Sam Bunce
Three games into the Premier League season and Nottingham Forest had changed their manager already, but not for the conventional reasons. Not prompted by a string of bad results, but an unsalvageable fallout with the ownership, which made Nuno Espirito Santo’s future increasingly uncertain.
The Portuguese man had led the Tricky Trees to an FA Cup semi-final, and a spot in European football for the first time in 30 years. Forest’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, ploughed money into the club over the summer to bulk the squad with quality, signifying a willingness to reward and back the manager. The club had the armoury to attack the European campaign ahead whilst accommodating for the demands of the Premier League.
However, a rift was emerging behind the scenes between Nuno and one of the main recruitment operators, Edu Gaspar.
In the first international break and following the 3-0 home defeat to West Ham United, Nuno was dismissed, as Forest had to embark on an inevitable new chapter due to unforeseen circumstances. Nuno was swept up quickly by the struggling Hammers, who appointed him in recognition of his managerial prowess.
A list of candidates for a replacement emerged, but Ange Postecoglou always seemed the frontrunner. His proven track-record of delivering trophies shrouded the dismal league record his Tottenham Hotspur side managed in the supposed estimations of the Nottingham Forest ownership.
Perhaps Marinakis and co were striving to implement an approach of playing on the front foot instead of consistently favouring defensively-oriented plans. A pursuit of a stark shift in style after weeks of pre-season fine-tuning Nuno’s instructions.
Whilst Postecoglou’s brief tenure was not littered with underwhelming performances, as losses accumulated, the pressure heaped onto Forest and almost became exacerbated by Postecoglou’s approach to the media and his previous reputation.
During the 3-0 defeat to Chelsea, Marinakis was spotted away from his exclusive and distinctive seat at The City Ground, to supposedly put a manager, who may have been regretting returning to Premier League management, out of his misery with the writing already on the wall.
And so, Postecoglou was out the door in a matter of moments after the defeat, as the players were reportedly summoned to hear the news. It would be difficult to digest the eight disappointing games they had played under Postecoglou, and how they were going to bounce back.
In what turned out to be his final press conference before the Chelsea match commenced, Postecoglou defended his corner, opting for a monologue exceeding five minutes.
He attempted to remind people of his past successes and to fend off the media narrative that had followed him around. Little did he know that this was only counterproductive given the tumultuous times Forest had suffered, and Marinakis was never going to hang about in removing him.
The Sean Dyche Era
Nottingham Forest fans wouldn’t have been expecting a scrap to escape the relegation zone at the start of the season.
But that became the reality the club had to solve, and Sean Dyche seemed the suitable recruit amidst the scarce availability of managers in the job market to swiftly inherit Postecoglou’s post.
Most recently, he steered Everton away from the relegation zone, despite their points deduction, and has become renowned for taking teams out of the doldrums and steadying the ship. There is much more, however, to his managerial ambitions, as taking Burnley to the Europa League for a season often gets forgotten.
A return to the style of Nuno was evidently going to take shape, albeit with adjustments and changes, still underpinned by similar setups.
Dyche has been a self-proclaimed proponent of pragmatic ways of perceiving football and injecting those attitudes into his tutelage.
His coaching staff, Ian Woan and Steve Stone, both graced The City Ground as pivotal players during the 1990s, while Dyche advanced through the academy ranks but never wore the Garibaldi red at a senior level.
Sean Dyche remains a resident of Nottingham. Familiarity with the city was a bonus to supplement his capacity to turn the tide at clubs heading down the wrong path.
Compared to his previous jobs, the squad at his disposal is brimming with so much quality. The core group had taken the Premier League by storm last term, and the influx of signings bolstered Forest’s ranks. This can cause opportunities as well as some disruptions, and Dyche is adept at handling both.
Understanding the city and reuniting the fanbase. These were the first missions, and this trio, with Nottingham Forest roots to fall back on, were always awaiting this part of their coaching stories to arrive.
Their homecoming was marked by a superb European win over high-flying Porto under the lights at The City Ground, and Sean Dyche then took a moment to savour and bask in his moment leading Forest to victory from the other side of the white line.
His remit is to ensure stability, which he seems to emanate through his character and the way he instructs his teams to play. He focuses on the basic principles first, but is still aware of the requirements to compete at the highest level tactically.
This stability and ascendancy from last season continued when Nottingham Forest won on the opening day against Brentford, and Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White even earned themselves senior England call-ups.
They had been disjointed and derailed by Postecoglou’s appointment, as the connection with the fanbase became sorely missed, and results were not going their way.
It never really seemed that Forest and Postecoglou were compatible, but Marinakis acted fast, ultimately acknowledging his mistake. Although it could be costly and valuable points have already been lost, the opportunity to rectify this season is still in Forest’s hands.
Another historic win at Anfield was the first stepping stone, but will they be able to turn that into consistency and re-establish the trajectory Nuno Espirito Santo had built last season? These opportunities in Europe and with the current squad don’t come too often in the Premier League. As the ‘Big Six’s’ financial stature becomes insurmountable, Forest can’t afford to throw it away.
Sam Bunce
Featured image courtesy of Sam Bunce. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of @officialnffc via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 2 courtesy of @officialnffc via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
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