Why Glasner chose the Marinakis gamble

It was a surprise when Oliver Glasner was revealed as the new Nottingham Forest manager last month.

After a successful spell at Crystal Palace, the 51-year-old Austrian seemed to have set his sights on Europe.

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Very few would have expected him to end up at Forest, considering the tumultuous nature of the job and the presence of Evangelos Marinakis, a notoriously combustible owner who had gone through four managers at the club in less than 12 months. And yet, here Glasner is.

The appeal for Glasner is clear. He is a top coach with a clear idea of how he wants his teams to play and has already built considerable stature across Europe.

At Palace, he led the club to the Community Shield, an FA Cup triumph and the UEFA Conference League, the latter serving as his final act in south London. He also managed the club through some difficult circumstances, particularly as Palace sold some of their best players without adequately replacing them.

Glasner hinted that the club's inability to match his ambitions was one of the reasons for his departure, with Palace eventually finishing 15th after ending the previous season seventh. His reputation was already well established before Palace, though. Glasner put himself firmly on the European map with Eintracht Frankfurt, leading them to the Europa League title in 2022 and famously knocking Barcelona out 4-3 on aggregate in the quarterfinals.

But if Glasner is an obvious attraction for Forest, the attraction of Forest for Glasner is much harder to understand.

Two-time European Cup winners Forest have faced relegation battles in three of their four seasons since returning to the Premier League in 2022. A seventh-place finish under Nuno Espirito Santo and a run to the Europa League semifinals last season were the obvious highs.

The other defining feature, however, has been instability. And much of that has been down to Marinakis.

The Greek businessman has never been shy of making swift decisions when things go wrong. Since taking over Forest in 2017, he has gone through numerous managers, with Glasner becoming the 11th permanent manager at City Ground.

At Olympiacos, the Greek club he also owns, there have been nine permanent managers since May 2017.

He has shown the same impatience there, too. Former Brighton manager Oscar Garcia lasted 12 games in 2018. Carlos Corberan was gone after just 11 games in August and September 2022, while Carlos Carvalhal's second spell at the club ended after 11 matches in February 2024.

Then there was Ange Postecoglou, who was dismissed just 39 days and eight matches into his tenure, reportedly told he had been sacked within minutes of the final whistle.

The pressure is not limited to results. Marinakis has also developed a reputation for intense oversight and interference.

So, when Glasner explains that Marinakis' ambition was one of the reasons he decided to take the Forest job, it does make one wonder.

“They contacted me all the time and I always said no. I said to him [Marinakis], honestly, that I didn’t consider Nottingham Forest,” Glasner told British daily The Telegraph.

“You don’t have European football and I’m used to playing European football and like to play European football – just winning the Conference League, winning the Europa League, playing in the Champions League.

“But then I had a more detailed look and there are two reasons why I changed my mind and I told him. Number one is I think there is more potential in the squad than they have shown. And number two is you, it’s your ambition because I am very ambitious. We had a really fantastic dinner and spoke about everything.”

That dinner took place at Marinakis' favourite restaurant, Papaioannou, on the beachside in Vouliagmeni, Athens. Apparently, it changed Glasner's mind.

The central and most intriguing part of this appointment is the paradox. Glasner had every reason to avoid Forest because of Marinakis' reputation, yet Marinakis himself became one of the reasons he accepted.

He knew what he was getting into. He had seen Forest's recent history and would have been well aware of the revolving door in the dugout.

Since Nuno was sacked three games into the 2025-26 season in August following a falling-out with Marinakis, Forest have rapidly gone through head coaches.

Marinakis had already infamously come down onto the pitch to confront Nuno following Forest's 2-2 draw against Leicester City late in the 2024-25 season. Forest had been in contention for Champions League qualification at the time but managed only eight points from their final eight matches.

Nuno was gone soon after. Postecoglou then lasted eight Premier League games without a win, while Sean Dyche's relationship with several members of the squad deteriorated before Vitor Pereira arrived.

The turbulence eventually resulted in Forest finishing 16th, one point and one place behind Palace.

And Pereira's departure offered another reminder of how quickly things can change at the City Ground.

The Portuguese, who had replaced Dyche in February and guided Forest to safety, said his sacking came as a “complete surprise to me and without any warning”. He was “disappointed and saddened” after learning of his dismissal through an email just before midnight.

It was particularly surprising because Pereira reportedly had already been planning pre-season in Portugal and had been involved in discussions over transfers.

Glasner did not simply take the job without doing his homework. He looked at Forest's recent history, saw the chaos, understood the risks and still decided the potential was worth it. 
And for Glasner, the target is not simply to qualify for Europe once and call it a success, but to double down on that ambition and make it a habit.

“I said to Mr Marinakis, and to everyone, that it shouldn’t be the goal to play European football once. We don’t want to be a one-hit wonder,” he said.

“I have my best times when we exceed the expectations because then everyone is happy, in the club and around the club.”

Perhaps that is what Marinakis sold him in that restaurant in Athens -- not stability, but ambition, something Glasner says keeps him going. Glasner saw a squad he believed had more potential than it had shown and an owner whose ambitions, at least in that meeting, matched his own. 

For a coach who says his best moments come when he exceeds expectations, perhaps that challenge was more appealing than the security of a less demanding job.

And Marinakis had shown that ambition before, loosening the purse strings to spend around £160 million on 22 players following Forest’s promotion to the Premier League in 2022. Perhaps Glasner is betting that behind all the volatility, there is a club ambitious enough to match him.