Before one fixture at the City Ground during the early part of the season, a rival official noted that Nottingham Forest appeared to have no fewer than three sporting directors at the match – Edu Gaspar, George Syrianos and Ross Wilson.
Yes, all three had different titles. Edu was Forest’s global head of football and Wilson the chief football officer (before he joined Newcastle as sporting director last October), while Syrianos remains an important adviser to owner Evangelos Marinakis. But all three had overlapping briefs and to the outsider, Forest’s structure seemed lopsided.
And when Nuno Espirito Santo was in charge, it was not unusual to see Valdir Cardoso – the right-hand man of Nuno’s agent Jorge Mendes – in Premier League boardrooms before Forest games.
That is several people involved in transfers, before you even factor in owner Marinakis, his son Miltiadis or head of recruitment Pedro Ferreira, not to mention the numerous football figures whose counsel the family will heed.
Here is another statistic. Forest spent about £200million on new players last summer, more than Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain. That outlay has delivered only one regular starter, and even Igor Jesus would probably not have been a first pick had last season’s top scorer Chris Wood been fully fit.
Edu is set to pay the price. Just eight months after he was hired to huge acclaim, the former Arsenal midfielder and director is set to leave Forest after a tenure that has gone from bad to worse.
At one point this season, it seemed to outsiders as if Nottingham Forest had three sporting directors – including Edu Gaspar (centre) and George Syrianos (right)
Ross Wilson was also a key decision-maker in his role as chief football officer, before he left for Newcastle in October
But the Brazilian cannot be solely to blame. Edu may have fallen out with Nuno, but he was not the only one overseeing recruitment. It is not just Edu’s fault that Wilson was not adequately replaced and nor should the rapid hiring and firing of managers be pinned on him alone.
Yet his appointment set off a chain of events that has left Forest in serious danger of relegation, a year after they spent the season fighting for a place in the Champions League.
We have all seen the decline in form but bad results do not happen in a vacuum. When things go wrong in the offices, the chances are they will soon go awry on the pitch, too.
The Nuno-Edu fracture
Nuno and Forest are involved in a legal dispute relating to his sacking in September. Now at West Ham, Nuno is trying to lead his club to Premier League survival at Forest’s expense.
Many Forest supporters remain bewildered at how we got here. Again, Edu is in the firing line yet given his time again, surely Nuno would have gone about things differently.
Marinakis is happy to have robust discussions with his executives. Often he even welcomes them. Nuno was unhappy with the timing of Forest’s recruitment drive and the players they were targeting.
He wanted Adama Traore while the club sought a younger winger. Omari Hutchinson, Dilane Bakwa and Dan Ndoye were recruited accordingly and Traore is now with Nuno at West Ham.
Instead of airing his thoughts behind closed doors, Nuno chose to do so in public as well. It was astonishing to hear a naturally cautious manager turn on his bosses and this shook the club to its core.
Boss Nuno Espirito Santo wasn’t happy with the club’s recruitment last summer, preferring an experienced winger like Adama Traore to the likes of Dilane Bakwa (pictured), who Forest went on to sign from Strasbourg
Nuno (pictured on the City Ground pitch with owner Evangelos Marinakis) was popular with Forest’s players and his exit unsettled many of them
Nuno was popular with most players and they became unsettled, and they were not the only ones. Supporters feared that the watertight unit of 2024-25 was starting to fracture.
At that time, Edu even stayed away from the training ground to try to lower the temperature. Nuno, though, simply did not rate the Brazilian and, it seems, struggled to accept that he would have to answer to him in a new structure.
Had Edu impressed from the start, perhaps the tension would have eased. This was not the case, as the 47-year-old struggled to make an impression, with existing staff unsure about his role.
The Marinakis group of clubs have access to impressive recruitment and data resources, that helped identify players like Murillo, Ibrahim Sangare and Neco Williams. It is unclear how much Edu tried to use these tools.
The glue has gone
Much was made of Forest’s unbreakable spirit on the pitch last season, but less so the bond that united those running the club.
Just as the players had each other’s backs during the difficult moments, so too the senior figures managing the present and future. One of Wilson’s most valuable skills was creating that camaraderie by winning the trust of everyone. Not that he should have a free pass: Wilson was at Forest throughout this period and must take his share of responsibility for those errors.
Yet Wilson is a people person. As one executive at another club put it, ‘he runs the training ground’. If a player had a concern, Wilson would lend an ear. So too the manager, and he built an excellent relationship with Nuno from the day Wilson ensured the boss had his favourite type of coffee available on demand.
It sounds a minor matter but it does not go unnoticed. Wilson quickly managed to get ‘in the room’ with Marinakis and gained his trust, too. The Forest owner could see Wilson’s value.
People-person Wilson (pictured in his new role at Newcastle) had been a vital figure at Forest’s training ground, earning the trust of both Marinakis and Nuno
Had Edu impressed from the start, perhaps the tension behind the scenes would have eased. This was not the case, as the 47-year-old struggled to make an impression
If he was not on the phone to agents and contacts arranging meetings, he would be chewing the fat with a member of the academy staff or calling in on the medical department. Behind the scenes, everyone felt like they were rowing in the same direction and Wilson should take huge credit for that.
Where is the Wilson figure now? Syrianos worked closely with Wilson but his strength lies in scouting and recruitment rather than in bringing together various departments.
Wilson was a smart hire for Forest and finding a similar replacement should be a priority. Craig Mulholland, the club’s head of football development and talent management, is highly regarded and may play a more significant role in the months ahead.
Winning back the fans
When Forest were promoted in 2022, the City Ground atmosphere was hailed as the best in the league and roared them over the line to safety the following year. The home fans did a similar job last season.
Without such a link between supporters and fans, it is doubtful that Forest would have finished as high in the Premier League as they did.
The link has frayed this term and we have seen the outcome. Forest have lost seven times in the league at the City Ground and have more away wins (four) than at home (three). The brief flashpoint between captain Morgan Gibbs-White and some supporters during last month’s 0-0 draw with Wolves would have been unthinkable last term.
At least Forest seem to be listening. With hundreds of seats still available for Thursday’s Europa League last-16 tie against Midtjylland, Forest made the decision to cut adult ticket prices to a minimum £15, and child tickets to just £5.
The link between Forest’s players and fans has frayed this season, with star man Morgan Gibbs-White having a brief flashpoint with supporters during a draw with Wolves last month
Forest’s fantastic support at the City Ground has been a massive factor in their success in recent years, but many fans are worried about ticket price hikes
By the time they arrive at the City Ground, supporters will know the cost of a season ticket for 2026-27 and groups are lobbying for a price freeze.
In a recent survey by the Supporters Trust, many fans complained they would not be able to afford a significant hike, loyalty notwithstanding. The ball is now in the club’s court. They are due to make an announcement hours before kick-off.
‘People do not think an increase is justified,’ Trust board member James Bogue told the Forest Focus podcast. ‘The club has not performed particularly well on or off the pitch this season. Fans wonder why they should pick up the costs of that. We are getting to the point where the only people who can go will be those who can afford it.
‘Marinakis has done fantastic things for the club and this is not a criticism of the ownership’s ambition or achievement. But we want to keep the unity that has driven the club on and we risk losing it.’
Marinakis is no distant hedge-fund manager who thinks only of the bottom line. He cares, all right. From the foot of the Championship less than five years ago, he has overseen Forest’s return to European football and he takes great account of supporter sentiment.
Holding the line on ticket prices feels a smart move to reunite the fanbase and revive the City Ground at just the right time. If it happens, Forest might one day identify it as the factor that hauled them to top-flight safety.
