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First the spit and then the polish. Revelations of owner Evangelos Marinakis hawking up in the general direction of match officials, followed by the glow of victory in an East Midlands derby and a stealthy move up the Premier League table.
Nottingham Forest have been a riddle of contradictions since promotion in 2022. Much has been an absolute delight, the club enhancing the league with the atmospheric City Ground, their rich tradition and passionate support.
Forest have long been a club of solid principles, treating staff and players with respect, a mindset that extends to their legends, and Marinakis is bound up in all of this.
He bought Viv Anderson’s European Cup winner’s medal before it went up for auction and wants Forest to own mementos of its glittering past under Brian Clough and share them with fans in a new museum, rather than see them vanish into the hands of private investors.
On the other hand, Marinakis demeans the club’s proud name every time details emerge of his attitude towards officialdom.
Owner Evangelos Marinakis demeans Nottingham Forest over his attitude toward officials
Marinakis allegedly spat at the feet of referee Josh Smith (pictured) as he walked through the tunnel after Forest lost 1-0 at home to Fulham on September 28
He denies the specifics of the spitting offence and is appealing against his five-match ban, but Clough would not even tolerate it if his players swore at referees.
He once gave BBC commentator John Motson a ticking off on camera, branding TV scrutiny of controversial decisions ‘nothing short of criminal’.
‘The standard you feel should be coming from referees is absolutely incredible,’ said Clough, back in that simpler pre-VAR world.
‘He makes a decision in five seconds, or two seconds or one second, whatever it is. In the heat of a moment with 22 players and 30,000 people shouting and bellowing.’
Even with all the technological advances, I wonder what Clough would make of Marinakis on the rampage when things go against him?
There will, no doubt, be Forest fans pleased to see the owner reacting as they might, fighting their corner. Those accustomed to a little more decorum are entitled to feel confused, though.
Marinakis has led them back to the Premier League and kept them there.
That is no mean feat. It is some degree of justification for the frenzy of hiring and firing he has overseen and the head-spinning whirl of transfer business.
Maybe it wasn’t just aimless desperation, as it appeared at times.
Maybe there was method in the madness of signing 57 players in five transfer windows, eight of them goalkeepers, while swallowing a points deduction for breaking spending rules.
He denies the specifics of the spitting offence and is appealing against his five-match ban
Seventeen of the 23 players signed in the first breathless summer after promotion are playing their football elsewhere this season.
None of those 23 were in the starting line-up at Leicester and yet none of that seemed to matter as they surfaced, albeit briefly, in fifth place with a 3-1 triumph over East Midlands rivals managed by their popular former boss Steve Cooper.
Forest have acquired an air of confidence since winning at Liverpool and are looking more like a Nuno Espirito Santo team. They are tactically tight because they all know what is expected. They are hard to beat, competitive and a touch cynical.
Strong and solid at the back, they are quick on the turnover. Chris Wood has been scoring goals and tormenting centre halves while Callum Hudson-Odoi is finding consistency.
Nuno guided Wolves into the Europa League and UEFA’s coefficients are already shaping up as if they might produce five Champions League places for the Premier League next season, thus extending opportunities in the other European competitions.
Forest can expect to level out. The early fixtures have been relatively kind, with two against the traditional big six and two promoted teams. Wolves, by comparison, have played four of the big six and none of the promoted teams.
Forest surfaced, albeit briefly, in fifth place after they defeated rivals Leicester 3-1
They can look up and dream and credit must go to Marinakis and his restless ambition
But with 16 points, Forest are halfway to last season’s points total, which proved more than enough to survive. This relieves pressure. They can look up and dream rather than looking down in dread and credit must go to Marinakis and his restless ambition.
If we praise Brighton for resisting sentiment to axe Chris Hughton in search of the next step beyond mere survival, or Bournemouth for replacing Gary O’Neil with Andoni Iraola, then Marinakis deserves a little praise for what seemed at the time like another charmless move to ditch Cooper.
It’s just that it would be easier to admire and applaud the progress if he wasn’t spitting his dissent in the direction of the referees.
FIVE THINGS I LEARNED THIS WEEK
1. Chelsea preparing ground for James sale
Chelsea have been blessed with some great captains.
Ron Harris, Dennis Wise, John Terry and Cesar Azpilicueta were all loyal and long-serving and all led their teams to success. Maybe Reece James lacks leadership qualities, but he is only 24 and plagued by injuries.
When Enzo Maresca says he expects more from his captaincy, it comes with a whiff of Chelsea preparing the ground to force out another of their popular homegrown talents who has no desire to leave.
Chelsea may be preparing the ground to sell Reece James after Enzo Maresca’s comments
2. Yamal set for Golden Boy landslide
Voting has started to find the Golden Boy of 2024, an annual prize by Italian newspaper Tuttosport for the best player in Europe aged under 21.
Lamine Yamal will win by a landslide and make it four years in a row in which the award has gone to Spain, following Pedri, Gavi and Jude Bellingham.
Adam Wharton is also on the 25-man shortlist after a year when we went from Blackburn to Crystal Palace to England to Euro 2024. This time last year he was coming off the bench at Ewood Park in a home defeat by Swansea.
3. Baldock tragedy stuns clubs
Sheffield United paid tribute to George Baldock at their first home game since his death at the age of 31, a tragedy that has also stunned the clubs where his brothers work.
Sam Baldock is an academy coach at Brighton, one of the seven clubs he played for. James Baldock is club doctor at Oxford.
Sheffield United paid tribute to George Baldock at their first home game since his tragic death
4. Bosses too quick to self-congratulate
Danny Rohl was too busy celebrating a big win with his Sheffield Wednesday coaching staff to notice John Mousinho waiting politely to shake his hand.
When Rohl finally emerged, he gave the beaten Portsmouth boss a most cursory exchange before running to the away end. Rohl is usually a man of impeccable manners so I’m sure it was a mistake in haste, but this is now common on the touchline and evident in the Premier League.
The first instinct of triumphant managers used to be an offer of consolation to the opponent standing alongside him. Now it appears to be to indulge in self-congratulation.
Danny Rohl was too quick to indulge in self-congratulation, a trend common in the top-flight
5. Better times on the way for York
Stoppage-time goals all over the place on Saturday, including two for York City to win 2-1 at Halifax to take them top of the National League.
Malachi Fagan-Walcott, who made his senior debut for Tottenham in the Champions League against Leipzig, equalised and goal machine Ollie Pearce scored the winner in front of more than 3,500 at the Shay.
It’s a tough league to win, but better times are on the way back at York.