Nottingham Forest head coach Oliver Glasner has cast admiring eyes at Aston Villa - as well he might
Nassef Sawiris and Unai Emery celebrate Aston Villa winning the 2025/26 Europa League
Nassef Sawiris and Unai Emery celebrate Aston Villa winning the 2025/26 Europa League(Image: Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
Premier League counterparts and former European champions Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa share one other common trait – ambition.
The desire to crack the FFP, PSR, SCR alphabet-soup-based hegemony of the league’s usual suspects – quite literally in Manchester City’s case – fuels that burning desire.
It is a desire not just to compete for the odd FA or Carabao Cup, as enjoyable as that would be, nor even to nick a European trophy every third decade.
It is a desire to kick in the Premier League’s doors and look Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool square in the eye and with sharp, pointed elbows tell them to shove over.
Replacement revealed for Harborne Kitchen in Birmingham and it sounds amazing
A level-playing field would be helpful but that’s a different matter.
FOLLOW OUR FACEBOOK PAGE! Get more news and AVFC analysis via our Aston Villa FB page
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info
Forest head coach Oliver Glasner spoke about the Reds’ intentions during the international break and he invoked Villa in so doing, noting the 13,000 disparity in the respective capacities of the City Ground and Villa Park.
“Expanding the stadium is a first step toward creating the necessary conditions,” Glasner said. “But why shouldn’t it be possible to become like Aston Villa? In other words, getting a taste of the Champions League, even if you might miss out on it again later.”
More seats equals more fans, in reality customers, equals more revenue, equals bigger transfer budgets, equals better players, equals more wins, equals Premier League places and eventually titles.
Until the current revenue-based financial restrictions are lifted, there is no other way. Not for Forest, not for Villa, not for anyone. It is no coincidence both clubs have extensive ground expansion plans although that’s a very, very long game to play.
But clubs can improve or impede their prospects by the decisions they make along the way – and in that respect Villa are streets ahead.
Get YOUR Aston Villa Newsletter
Get the best Villa news, updates and analysis from John Townley and more, straight to your Inbox!
To get it, it's a quick and easy one-two:
Head THIS WAY
Enter your email and hit Subscribe.
Forest were promoted in 2022 and finished 16th in their first season back. The following year it was 17th and then in 2025 they seemed to have cracked the code. Nuno Espirito Santo led them to seventh and – by default – the Europa League.
Villa and Forest met at the semi-final stage of that competition, just six months ago they were fighting for the same Champions League place, but that would have obscured the distance between the two.
After four managers in one season Forest, who were in another relegation battle and who would go on to finish 16th, were wondering which way was up. Villa were showing them.
The Reds have had six head coaches in the four years since they won the Championship play-offs. Villa have had three in the seven seasons since they returned to the top flight.
Dean Smith steered them to safety in their first year, Steven Gerrard temporarily jeopardised it and since October 2022 Unai Emery has been entrusted and empowered to oversee everything football.
Aston Villa celebrate winning the 2025/26 Europa League trophy
Aston Villa won the 2025/26 Europa League trophy under Unai Emery(Image: Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
You can see the returns from the bottom of the Trent as Villa have finished seventh, fourth, sixth and fourth.
The owners have left the Spaniard to steer the ship as he sees fit. Any staff changes have been with his consent, at his behest even, and as a result Villa’s stability has done much to narrow and even erode the revenue deficit.
Glasner might dream of emulating Villa, let alone Arsenal and Liverpool, but that’s less to do with the size of the City Ground and the money it brings in and more to do with the stable management culture that comes from the likes of Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris.