Ranking the five most box office appointments to work under Marinakis at Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is one of the most volatile figures in football – as evidenced by Nuno Espirito Santo’s latest extraordinarily explosive press conference.
It appears that Nuno’s days as Forest manager are numbered after he explained the breakdown in his relationship with Marinakis.
“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, so I know how things work, but I’m here to do my job,” Nuno told reporters.
“I understand, because I’m worried. I’m the first one to be worried. I’m the first one to be concerned. There’s no smoke without fire.”
We’ve ranked five of the leading contenders to succeed Nuno from the least to most box office.
5. Pedro Martins
Currently coaching the likes of Joselu and Mason Holgate out at Qatar Stars League side Al-Gharafa, Martins isn’t exactly a household name.
But the last grizzled Portuguese journeyman who arrived fresh from a stint in the middle east – Vitor Pereira at Wolves – took to Premier League football pretty effortlessly.
Ultimately Martins’ most impressive credentials are in dealing with Marinakis for over three years at Olympiakos. He led them to three successive Greek Super League titles but was sacked after a chastening 4-0 defeat to Maccabi Haifa in Champions League qualifiers.
Despite that, Martins has frequently been tipped to reunite with Marinakis in Nottingham and was reportedly among the top contenders to succeed Steve Cooper before Nuno got the job.
4. Thiago Motta
Motta’s Juventus were deathly dull last season, but go back 12 months and he was widely regarded as one of the most exciting, innovative young coaches on the continent.
The former Barcelona and Inter midfielder established his reputation from his time at Bologna, who he led into the Champions League, and a patented super-attacking ‘2-7-2’ formation – including the ‘keeper.
In reality, the players didn’t actually quite line up with seven players in midfield – but it was the way he expressed reading the game, flipping the pitch to a horizontal view and having two men on each flank.
As things become increasingly more ubiquitous with today’s generation of possession-obsessed Guardiola acolytes, we’re all for a maverick thinker.
3. Sergio Conceicao
We’re not going to pretend to have been regular watchers of the Portuguese Primeira Liga and Conceicao’s Porto side.
But he won three league titles and was named the coach of the year in each of those campaigns, so he must have something about him. Surely?
Regardless of his managerial track record, the 50-year-old passes the vibe check with flying colours. Few managers in history have looked as cool as Conceicao celebrating with a cigar in his mouth.
2. Ange Postecoglou
The bookmakers’ current favourite for the job. Oh yes. We’d have Big Ange back in the Premier League in an instant.
Last season, Postecoglou presided over 22 league defeats while leading Spurs to their first piece of silverware in 17 years. It’s that kind of haemorrhage of logic that makes Postecoglou irresistible. And who better to lead Forest to Europa League glory than the current holder of the trophy?
It’ll be either be a glorious success or a fascinating car-crash. No inbetweens.
You can only imagine the severity of the Greek swear words exchanged behind closed doors if Forest crash out of Europe after Ange insists on playing Nikola Milenkovic in a high line.
1. Jose Mourinho
Let’s conveniently ignore that the football has become increasingly dull in Mourinho’s latter years.
The tactical level of the Premier League may have never been higher, but where are all the characters?
Thomas Frank, Oliver Glasner and Arne Slot all seem like lovely blokes, but where’s the needle? Where’s the passion? Where’s the beef?
Mourinho has arguably descended into self-parody, he hasn’t lost the fire in his belly. We’ve lost count of how many times he’s been dismissed from the touchline over the past few years at Roma and Fenerbahce.
And, to be fair, while he isn’t anyone’s idea of an elite coach in 2025, he still took Roma to back-to-back European finals in his two full seasons at the helm.
That knockout nous could be the perfect fit as European football returns to the City Ground.
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