Latest Nottingham Forest verdict as Reds axe Ange Postecoglou after 3-0 defeat to Chelsea
15:54, 18 Oct 2025
Sarah Clapson is Nottingham Forest correspondent for NottinghamshireLive and the Nottingham Post. She has covered the Reds since 2015, having joined the Post the previous year. Being involved in the coverage of everything from Evangelos Marinakis’ takeover of the club to Forest winning promotion at Wembley, she has followed the team up and down the country, as well as abroad, to report on the latest goings-on.
Ange Postecoglou, manager of Nottingham Forest, gives a thumbs up during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Chelsea at City Ground
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Ange Postecoglou, manager of Nottingham Forest, gives a thumbs up during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Chelsea at City Ground
With Nottingham Forest 2-0 down to Chelsea, Evangelos Marinakis vacated his seat in the City Ground stands.
If the writing wasn’t already on the wall by then for Ange Postecoglou, he was doomed in that moment. The owner had had enough - both of the game and of the head coach.
Marinakis didn’t just leave his seat, he left the stadium. That in itself isn’t necessarily unusual, nor is the fact a senior club official told Postecoglou the news rather than the Greek businessman himself.
After the final whistle had blown, Postecoglou had walked forlornly around the pitch and had applauded those fans still left in the stadium. Within 15 minutes of the game finishing, he was gone. The 60-year-old is understood to have taken the decision well and went to speak to the squad.
The club’s statement confirming his dismissal was made barely 20 minutes after the match - which finished 3-0 to the visitors - had ended. No messing.
Morgan Gibbs-White was being interviewed by TNT Sports, under the impression Postecoglou was still in charge. The attacker would have been informed soon after, with the players said to have gathered in the boardroom.
Eight games without a win had left Marinakis with little choice but to make a change. Forest had fallen to six defeats under Postecoglou. They had played well at times, including in the first half against Chelsea, but there was no hiding from the results.
Marinakis’ next move is crucial. He got it wrong with Postecoglou - even if the former Tottenham Hotspur boss regularly reminded everyone he was a winner.
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Now Forest’s season hinges on the next appointment being the right one. An announcement is not expected to be imminent, but whoever comes in will have plenty of issues to address and a poor run of form to turn around.
It is early in the season and there is every chance the Reds can climb up the Premier League table. But they need to get back on track quickly while there is still time.
After the 3-2 Europa League defeat to FC Midtjylland earlier this month, the fans turned on Postecoglou. The atmosphere at the City Ground turned ugly on that occasion.
On Saturday lunchtime, it was different. Supporters left in their numbers when the third goal went in and there were some boos, but the chants about the Forest boss getting the sack had come from the away end.
Blues fans went from singing ‘sacked in the morning’ to ‘sacked in a minute’. They weren’t wrong.
Was there apathy, indifference, a feeling of detachment from the home crowd? Regardless, they had already voiced their opinions. Now Marinakis has, too, courtesy of a short statement confirming a third manager of the season is on the way.
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