The Ange Postecoglou questions that hang over Nottingham Forest after Evangelos Marinakis call
by Sarah Clapson · NottinghamshireLiveThe last time Nottingham Forest turned to a former Tottenham Hotspur manager they didn’t do too badly, and owner Evangelos Marinakis will be hoping the same applies once again.
Marinakis has made two of the biggest calls of his Reds tenure in the space of a few hours. First, the initial decision to sack Nuno Espirito Santo and then to replace him with another ex-Spurs boss in Ange Postecoglou.
News of the latter coming in was not particularly well received among large sections of the Forest fanbase. After all, the Reds finished a long way clear of Postecoglou’s Tottenham last season.
Forest finished seventh. Spurs were a lowly 17th, 27 points behind.
Of course, the north London club did win the Europa League. And it will be that achievement that piqued the interest of Marinakis, along with the fact he has long enjoyed a good relationship with Postecoglou.
Ahead of the Reds’ participation in UEFA’s second tier tournament, Marinakis attended the Europa League draw last month. The ambition of winning silverware was top of the agenda when he spoke to the media in Monaco.
Postecoglou knows what it takes to do that. As he is fond of pointing out, he always wins things in his second year.
The 60-year-old will need to work at breakneck speed at the City Ground, however. Marinakis wants Forest challenging for European silverware this season.
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Additionally, there will be little settling in period for Postecoglou. He faces his first game in a matter of days - away to Arsenal no less. A significant chunk of his squad are currently away on international duty so time with his new dressing room is going to be limited.
It is a busy end to September for the Reds. They have five games in three competitions to fit in before the month is out, and four of those matches are on the road.
Postecoglou will have to wait until September 27 for his City Ground bow, when Sunderland are the visitors. Before then he will go to Arsenal and Burnley in the Premier League, Swansea City in the Carabao Cup and Real Betis for Forest’s Europa League opener. Some baptism of fire.
The Reds’ style of play is likely to go from one extreme to the other; from cautious Nuno to attack-minded Ange. For Marinakis, it will be viewed as all part of the club’s progression.
Whether it will work out is open to debate. Is Postecoglou the right man to push Forest on again? The owner has bet big that he is.
Although reservations are entirely justified, it would be folly to write Postecoglou off before he has even got his feet under the table. Spurs’ Premier League struggles might not look great on his CV and it remains to be seen how his high-line tactics play out on the banks of the Trent, but he knows what it takes to win.
He has the kind of squad in place many managers would be licking their lips to work with and an ambitious owner prepared to stop at nothing for success. Marinakis has got very few decisions wrong since taking over the club; there is a lot riding on his latest one going the same way.