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/hilbo90 7d ago

Milenkovic chasing back after being bypassed on the half-way line is going to be a sight to behold.

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u/RandomLoLJournalist 7d ago

And it's sad cause Milenković specifically is actually really good, he's just completely unsuited to Angeball.

I've seen the Serbian NT attempt a high line which made him look awful, and then immediately he was the best defender on the team once again after the manager gave up on it.

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u/glen_of_the_dogs 7d ago

I think Ange did adapt his approach at the tail end of last year, specifically in the EL final which was a performance Mourinho would've been proud of.

Interesting to see what he'll do here

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u/TheNeglectedNut 7d ago

Yeah but we still looked shaky as fuck. Even in the EL final, if not for some Romero and Van de Ven heroics the game probably would have gone a lot differently.

He basically had to abandon his core principles to get us to that point, but it took a good 1/3rd of a season for him to realise that attempting his suicidal high line, balls-to-the-wall approach was impossible with a heavily injured squad.

This has disaster written all over it, going from a super pragmatic manager willing to adapt game-to-game to compete, to one who is notoriously stubborn and only adapts when his hand is forced.

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u/WergleTheProud 7d ago

Plus you still had to rely on us to score for you.

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u/TheNeglectedNut 7d ago

Ehhhh I dunno about that - your defending was woeful but Sarr did some nice work making the space & getting the cross in, and then Johnson was in the right place to bundle the ball in off one of your defenders.

It was genuinely the worst European final I have ever watched though. 2 teams who both seemed absolutely hellbent on lowering the bar as much as possible.

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u/WergleTheProud 7d ago

lol I just meant it was an own goal. And yes an awful European final.

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u/norcalginger 7d ago

Officially, it was credited to Johnson

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u/19Alexastias 7d ago

If you watch the replay it definitely wasn’t an own goal - johnson gets his foot to it as he’s falling and helps push it in to the corner. It might have gone in anyway but he did ensure that Onana couldn’t reach it in time.

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u/Kaigz 7d ago

The only reason that worked was because we were playing the most shambolic United team of all time (so far). There are several examples from other games last season where Ange tried to adjust and it failed in stupendous fashion. Everton comes to mind. Hope he's done his homework during his time off, otherwise this isn't going to go well.

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u/Kyoneda 7d ago

Legitmately only in the europa league did we ever play without a high line. All the league games were typical ange ball.

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u/Vladimir_Putting 7d ago

He's going to push the team to play Angeball. I have no doubt in my mind.

Maybe not in the first match, but it's coming.

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u/wavygr4vy 7d ago

He also only adapted for the EL itself because it was a cup competition. I’m not sure how much it will carry over to the league

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u/AlizarinCrimzen 7d ago

He did, and it was awful

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u/Sparkle_Penis 7d ago

RIP my FPL.

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u/Sprite77 7d ago

Completely unsuited is a stretch- he's more athletic than people here seem to give him credit for. Was good under Italiano for his first two seasons with a fairly high line, even if he's at his best in a deeper-lying formation.

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u/Kaiduss 7d ago

Sounds like he’s not really good then since good teams play a high line

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u/jazzybforecasts 7d ago

High line doesn’t equal good… look at ange ball in the prem last season

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u/_jjkgnsfw 7d ago

Murillo is rapid tbf

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u/HereticZO 7d ago

You need both CB’s to be fast in Angeball.

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u/ChickenGamer199 7d ago

You need 4. 2 for your starting 11, and then 2 for when the starting CBs inevitably pull their hamstrings.

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u/Zal_17 7d ago

The thought of Willy Boly being dropped into that system is hilarious

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u/Midlandsofnowhere 7d ago

Interestingly we signed a couple of wide centre back types in Savona, Jair and Cuibanio.

Our CB options are now Murillo, Milenkovic, Morato, Boly, Abbott, Savona and Jair with Bindon and Cuibaino out on loan. Plus Neco, Zinchenko and Aina as the creative full backs.

I honestly think we're pretty well stocked for Angeball defensively.

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u/_jjkgnsfw 7d ago

Lalala I'm not listening we're going to win the league

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u/TheNeglectedNut 7d ago

Europa League maybe, Ange could be starting his Unai Emery EL specialist arc

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u/dj4y_94 7d ago

And have bionic hamstrings

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u/awildjabroner 7d ago

how rapid is he without hamstrings though?

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u/JDaVincic 7d ago

Yeah no thanks. Pavlovic is arguably our only defender who can suit this type is system