Nottingham Forest chiefs privately want owner Evangelos Marinakis to replace Ange Postecoglou with a “master” tactician, with the latter relieved of his duties immediately after their 3-0 defeat to Chelsea.
Ange Postecoglou sacked by Nottingham Forest after Chelsea loss
Goals from Josh Acheampong, Pedro Neto and Reece James cemented Postecoglou’s title as the shortest reigning manager in Premier League history, but his departure has been inevitable for quite some time.
Forest failed to win a single game during the Australian’s brief 39-day tenure in charge, with reports over the international break suggesting that Marinakis and co performed due-diligence on a host of potential replacements.
Arsenal 3-0 Forest
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Swansea 3-2 Forest
Carabao Cup
Burnley 1-1 Forest
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Real Betis 2-2 Forest
Europa League
Forest 0-1 Sunderland
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Forest 2-3 FC Midtjylland
Europa League
Newcastle 2-0 Forest
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Forest 0-3 Chelsea
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Postecoglou also broke a 100-year record at the City Ground, making the worst start out of any new Forest boss in a century, forcing Marinakis to call time on the former Tottenham boss after a nightmare stint.
In his final pre-match press conference, the 60-year-old went down swinging, perhaps realising that a loss to Chelsea this afternoon would spell the end.
“We get to the current space [at Forest], and there’s a different story to tell… that maybe I’m not a failed manager who was lucky to get this job, and instead maybe I’m a manager who, if you give them time, the story always ends the same, at all my previous clubs it ends the same – with me and a trophy,” Postecoglou said, right after defending his spell at Tottenham.
“So, just to finish up, and it’s a long-winded answer which probably won’t get any coverage… you can look at this first five weeks and say, ‘He’s under pressure’, and, ‘He was lucky to get this job’.
“Or you can look at it and say, ‘There’s been a major change’, because I am trying to change the way we play, the players are adapting but there’s inconsistency in there for sure. Some will look at the weeds but I look at what’s growing.
“I’m really still excited about the opportunity here. I’ve got a group of young players who are willing to change, which is the first thing, and we’re heading down that road.”
Marinakis had apparently made up his mind about sacking Postecoglou before their clash with Chelsea had even finished, with the Greek billionaire even seen storming out of his seat (talkSPORT).
Postecoglou was informed of the decision just moments after the full-time whistle blew (talkSPORT), and he then said goodbye to his Forest players in the dressing room before the club officially announced his departure.
Now, attention turns to who could replace Postecoglou in the hot seat.
A succession of managers have been linked within the past fortnight — including Sean Dyche, Oliver Glasner, Steve Cooper and Rafael Benitez — but it is Fulham boss Marco Silva who’s seriously admired by the Forest hierarchy.
Nottingham Forest chiefs want Marinakis to replace Postecoglou with Marco Silva
According to the BBC, internal figures at the club have identified Silva as their “preferred option” to succeed Postecoglou.
The 48-year-old, who reportedly has an £8 million release clause in his contract, is poised to become a free agent at the end of this season, and it’s believed that Silva is likely to leave Craven Cottage in 2026 after rather public spats with the owners about their transfer activity.
However, it’ll be much more difficult to prise him out of West London immediately, as Forest are mindful of the compensation fees due if they decide to try and appoint Silva right now.
Marinakis has only just paid off Nuno, and will also have to compensate Postecoglou now that Forest have parted company with him too — meaning the club aren’t overly keen on shelling out yet more money for a new manager.
The Tricky Trees have studied alternatives to Silva amid the difficulties surrounding his appointment, but if Marinakis does decide to invest the cash, it is clear that he’s a very ideal candidate.
The former Everton and Hull City boss has worked wonders at Fulham on a shoe-string budget since guiding them back to the Premier League at the first time of asking in 2022.
They briefly contended for Europe last season as well, despite their meagre transfer spend compared to rivals, and Silva has been lavished with praise as a “master” tactician by players who’ve worked with him.
“He printed out what he was going to do in training, and it was a similar formula to the one we had in Estoril. He is a master,” ex-Hull striker Evandro told Premier League Brasil.
“I like to put Marco Silva on the same level as Sampaoli, because he has a management model that I also look up to. Marco Silva has an excellent way of managing the group and his greatest characteristic is being rational and not emotional.
“I believe that in this role as a coach, if you let emotions take over, things get lost easily, because in football you have to deal with fans and the press.”
