Ange Postecoglou knows a strong reputation can be as valuable as results. The Australian is quick to defend his record when his coaching capabilities, successes or failures are called into question. To call on his experience when he feels like he is being disrespected or dismissed for learning the ropes in a football outpost. To turn to the silverware he has collected when there is a suggestion that he is a visitor, an impostor or a charlatan who somehow duped his way into the major leagues.
But a new record – the shortest stint as a permanent manager of a Premier League club – is one that will need no reminder. Being sacked just 40 days into his Nottingham Forest reign will remain a stain on Postecoglou’s CV long after he leaves England. Being axed from two Premier League clubs within little more than four months is a blemish that could be even harder to remove after the Australian passes through the departure lounge.
For Postecoglou must surely now leave England – or at least the Premier League – behind. His steps along the coaching ladder have mostly tracked in one direction. The next move will at best be sideways. Whichever direction he heads in, whichever club he takes on, the stigma attached to the back-to-back dismissals will be hard to shake – at least until the 60-year-old proves himself all over again.
Nottingham Forest and Postecoglou always seemed like a relationship that was doomed to fail. A typically stubborn coach still bearing the scars from a recent breakup replacing a fan favourite in Nuno Espírito Santo. A club ownership led by the ruthless Evangelos Marinakis who has made a habit of swinging the axe at the first signs of trouble since taking control at Forest eight years ago, and been just as brutal with his handling of managers at Greek powerhouse Olympiacos. A bond between Postecoglou and Marinakis built on Greek pride and robust personalities could only endure so much.
The squad that Postecoglou inherited from Nuno was just as problematic. The former has earned a reputation for free-flowing and attacking football. The latter is a much more defensive coach and the team was developed with clean sheets in mind. Forest climbed into Champions League contention and an FA Cup semi-final last season with the equal-sixth tightest defence in the Premier League. In Postecoglou’s eight matches in charge – six defeats and two draws – they conceded 18 goals while only scoring seven times as frailties were exposed at both ends.
Postecoglou made the brightest of starts in his first Premier League job with Tottenham but has otherwise taken time to make his mark on each of the squads under his command. To embed his principles, implement his ideas and polish the playing patterns. To reap the rewards from high-intensity training crossing over into games. There were signs of progress, most recently in the first half of the clash with Chelsea before a 3-0 defeat sealed the manager’s fate just 18 minutes after the final whistle.
Forest was the wrong club at the wrong time for Postecoglou. He had jumped at the chance to return to the Premier League barely more than three months after being shown the exit at Spurs. A third opportunity in the league that he has conceded appeals to him like no other is unlikely to arrive any time soon. But a Europa League trophy famously secured in his second season in charge of Spurs, and just 16 days before he was sent packing, carries a lustre across the continent where managerial missteps – and even failures – are more routinely ignored.
Carrying the learnings from more than two seasons spent in the Premier League, the experience of a successful European campaign, and a chip on his shoulder is enough of a foundation for Postecoglou to rebuild his reputation on the continent. His card might be marked in England, at least for the time being, but attractive opportunities will open up in Europe, whether in one of the other top five leagues or at prominent clubs in countries like Turkey and Greece.
Lucrative offers could arrive from Saudi Arabian clubs while Postecoglou’s attacking style would be well suited to the USA’s Major League Soccer. A move away from the glamour of European competition and the spotlight that the manager for the most part relishes seems like a bridge too far at this stage. And a longer break while waiting for a club that better suits his experience and ambition would be the smarter move.
The former Australia men’s coach has experience on a World Cup stage. He would hardly be the first manager to lead a national team while having a point to prove at club level. The Socceroos’ job is firmly in Tony Popovic’s grasp after a promising first year in charge, but other nations will be on the lookout for a big name to guide them through next year’s showpiece event.
A brief spell as a football pundit could instead be enough to keep him front of mind and out of the coaching wilderness, just as it was before his career took off with A-Leagues club Brisbane Roar. It might feel like a step back for a manager who has proven himself to be a winner across multiple leagues and countries – but Postecoglou’s reputation has taken a hit that only time and the right move can help restore.
