Nottingham Forest’s players are confused and the majority of the fans are not happy.
The fans are not happy because the previous manager, Nuno Espirito Santo, did nothing wrong in terms of results and was restoring the club to prominence.
His only problem – and it was a big one – was getting offside with owner Evangelos Marinakis and the club’s global head of football Edu.
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The players are confused because Ange Postecoglou’s style of play is completely different to Nuno and they are trying to change without the benefit of a pre-season.
And so Ange has a problem. It’s a predictable one but a big one.
It was obvious that there would be some teething problems at Forest but I must admit I didn’t think it would be this bad, this early.
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I thought they would have enough firepower to overcome the likes of Midtjylland, who are a good club but would struggle in the Premier League.
Fans are already calling for Postecoglou’s head after six winless games and the next fixture is a daunting one, away to Newcastle United on Monday (AEST).
The results are very, very disappointing, that’s the bottom line.
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Watching from afar, there are a lot of players there who were obviously very close to Nuno and very wedded to the way they were playing.
The facts are they had success with it – a simple formula of a strong defence and an effective counter-attacking game.
The players want to do well for Ange, that’s not in question, but subconsciously they have still got – in the back of their mind – knowing how well they were playing under Nuno.
When things aren’t happening and you’re not winning, I know what the majority of players are like. Players will get together and go, you know what, we might just get back to playing like we used to play. This is just not happening.
I had a similar situation at Aston Villa with Ron Atkinson, who I was very, very close to.
We had just won a League Cup with him in 1994, and six months later, he’d been sacked and Brian Little came in. We nearly got relegated but in 1995-96 we came fourth in the league, won the League Cup and made the semi-finals of the FA Cup. An outstanding season.
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But that season when he came in, it was a really difficult time because there were a lot of us that had doubts about the change in the first place.
And those doubts can transfer onto the pitch in crucial moments. I think that’s what’s happening at Forest at the moment.
People are not 100 per cent certain, they’re not used to defending in a certain way or are looking for a different way to attack.
Confusion is the worst thing ever for a player. Midtjylland scored their first two goals from set-pieces and sloppy defending.
Ange knows there’s a hangover from Tottenham with that, where people were questioning the way they defended from set plays.
So the most important thing he needs to sort out before Newcastle is that everybody has got clear jobs. Tell the players, yes, we are in a process of change. We know that is very difficult, but he just needs to clear it up, whatever he’s going to do.
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Tell each player ‘this is what I want you to do today, right here, right now.’ Because any type of confusion – when players think they’re doing something right, but they’re not – that’s really, really dangerous.
Newcastle lost last week to Arsenal at home so the drums are going to be beating from the supporters and that atmosphere there is absolutely electric.
For Australians that haven’t been to St James’ Park, just think about Suncorp Stadium for Broncos vs Panthers. That type of atmosphere, that’s what it’s like.
CHELSEA HOST LIVERPOOL IN BLOCKBUSTER
Chelsea vs Liverpool is definitely the game of the round.
Liverpool started the season like a house on fire and won their first seven games across all competitions, without playing at their very best.
Suddenly they have lost two on the bounce which has surprised nearly everybody. Arne Slot is still finding out how to get the most out of his new players – Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong.
And Wirtz is the big one as he is supposed to be the main fulcrum of everything. I don’t think he’s played anywhere near what we saw at Bayer Leverkusen.
But he’s still created 21 chances in the Premier League, the same as Jack Grealish for Everton. No-one has created more. So I think he’ll be fine and so will Liverpool.
Losing back-to-back is not good for anyone but big clubs like to finish strong at the end of the season. Invariably they go through a rough patch earlier in the season and this is Liverpool’s rough patch.
It’s better to get it over and done with earlier, rather than later. One of Slot’s biggest challenges is keeping his bench happy.
The late, great Terry Venables used to talk about that a lot and when you have so many good players who are deserving of minutes, it’s not easy.
But on balance it’s a good problem to have.
Chelsea are coming off a good win against Benfica but are dealing with a lot of injuries.
Cole Palmer (groin) is their best player so he’ll be badly missed at Stamford Bridge.
I’m picking a Liverpool win.
IS UNITED MANAGER BEING UNDERMINED?
Ruben Amorim has another tricky assignment on Sunday (AEST) as Manchester United host Sunderland at Old Trafford.
Sunderland have been the surprise packet of the season so far after returning to the Premier League for the first time since 2017.
Their French manager Regis Le Bris is doing a terrific job and the Black Cats sit fifth in the league after beating Nottingham Forest 1-0 last weekend.
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Amorim, meanwhile, remains under the pump after a 3-1 loss to Brentford.
There are reports that the United hierarchy have told Amorim he has to change his methods. Journalists don’t always get it right but usually when reports come out from several sources, there is a little bit of truth to it.
I’m worried that Amorim is being undermined. They’ve put a lot of faith in him and backed him with a lot of money. So is this just a kick up the backside for him or the beginning of the undermining – and the beginning of the end?
– Premier League champion Mark Bosnich is writing a weekly column for Wide World of Sports. Catch him on Stan Sport’s ‘Added Time, an Australian lens on the global game
