Nottingham Forest

Pat Riddell
Fan writer

Image source, PA Media

There isn't a soul in the world who could have predicted the relief of employing Sean Dyche just eight games into the season. But the chaos caused by losing Nuno Espírito Santo and appointing Ange Postecoglou is a typically Nottingham Forest thing.

Dyche has his detractors, and I think we all really wonder what he's capable of — but he, of course, is here to prove exactly that.

Having thrived at Burnley on meagre resources and saved Everton under difficult circumstances, when the chips are down then everyone knows he's your man.

Forest should be targeting a similar finish to last year but we already find ourselves in a relegation battle. Dyche's first job is to reinstate the defensive resolve that was one of the Premier League's top records, only to crumble away in recent games.

The former City Ground trainee will undoubtedly get us organised again but also bring back the pride that has also disintegrated since September. The new manager knows the club, knows the city and knows the fans — his priority will be to unite all three and put everyone back in the same direction.

Easier said than done but deal with shape on the pitch, the work on and off the ball, and set-pieces in defence and attack… then you've got one of the most talented squads in the Premier League. One that just needs a system and formation they understand.

Make no mistake, Dyche has a job on his hands — getting out of trouble and then climbing the table — but whether he's a short-term appointment or here for the long haul is a question for the future.

The season is not too evolved to be saved and he knows as well as anyone it's the opportunity of a lifetime — just one that neither he, nor us, expected to present itself. Good luck, Sean.

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Colin Fray
BBC Radio Nottingham reporter

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Sean Dyche is a manger who worked wonders with Burnley over 10 years. He has pedigree and I expect organisation from him.

He attracted a bit of criticism for his style at Everton, but he managed to steer them through the point deduction situation - as Nuno Espirito Santo did for Forest.

He will be organised and disciplined. He will focus on being strong at the back and wanting to keep clean sheets.

But, most importantly, he will foster a unifying spirit and bring the fans back on board.

He will - like any other coach - need results, but I can see the Forest squad responding to him and he will help to unify fans who have been disillusioned by the past couple of months.

Listen to full commentary on every Nottingham Forest game, and In The Game every weeknight from 18:00, on BBC Radio Nottingham.

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Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

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Nottingham Forest fans never took to Ange Postecoglou - not that they had much time together.

In the 39 days of Postecoglou's reign they turned after just 23, goading him he was going to be sacked during defeat to Midtjylland.

Now, supporters have to get behind Sean Dyche as Forest's third manager in six weeks and if he can do what Postecoglou failed to do in his eight games - win - then it will be a far more harmonious relationship.

Forest, in the Premier League relegation zone, need victories and managers can quickly make friends with three points.

Chief organiser Dyche is expected to quickly bring Forest to order, a side who have conceded 15 and scored just five in the league this season.

Do that and victories should come and once they do any doubters will come on board swiftly enough.

Nuno Espirito Santo - it seems a long time since he started the season as manager - and Steve Cooper had to win over supporters and did it in spectacular style, Cooper earning promotion to the Premier League and Nuno taking the club back to Europe.

One of Dyche's strongest skills is unifying a squad and fanbase and while he may have to win round some supporters, he lives locally and knows the club having been in the academy so he should easily be able to tap into the fans' feelings.

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Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton gave his evaluation on Nottingham Forest's new manager Sean Dyche on the latest episode of BBC Radio 5's Monday Night Club.

"Sean Dyche has always managed clubs where it has been a struggle," Sutton said.

"He bucked the trend at Burnley and got the best out of the players he had and proved himself to be an extremely capable manager. At Everton, he took over a team in trouble and stabilised the club, he had points deductions to contend with.

"Nottingham Forest want to stay in the league so it seems a sensible appointment. They won't go down, they have too many good players."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Karan Vinod
BBC Sport journalist

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Sean Dyche isn't coming to Nottingham Forest alone; joining him on the coaching staff are long-time lieutenants Steve Stone and Ian Woan, both of whom have deep roots at the club. Dyche has added two more familiar names to his backroom staff: Billy Mercer as goalkeeping coach and Tony Loughlan as an assistant.

For younger Forest fans, the pair of Stone and Woan were integral figures during the 1990s. Woan, a cultured left midfielder, was known for his superb delivery and long-range goals, including a stunning strike against Bayern Munich in the 1996 Uefa Cup that remains etched in Forest folklore. He was also the only player to play for Forest in each year of the 1990s.

Stone, meanwhile, came through the club's youth system and went on to make more than 200 appearances, earning England caps during one of Forest's last sustained spells in the Premier League under Frank Clark.

Meanwhile, Mercer has been a long-serving member of Dyche's coaching team, having worked with him throughout their successful spell at Burnley, where they achieved multiple Premier League seasons and a European qualification campaign built on defensive discipline and cohesion.

Loughlan, on the other hand, is another link to Forest's past. A midfielder who came through the ranks at the City Ground in the late 1980s before going on to play for Leicester City, he reunites with Dyche and Woan after previously serving under the manager at Burnley.

For Forest, the appointments carry a strong sense of continuity and nostalgia - a backroom team steeped in shared experience and with deep connections to the club's identity from the 1990s, now tasked with guiding a new generation through a challenging Premier League season.

Nottingham Forest have appointed former Burnley and Everton boss Sean Dyche as their new manager.

Dyche sat down with the team at Shut Up And Show More Football in 2023 to discuss the quirks of football, music and life.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds.

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We asked for your views on Nottingham Forest announcing Sean Dyche as the club's new head coach.

Some of you are thrilled:

Martin: Spot on - should have hired him straight after Nuno. Will get us organised and bring out the best in the star players - and the new players, who must be wondering what they signed up to!!

Patrick: Dyche is a solid appointment given where we are and the other options out there were not great. We have played the 'sexy football' card already with Ange and it turned us into a complete mess. You cannot keep gambling, Forest need to stay in the Premier League.

Amol: Sean Dyche will offer stability that Nottingham Forest need. But, their fans might miss out on the success and the style of football they enjoyed under Nuno.

Chris: Whilst it's not a great appointment. I think it's exactly what Forest need right now to sort the team out and give them the confidence back.

Others are no so happy:

Ben: Will Dyche be the manager to propel Forest on to more than we achieved last year? No. Is he going to steady the ship enough and manage the relationship with the fans better so that we don't have an absolute calamity of a season? I really hope so.

Bill: Sean Dyche is an adequate Premier League manager but his appointment shows a lack of ambition at Forest who are likely to remain a bottom half of the table team under him.

Rob: They must be desperate. Dyche is the most boring manager ever. Nobody else would work for Marinakis.

David: What a joke football is now, especially the Premier league. Managers circulate from club to club. We will never have a Robson or Ferguson again because they never get a chance to bed in and make their mark. The fear of a lack of success is so great.

Nottingham Forest are "the most owner-defined club since Abramovich's Chelsea," said Rory Smith on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

"Loyalty of the fans almost seems to skip the manager and is with Evangelos Marinakis because of everything he has done for the club.

"By that I mean taking them up to the Premier League, keeping them up and pushing them back into Europe. You can see why they adore him so much.

"But there is a price to pay for a man, who is used to getting his own way, being allowed to define the club by what he wants because this is when you do get a bit of managerial chaos."

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer and listen on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Sean Dyche is Nottingham Forest's new head coach.

He will be joined by his coaching team of Ian Woan and Steve Stone, who together made more than 400 appearances for the club in the 1990's.

Dyche, who has overseen over 330 Premier League matches in his career to date, has signed a contract until the summer of 2027 and will take charge against Porto in the Europa League on Thursday.

Is Dyche the safe pair of hands that you wanted? And what do you make of the contract length?

Get in touch with your views here

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."

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer and listen on BBC Sounds

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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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.

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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."

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on the sacking of Ange Postecoglou after just 39 days in charge.

Here are some of your comments:

Mark: It was the wrong appointment. The chairman should have sorted the situation out with Nuno. There's something wrong with the Forest players generally. They don't take their chances. Is that the coach’s fault? There's a lack of leadership on the pitch. The great Brian Clough was sacked after 44 days at Leeds United and we know the history after that. All the best Ange.

Ziggy: Disappointed that he's not really been given a proper chance to do the job. I'm sure his comments didn't help him but really he had literally no time.

Jeffery: Even to any football supporter he was not the man for Forest and that was proven with his team selection and tactics. Destroyed a very gifted and talented team in less than six weeks.

Gavin: To sack a manager after 39 days is a disgrace. Who would want that job? It's time players were held to account.

Luke: The only thing wrong with the decision is that it didn't come 10 days ago. Unfortunately it was just never right from the start with Ange, who surely now must be considered not good enough for the Premier League. Get the next appointment right and there is still enough time left in the season to get things back on track.

Simon: Can someone explain to Marinakis that this isn't how the manager of the month works!