Evangelos Marinakis and Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest storm at a lull, for now – Reporter Notebook

After a week where it felt like Nottingham Forest were trying to self-destruct, there is an awkward ceasefire at the City Ground as all sides plan their next manoeuvre. How lasting that truce is remains to be seen.

The situation is still very unpredictable, with two passionate and volatile characters at odds with each other – owner Evangelos Marinakis and manager Nuno Espirito Santo. That relationship has deteriorated for sure, possibly irrecoverably, and long term there are serious question marks about how long the Portuguese coach will continue in his role.

But for now, Sky Sports News has been told that the main players are exuding an air of “business as usual” knowing that what has happened in the last 10 days has seriously impacted the stability amongst the squad, and the mood around the entire club.

Nuno has now said publicly what we reported on Friday – that he will categorically not resign. “Never. It is absurd.” And so if he is to leave Forest, Marinakis will have to sack him and pay him off. There is no imminent sign of the Greek billionaire wanting to do that. His mantra has always been that disagreements should be aired behind closed doors, so as to show no chink in the armour of unity. And so the manager speaking out so bluntly, and so personally, has angered him greatly.

There are, however, conciliatory noises coming from the manager now – he says he wants a meeting to clear the air with the owner and Edu – global head of football for all of Marinakis’ clubs. But it is far from clear when that will happen. There is no such meeting currently scheduled. And it is that relationship – Nuno versus Edu – which is at the heart of the problem here.

Nuno and Edu’s differences may have been put aside for now, but you sense the resentment will linger

When Edu took over last month, Nuno was already in post, and he’d just signed a new contract the month before. In football – like in many other industries – when a new boss comes in, they tend to want to employ their own people. That unsettled Nuno from the start, and crucially it put a middle-man (a barrier, in Nuno’s eyes) between himself and the big boss. He felt undermined, and sidelined. But what is more damaging for Forest – and a very difficult situation for Marinakis to manage – is that fundamentally Edu and Nuno do not like each other. There is a clash of character. And when that happens, it is usually the boss who wins in the long run. Edu is very obviously Nuno’s boss.

Those differences may have been put aside for now, but you sense the resentment will linger. Marinakis is not a man who takes kindly to being criticised, especially in public, and especially from his senior people. Nuno has done it twice in the space of a week.

On the eve of the opening match, he shocked Forest fans – and the owner – by openly criticising the club’s lack of transfer business. He was clearly taking aim at Edu, but he hit Marinakis in the crossfire. Four new signings at a cost of £118m followed in the next week, but at his next pre-match news conference, Nuno dropped another bombshell – his relationship with the owner had deteriorated, he said: they were “not close”, and it “had changed”. And when asked about a report in Spain, suggesting he was soon to be sacked, he said “there is no smoke without fire.”

The 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace saw James McAtee, Omari Hutchinson and Arnaud Kalimuendo all make their debuts, with new midfielder Douglas Luiz an unused sub. Despite that, and despite eight new signings this summer, Nuno said post-match that he still wants a new goalkeeper and two new full-backs before the transfer window closes on Monday. He is keeping the pressure up on Edu for sure.

The owner was never going to react quickly to Friday’s criticisms and sack the manager two days before a Premier League game. But Marinakis now has a little more breathing space to consider his options – especially with the first international break of the season just a week away. That pause in the season could be crucial in seeing the relationship either mended or broken.

If there’s one thing we have learned about the current Forest – the only certain thing is that nothing is certain

Marinakis will have noticed the raucous support for Nuno from the away supporters following at Selhurst Park, with a noisy rendition of “Nuno, Nuno, Nuno” coming from the stands after full-time as the manager went to applaud the fans. But the owner will also have noticed a growing split in the fanbase on social media, with a growing minority speaking out against the behaviour of a man who has delivered European football, and guided the team to their highest league position since the mid-1990s.

There is currently a lull after the most bizarre and unexpected storm. But if there’s one thing we have learned about the current Forest – the only certain thing is that nothing is certain.

Sunday 31st August 1:00pm


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