Exiled players and a battle for control: The story of Steve Cooper’s Nottingham Forest sacking
By the end, the statement announcing the departure of Steve Cooper from Nottingham Forest could have included the phrase “mutual contempt”.
Cooper’s strained relationship with Evangelos Marinakis is finally over – after two years and three months, he becomes the second Premier League managerial casualty of the season.
He will forever be remembered as the hero who pulled this famous old club up by its boot-straps, uniting players and supporters and propelling them into the top division after 23 years away.
Cooper made those supporters fall in love again, at a time when Forest were exhausting the ways to fail in the Championship. Ending that painful period in the wilderness means Cooper’s achievements are the most significant since the magical tenure of Brian Clough (and that is not ignoring the impact made by Frank Clark post-Clough in the 1990s).
He was the ‘Pontypridd Pep’
Keeping Forest in the top division, after a season in which 30 new players arrived, was arguably even more impressive and allowed the club to keep building.
There may never be another Forest manager who enjoys the relationship Cooper had with supporters. He was the ‘Pontypridd Pep’ who understood the club’s rich history and taught them to dream again. Yet, inevitably, when managers leave football clubs, it has clearly unravelled down the track.
Not many at this level survive a run of one win in 13 games, regardless of past achievements, and Cooper is dismissed just two weeks after the Forest owner’s discarded accreditation pass was found in nearby bushes following a 5-0 drubbing by Fulham.
The narrative of Cooper’s departure outside of Nottingham will be framed as another club panicking, and stretching beyond their means. It is of course far more complex than that. In the final weeks, Cooper and Marinakis were barely on speaking terms. Their relationship had broken down a long time ago, to the point where even phone calls were being ignored.
Marinakis had stuck with Cooper longer than anyone at the club imagined. The Greek billionaire has a fearsome reputation for being “trigger-happy”, which he resents.
At Olympiacos, the Greek powerhouse club he also owns, it may be justified. At Forest, it is undeserved. He has high expectations and results have not been good enough in recent months. Since completing his takeover in May 2017, he has sacked Mark Warburton, Aitor Karanka, Martin O’Neill, Sabri Lamouchi and Chris Hughton.
None of them could really have any complaints – indeed, it could be argued that Lamouchi and Hughton, in particular, were given more than enough time to turn results around. Marinakis will feel the same applies to Cooper.
It was perhaps only the fear of a backlash from fans that allowed Cooper to limp on.
For the many supporters who pay money to watch their club every week, there has also been a feeling it was coming. It is possible to regard someone highly and have gratitude, yet also feel they have lost their way. The fanbase has become increasingly split, and Cooper did not deserve the situation to turn toxic. As has been well documented, he was very close to losing his job many times last season.
The 4-0 defeat at Leicester in October 2022 was the most notorious occasion when Rafael Benitez was lined up as a possible replacement. With Cooper’s future uncertain, Wolves and Southampton both reached out to intermediaries over potentially appointing him. A frantic few days ended in the Welshman signing a new £2.5 million a year contract.
There were many other crucial moments – after a 4-0 defeat at West Ham in February, Marinakis was seriously close to wielding the axe. After a 2-1 defeat at Leeds on April 4, even Cooper thought he was going.
Replacements were considered, including Patrick Vieira and even former Wolves manager Bruno Lage, but Cooper survived. He was aware of Forest’s work behind the scenes and used it to build a siege mentality at the club’s training ground.
‘I’ve given you the players’
Over the summer, he lost even more control over signings, as Forest were unhappy with some players he had previously recommended. Backroom staff who were club appointments were added.
He angered Marinakis on the opening day defeat at Arsenal with post-match comments about the club’s transfer business.
Cooper was frustrated when seven new players came in on deadline day, as he felt it left them playing catch-up to understand his methods. They were also picking up injuries after an unsettled pre-season. Yet in terms of pounds spent he had more investment in his squad than most managers in Europe’s top five leagues. Marinakis has spent more than £250 million on fees alone since promotion and has designs on Forest becoming a top-10 club.
He is an owner whose mindset is: “I’ve given you the players, now it’s over to you.”
Without question, Marinakis is demanding. He could not fathom tactical decisions, team selections, game management and the inability to cut out mistakes. There did not seem a consistent, identifiable style of play. When they were without forward Taiwo Awoniyi the entire set-up seemed to collapse and Cooper reverted to a low block.
Forest have won just two of their 28 away games since promotion, losing 19 of them.
Tension started to build in the dressing room. Scott McKenna, the Scotland international, was frozen out after the club made it clear he would not be getting a new contract.
Cooper then had a major disagreement with Joe Worrall, the Forest captain. Worrall was informed on the morning of the game against Aston Villa on November 5 that he would not be in the match-day squad. Reacting angrily, Worrall did not attend the game as he did not feel in the right frame of mind.
Reporting to the training ground days later, he then had a heated confrontation with Cooper and was instructed to train with McKenna away from the first-team squad before matches. From ‘matchday minus 2’, and sometimes even earlier, they were given personal programmes and only called in to train with the first-team when numbers were low.
That situation occurred only weeks after Worrall had endured the tragic death of his uncle. Two of Forest’s promotion heroes had been coldly discarded.
Some players also clashed with Cooper and the coaching staff over what they regarded as inconsistent team selection.
Two summer signings, Chelsea loanee Andrey Santos and £11 million recruit Andrew Omobamidele, have not made a single league start while Nuno Tavares and Gonzalo Montiel – the latter a World Cup winner with Argentina – have just one each to their name so far. There will be inevitable questions over recruitment, and they are entirely understandable.
As results nosedived, the atmosphere at the training ground is said to have become ‘strained’ in recent weeks.
Cooper marginalised former chairman Nicholas Randall KC and other senior key figures who fought for him in board meetings last season when his position appeared bleak, particularly after the Leicester defeat.
A 2-2 draw at home to Luton, in which Forest conceded twice late on after some strange substitutions, was hugely damaging. Chaotic defeats by West Ham and Brighton cranked up the pressure. After the Brighton home defeat, there were furious confrontations in the tunnel between Cooper’s coaching staff and Roberto De Zerbi’s backroom team.
After the 1-0 loss to Everton at home, some fans jeered Cooper and the team. It was a rare occurrence and felt significant at the time. The heavy defeat at Fulham – when Marinakis stormed out after the fourth goal – was the final blow.
Though Cooper took charge of the Wolves and Tottenham games, he was on the way out: it was not a case of Marinakis judging him on a match-by-match basis, but about finding the right replacement.
What next?
Nuno Espirito Santo is poised to make his return to English football, after his departure from Saudi Arabian champions Al-Ittihad last month. He will have a point to prove after his unhappy spell with Tottenham. He worked wonders at Wolves before a fall-out with chairman Jeff Shi, and for three years it was exhilarating to watch.
Julen Lopetegui, the former Wolves and Real Madrid manager, was initially sounded out. It is said he is holding out for a “bigger” job and considers himself a contender for Manchester United (if Erik ten Hag departs) or West Ham.
Marco Silva was highly admired but a potential move ended after he signed a new contract at Fulham in October. Former Eintracht Frankfurt head coach Oliver Glasner had talks but Marinakis was unconvinced.
What about Cooper?
Leaving Forest will hurt but, equally, feel like a relief. If Forest had plunged into the bottom three on his watch it would have been uncomfortable. He was in danger of tarnishing his legacy.
His reputation remains relatively high and Crystal Palace are known to be admirers. Palace would not have to pay any compensation now if they were to replace Roy Hodgson with the 44-year-old.
When Cooper inevitably returns to the City Ground in charge of another team, the reception will be incredible. Palace visit on March 30.
He is assured of a place in Forest’s history. With every fist-pump after victories, he brought a club and its fanbase closer together.
He will always remain “Super Cooper”, but in the end there was no room for sentiment. Marinakis wanted more than his Premier League promotion manager could deliver.
