Revealed: Why keeping Marinakis onside is key to Big Ange's trophy prospects at Nottingham Forest

Say what you like about Ange Postecoglou, and many have in recent times, but you cannot deny his ability to create a stir.

For much of his two years in charge of Tottenham Hotspur, and certainly last season, Big Ange’s reign felt like one big soap opera.

Although the 2024-25 campaign had an epic ending, when Postecoglou guided Spurs to their first trophy in 17 years, ultimately his tenure will be remembered as a sob story.

Big Ange was thrown out of Tottenham little more than two weeks after they beat Manchester United 1-0 in the Europa League final.

 

Less than four months on from his exit, he has pitched up at Nottingham Forest to replace Nuno Espirito Santo.

Forest are an ambitious, upwardly mobile club who flirted with Champions League qualification last season.

They ended up in the Europa League and will soon contest their first European game for almost 30 years.

Not that such an achievement was enough to save Nuno’s skin, of course.

 

The Portuguese was axed three games into this season following a power struggle behind the scenes which saw Nuno criticise Forest’s transfer policy on the eve of the campaign.

There are lessons to be learnt there for Postecoglou, who will be wary of upsetting Forest’s fiery Greek owner Evangelos Marinakis.

Postecoglou himself is certainly no shrinking violet, hence the ‘Big Ange’ tag he has been labelled with.

He can be outspoken, uncompromising, and at times confrontational.

At a press conference on the eve of last season’s Europa League final, he called out a journalist who branded him a “clown” in a newspaper article.

Postecoglou, who presided over Spurs’ worst-ever Premier League campaign last term, fixed his detractor with one of his trademark icy glares.

“I’m not a clown and never will be,” he told the reporter.

Now, working under Marinakis, Big Ange might need to learn to button his lip every now and then.

Certainly when it comes to boardroom matters and transfer policy, a little diplomacy will be required.

Postecoglou, whose first game in charge comes away to Arsenal on Saturday lunchtime, arrives at the City Ground with credit in the bank.

Winning the Europa League ensured Postecoglou delivered on his conviction that he always wins a trophy in his second season.

Marinakis has seen the appeal in that and handed the 60-year-old a contract until the end of next season.

If all goes to plan, Postecoglou will be hoisting another trophy above his head before too long.

Crucially, Marinakis and his new boss are already aligned, having been acquainted for some time due to their Greek background.

Postecoglou was born in Greece in 1965 before his family migrated to Australia five years later.

He remains fiercely proud of his heritage and was pictured with Marinakis in July, when Postecoglou was honoured by the Greek Super League for winning the Europa League.

Marinakis was gushing of Big Ange at the time, saying: “What he achieved, he did with a team that has not won any titles – it has had a very difficult time in recent years.

“In this huge success that the whole world saw, he promoted Greece.

“We must thank him especially for this and we wish him well, although we are sure that he will do well as he has the ability.

“Wherever he goes, the successes will come.”

As it turned out, he ended up at Forest with Marinakis.

The Midlands outfit spent £190million on new signings this summer and Marinakis will demand some serious progress on the back of his investment.

With Forest back in Europe and back on the map, the onus is on Postecoglou to build on his predecessor’s work and win a trophy.

Postecoglou, noted for his adventurous, attacking style of football, showed in last season’s Europa League final that he can be pragmatic when needed on the pitch.

But with a volatile, demanding chairman breathing down his neck, he will know that he needs to tread carefully off it to keep Marinakis onside and build on the excellent job that Nuno started.

 

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