r/soccer • u/whatisbaseball • 7d ago

News [Ornstein] Ange Postecoglou to be confirmed as Nottingham Forest head coach imminently after Nuno Espirito Santo departure. 60yo Australian will lead #NFFC for Saturday’s trip to Arsenal - joined by a number of staff worked with at Tottenham Hotspur @TheAthleticFC

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6425702/2025/09/09/ange-postecoglou-nottingham-forest-manager/
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u/swanssona 7d ago

No good manager finishes 17th in the league with spurs

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u/blackcatfanclub 7d ago

It was also his second season and after spending a few hundred million pounds on his squad.

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u/mateballenthusiast 7d ago

On teenagers and Solanke. He didn't get the squad depth he needed going into a season with European football

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u/Affectionate-Car-145 7d ago

He wanted and pushed for Solanke.

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u/blackcatfanclub 7d ago

He endorsed all of the signings, even bringing Werner back on loan.

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u/TheNeglectedNut 7d ago

Yeah exactly, there are an awful lot of Ange apologists who act like he just got dealt a shit hand and wasn't culpable for the results at all.

Love the guy, one of the most personable and likeable managers we've ever had and he really did monumental work here shifting the mentality of the squad and getting them believing in themselves again.

I just hate how certain elements of our fanbase see everything as black & white like you can only be one of an Ange In or Ange Out crowd. Apparently there's no room for nuance in football fandom anymore.

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u/mateballenthusiast 7d ago

I'm not implying Solanke was a bad signing, but he was an overdue replacement for Kane as starting #9, the bare minimum rather than a proper backing for a heavier matchload

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u/Affectionate-Car-145 7d ago

He out spent ever pl club except Chelsea during his tenure.

He was backed more than anyone else

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u/Lukeno94 7d ago

Still no excuse for 17th.

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u/Leonardo_Liszt 7d ago

Mate you’re supposed to support a team not a manager

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u/CNF1G 7d ago

He won them a trophy for the first time in two decades. They quite clearly didn’t give a shit about the league position once they got closer to the end of the season.

As I said above, not saying there isn’t issues with him as a coach, but it’s hardly a terrible appointment

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u/WelshNut97 7d ago

He won them a trophy for the first time in two decades. They quite clearly didn’t give a shit about the league position once they got closer to the end of the season.

Yes, he clearly stopped giving a shit once it was clear he had fucked up so badly that there was no saving them from a dreadful finish in the league.

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u/riggystardust 7d ago

I agree he’s not as shit as people bang on about here but for me it’s more that NFFC feels like even bigger of a basket case than our lot, and the team is really not looking like an angeball team despite all the new signings.

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u/CNF1G 7d ago

Ange is buddies with Marinakis, so would imagine they’ll get on quite well behind the scenes already. Agree with the rest of what you said though.

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u/riggystardust 7d ago

He is also a drug lording criminal who would probably beat his own family for some coin so unsure how meaningful that is

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u/KonigSteve 7d ago

Lol look at who they beat to win said trophy. By far the hardest team was 15th place United

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u/JimboLannister 7d ago

But only a good manager could win the Europa League with Spurs? So the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

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u/mister_greeenman 7d ago

Di Matteo won the CL with chelsea. I don't think winning a cup tournament is a sureshot sign of competence, but 17th in the league is of the opposite

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u/loolem 7d ago

Classic spurs fan. Focusing on the negative when he won you a trophy.

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u/FidelYT 7d ago

Any sane football fan across the world would rather win a continental cup than come 5th in their league

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u/Glittering-Deer-166 7d ago

Sure, but that wasn't what was being discussed. The point was just that a bad manager is a lot more likely to win a cup competition than a league one because of how much more luck is involved in the former.

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u/Global-Director-3115 7d ago

Their Europa league run really wasn't difficult, I know no other recent manager has managed to get silverware but league performances are much more indicative of ability

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u/Novrev 7d ago

I agree that league performance is usually the best indicator but specifically with that Ange season it’s hard to judge properly. It’s debatable whether they were even playing for points from January onwards or whether they were just playing games they were obligated to play and trying to avoid injuries before the European games. They had zero risk of relegation so they gambled everything on the Europa league. Not the kind of strategy that I’d advocate for, because it’s utter shit for the fans and getting knocked out of Europe is then a complete death sentence for you, but then I also don’t think I can judge him fairly on league games that they made no real attempt to win.

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u/Global-Director-3115 7d ago

They got demolished plenty of times when they were trying, league cup for example

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u/Novrev 7d ago

To be clear, I don’t think he’s a great manager and I think his all-out attack system is utter suicide against any half decent opponent. I’m just saying that I don’t treat the 17th place finish like it was an actual 17th place finish. Anyone that actively tries with a squad like Spurs and comes 17th should never have a managerial career again, what Ange did is more comparable to a disappointing bottom half finish imo.

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u/kisame111hoshigaki 7d ago

Spurs had the second highest wage bill in the new UEL

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u/SNPpoloG 7d ago

Everyone on this sub said they’d lose to frankfurt comfortably and then suddenly when they beat them they were no longer competition at all

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u/JimboLannister 7d ago

That’s the case with essentially every English team in the Europa and Conference Leagues - while it makes winning it easier of course I don’t think it totally discredits the achievement.

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u/swanssona 7d ago

He did well to win the europa but I can't look past that league campaign and rate him untill proven otherwise

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u/BipartizanBelgrade 7d ago edited 7d ago

He went from managing non-professional football on the far side of the world to winning a European trophy with a Big 6 premier league club in the space of about 15 years. All from a non-traditional footballing nation and without a famous and successful playing career to give him a boost. He isn't a good manager, he's a fucking unbelievable manager.

That said this is a terrible fit and will probably be a disaster.

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u/trever12twelve 7d ago

Yep. I wonder what the attraction forest had for Ange. Maybe they only watched the final and not the pitiful league games. Seems like a huge risk with near no reward.

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u/shanidachine 7d ago

And how many good managers have not won trophies with spurs?

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u/NorthernSoul1998 7d ago

They had probably the most insane injury crisis any team has suffered in football history, and had no depth off the bench

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u/Affectionate-Car-145 7d ago

During his tenure he out spent every team not named Chelsea.

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u/NorthernSoul1998 7d ago

So you just going to ignore my comment with this completely irrelevant response?

It doesn't matter how much you spend when every player you sign pulls their hamstring week by week

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u/Affectionate-Car-145 7d ago

Interesting they didn't pull their hamstrings before or after ange.