A “world-class” manager was interested in the Nottingham Forest job before Evangelos Marinakis decided to appoint Ange Postecoglou.
Postecoglou off to a slow start at Nottingham Forest
Travelling to the Emirates Stadium to take on Arsenal was always going to be a difficult task in Postecoglou’s first match in charge, and Forest didn’t put up much of a fight, with the Gunners running out comfortable 3-0 winners.
Few fans would’ve been expecting to get anything out of the trip to north London, but the manner of the defeat is more concerning, with the Tricky Trees failing to create any real chances throughout the match.
Even more worryingly, Ange’s side then went on to get knocked out of the EFL Cup by Championship side Swansea City on Wednesday night, with the Welsh side scoring two injury-time goals to turn the game on its head after a brace from Igor Jesus.
It is still a little early for Marinakis to be questioning whether he made the right decision by replacing Nuno Espirito Santo with Ange, but fans are likely to be increasingly concerned if Nottingham Forest are unable to defeat Burnley in the Premier League this Saturday.
Interestingly, it has now been revealed that a different manager was keen on becoming Forest boss before Marinakis appointed the Australian, namely Jose Mourinho, who has now agreed a deal to take over at Benfica.
That is according to journalist Graeme Bailey, who told The Boot Room: “Jose was keen to come back to England, the Forest job did interest him, and he was open to other options, but Benfica is a huge opportunity for him.
“But I don’t think Jose is done with England yet.”
Mourinho would've been gamble despite "world-class" credentials
The 62-year-old is one of the most acclaimed managers of all-time, having won league titles with Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and FC Porto, and he is held in very high regard by Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers, who once described him as “world-class”.
That said, the two-time Champions League winner has now gone over three years without a trophy, last lifting silverware during his time with AS Roma back in 2022, when he led the Serie A side to Europa Conference League glory.
Not only that, but podcast host David Amoyal has suggested the former Roma boss underachieved domestically in Italy, given the backing he received, having also failed to win a trophy at Tottenham Hotspur and Fenerbahçe.
Ange suffering back-to-back defeats in his first two games as Forest boss is far from ideal, but there are few indications that Mourinho would’ve been a success at The City Ground.