ClaphamFox

🤔

Sorry - not sure how that happened…

Wrong thread!

Do you enjoy being kept in the dark about certain issues that affect your job, then publicly moaning about it?

Nah. This guy:

We probably have. It’s likely not a case of the media making things up; it‘s more like they’re getting tipped off about the various candidates we’ve been speaking to and are then exaggerating how likely they are to get the job because “X manager has been spoken to but he’s one of a number of candidates and probably won’t get the job’ isn’t much of a story.

If we had an abundance of more senior creative midfielders, or the money to buy them, you might have a point. As it is, we’ll very likely need him in our squad next season, and possibly in the first team.

Oh bloody hell.

I get the sense that we're exploring options beyond the names currently linked and may not appoint for a little while yet. This would not be surprising as it would follow the pattern of previous appointments.

If Southgate leaves and Howe doesn't get sacked by Newcastle, the job will be Potter's if he wants it.

Plus the fact that poaching a manager will cost money, which we'll probably want to push into the next set of accounts.

Yes, it definitely would be better to get somebody in soon, but it's not as urgent as it would be if Maresca had quit during the season. If the choice is between rushing to appoint a 2nd or 3rd choice manager, or waiting to get a better one, I suspect the club will choose the latter.

In practical terms, it won't make that much difference if it happens next week or the end of the month. The players won't return until the first weekend in July and we won't be buying anybody until then. The club has probably already decided who they'll sell if a suitable offer comes in. Obviously it would be better to get somebody in earlier so to start planning for next season, but we have the luxury of being able to take our time to get the right man given that there are currently no games to play and no players to coach.

Today’s the day, lads! The odds on Moyes are going to shorten from 12/1 to 11/1 because of a passing comment on twitter by somebody with 19 followers, and it’s gonna be EPIC!

Yep. Marsch was heavily odds-on before we chose Smith, and Parker was the same before Maresca. It’s a pattern.

Not yet, as far as I know. But give it a few days - by then a new name will probably be the next shoo-in for the job…

One or two self-styled ITKs have claimed that Cooper has been offered the job and is thinking it over, but no credible journalist has reported it.

Literally nothing has changed in the past few days. There are no credible reports that he’s been offered it, just that he’s being considered along with others. The odds haven’t budged an inch. The club probably hasn’t made a decision yet and may still be interviewing candidates.

Of course I can't 'prove' it, but the general view among Forest fans is that those transfers in the summer of 2022 were being made above Cooper's head. There are even stories of him turning up to the training ground and not knowing who certain players were because they'd been signed without his input. Their transfer activity that summer had all the hallmarks of an owner going a bit mad rather than a planned strategy with full input from the manager.

It wasn't him spending it. This shouldn't be ignored - the amount of players coming in very likely made his job much harder, not easier. Chelsea have massively underperformed in recent years because their owners have adopted a similar policy. It doesn't mean he's right for us, but I think it should be acknowledged that the working environment at Forest since they got promoted has been far from ideal.

NOT guaranteed. Lots of speculation but most reports suggest only that he's being considered, not that he's been chosen. Odds haven't budged at all, so there's not even much money being put on it.

Are you feeling unwell?

He may not be reliable, but I find it more plausible that we're talking to several candidates than we've just gone all in on Cooper without considering other options.

For the love of God, will people please stop referring to minus 15 points as if there's any chance it could actually happen...

Yes, this stands out as a major red flag for Cooper. However, it's worth noting that this is a problem that seems to have only afflicted him in the PL. In Forest's promotion season, they had the second best away record (they came 9th in the home form table). In his two seasons with Swansea, they came 5th and 3rd respectively in the away record table. So it's not like he's a manager who has always relied on home form - he just didn't find a way to set Forest up away in the PL. Still concerning, but perhaps more nuanced than saying he has an 'inability to win away'.