And there it was, laid out plainly. Evangelos Marinakis’ opulent, leather seat at the City Ground vacant as Nottingham Forest trailed two goals to Chelsea shortly after the hour mark on Saturday afternoon.
This was the biggest game of the eight that Ange Postecoglou had managed in his 39 days at the club, knowing a loss would eventually push him closer to the sack. The referee, Chris Kavanagh, blew his whistle at 14:24 and by 14:42, the Forest boss was out the door.
It was a sorry end for Postecoglou, and one that really should not have come this soon; not in the opinion of many, anyway. Two draws and six losses made up a pitiful record for the Australian coach’s time as Nuno Espirito Santo’s successor, but the fault of such a blunder like this should come down to Marinakis. Postecoglou did all he could in the time he was given.
Like, really? Eight games and 39 days? What did Marinakis expect? Surely he saw how different the styles of Nuno and Postecoglou were when comparing who would be suitable for the job? Evidently, Marinakis didn’t do his homework on how long this transition would take. That, or he is simply trying to drive Forest into the ground. Neither make sense from both a sporting and business stand-point, but does anything Marinakis do make sense nowadays?
Marinakis stormed the pitch last season after a 2-2 draw against Leicester (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/Getty Images)
There are several examples where the Forest owner has shown that if the eyes aren’t on him, he isn’t happy. Take the start of Nuno’s descent, for example. Four months before his dismissal, a 2-2 draw with Leicester City ensued on a day that was as historic as it was confusing for Forest fans. First came the relief of clinching European football for the first time in 30 years — since the days of the fabled Brian Clough, before those celebrations turned ugly when Marinakis stormed the pitch.
Anyone in their right mind would think that achieving European football, especially with the consideration that a team of this standard escaped relegation narrowly the campaign prior, would make an owner grin ear-to-ear. But it doesn’t work like that in these parts, clearly. Nuno, doing all he could to keep the man who decides whether he stays or goes content, was visibly bothered but decided to try and stay on Marinakis’ good side, saying: “Football is emotions. It’s difficult to control, especially when we had so much expectation and the fans were incredible”.
From that day on his fate was decided, but it felt different with Postecoglou. There were never any sour moments between him and the owners - not that there was time for any - but it’s the way in which Marinakis judged both managerial situations which has dug his reputation even further into the ground. He should have never sacked Nuno, and equally, perhaps even more so, he should have allowed Postecoglou more time to make his mark, with his team and his tactics.
Postecoglou won the Europa League in his second season at Spurs (Photo by NurPhoto/Getty Images)
Nuno was known for his counter-attacking football, of course. It says a lot when his version of this team beat Brighton & Hove Albion 7-0 with only 37 percent possession. Those sorts of results don’t come from the footballing philosophy of Pep Guardiola, do they? Postecoglou, on the other hand, loves to play attacking-minded football and that’s where the problem lies. A team cannot transition that quickly, it’s impossible. Admittedly, it’s understandable to see Postecoglou go, if you look solely at results. But the former Tottenham Hotspur manager could have gone on to do great things with Forest — he’s certainly got the credentials to back his word up.
A Europa League winners’ medal, five trophies at Celtic and a few others trophies to compliment his managerial career. What more could you ask for from a head coach? Time would have shown his class, but not all owners are as forgiving as, say, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who recently stated that he’d give Ruben Amorim three years if he needed it at Manchester United.
For Forest, it will be a steep climb from here onwards and Marinakis has plenty of work on his hands. The favourite to take the job is Sean Dyche, who possesses a similar, direct-yet-defensive approach to the game to Nuno. But if they’re going to appoint someone with a similar philosophy, shouldn’t they have just stuck with Nuno this whole time?