Nottingham Forest dabbled with a number of different managers to try and end their long wait for a return to the Premier League.
It took 23 years and since the team left the top flight in 1999, and returned in 2022, Forest went through 18 permanent managers and a whole host of caretakers, with the club often ridiculed for their sacking culture.
Steve Cooper was the man who eventually ended the long wait to return, and fans will forever be indebted to his brilliance in the dugout as he took the team from the bottom of the Championship to the Premier League in a matter of months.
It has not always been an easy ride for Forest, though, and now an intriguing story has developed that could actually see two former Reds bosses link up in Saudi Arabia ahead of next season.
Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Dougie Freedman wants former Forest boss to join him in Saudi Arabia
It caused a bit of a stir when Freedman decided to swap his position at Crystal Palace for a position with Saudi Arabian outfit, Al Diriyah earlier this year.
Freedman is now on the hunt for a new manager, and according to The Sun, he’s turned his focus towards Sabri Lamouchi after being impressed with his style when he was in charge of Forest.
Lamouchi did change the perception of Forest when he was in charge, but ultimately, his tenure ended in circumstances that made the Reds the laughing stock of English football.
Forest were cruising towards the play-offs during the 2019/20 campaign when the pandemic called a halt to proceedings and that simply knocked all the stuffing out of the team.
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Still, the Reds went into the final day of the season knowing that even a defeat would be good enough as long as there wasn’t a four-goal swing between Forest and Swansea.
That’s exactly what happened during the final day game against Stoke, with the Reds forced to spend all summer in anguish at missing out on the play-offs, having held a top-six place since November.
Lamouchi departed the following season after losing all four of the opening matches during the 2020/21 campaign, with fans unable to attend football matches.
Freedman is now a master of his trade
Replacing Stuart Pearce was never going to make Freedman’s job easy at Forest, but ultimately, it was a job that, for a certain period, he did extremely well in.
Since leaving management, Freedman has become a complete master as a sporting director or director of football, and the work he did at Palace put them on the path towards FA Cup glory last weekend.
Manager P W D L Win %
Dougie Freedman 57 19 16 22 38.6%
Sabri Lamouchi 55 20 16 19 34.5%
Freedman and Lamouchi as Forest managers
He was responsible for the signing of top players like Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise, whilst he was also the lynchpin behind Oliver Glasner getting the top job at Selhurst Park.
Neither Freedman nor Lamouchi will go down as Forest greats for their work as the club’s manager, and now it will be fascinating to see how the pair get on in tandem in Saudi Arabia.