I do rate Emery as a manager, I still cant quite work out why it went so wrong for him at Arsenal.
Everyone is playing for second place, City are a class apart.
On the Pool late goal, Yes, the ball should have gone back to Forest. But….
1) I have seen a few angles that certainly look like Yates kicks Konate on the head. That should have been a free to Pool. Although the ref missed it, possibly the Lino should have seen it, but crowded box and a lot going on, so benefit of the doubt.
2) The ball going back to Pool instead of Forest was one minute and fifty two seconds before Pool scored. It's not like they went straight up the other end and won it. Yes, if it goes back to Forest the game is totally different, Pool may still have scored, or Forest may have scored, but Forest had plenty of time to recover from the wrong decision.
3) Forest actually won the ball back, and lost it again, three times between that incident and Pool scoring. Including some moron, their CF I think, trying to dribble the ball out of his box in the 99th minute of a game. You're hanging on for dear life in a game where a point is massive confidence booster and huge help in avoiding relegation, you pick the ball up in your box in the 99th minute already 30 seconds in to added injury time (caused cos two of your team mates were booked for time wasting in ET) and you're playing one of the best pressing sides in the league who are desperate to win. Do you (A) Hoof it dafuq and regroup. Or (B) Dribble straight into the nearest Liverpool, player and surrender possession?
If you picked (A), congratulations, you're not a moron. If you picked (B) you play up front for Forest!
4) The ref did exactly the same in the first half when Pool had the ball and he handed it back to Forest. He was consistent (consistently wrong, but still).
I cant deny it was a tad lucky, the timing if nothing else, but Forest had chances to clear it and decided dribbling it out was the way to go. I dont like Fat Sam football, but there is a time and a place for it. In the 99th minute of a game where you are desperate for the final whistle is pretty much the ****ing definition of it. I have a degree of sympathy for Forest, but they didn't help themselves, and they got exactly the same decision in their favour earlier in the game.