Nottingham Forest face Stoke City at the City Ground on Saturday afternoon - a fixture which led to the downfall of Sabri Lamouchi last season.

A 4-1 home defeat to the Potters, coupled up with a 4-1 win for Swansea over Reading, saw the Swans leapfrog the Reds on the final day of the season, snatching the last play-off spot at the death.

Forest completely capitulated under Lamouchi, undoing what had been a largely impressive first campaign under the Frenchman.

After losing the first four games of this season, the writing was on the wall for Lamouchi, whose side was still to trying to recover from last season's heartbreak.

Lamouchi did have some good times, though. He guided the Reds to their highest league finish in a while, and made some excellent signings.

Here, we take a look at the nine best signings Lamouchi made during his time at Forest...

This one is likely to divide opinions right away, which essentially sums up how poor some of the recruitment has been over the last couple of years.

Taylor has endured a frustrating campaign since joining Forest on a free transfer in the summer.

He impressed for Charlton Athletic last season and scored two goals in two games for the Addicks against Forest.

He has scored five goals in all competitions this season and is their joint-top goalscorer alongside Lewis Grabban.

He probably deserves more of a chance going forward, but it remains to be seen what lies in store for him going forward.

Blackett has only recently impressed since moving to Forest on a free transfer in the summer.

Lamouchi brought him on a free after he was released by Reading at the end of last season, and started him at centre-back in the first few games of the season.

But Blackett has established himself as the Reds' first-choice left-back, starting six of their last seven games in the Championship.

Blackett has produced some solid performances of late and has certainly chucked his hat into the ring in regards to the left-back spot next season.

With Yuri Ribeiro, Gaetan Bong and Nicholas Ioannou also likely to provide competition, it remains to be seen what happens there.

Cafu was brought in initially on loan from Olympiacos, and his arrival was announced a day before the announcement of Lamouchi's departure. Technically, though the signing was made under his tutelage.

Cafu has been a bit of a surprise package under Chris Hughton this season, with most of his game time at first coming in the number 10 role.

He's since dropped a little bit deeper, partnering either James Garner or Ryan Yates in the two-man midfield, and has shown signs of real quality.

His move was made permanent from Olympiacos from February, however that was also largely down to having six loanees on the books at the time, with only five allowed to be named in a matchday squad.

He could have a big season next year with a full pre-season under his belt.

Christie is another one who has impressed as the season has gone on.

The right-back arrived on a season-long loan from Fulham in the summer, after helping the Cottagers win promotion from the Championship via the play-offs last term.

At the start of the season, Christie's performances were far from good enough, but since the turn of the year, he has been an impressive figure at full-back.

With Jordan Gabriel impressing out in League One at Blackpool, it remains to be seen what route the club take this summer in regards to a potential permanent move for Christie.

But one thing is for sure. He's given them a decision to make, whereas a few months ago, it looked as if there would only be one choice.

Sow, arguably, deserves a place higher up in this list.

Last season, his presence in the team was huge, and at one point, Forest's win record whenever he played was outstanding.

Sow is a combative midfielder who provides plenty of bite and drive in the midfield. He isn't the prettiest of footballers, but he does the dirty side of the game really well.

But injuries have really hampered his time at the City Ground. The 31-year-old has made 42 appearances for the Reds across two seasons.

This season, he's been limited to only 15 league appearances due to injury, and with his contract up in the summer, it looks unlikely that he will be offered a new deal.

McKenna would be higher up on this list if he had played a lot more this season.

On the whole, the Scotland international has proven to be one of the signings of this season, having forged a solid understanding with Joe Worrall in the heart of defence.

It's hard to remember him putting in a bad performance, as on the whole, his displays have been consistently solid.

But injuries have made it a somewhat frustrating first campaign in England for him, limiting him to 22 appearances in the Championship.

But he looks set to end this season as first-choice centre-half alongside Worrall, and fans will be so excited to see how that relationship blossoms over pre-season.

Silva made a hugely positive impression in his one season at the City Ground.

The midfielder arrived from Feirense and established himself as Forest's first-choice attacking midfielder ahead of Joao Carvalho last season.

Silva got better as the season went on. His end product flattered to deceive at times, but the way he took to the physicality of English football was impressive.

Last season, he scored four goals and registered four assists in 47 appearances across all competitions.

He wanted to leave in the summer, though, and a move to Olympiacos followed.

Forest have missed a player like him at various stages of this season.

Ribeiro was an astute addition at left-back last season.

He battled it out with Jack Robinson for a place in the side, and eventually became first-choice left-back when Robinson left for Sheffield United in January.

Ribeiro's performances last season were excellent. He formed an excellent partnership with Sammy Ameobi down the left-hand side, and his overlapping runs were often so dangerous.

To be fair, his performances this season have been nowhere near the levels of last season.

But having been one of the left-backs in the division last season, it's hard not to put him right up there in terms of one of the best Lamouchi signings.

There's only really one contender for the number one spot here.

Samba, since moving to Forest from Caen last summer, has proven to be an absolutely wonderful signing for the Reds.

He made 40 appearances in the Championship last season, keeping 13 clean sheets, and was named in the PFA Team of the Season as a result of an excellent campaign.

He's featured in all but one one of Forest's 43 league outings this term, keeping 13 clean sheets again.

He is a loveable character who loves the fans, and more importantly, he is an excellent goalkeeper.