Appointing Ange Postecoglou has exposed Evangelos Marinakis for being too emotional and naive – he has made a complete hash of running Nottingham Forest
Jeremy joined the Daily Star in 2010 as Manchester football correspondent and for more than a decade has served as our Chief Sports Writer. He provides expert coverage on Manchester United and Manchester City, the Premier League as a whole, and the England football team. Jeremy has covered football, rugby and cricket World Cups, as well as Wimbledon, the golf majors and the Olympics.
Ange Postecoglou is out of his depth in the Premier League. Plain and simple.
He found his niche in other, less notable footballing places, like Australia, Japan and Scotland. Where his managerial skills fitted the demands of what it took to win trophies in far less competitive leagues. So on the back of winning five pieces of silverware with Celtic in three seasons, Postecoglou earned himself a crack at the big time with Tottenham.
And look how that turned out? He oversaw such a dreadful league campaign last season, that even winning the Europa League couldn’t save him from the sack. And let’s be honest, Tottenham beat no-one of note to land the trophy, and I include a quite embarrassing Manchester United side in this.
Celtic is a comfort zone for managers like Postecoglou. The club gives people like him a false sense of their own importance. The likes of Brendan Rodgers, Neil Lennon and Gordon Strachan have also won trophies for Celtic, but underachieved in English football.
That’s because the Premier League exposes the limitations of those without the acumen to succeed. “Some look at the weeds, but I look at what is growing,” said Postecoglou on the eve of the visit of Chelsea.
Another game, which resulted in another defeat for Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest. He presided over eight matches and won none of them. The supporters were not having him – and neither was his squad. Weeds? How about the tumble variety that swept through the City Ground.
While all that was ‘growing’ was the anticipation of when Big Ange would be sacked. The sense of disillusionment within Postecoglou was the most alarming aspect of all. Because here was a manager who still thought he could win a trophy for his club – when he couldn’t even win a game of football.
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is not known to suffer fools. But the ironic part of this Greek tragedy that played out in the Midlands, was that he made one of himself, having appointed Postecoglou in the first place.
On what grounds did he think Postecoglou could do a better job than Nuno Espírito Santo? Just look at where Forest are now, compared to when Nuno was dispensed with like a piece of rubbish.
And also look at where Tottenham are under Thomas Frank, compared to the league position Postecoglou left them in? Evidence from both scenarios speaks volumes for Postecoglou’s abilities, when it comes to managing in the league where there is nowhere to hide.
In the end Evangelos did the right thing. Yet he had no choice. Lent lasts longer than what Postecoglou did at Forest. Evangelos was crazy to appoint Big Ange in the first place, and perhaps the Aussie was even crazier to accept the job.
And the ultimate outcome for both men is that they got what they deserved.
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