After all, the statement announcing Steve Cooper’s departure from Nottingham Forest could have included the phrase “mutual disrespect”.
Cooper’s strained relationship with Evangelos Marinakis has finally come to an end; Two years and three months later, Cooper has become the Premier League’s second managerial casualty this season.
He will forever be remembered as the hero who lifted this famous old club by its shoelaces, united players and fans and took them to the top division after 23 years.
At a time when Forest were running out of ways to fail in the Championship, Cooper made fans fall in love all over again. The end of this painful period in the wilderness means that Cooper’s achievements are his most significant since Brian Clough’s magical tenure (and this is not to discount the influence Frank Clark had in the post-Clugh 1990s).
It was ‘Pontypridd Pep’
Keeping Forest in the top division after a season that saw the arrival of 30 new players was arguably even more impressive and allowed the club to continue to improve.
There may never be another Forest manager who enjoys Cooper’s relationship with his fans. He was the ‘Pontypridd Pep’ who understood the club’s rich history and taught them to dream again. Inevitably, however, this situation clearly unraveled when managers left football clubs.
Regardless of past success, not many at this level have survived a 13-game winning streak and Cooper was sacked just two weeks after the Forest owner’s discarded accreditation card was found in nearby bushes following a 5-0 defeat by Fulham.
Cooper’s move out of Nottingham will be framed as another club panicking and going beyond their means. Of course, it’s much more complicated than that. In recent weeks, it appeared that Cooper and Marinakis were not getting along. Their relationship had deteriorated long ago, so much so that even phone calls were ignored.
Marinakis had stayed with Cooper longer than anyone at the club expected. The Greek billionaire has a terrible reputation for being “trigger ready” and he resents it.
This can be justified at the powerful Greek club Olympiacos, which he also owns. This is not deserved at Forest. Their expectations are high and the results in recent months have not been good enough. He sacked Mark Warburton, Aitor Karanka, Martin O’Neill, Sabri Lamouchi and Chris Hughton after completing his takeover in May 2017.
None of them can actually have any complaints; indeed, it could be argued that Lamouchi and Hughton in particular were given ample time to fix the results. Marinakis will think the same goes for Cooper.
Perhaps the only thing that allowed Cooper to limp along was fear of fan backlash.
Many fans who paid to watch their club every week also felt it was coming. It is possible to care deeply about someone and feel grateful, but it is also possible to feel that they have lost their way. The fan base was increasingly divided, and Cooper didn’t deserve for this situation to become toxic. As has been well documented, he came close to losing his job multiple times last season.
The 4-0 defeat at Leicester in October 2022 was the most infamous incident in which Rafael Benitez was named as a possible substitute. With Cooper’s future uncertain, Wolves and Southampton have approached intermediaries to potentially appoint him. A frantic few days have ended with the Welshman signing a new £2.5million-a-year contract.
There were many other important moments; Following the 4-0 defeat against West Ham in February, Marinakis came close to wielding the axe. After the 2-1 defeat to Leeds on April 4, even Cooper thought he would leave.
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 this to create a siege mentality at the club’s training ground.
‘I gave you the players’
Over the summer, he further lost control over transfers due to Forest being unhappy with some of the players he had previously recommended. Added backroom staff with club appointments.
He angered Marinakis after the opening day defeat to Arsenal with his post-match comments about the club’s transfer business.
Cooper was disappointed with the arrival of seven new players on deadline day, as he felt it meant they were playing catch-up to understand their methods. They were also picking up injuries after an inconsistent preseason. But in terms of pounds spent, he had invested more in his squad than most managers in Europe’s top five leagues. Marinakis has spent more than £250 million on wages alone since his promotion and has plans for Forest to become a top 10 club.
He’s a team owner with the mentality of “I gave you the players, now it’s on you.”
There is no doubt that Marinakis is demanding. He could not understand tactical decisions, team selections, game management and the inability to eliminate mistakes. There didn’t seem to be a consistent and identifiable style of play. The whole setup seemed to collapse when they were without striker Taiwo Awoniyi and Cooper reverted to the low block.
Forest have won just two of their 28 away games since promotion and lost 19 of them.
Tension began to rise in the locker room. Scotland international Scott McKenna has been frozen out after the club made it clear he would not receive a new contract.
Cooper then had a major falling out with Forest captain Joe Worrall. Worrall was informed on the morning of the match against Aston Villa on 5 November that he would not be included in the matchday squad. Reacting angrily, Worrall did not attend the match because he did not feel in the right mood.
He had a heated confrontation with Cooper when he arrived at the training ground days later and was instructed to train with McKenna away from the first-team squad before matches. ‘From minus 2 on match day, and sometimes even earlier, they were given individual schedules and only called in to train with the first team when numbers were low.
This occurred just weeks after Worrall endured the tragic death of his uncle. Two of Forest’s promotion heroes were coldly cast aside.
Some players also clashed with Cooper and the coaching staff over what they saw as inconsistent team selection.
Summer signings Chelsea loanee Andrey Santos and £11m signing Andrew Omobamidele have not made a single league start; Nuno Tavares and Gonzalo Montiel (the latter a World Cup winner with Argentina) have just one transfer each to their name so far. There will be inevitable questions about hiring, and these are completely understandable.
The atmosphere at the training ground is said to have become ‘tense’ in recent weeks as results have worsened.
Cooper has marginalized former chairman Nicholas Randall KC and club director Jonny Owen: two key figures who fought for him in board meetings last season when his position looked bleak, especially after the Leicester defeat.
A 2-2 draw at home to Luton, with Forest twice surrendering late on after some strange substitutions, was hugely damaging. Chaotic defeats to West Ham and Brighton increased the pressure. Following the home defeat at Brighton, there were violent clashes in the tunnel between Cooper’s coaching staff and Roberto De Zerbi’s backroom team.
After losing 1-0 at home to Everton, some fans made fun of Cooper and his team. This was a rare event and a big deal at the time. The heavy defeat at Fulham – Marinakis charging in after the fourth goal – was the final blow.
Although Cooper had taken charge of the Wolves and Tottenham games, he too was about to leave: it was a matter of finding the right substitute, not Marinakis judging him on a game-by-game basis.
What’s next?
Nuno Espirito Santo is set to return to English football after leaving Saudi Arabian champions Al-Ittihad last month. He will have a point to prove after his unhappy spell with Tottenham. He was brilliant at Wolves before falling out with chairman Jeff Shi and it was exciting to watch him for three years.
Julen Lopetegui, the former coach of Wolves and Real Madrid, was speechless at first. He is said to be waiting for a “bigger” job and sees himself as a rival for Manchester United (if Erik ten Hag leaves) or West Ham.
Marco Silva was highly acclaimed but a potential transfer ended after he signed a new contract at Fulham in October. Former Eintracht Frankfurt head coach Oliver Glasner held talks but Marinakis was not convinced.
What about Cooper?
Leaving the forest will be painful, but it will also be a relief. It would have been disturbing if Forest had finished in the bottom three on his watch. He was in danger of tarnishing his legacy.
His reputation remains relatively high and Crystal Palace are known to be fans. If they replace Roy Hodgson with the 44-year-old player, Palace will not need to pay any compensation.
When Cooper inevitably returns to the City Ground in charge of another team, the reception will be incredible. Palace visit on 30 March.
It is certain that he will have a place in Forest’s history. Every punch after victory brought the club and its fan base closer together.
It would always be “Super Cooper”, but ultimately there was no room for sentimentality. Marinakis wanted more than the Premier League promotion manager could offer.