Brian Clough’s stormy, 44-day reign at Leeds in 1974 was eventful enough for a wonderful book to be written, and an equally enjoyable film adaptation to be made (both entitled The Damned United, if you were wondering). Yet despite Ange Postecoglou’s spell at Nottingham Forest being five days shorter, and just as miserable, I do not think any authors will be sufficiently engaged by this rather sorry episode to write any books.
This has been a sorry episode on a number of fronts, too, not just for the hapless Australian. Certainly, his tactics have never changed during his time in the Premier League, in spite of their obvious stupidity and naivety during his two seasons at Tottenham, and given the shift in playing style from previous incumbent Nuno Espirito Santo, few were tricked into the illusion this would work at the City Ground. His stubbornness and seeming insistence that he was right in the face of mounting evidence was hardly the most endearing tone either. But this is also symptomatic of a club run like a madhouse.
The Hellenic double act of Postecoglou and Forest’s owner Evangelos Marinakis was always likely to be a fiery one, with Postecoglou’s stridence more than matched by Marinakis’ explosive temper and constant control-freakery. Nuno had done a fantastic job with Forest, avoiding relegation in his first season, and achieving a highly unlikely European spot second time round. Yet despite this, Marinakis never made things easy, storming onto the pitch, unsettling his manager, and eventually sacking Nuno after only a short slump. He replaced a manager with a proven track record with his squad with one who took Spurs to 17th last season, and a style totally at odds with Forest’s way of playing. These were problems of Marinakis’ making.
Postecoglou didn’t help himself by overpromising and underdelivering in interviews and press conferences, and was not the man for the job, but again, his dismissal seemed short-tempered and impulsive. Marinakis left his seat half an hour before the end against Chelsea, and most could see the writing on the wall. Fewer would have expected the verdict to come less than 20 minutes after full-time. While this was not Martin Jol territory – he was sacked mid-game by Tottenham, and most in the ground knew his fate before he did – it is highly unusual.
This is the latest in a series of Marinakis melodramas, there was the aforementioned storming onto the pitch, the huge squad turnover during windows has raised eyebrows, and Forest have released a number of controversial club statements in the past few years. Normally bland and platitudinous, Forest’s statements have often been punchy to say the least, and while not necessarily wrong about refereeing matters for example, for official club communications to be creating controversies is not ideal. This is tinpot dictator stuff, not exactly the dreary corporate sheen of Premier League boardrooms.
Sean Dyche is the new man in at the City Ground. His brand of no-nonsense realism stands in stark contrast to Postecoglou’s dogmatic bloody-mindedness, and his style of play is far more akin to what Forest’s squad had become used to under Nuno. If Thursday’s impressive 2-0 win over Porto is anything to go by, Dyche looks a wise appointment, but little ever runs smoothly at Marinakis’ Nottingham Forest, so why should Dyche’s tenure as manager?
“Evangelos-Marinakis” by Olympiacos FC is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.