Nottinghamshire

Image source, Express and Mirror

BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club are in agreement that the expected appointment of Sean Dyche would be a sensible choice for Nottingham Forest.

"I think it is a great job for Dyche to walk into," said former Premier League defender Stephen Warnock. "When you look at the attacking players they have and the structure behind the scene, then I think he is the ideal manager.

"He is the safe pair of hands. He will stabilize them and make sure they are OK for next year."

Forest have five points from their opening 11 games and sit third from bottom after a poor start to the season.

The Observer's Rory Smith added: "He will get a good squad at Forest and he has got an owner who will invest too, so I think it is an amazing opportunity for Dyche.

"We think Fulham's Marco Silva is the one that they really like, so it might be that Evangelos Marinakis and Edu are looking at him as the long-term target but Dyche to stabilize the club.

"I wouldn't have thought Dyche would only want to sign an eight-month contract, though? And what if he does really well? They can't then get rid of him."

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Paul Birch
BBC Sport journalist

Unlike Ange Postecoglou's appointment, Sean Dyche's arrival at Nottingham Forest makes sense as his side's style of play has historically been more tactically in tune with the brand Nuno Espirito Santo employed to bring European football back to the City Ground.

With no pre-season for Postecoglou to impose his unique footballing ideologies, and with a slew of games coming thick and fast at the start of his tenure, the Australian struggled to stamp his authority on a squad so used to playing a certain way.

The appointment of another pragmatic coach similar to Nuno should, on paper, steady the ship and suit Forest's players, who were defensively sound and proved to be devastating on the counter-attack in 2024-25.

As the graphic below shows, both Nuno and Dyche teams are very happy to cede possession and allow the opposition the ball, before attacking at speed when they get it back.

All of which contrasts hugely with how Postecoglou got his players to operate at Tottenham.

Image source, Opta

PPDA is passes allowed per defensive action. It measures how often teams wait until interrupting a spell of opposition possession – whether that's winning the ball back or getting a foot in to concede a throw-in/corner. Teams aggressively trying to win the ball back will have a lower figure – teams prepared to soak up pressure will have a higher figure.

Direct speed is how quickly the ball moves towards the opponents' goal during a sequence of possession, measured in metres per second

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Image source, PA Media

Former Nottingham Forest striker Robert Earnshaw says the next managerial appointment has to be someone who is "ruthless" and will just get on with the job.

However, he has concerns that potential candidates may be put off the job because they "will not fancy" working under Reds owner Evangelos Marinakis.

"I feel really sorry for Ange Postecoglou because I think he's a fantastic manager. but it just seemed like he didn't fit," said Earnshaw to BBC Sport. "And his words were correct.

"His face didn't fit the building. The next one has to fit and it has to be the right guy.

"The next boss is going to need an instant reaction. You haven't got 20 games to get it right. You've got the first few games and get on with it.

"That's going to be the ruthless nature of how you play and how you manage Nottingham Forest."

We asked you who the next Nottingham Forest manager should be.

Here are some of your comments:

Kevin: Sean Dyche is a sensible choice as he knows the club, fits more with Nuno's style which was successful, and would steady the ship. I'd like to have him until the end of the season then get Marco Silva on a free.

Peter: As a lifelong Forest supporter it pains me to say it, but Forest are currently a poisoned chalice. What manager in his right mind would want to take this on with the ever present hovering Marinakis axe permanently poised? However, I am sure some brave soul will take on the job but I don't envy them in the slightest. I can only pray some sort of miracle may occur both on the pitch and in the boardroom.

Scott: Sean Dyche. We are in a relegation fight and it's best to be honest and safe, than dreamy and relegated. Dyche, Steve Stone and Ian Woan will bring a settling and passionate approach to the club and fan base.

Rich: How about Steve Cooper on a 12-month contract to bring the team and supporters together?

Chris: Surely Roberto Mancini's poor man-management skills alone rule him out? Dyche deserves a chance at a club with ambition, and having Woan and Stone alongside him means he will be granted more time with the home crowd.

Mark: Marco Silva has to be our main target. I would also like Oliver Glasner but Crystal Palace would probably not read the email. Dyche would steady the ship, but I feel Evangelos Marinakis would expect more than that. Mancini has been out of club football for too long, and is likely to rub the big man up the wrong way. Any chance we could persuade a certain Jurgen Klopp back to the Premier League?

Bettsy: Andoni Iraola has to be first choice. If not him then Oliver Glasner. Not Dyche or Mancini. We need to move forward - not get relegated.

Pat Riddell
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Somehow everyone but the Nottingham Forest owner knew the appointment of Ange Postecoglou was doomed to failure.

After the best season in 30 years, and what should have been a season to top that, Evangelos Marinakis couldn't find a way to please the manager who had delivered that - and promptly brought in the man with one of the worst records in the Premier League last year.

Eight games without a win - and still protesting that he always wins a trophy -Ange Postecoglou had to win the trust of the fans quickly and failed miserably. Despite a couple of halves of decent football, Forest conceded goals at an alarming rate and couldn't take the chances they were presented.

So what now? Many pundits talked about the change in style between Nuno Espirito Santo and Postecoglou, but the Reds were already moving towards a more possession-based game. The squad was developed with that in mind over the summer and it's far too simplistic to compare a low-block, counterattacking style with a high-line, pressing game. Tottenham won the Europa League playing the former rather than the latter.

Marco Silva has been discussed and should have been under serious consideration after Nuno Espirito Santo was sacked. But he is under contract with Fulham until next summer and it seems we are reluctant to spend money on compensation for in-work managers.

So that leaves the two prominent names - Sean Dyche and Roberto Mancini.

Dyche was a trainee at Forest, lives locally and would likely bring Forest old-boys Steven Stone and Ian Woan as coaches. Now that the Reds are in the bottom three, Dyche would be an easy option and would command respect from most fans as a short-term option. Of course, if he did well - and he has never had the greatest of resources available - then Silva might have to look elsewhere next summer.

Mancini would also be a popular appointment, given his years of experience in top-flight football. But what's the strategy here? Are we simply talking to available managers? What is our style and where do we want to go?

There has been a culture of short-termism at the club for years and it seems that is likely to continue - even if we're winning.

Find more from Pat Riddell at The Famous Club, external

Fulham manager Marco Silva is Nottingham Forest's first choice to replace Ange Postecoglou, but he is reluctant to leave Craven Cottage mid-season. (Times - subscription required), external

Nottingham Forest and Scotland goalkeeper Angus Gunn is a transfer target for Celtic. (Daily Record), external

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We all know football moves at a fast pace, so who replaces Ange Postecoglou as Nottingham Forest's new boss is Sunday's focus-point.

Former Everton manager Sean Dyche and ex-Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini are early contenders due to them being out of work and available for free, but owner Evangelos Marinakis could look elsewhere.

Who do you want? Is it about steadying the ship or long-term promise?

Get in touch with your views here

Pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards join host Gabby Logan to bring you the action and talking points from Saturday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Manchester City 2-0 Everton

• Crystal Palace 3-3 Bournemouth

• Fulham 0-1 Arsenal

Plenty of names in the footballing world are chiming in with their thoughts on Ange Postecoglou's sacking.

Former Premier League striker Alan Shearer said to BBC Sport: "Ultimately the results haven't been good enough and that is on Ange. But the owner has to take some responsibility too. He chose Ange, it was his appointment. How can you go from a manager in Nuno with one style of play to someone like Ange who everyone knows wants his teams to play in a completely different way?"

Former England and Tottenham manager Glenn Hoddle said on TNT Sports: To leave his [Evangelos Marinakis] seat after 60 minutes that was a statement in itself. I'm surprised he has done it so quickly after the game. Eight games they've not gone well, but after eight matches as a manager, it's no time at all. Surely he has got to be given more time than that?"

BBC Radio 5 Live's Ian Dennis: "Given the speculation going into the game it was already in Marinakis' mind. This is not a knee-jerk reaction to the actual game. The speculation has been building, Sean Dyche's name has been heavily, heavily linked, and quite frankly they might need someone like him to go in there to steady the ship."