- Nottingham Forest are a team bidding to one day mix it among Europe’s elite
Everyone enjoys a chuckle at Nottingham Forest‘s expense, don’t they?
Buying players by the bus-load and not bothering to tell the manager. Ending up with a points deduction because somebody forgot to do the sums. Using X to hint at legal action against referees’ governing body PGMOL because they were unhappy with a couple of refereeing decisions.
At 5pm last Saturday, however, the only people laughing were the Forest players. Pure childlike excitement shone in the eyes of Brazilian defender Murillo after helping Forest win at Liverpool for the first time since 1969.
‘A band of brothers’ is how insiders described the side as they celebrated that 1-0 victory. The Anfield tunnel was all hugs and high-fives among a group of young men who genuinely enjoy one another’s company.
In the dressing room, Ola Aina teased match-winner Callum Hudson-Odoi about his love of boiled eggs, a running joke since the club’s pre-season training camp in Murcia, southern Spain. Tommy Richman’s Million Dollar Baby blasted from the speakers.
Though not at Anfield, Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis had watched the game on TV and was quickly on the phone to his associates at the ground, offering his congratulations.
Marinakis is thinking big. Greek giants Olympiacos, also owned by him, won the Europa Conference League last season and Marinakis feels Forest can qualify for Europe in the medium term. If a plan to buy the City Ground freehold for £8.5million is signed off, its capacity could be expanded beyond 40,000.
Marinakis’ model is Aston Villa, who qualified for the Conference League four years after promotion from the Championship and are now in the Champions League. If Forest emulated Villa they would be in Europe’s elite competition in three years, and that does not feel unmanageable.
Only four games into the season, it is too early to say Marinakis has had the last laugh, but he has altered a few perceptions — and not just at Liverpool, where Reds boss Arne Slot grumbled about Forest’s ‘low block’. That is the sure sign of a manager who has been outwitted and feels the need to get in a dig to cover his own embarrassment.
Newcastle were not amused either when Forest, with Marinakis knowing he had them over a barrel due to Premier League spending rules, took away their homegrown jewel Elliot Anderson for £35m in June and managed to sell them Odysseas Vlachodimos, a goalkeeper they no longer wanted, for £20m.
They were stunned, too, when Forest dismissed an offer worth up to £55m for winger Anthony Elanga, not least because boss Nuno Espirito Santo considers the winger vital to the spirit he is trying to build. ‘We need them to become friends,’ Nuno told club staff when hired last December. ‘Once they have become friends, they will become a family.’
20 years after the death of Brian Clough, who forged an unbreakable team spirit during his 18 years at Forest, it feels a pertinent statement.
It echoes what Nuno achieved at Wolves. The Portuguese led the club to promotion in 2018 and seventh-place finishes in the top flight, as well as reaching an FA Cup semi-final and the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
Like at Wolves, Nuno dictates players must eat at the same time and spend as much time in each other’s company as possible, and Forest have satisfied him with a huge revamp of their training ground. The dining area has been transformed from a basic canteen into a stylish restaurant, with communal areas that include table tennis and table football, comfortable chairs in front of a large TV screen, and even a barista serving high-quality coffees and smoothies.
Stronger bonds have been forged as a result, with Elanga, Hudson-Odoi and Morgan Gibbs-White the band leaders. When Gibbs-White learned he had been selected for the senior England squad for the first time, his team-mates celebrated as though they too had been called up.
Advised to conduct himself off the pitch like Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, the penny has dropped for Gibbs-White, who has matured greatly this year. Where once nobody knew which side of the bed the 24-year-old would get out of, he now regards himself as a role model for younger players and works informally with several academy prospects.
Forest are desperate for Gibbs-White to sign a new deal and although there is no great rush to do so on the playmaker’s part, he is as happy as he has ever been in his career.
Much of this rebuild was undertaken by Nuno’s predecessor Steve Cooper. Not only did Cooper lead Forest to promotion after taking charge with the club bottom of the Championship, he pushed for upgrades at the training base and the City Ground.
The pitches at both venues were replaced for £2m. The number of data analysts tripled, the dressing rooms were enhanced and there was greater focus on recovery and nutrition. Cooper also turned academy product Brennan Johnson into a £50m footballer.
Without Cooper, Nuno would never have had the chance to build on these foundations and Forest would never have been able to hire him — though it has been far from plain sailing.
When Forest were charged with breaking spending rules last term and deducted four points, it is thought Nuno was spooked, his focus affected. How much had he known about the situation when he signed in December?
Forest twice thought about sacking him. There was enough concern about training sessions that Mail Sport understands players were canvassed for their opinions. Had the stars aligned differently Fulham boss Marco Silva, long admired by Marinakis, might now be in charge.
Nuno stayed, though, and already it looks an excellent decision. Keeping Forest up re-energised the 50-year-old and he is now all in, like at Wolves. He has a far better relationship with Marinakis than Cooper did and, along with Evangelos, his son Miltiadis and recruitment expert George Syrianos, Nuno wields huge influence.
Nuno first flexed his muscles last winter in a disagreement with Forest’s head physio Jon Fearn over the return from injury of forward Taiwo Awoniyi. Fearn left the club in February.
Nuno does not subscribe to the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to rehabilitation preferred by many British physios, believing each player must be treated differently. Wolves’ injury record before the pandemic was excellent, with 11 players clocking up more than 40 games in the 2019-20 campaign.
Nuno’s relationship with players is more teacher-pupil than the ‘elder sibling’ approach favoured by modern coaches and he values respect far more than popularity.
Where Nuno has matured is in dealings with superiors. Often deemed grumpy and distant at Wolves, he speaks regularly with Marinakis and impressed him during the summer when, with agents lining up to propose centre forwards, Nuno advised Marinakis to keep his money in his pocket.
Mail Sport criticised Forest in March for their ‘scattergun’ approach to transfers after they were docked four points. Yet if previous windows were chaotic, this summer’s was masterly.
Marinakis has been front and centre of Forest’s transfer campaign, relying on his relations with top agents and using his flair and experience as a negotiator.
He drove the Anderson deal, knowing that if Gibbs-White ever moves on he could be an effective replacement. The final flourish was to push Vlachodimos on to Newcastle as a condition of signing Anderson. As a further power play Forest rejected the bid for Elanga with barely a second thought, even though it would have been a club-record sale.
Lyon owner John Textor has spoken of his admiration for Marinakis and was persuaded to pay Forest £27m for Moussa Niakhate, an unremarkable centre back with a mixed injury record. It solved Forest’s own PSR issues at a stroke.
After Olympiacos won the Conference League, Marinakis took the trophy to the grave of his father, Miltiadis senior, who was also closely involved with the club. His emotional connection with Forest appears nearly as deep and nobody can question his commitment or ambition.
Make no mistake, Forest are on the rise. Those who smiled wryly at Marinakis are laughing on the other side of their faces now.
