New Nottingham Forest manager Martin O'Neill has taken charge of his first match at the City Ground, that resulted in a 1-0 defeat to Bristol City on Saturday afternoon.

O'Neill opted for a traditional 4-4-2 formation for the fixture, as he experimented with his squad, as he looks to find the best formation for them to play moving forward.

So was O'Neill's choice of formation a surprise?

We discuss.....

Jay Taylor

“I was, to be honest, I thought with the players Nottingham Forest have, they would line up with an extra man in midfield and go with a more 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1 formation.

“Seeing an old-school 4-4-2 was a surprise, and it clearly needs some work when you look at the result.

“Martin O’Neill will still be assessing his players and looking at what system best suits them moving forward.

“It’s certainly an exciting time at Forest, and I am sure there will be plenty of experimenting in the coming weeks.”

Louie Chandler

"Very.

"I did not feel confident in their chances at all when I saw Murphy and Grabban both starting.

"The two strikers are far too similar and lack too much mobility to work as a pairing and I think it acted against them."

Gary Hutchinson

“Not especially. I was caught out by Carvalho’s omission, but on the whole I wasn’t too far off.

“I could see the two man forward line being used, 4-4-2 is ‘old school’

“He had to try something else, make it a little bit different all round.

“It didn’t work though, not at first try. They’ll improve.”

Jacob Potter

"It was a bold move.

"I was surprised to see him change formation for such a crucial game, and it ultimately backfired.

"It will take time for a team to adjust, and O’Neill was wrong to make changes to his team in such an important match.

"It’s vital Forest break out of this bad run at the earliest of opportunities."