Ange-ball faces exacting test at Nottingham Forest
Steve Larkin |
A stubborn Ange Postecoglou and his life-long football philosophy face an exacting test as Nottingham Forest’s new manager, pundits say.
Just 95 days after being sacked by Tottenham Hotspur, the Australian is returning to the Premier League with Forest in a polarising appointment.
The former Socceroos manager replaces Nuno Espirito Santo, who was axed three games into the new season despite signing a fresh contract in June after a seventh-placed EPL finish.
With some English commentators branding Nuno’s treatment as disgraceful, Australian Mark Bosnich said there was instant pressure on Postecoglou.
Bosnich said how Postecoglou’s attacking philosophy married with Forest’s counter-punch style under Nuno would be a fascinating.
“They are set up to play a counter-attacking style which is an anathema to the way that Ange normally plays,” Bosnich told AAP on Wednesday.
“Will Ange insist on playing his proactive, front foot forward, high-line style?
“Or will he sit back and let them play like what has been drilled into them? Or will he go somewhere in between?”
Bosnich, an analyst for Stan Sport which broadcasts the EPL in Australia, noted Postecoglou adapted his tactics when winning the Europa League with Tottenham last season.
“I always said to him, I love your style of play, I love watching your teams … but there will come a time either through injuries, suspensions or lack of form that you might have to have a plan B,” Bosnich, a former Aston Villa, Manchester United and Chelsea goalkeeper, said.
“And he always used to say: ‘Mark, my plan B is to do Plan A better’.
“But he showed me in that Europa League run that if he needs to, he can adapt and be successful.”
Postecoglou reportedly wants ex-Socceroos captain Mile Jedinak and former A-League Men’s manager Nick Montgomery as assistants at Forest after both filled those roles in his time at Spurs.
Postecoglou was sacked at Tottenham just 16 days after steering them to victory in the Europa League, ending the club’s 17-year trophy drought.
But Spurs crashed to a worst-ever 17th finish in the Premier League after Postecoglou took them to fifth the previous season, his first in charge.
In the UK, reaction was mixed to the sudden appointment of Postecoglou just hours after Nuno was sacked.
“I can’t believe it … wow,” former Forest striker Robert Earnshaw told Sky Sports.
“Put it this way, it’s not going to be boring. It’s going to be a fun ride at Nottingham Forest.
“Ange is a very good manager and I think he’s going to take a lot of lessons from being sacked, from everything that went on at Tottenham.
“Yes, he won (the Europa League) but the process of how he went about it, I think he’s going to learn from.
“Nottingham Forest might just have somebody that is ready for that job to take them to the next level.”
But Stan Collymore, who played for Forest before moving to Liverpool and Aston Villa among other clubs, wasn’t impressed with the “disgraceful” treatment of Nuno.
Collyomore said the Greek heritage of Postecoglou and Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was pivotal, a factor also identified by Bosnich.
Last July, Marinakis – also Olympiacos’ owner – presented Postecoglou with an award recognising him for being the first Greek to win the Europa League.
“As soon as I saw Marinakis giving Ange Postecoglou a trophy … you could see what was coming,” Collymore told TeamTalk.
“They were sitting at the same table that day, so you pretty much know where the conversation came from.
“If Forest fans think this is a long-term plan to bring in Ange, it’s not: Marinakis has met Postecoglou, he likes him, so it’s off you pop Nuno.”
AAP
