Evangelos Marinakis' nightmare four days with brutal Nottingham Forest sacking and humiliating exit
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has faced a frustrating start to the season with the Midlands club but his disappointments did not end there in recent days
It's been a tough few days for Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis. Football is rarely simple, and entering the managerial merry-go-round ensures at least some momentary chaos.
After deeming it worth keeping faith in Ange Postecoglou for the duration of the international break, a 3-0 defeat against Chelsea sparked the sacking of the former Spurs boss. The Australian coach failed to win a game and barely made it away from the pitch before being handed his marching orders.
It was certainly not the best start to the weekend for Marinakis, with Forest then working hard to appoint their third manager of the campaign. Sean Dyche was confirmed as the Tricky Trees' latest boss on a contract until 2027.
But the footballing world has the capability of ensuring more frustration, and while negotiations with Dyche were ongoing, more disappointment fell Marinakis' way. The Greek businessman is the owner of more than one club, which means there are multiple fronts to defend.
Portuguese club Rio Ave are also under the stewardship of Marinakis and failed to bring joy over the weekend. A day on from Postecoglou's sacking Rio Ave were dealt a humiliating cup defeat.
READ MORE: Arsenal rack up huge Champions League prize money as Atletico win seals big payoutREAD MORE: Chelsea add 33 players to Champions League squad as Enzo Maresca makes drastic moveFacing a team from the fourth tier of Portuguese football in the Taca de Portugal, Rio lost 3-2 despite taking a 1-0 lead. Sintrense dumped their more fancied opposition out of the competition.
Just when Marinakis' fiery temper might have cooled by Tuesday, more embarrassment was to fall his way in the Champions League. Olympiacos made the trip to Catalonia to face Barcelona.
The La Liga giants steamrolled the Greek champions 6-1, inspired by Fermin Lopez and Marcus Rashford. Crucially, however, Olympiacos saw a player controversially sent off with the score only 2-1.
Santiago Hezze was awarded a second yellow card after a dive from Marc Cassado. VAR could not get involved to overturn the decision, and Barca ran riot.
Marinakis will hope to find some joy before the week is out as Dyche takes charge of his first match on Thursday. Forest face Porto at the City Ground in the Europa League, and they have yet to win in the competition.
Ex-Everton and Burnley boss Dyche wants to find balance as he looks to transform the club's season.
“The basics have always got to be in place,” Dyche told Forest’s club website. “Strong, fit and organised is always a good place to start, but I want the players to have the freedom to go and play.
“There’s some real talent here, so our job now is to find that balance — the risk and reward of going forward to score goals and excite the crowd, but equally the solid base which has been such a big weapon for the Club, particularly last season. Finding that balance will be key.
“It’s been important to familiarise ourselves with the players, get a feel for them, and for them to get a feel for us — but more importantly, we want to get them going again and bring that vibrancy back among them.
“There was a nice edge to them in our first session, and we want to keep that going and take those plans into the schedule. We’ve reminded them how good they are, what they’ve already achieved, and how we can build on that to bring consistency.”
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