David Squires, the maestro of footballing satire, has once again wielded his pen to glorious effect. This week, he turns his attention to the City Ground, casting Nottingham Forest's early-season tribulations as a legendary quest straight out of Ancient Greek mythology.
The brilliant cartoon strip, a hallmark of The Guardian's sports coverage, depicts manager Nuno Espírito Santo not as a mere tactician, but as a heroic—or perhaps tragic—figure from antiquity. He is portrayed embarking on a seemingly impossible mission, his task Herculean in its scale: to steady the ship at a club where drama is never in short supply.
Squires' artwork is packed with his signature wit and classical allusions. Look closely, and you might spot familiar faces from the Forest squad reimagined as mythical creatures, disgruntled gods on Mount Olympus (likely the Premier League board), and a variety of ominous prophecies foretelling the challenges ahead. The famed City Ground itself is cleverly re-envisioned as an ancient amphitheatre where hopes are raised and brutally dashed.
It's a masterclass in finding humour in the struggle, perfectly capturing the unique blend of hope, despair, and sheer unpredictability that defines the Nottingham Forest experience for its devoted fans. Squires doesn't just report on the news; he reframes it into an epic narrative, proving that football, at its heart, is the greatest story ever told.
