Evangelos Marinakis often takes action when the crowd turns against a head coach. The Nottingham Forest owner watched from his throne, enduring 90 minutes of inept finishing and sloppy play in a desperate goalless draw against rock‑bottom Wolves, resulting in boos and insults aimed at Sean Dyche at full time.
Thirty-five shots came and went for Forest, few testing José Sá but the patience of the crowd was thoroughly tested. It was a missed opportunity for the hosts, who moved only one point further north of 18th-placed West Ham, when three were there for the taking.
It was the most efforts at goal without scoring in almost a decade of Premier League football but only the scoreline is relevant, bringing questions about Forest potentially looking for a fourth head coach this season, although that would feel drastic and premature.
“There’s no lack of respect for me from the owner here, he’s been first class to me since I’ve been here,” Dyche said.
“People can demand change and then it’s up to the owners whether they change it or not. I just work very hard. I care about this club, I’ve made that clear, so do my staff. I’m working very hard, I’m not saying the players are not by the way, but we certainly are as a staff. If the owner wants to make a change, that’s the way football is now.”
Dyche is not here to bring cutting edge, instead to fix the problems left behind by Ange Postecoglou. The former Burnley manager has lost only once in six games but things are never so straightforward at Forest.
Dyche showed a level of evolution by playing with two wingers but he was not rewarded.
There was tension inside the ground from the off, wanting a reaction after the defeat by Leeds on Friday night. Forest were the dominant side from the first whistle but too much of the play concluded with a confused finish or wayward pass.
Lorenzo Lucca, making his home debut, earned the ire of Marinakis. He was part of a six‑on‑one counter-attack in the first half but thrashed over the bar when a goal looked the more straightforward outcome. The Italian is still trying to get to grips with the Premier League but looked uncomfortable leading the line.
“Incredibly frustrated obviously for such a dominant performance as a whole,” Dyche said. “He [Lucca] does everything right, he runs 50 yards, full tilt to try and get there apart from the finish. But that was a number of times tonight, things flashing across the box around that final touch and that final moment to just get it in the net somewhere and then hook or crook.”
If one incident summed up Forest’s night, it was the club-record signing Omari Hutchinson sending two corners in a row straight into the side netting. The crowd showed their displeasure, leading to the captain, Morgan Gibbs‑White, to gesticulate and call for unity between players and supporters when it was most needed.
Wolves showed why they are going down, and were passive in the first half but improved after the break. It took them almost an hour to have a shot on target, as they were pegged back, defending the box valiantly as pressure mounted.
Morato should have bundled in from a yard but Sá was in the right place to save. Neco Williams smashed over from inside the area, leaving Forest to consider trademarking “just one of those nights”.
It could have been worse for Forest if Mateus Mané had scored in stoppage time but it still felt like a defeat to home fans.
