When Nottingham Forest won promotion to the Premier League in 2022, it ended a long and turbulent 23 years.
The City Ground had forgotten what it was like to host Premier League action, and for some of the really dark years, a return felt like a mere pipedream.
Enter Evangelos Marinakis…
From the outset, when he took over the ownership of the club, he made no secret of his desire to get the club promoted, and after appointing Steve Cooper, he was granted his ultimate wish.
Forest beat Huddersfield 1-0 at Wembley on the 29th May 2022, and three years down the line, Marinakis has already delivered on a promise that he was ridiculed for making just 24 hours after the play-off final success.
Photo by Michael Regan - The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Photo by Michael Regan – The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Evangelos Marinakis delivers on the promise that saw him ridiculed
The Forest owner certainly wasn’t fazed by the Premier League, despite the Reds entering arguably the toughest and most competitive top-flight for many years.
Marinakis was interviewed by Jim White following the final at Wembley and he was in no mood to play down what Forest might achieve following promotion.
White recalled on TalkSPORT: “I’ll never forget the experience of interviewing him (Marinakis) after they went up, when they won the Championship play-off final at Wembley.
“Marinakis, he was literally bouncing off walls, trying to tell me, ‘it’s trophies now, it’s about winning, winning!”
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Forest may not have got their hands on a trophy just yet, but he made it crystal clear that he didn’t want the club to take staying in the division as a success.
Marinakis had to settle for two relegation-threatened seasons, but to get European football in the third season back, is quite a remarkable season for the club.
Marinakis won’t let Forest stand still
The Reds reached the semi-final of the FA Cup during the 2024/25 campaign, and two seasons ago, the last four of the Carabao Cup was reached too.
Forest have been in fine form over the last 12 months, and it’s been brilliant to see what the club has become with Marinakis and his ambitious level of backing.
The scary thing for supporters – in a good way – is that there could yet be better days to come too.
Forest will play in the UEFA Conference League next season and if the two-legged play-off is negotiated, there is genuine belief that the Reds can go all the way in that competition.
With Marinakis steering HMS Nottingham Forest, anything is possible…