Sean Dyche shook his head as Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored his 10th Premier League goal of the season to put Leeds 3-0 up against Nottingham Forest.
Whatever Dyche said to his players at half-time clearly had no impact, with the Forest head coach inexplicably sending out the same 11 players in the same system that trailed 2-0 at the interval.
The fact that Dyche didn’t feel the need to change anything speaks volumes of his tactical ineptitude. Forest were horrendous in the opening 45 minutes and didn’t grasp the occasion at all. Frankly, that’s on Dyche.
Who was the worst Nottingham Forest player vs Leeds?
Lessons have to be learnt from these defeats, but the performances are perhaps the most alarming thing right now. Leeds away can be added to two games against Everton, a defeat at Fulham and a shocking performance at Aston Villa as occasions when Forest have blown good chances to kick on.
As Daniel Farke rejoiced at moving nine points clear of the relegation zone before West Ham played on Saturday, the German manager inadvertently offered Forest a blueprint for survival with 13 games of the Premier League season remaining.
Liverpool boss Arne Slot and Nottingham Forest head coach Sean Dyche
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Leeds offer survival blueprint to Nottingham Forest
When Leeds were beaten 3-1 at the City Ground in November, it felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off Forest, who claimed a first Premier League win since the opening day of the season.
At that point, Leeds fans were incredibly frustrated with Farke, with some even calling for his head as the Whites prepared for a tough run of fixtures against Aston Villa, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool.
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However, after losing to Forest, enough was enough for Farke and he ditched the system that he’d deployed for the first three months of the season, choosing to get an extra man alongside Calvert-Lewin and preferring three central defenders.
The decision has been a masterstroke, with Leeds only losing to Manchester City, Newcastle and Arsenal since that defeat at Forest and given their sparkling home form, it’s hard to see the Whites getting relegated.
In changing things up, Farke has likely listened to his players. Meanwhile, it’s a case of rinse and repeat every week for Forest, with Dyche sending out the same players, in the same system, making the same like-for-like substitutions when games need rescuing. Frankly, it’s all a bit boring!
There have been positives to the Dyche reign, of course. Winning games against Liverpool, Tottenham and Brentford were the obvious highlights, and nobody can argue that not all of the mess at Forest right now is on the current boss.
However, this isn’t a bad squad of players. It’s one that has been assembled using hundreds of millions, and right now, they’re being badly coached and mismanaged by a manager severely out of his depth.
Forest have to make brutal Sean Dyche call
There is lots of romance from some fans when it comes to Dyche. Largely because he’s a stunning after-dinner speaker who used to do some gardening for Brian Clough as a scholar at the City Ground and brings nineties legends Ian Woan and Steve Stone with him as part of his backroom team.
When it comes to the Premier League in 2026, however, Dyche is a busted flush, and it’s hard to imagine him ever working in the top-flight again when his Forest tenure inevitably comes to a conclusion.
The resurgent nature of Leeds’ season has seen Farke remain in a job but much like Nuno Espirito Santo at West Ham, those two are sound coaches with an ability to adapt to certain situations. Everything that Dyche is not!
It shouldn’t be offensive to Leeds to suggest that on paper, the Forest squad has more quality than the one that Farke can call upon, but the issue stretches to the coaching in place at both clubs.
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Leeds resemble the sort of team that Forest hoped they would have following promotion in 2022. A group of players who know each other from last season, with a few tidy additions and the sort of team spirit that enables fans to get on board with the ride.
Friday’s inept performance from Forest was down to Dyche’s bizarre team selection and his inability to back down from his stubborn persona and make the necessary changes to rectify the situation.
The Leeds performance is one abysmal display too many, and after another wasted opportunity, Dyche is now firmly on borrowed time. Defeat to Wolves will almost certainly spell the end of his tenure, and he could have very few complaints if Marinakis makes that decision.
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