Nottingham Forest's Carabao Cup Exit: A Warning for Glasner

Nottingham Forest’s Carabao Cup exit to Leeds United on Tuesday didn’t just cost them a place in the next round. It stripped away a layer of optimism around Oliver Glasner’s project and left a fanbase sounding the alarm.

Leeds, by contrast, walked away from the tie with something far more valuable than progression alone: a growing belief that a once‑restless giant might finally be stirring.

Forest frustration: “The smiles have gone”

Forest supporters did not hold back. The contrast with the weekend’s display was the first red flag.

“A much worse performance than Saturday's,” Ian said, cutting straight to the point. Liam Delap’s arrival, he argued, will not fix what he sees as a deeper structural problem. This wasn’t just an off night in his eyes – it was a team without “identity” and “ideas”, a side that looks like it needs a rebuild, not a few tweaks.

Graham went even harder. “Nothing positive to come from last night, that was plainly obvious,” he wrote, before listing senior names he believes are falling short: Chris Wood, Ousmane Diomande, Dan Ndoye, Xaver Schlager and James McAtee. For him, Glasner’s approach is a poor fit for the squad. Too narrow. No bite. No threat.

The pattern of play angered many. David painted a picture of a team stuck in reverse: pass back, pass back, and pass back again to Matz Sels, only for the goalkeeper to launch it long towards a lone, isolated striker. Outnumbered up top, no runners around him, no one competing for the second ball. To David, that isn’t a tactic. It’s an admission of defeat.

Andrew didn’t sugarcoat it either. He called it “the worst Forest performance in over a year,” accusing the players of looking “clueless” and unsure of any coherent plan. For a club that has invested heavily and spoken often about progression, this felt like a jarring step backwards.

The common thread? A belief that this isn’t just about one bad cup tie. It’s about a team that doesn’t yet know what it wants to be under Glasner – and a fanbase rapidly losing patience with slow, safety‑first football.

Leeds belief: “The sleeping giant is starting to wake up”

On the other side of the divide, Leeds fans left the same game with a very different mood.

“The sleeping giant is starting to wake up,” Bryan declared. He feels the club never gets “enough credit from the pundits or press” and likes it that way. Leeds, in his view, are “creeping under the radar” and will shock people this season.

He went further, predicting they will be seen as one of the strongest defences in the Premier League and warning the established elite that, with another striker signed, “watch out top six, one of you will be losing your place.” It’s bold, but it captures the growing confidence around the spine and structure of this Leeds side.

Peter focused on the attack, and one player in particular. He sees a team that could be “really good” with just a couple of quality additions in forward areas, frustrated instead by how “wasteful” they were. Dan James, he said, created “so much”, only for those around him to fail to read his deliveries. The chances are coming; the cutting edge, not yet.

Ali struck a more cautious note. Solid against Forest, yes, but nowhere near the finished article. He listed the gaps bluntly: striker, left-back, winger, goalkeeper, attacking midfield. Too many thin areas, he warned, for a long and punishing season. Performances like this are encouraging, but he believes serious reinforcement is still needed if Leeds are to turn promise into something more durable.

Two clubs, one cup tie, and wildly different readings of what it all means.

For Forest, the night felt like a warning siren about style, structure and direction under Glasner. For Leeds, it looked more like a glimpse of a side that, with a sharper edge and a deeper squad, might yet force its way back into the conversation at the top end.

If this is what August looks like, what will these two sets of supporters be saying by spring?