🔗 Share this article

NO WAY! ABSOLUTELY YES!

Quite possibly the most disliked Aussie to make an appearance in this part of England since a villainous hotelier from a popular soap appeared in a theatrical show 20 years back, the Greek-Australian’s tenure at the City Ground could scarcely have got off to a more inauspicious start. Even though the boos and catcalls that TV star the soap veteran was subjected to during a festive pantomime were mostly in fun, the hostility of the criticism hurled at the Forest manager during Nottingham Forest’s Bigger Vase defeat by the Danish side on last Thursday was so overwhelming that it is difficult to imagine the man who has been in charge for a mere handful of fixtures will keep his job to listen to the festive cat-calls this Christmas. On more than one occasion the 60-year-old’s shouts of “He’s behind you!” went unheeded by his unfortunate players, not least when the visiting team scored their opening pair from poorly handled free-kicks and corners. Nowhere near the joyous atmosphere they’d anticipated, Nottingham Forest’s first continental match at home in nearly three decades ended in bitterness with the crowd telling the manager he’d be “sacked in the morning”, before serenading his well-liked, recently dismissed former boss, Nuno Espírito Santo.

“I realize the environment is negative, I know how fans feel, especially about me, but I never worry about that, it’s not unfamiliar territory for me,” Postecoglou growled in answer, while directing the ground near him to the typical death-stare. “Nothing surprises me in football, that’s the current environment. That appears to be the trend. It’s beyond my influence. Supporters are upset, they have every right to their view. I heard their opinion.” Even if those Forest fans are free to express anger, it could be suggested that they might be better advised choosing a more fitting focus for their frustration. After all, it was Evangelos Marinakis who fired a firm fan favourite to hire Postecoglou, who was always going to begin his reign on a hiding to nothing. Looking on from the owners’ area as he went through a series of surly, dark scowls last witnessed during that time he found out Tottenham had initiated the player’s transfer clause, the wealthy owner has so far escaped any kind of major backlash from the crowd, a good number of whom remain sure the sun shines out of his generously upholstered nether regions.

As the clock ticked past noon on Friday, speculation of the coach’s imminent dismissal proved to be overstated and it appears his job remains protected until such time as … in reality, it changes. While the team manager can offer a partial defense that he has had minimal opportunity on the training ground to introduce the style and strategic detail that caused the London club failing to win more than half their league matches last campaign, his side’s schedule remains tough and continuous. Up against Newcastle, Chelsea, the Portuguese giants and the South-Coast team next up it is tough to imagine from where a maiden victory for the manager will come before what could possibly become the biggest dismissal-decider against Manchester United.

LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE

Tune in with the journalist at 7.30pm BST for women’s football coverage on the stalemate between United and Chelsea.

BEST REMARK

“I steer clear of heated debates, who points fingers, in fact, I’ll refrain from naming names. But I feel there was a slight disregard, along with some incivility, and not a single hello or hi” – Antony criticizes the Red Devils over the frosty environment at their stadium, where friendliness has likely worsened like the side’s performance.

FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS

Can it be the Forest manager has assured supporters he guarantees victory in his following term?” – a reader.

I wouldn’t normally to seek to emphasize the stereotype that Gunners fans are the game’s biggest moaners, but Thabo Caves (the prior edition’s comments) does make you think. Highlighting that rather than a pair of fixtures per week, the Gunners are having to play 2.33 games a week (wow, 30 additional minutes!) over a particular 21-day span (for a squad with strong depth in each place to as well) is not the argument-settler he might imagine. On the contrary it’s just going to have the tiniest violin ensemble tuning up their instruments once more, while the wider sport sigh in unison” – Andrew Parker.

I’m puzzled whether your latest letter-writers (on two or three games a week) are deliberately, mockingly repeating one of the classic instances of online debate (family-friendly), or inadvertently demonstrating Marx’s adage about past occurrences returning as comedy” – a respondent.

To comfort you, the previous correspondent (the last mailbag), I’ve long felt that way [wanting rich Premier League sides to be defeated abroad]. Ever since Forest fell out of European contention, European competition for me has caused a state of seething impotent rage, interrupted now and then by Steaua Bucharest and, if pressed, the La Liga outfit. I care not one jot for the Merseyside club’s successes from the eighties right up to Istanbul. I feel nothing for {‘that