The term hubris arose in Greece and there was something distinctly arrogant about it, even if it was not so much a Greek tragedy as a farce that arose from a pair of men born in Greece and briefly paired in Nottingham.
Perhaps Ange Postecoglou’s heritage was a factor in her appointment at Nottingham Forest. Many others immediately realized that this was a stylistic mismatch between coach and team. Evangelos Marinakis, whose choice of Nuno Espirito Santo as Forest’s previous manager met with a decidedly mixed reception but proved inspired, parachuted in a compatriot of sorts after one of the strangest dismissals and then, 39 days later, delivered one that was among the most predictable and brutal.
Postecoglou lasted just 39 days in Forest. It was the shortest reign of any supposedly permanent manager in the Premier League; some caregivers have lasted longer. His tenure was shorter than iconic Forest manager Brian Clough’s infamous brief spell at Leeds in 1975; shorter, in fact, than the time Liz Truss spent as Prime Minister, when she was overtaken by a lettuce. Next summer’s World Cup will be longer than the Postecoglou era, if you can use that word. Clough’s 6,700-day period in Forest was more than 171 times longer than Postecoglou’s age, if such a term can be used.
And those 39 days actually included an international break. Arguably the surprise wasn’t that he was fired, but that it didn’t happen sooner. This was an arrogant failure on all counts and if Postecoglou cannot be blamed for wanting a quick return to management, he was wrong in his choice of club. Marinakis showed arrogant arrogance by dumping the first manager to take Forest to Europe in 30 years and replacing him with one who, while winning the Europa League last season, also conjured one of the most spectacular feats of underperformance in Premier League history by leading Tottenham to 17th place.
Memories don’t fade so quickly; nor those of Nuno’s unexpected exploits. It was instructive that Forest fans who seemed to support Marinakis in his disputes with the Premier League, PGMOL and many other outsiders found their breaking point: they turned against his choice of manager. They shouted “farewell in the morning” during the defeat to Midtjylland; In fact, Postecoglou was fired about 20 minutes into the next home game, a 3-0 loss to Chelsea.
The warning signs were there when Marinakis left his seat in the stands at the City Ground midway through the second half. So too, on display, the now familiar combination of lack of spirit and cheap concessions. Forest conceded 18 goals in eight games with the Australian; He did not have a preseason to work with the players or his own signings, but both the number and the form of the goals supported the theory that his teams are defensively deficient.
Nuno’s best teams are not, but Postecoglou was the anti-Nuno. The Portuguese thrived with a lower proportion of possession, a low block and a devastating counterattack; It was a formula that also took Wolves to seventh place and, in each case, represents their high point for decades. Each of them had the help of excellent players, but they also needed a plan to be expertly executed.
Perhaps opting for Postecoglou indicated that Marinakis wanted a more ambitious style of play; Certainly, the team received over £100m in signings over the summer. Certainly, the Australian also had very few opportunities to implement his ideas. But he had one point and one goal to show in five league games. Including Tottenham, Postecoglou has managed just one point in his last eight top-flight games, two out of 12. He has had one win in 17. It’s the kind of record that makes a third-place finish in the Premier League seem completely implausible.
On the penultimate day of his reign, Postecoglou had said: “I am a serial winner.” He left Forest with a 0 percent win rate. And if that was a bit harsh, if perhaps they deserved to beat Burnley or Real Betis or Swansea, few managers spend as much time talking about their own achievements as Postecoglou. He thinks they misunderstood him, but he and Forest misunderstood each other.
His statement about his dismissal was 39 words, one for each day, and cited “a series of disappointing results and performances.” It may have been wiser to put an end to a mistake quickly, rather than risk more, but Forest cannot remedy their initial mistake: sacking Nuno, which in turn seemed a consequence of bringing in Edu, who soon fell out with the manager.
So there is the specter of Sean Dyche, who could bring the order Postecoglou’s team was missing but would also seek a demotion for Nuno and a second dramatic change of approach in as many months.
If so, it would underline the feeling that Marinakis and Edu have created a disaster. Postecoglou is part cause, part symptom, a man whose attempts to trumpet his own merits failed to reach his intended audience. He said on Friday: “The story always ends the same… me with a trophy.” Not this story. He didn’t even win a trophy as Forest manager. He didn’t even win a game.