Nottingham Forest was arguably the success story of the EPL last season. After battling against relegation since regaining its top-flight status three years ago, Forest stunned everyone with their strong defense and counter-attacking style, pushing for the title at one point, before finishing in seventh and winning a place in this season’s Europa League.
This campaign has been an utter disaster, however. After a convincing 3-1 win over Brentford on the opening day of the season, off-field problems between the then-manager, Nuno Espirito Santo, and owner, Evangelos Marinakis, escalated and results took a downturn. Performances deteriorated and Ange Postecoglou took up coaching duties by the second week in September.
The Australian’s tenure turned out to be even more farcical. He failed to win a single game in charge and saw his team ship goals in the league, while experiencing the embarrassment of losing at home to Danish side Midtjylland in the Europa League – a competition the top soccer betting sites had Forest as one of the favorites for. Now Sean Dyche is in charge, and his immediate priority will be to get back to winning ways. But is the damage already done? Can he really keep Forest in the EPL?
Although Dyche is not the glamor appointment that Robert Mancini – who was linked with the job – would have been, he will be seen as a safe pair of hands in what has become an increasingly chaotic time at the City Ground. His down-to-earth manner and straight talking will be appreciated by the players and the fans, as they try to come to terms with the situation the club finds itself in.
Dyche was a youth player at Forest but never made it through to the first team, and he will bring in two former fans’ favorites, in Ian Woan and Steve Stone, as assistants. His links to the club will be a benefit, as will be the fact that he lives only a short walk from the stadium and has been regularly sighted watching games for years now.
Tactically, Dyche will also bring stability. Postecoglou’s Forest was never going to play with the same defensive discipline as last year, but Dyche’s philosophy is far more like that of Nuno’s – and stopping conceding goals will be one of the first jobs for the new head coach. Dyche had both his Burnley and Everton sides tight at the back and able to attack on the counter. Forest has the players to follow those instructions – as was shown effectively last season – and still has the speed up front, even after the departure of Anthony Elanga in the summer.
Another problem Postecoglou had throughout his short 39-day coaching reign at Forest was that he failed to get the players – or the fans – on board with his way of football. His general demeanor didn’t help, seemingly frustrated with the way he was perceived after a less-than-stellar time in charge at Spurs. It is true that he won numerous titles at Celtic, as well as the Europa League with Tottenham last season, but his sides were known for their combustibility and innate ability to lose games from winning positions. He never seemed to acknowledge that maybe he might have to change a little to be successful at Forest.
Dyche, on the other hand, is well known for his ability to create a sense of camaraderie among his staff and players, and that feeling of positivity will be a welcome change for everyone connected to the club at the present time. If Dyche can manage to lift the mood at the City Ground, there is every chance that results will improve. The managerial merry-go-round at Forest this season might not have allayed any concerns about how the current owner conducts his business, but the two firings coming so early on in the season do give Dyche ample time to turn things around.
Under Nuno, Forest had two of the best central defenders in the Premier League last season, in Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo. They can be again, and Dyche is also likely to bring Chris Wood back to the fore to lead the line and score the goals on the counter-attack that will help Forest win points and climb the table.
In the modern game, football fans have become used to club owners demanding instant success and making changes when that isn’t achieved. Hiring a third manager of the season before the clocks go back might still be seen as extreme, but Forest now has a chance to change things and get back to somewhere near the form of last year. Sean Dyche might not be a glamor appointment, but he knows what he’s doing – and he has the players at his disposal to keep Forest in the Premier League.
