Nottingham Forest finds themselves on their third manager of the season already, with both Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou being shown the door within just eight Premier League games. Now under the leadership of Sean Dyche, the Tricky Trees face the looming possibility of another managerial nightmare, this time potentially at the hands of the Aussie boss.
Postecoglou’s arrival at Nottingham Forest in early September marked a turbulent period for the club, which saw the departure of Espirito Santo following disagreements with controversial owner Evangelos Marinakis after just three games. Despite Postecoglou’s impressive record of 83 wins in 113 games in Scotland, which earned him great admiration from fans, his time at Forest was short-lived, lasting only eight games at the City Ground. This swift departure created tension between the fans and the manager, a dynamic that could be exacerbated if he were to come up against Forest in the Europa League.
The specter of Postecoglou potentially haunting Nottingham Forest fans arises from the fact that both Forest and Celtic earned spots in the Europa League on the back of their respective league performances. While Forest currently sit in 17th place with four points from three games, just one win away from securing advancement into the seeded knockout phase, Celtic find themselves in 21st place and in the unseeded section. If both clubs maintain their positions, they could find themselves drawn against each other in the competition.
Dyche’s record against Postecoglou is less than favorable, having faced him in three matches and securing only a draw in their sole home game encounter, while suffering defeats in their away meetings. This history does not paint a positive picture for Forest, should they come up against the Australian manager in Europe, potentially resulting in anguish for the Forest faithful who had previously grown to dislike him during his brief tenure at the club.
