‘He’s right there!’ Could Postecoglou be the real villain in the City Ground theatrics?

IT CAN’T BE HIM! BUT IT IS!

Arguably the most disliked down-under figure to arrive in this part of England since a notorious innkeeper from a famous TV drama took part in a theatrical show in the early 2000s, Ange Postecoglou’s reign at the club’s home could hardly have begun more poorly. While the boos and catcalls that actor Stefan Dennis was endured during a seasonal stage show were mostly in fun, the venom of the criticism directed at the Forest manager during Nottingham Forest’s Bigger Vase defeat by the Danish side on the previous night was so overwhelming that it is tough to see the manager who has been in charge for a mere handful of fixtures will keep his job to hear the seasonal boos this Christmas. On more than one occasion the experienced coach’s shouts of “He’s behind you!” went disregarded by his struggling players, particularly when the Danish side scored their opening pair from badly organized free-kicks and corners. Nowhere near the happy occasion they’d hoped for, Forest’s first continental match at home in 29 years ended in rancour with supporters telling the manager he’d be “fired by tomorrow”, before praising his popular, recently dismissed former boss, the ex-Wolves coach.

“I get the mood around the place isn’t going to be great, I grasp the public’s opinion, chiefly directed at me, but I don’t fret over it, this is nothing new to me,” Postecoglou growled in response, while directing the ground near him to the typical fierce look. “Nothing surprises me in football, it’s the way things are. This seems to be the direction. I have no power over it. Supporters are upset, they have every right to their view. I took in their thoughts.” And while those Forest fans are free to express anger, it could be suggested that they might be wiser selecting a more appropriate target for their frustration. After all, it was Evangelos Marinakis who fired a beloved manager to hire the Australian, who was always going to begin his reign on a hiding to nothing. Observing from the executive seats as he went through a range of surly, dark scowls unseen since that occasion he found out the North London club had triggered the player’s buyout option, the Greek tycoon has thus far mostly avoided any kind of serious criticism from fans, a fair few of whom remain convinced the he is beyond reproach.

By Friday midday, rumours of the manager being fired overnight proved to be overstated and sources indicate his job remains protected until such time as … well, it isn’t. While the club boss can make a reasonable case that he has had very few sessions on the practice field to implement the approach and gameplan subtleties that led to Tottenham Hotspur failing to win 22 of their 38 top-flight games last season, his team’s fixture list remains daunting and unyielding. Facing the North-East side, the London club, the European opponents and Bournemouth on the horizon it is difficult to see from where a initial success under the new boss will come before what could likely be the biggest dismissal-decider against the Old Trafford side.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I’m not the kind of guy who gets involved in controversies, who points fingers, actually, I’ll refrain from naming names. But I believe there was some disrespect, plus some impoliteness, and not a single hello or hi” – Antony slams his club over the unfriendly setting at Old Trafford, where friendliness has seemingly headed south like the side’s performance.

FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS

Is there truth the Forest manager has vowed supporters he always wins a match in his next campaign?” – a fan.

Far be it for me to wish to reinforce the cliché that Arsenal supporters are the game’s biggest moaners, but Thabo Caves (the previous day’s mailbag) does make you wonder. Pointing out that rather than a couple of matches weekly, the Gunners are having to play over two matches weekly (ooh an extra 30 minutes!) over a certain trio of weeks (for a squad with strong depth in each place to boot) is not the discussion-closer he might imagine. Instead it’s just going to have the tiniest violin ensemble tuning up their instruments once more, while the other fans look on with exasperation” – another reader.

I can’t work out whether your current contributors (on several fixtures each week) are consciously, ironically recreating one of the classic instances of web discussion (family-friendly), or inadvertently demonstrating the philosopher’s saying about history repeating first as tragedy, then as farce” – Nick Wiltsher.

If it’s any solace, yesterday’s letter-writer (the last mailbag), I’ve long felt that way [wanting wealthy English teams to fail on the continent]. Since Forest lost the ability to negotiate Europe, continental matches for me has led to a state of seething impotent rage, interrupted now and then by the Romanian side and, maybe, the La Liga outfit. I don’t give a hoot for Liverpool’s exploits from the 1980s right up to the Champions League win. I feel nothing for {‘that