Here are some of your comments:

Steve: A season that promised so much, but delivered so little. I know Forest have third-tier European Conference League qualification, but it's not the Champions League. This reduces the chances of attracting top-quality recruits, which has clearly hampered the challenge as the season drew to a close. Can't help thinking that not making a couple of gs in January didn't help!

Doug: A slightly disappointing end to what has been a remarkable campaign for the Reds. Any Forest fan would have gladly taken finishing seventh this season and claiming European football next season. We will, however, need to strengthen our squad to ensure we don't do a Manchester United or Spurs next season.

David: I have ed Forest for 60 years and after promotion I said I would enjoy the Premier League ride for as long as it lasted. What a ride it has been. Following two stressful seasons, what a time we have had this time. In the top four for much of the season, we ended up seventh - an amazing performance. Thank you Nuno and all the players - all your efforts are much appreciated. European football next season - can't wait.

John: Nuno has a well known preference for a small squad but, the corollary to this is that is has eventually left him having to utilise players who were either unfit or exhausted, because he was unable to rest them nor be able to call upon replacements of a similar calibre.

Iain: By the end of the season the tiredness showed. es and crosses weren't as accurate, responses weren't as fast... But we achieved far more than expected! I am pleased and proud of how well we've done. So why does this currently feel worse than securing safety on the last day?

Will Perry
Final Score reporter at the City Ground

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I could sense more than a tinge of disappointment from many of the Nottingham Forest fans as I left the City Ground after Sunday's defeat by Chelsea.

They do not need me to tell them that the Conference League is still an unbelievable achievement for a team many thought would be in a relegation scrap again.

However, having had Champions League football firmly in their hands, Forest dropped points in six of their final eight Premier League games to slip away from Europe's elite, including three home defeats in that run.

Nuno Espirito Santo's side are still one of the stories of the season, though.

He has delivered their best campaign for three decades, their goalkeeper shared the Golden Glove, only Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak and Erling Haaland scored more goals in the Premier League than Chris Wood - and European football is coming back to the City Ground for the first time since the 1995-96 season.

Let's face it, if I had told you that story in August you would have thought I was silly.

Dust off the ports, Forest fans!

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Nottingham Forest "looked like a team that had just run out of steam" against Chelsea, but a place in the Conference League "is still brilliant," says former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

The disappointment of the final few weeks should not overshadow what has been a renaissance at the club, who return to Europe for the first time since 1996.

"They got five points from a possible 21 in the final bunch of games and their change in home form will be one thing they will be disappointed in," said Robinson on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.

"Forest have been quite happy with the opposition having the ball this season and them playing on the counter attack, but they went all-out against Chelsea to win the game in the first half.

"The game changed very quickly in the second half when Chelsea got the goal and Forest went a lot more direct and just lumping it to Chris Wood. There was no rhythm despite all the attacking players being on the pitch.

"But it is fantastic to see what they have done this season. At the beginning of the campaign, I had them to just avoid relegation! Fans would have bitten your hand off for European football too.

"But with success comes expectation. When you are in the top four for eight weeks or longer, people expect Champions League football. So when you don't get it, it is a slight disappointment.

"I think a place in the Conference League is still a brilliant season."

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Highlights and analysis from Sunday's 10 final day Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Nottingham Forest 0-1 Chelsea

• Liverpool 1-1 Crystal Palace

• Wolves 1-1 Brentford