The weirdest aspect of Ange Postecoglou’s 40-day reign at Nottingham Forest was how inevitable it all felt. The only shock was that he was sacked on Saturday, within minutes of a 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea, rather than a day or two later. But by then, it was obvious this ill-starred adventure had run its course; perhaps it was kinder to everybody to bring it to an end. Forest, certainly, had to act quickly if they are to make the most of their first European campaign in three decades.
But why was such an obviously terrible appointment made in the first place? What was it that made the Nottingham Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis, ever think that Postecoglou was the right man to succeed Nuno Espírito Santo? They met in July at an event staged by the Greek league to celebrate Postecoglou winning the Europa League with Tottenham, but was it really just that? That they got on well over a glass of wine?
Forest exceeded all expectations last season by finishing seventh, but they did so by sitting deep and playing on the counter. It was simple and effective. It got the best out of the two central defenders, Murillo and Nikola Milenković; Morgan Gibbs-White reveled in the freedom given him by a deep-lying midfield platform; Chris Wood had the season of his life, benefiting from the service provided by the rapid wide forwards, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga.
That is not Postecoglou football, though, which raises two obvious questions. Did Marinakis really not understand that? And did Postecoglou not understand that? Could an owner, even one as volatile as Marinakis, really have so little understanding of football that he didn’t realise how profoundly unsuited Postecoglou was? Perhaps the idea was that Postecoglou would oversee Forest’s transition to become a more overtly attacking side and Marinakis simply underestimated the gulf in philosophy between Postecoglou and his squad.
The issue of why Postecoglou took the job is more baffling. He’s been a successful coach. He clearly understands the issues. At Tottenham, for all his bluster, he amended his style significantly in his final months, grinding out results in the Europa League. But still, being willing to compromise in extremis – and Spurs, as Postecoglou repeatedly pointed out, had an injury crisis – is not the same as undergoing some radical late-career conversion.
Postecoglou’s style is about pressing; this is not a Forest squad that can press. His first game in charge was against Arsenal. Four days before that, any thought that Milenković could push out was removed as he was sent off playing for Serbia against England, clumsily tripping Harry Kane as the forward got away from him. In hindsight it appeared almost a cry for help. Postecoglou was typically bullish after starting with a 3-0 defeat. We’d see a team playing the way he wanted them to the following Wednesday, against Swansea in the League Cup. Fortune rarely rejects such hostages: Forest went 2-0 up and lost 3-2, Angeball in excelsis. After which the decline followed its predictable path.
Postecoglou gets his payoff. And perhaps that will seem worth it for 40 days of work, such a brief stint that there was hardly time for pressure to build. But that probably ends his hopes of working in the Premier League again. His last 18 league games yielded just six points. Who would take a chance on somebody with that record?
Although his Tottenham finished fourth-bottom of the league, that at least was offset by victory in the Europa League. Memories of his eight wins in his first 10 games plus that success made his record defensible. But his 40 days at Forest have tipped the balance. Postecoglou now exists essentially as a meme, a Baghdad Bob of the dugout, making absurd claims even as the situation deteriorated around him while passive-aggressively calling people “Mate”. Taking the Forest job has torched what remained of his reputation.
So why did he take it? Was it ego? Did he think he could get this bunch of unsuitable players to play his way? Was it desperation? Did he, aged 60, think – surely wrongly – that this might be his last chance of landing a Premier League job? Or did he feel time drawing in, and think it was now or never? He spoke of how a relaxed and tanned manager was merely one who was out of work; perhaps he just missed the adrenaline. But given how obvious the mismatch was to everybody else, surely Postecoglou must have known what he was up against?
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That misjudgment alone is perhaps enough to render him unsuitable for any other Premier League job. But it has also damaged his legacy. He’s no longer the idealist who achieved improbable redemption with the Europa League triumph; he’s now just another dreamer who failed.
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This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll answer the best in a future edition.
