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NO WAY! ABSOLUTELY YES!

Arguably the most disliked Australian to show up in this part of England since a villainous hotelier from a long-running series starred in a local pantomime two decades ago, Ange Postecoglou’s time in charge at the club’s home could hardly have begun more poorly. Although the boos and catcalls that TV star the Neighbours star was subjected to during Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood were mostly in fun, the venom of the criticism directed at the Forest manager during Nottingham Forest’s Europa League loss by their Scandinavian opponents on the previous night was so severe that it is tough to see the coach who has been in charge for only half a dozen games will still be around to endure the festive cat-calls this December. Multiple times the 60-year-old’s shouts of “Watch out behind!” went ignored by his hapless players, especially when the visiting team scored their opening pair from badly organized set-pieces. A long way from the joyous atmosphere they’d expected, Forest’s first UEFA fixture on home soil in almost 30 seasons ended in rancour with the crowd telling the boss he’d be “fired by tomorrow”, before chanting for his well-liked, recently dismissed predecessor, Nuno Espírito Santo.

“I understand the atmosphere won’t be positive, I know how fans feel, especially about me, but I don’t fret over it, I’ve been here before,” Postecoglou growled in response, while aiming the floor around his feet to the now customary intense glare. “I’m never shocked in this sport, that’s the current environment. It seems that’s the way things are going. It’s nothing I can control. Supporters are upset, they are allowed to have an opinion on it. I listened to what they said.” Even if those Forest fans are allowed to complain, it could be argued that they might be wiser picking a more fitting focus for their ire. In the end, it was Evangelos Marinakis who sacked a beloved manager to appoint the Australian, who was always going to start under pressure. Observing from the executive seats as he went through a repertoire of sullen, fierce looks unseen since that time he learned Tottenham had initiated Morgan Gibbs-White’s buyout option, the shipping magnate has up to now dodged any kind of major backlash from the crowd, a good number of whom remain convinced the sun shines out of his generously upholstered nether regions.

As the clock ticked past noon on Friday, speculation of the coach’s imminent dismissal proved to be greatly exaggerated and it appears his job remains protected until such time as … actually, it’s not. While the Forest head coach can offer a partial defense that he has had minimal opportunity on the practice field to instil the style and strategic detail that caused the London club dropping a majority of their Premier League fixtures last term, his team’s fixture list remains forbidding and relentless. With Newcastle, Chelsea, the Portuguese giants and Bournemouth coming soon it is hard to predict from where a first Postecoglou win will come before what could likely be the biggest dismissal-decider against the Red Devils.

COVERAGE ON MAJOR SITE

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TOP STATEMENT

“I steer clear of heated debates, who names people, actually, I’ll refrain from naming names. However I feel there was a slight disregard, even a bit of rudeness too, with no one giving you a ‘good morning’, a ‘good afternoon’” – the Brazilian winger slams Manchester United over the cold atmosphere at Old Trafford, where conviviality has seemingly headed south like the team’s form.

FAN MAILBAG

Is it true the coach has assured Forest fans he always wins a match in his second season?” – a fan.

Far be it for me to seek to emphasize the stereotype that Arsenal supporters are the sport’s most complaining followers, but a letter-writer (yesterday’s Football Daily letters) does make you ponder. Pointing out that rather than two games a week, Arsenal are having to play over two matches weekly (wow, 30 additional minutes!) over a certain trio of weeks (for a team with double coverage in all roles to boot) is not the discussion-closer he might think. Instead it’s just going to have the tiniest violin ensemble tuning up their instruments once more, while the rest of football roll their collective eyes” – Andrew Parker.

I can’t work out whether your recent correspondents (on two or three games a week) are deliberately, mockingly repeating one of the classic instances of web discussion (family-friendly), or accidentally confirming the famous quote about historical events repeating themselves as farce” – a respondent.

If it’s any solace, the previous correspondent (the last mailbag), I’m the same [wanting rich Premier League sides to lose in Europe]. From the time Forest stopped competing in Europe, Uefa football for me has induced a state of helpless fury, interrupted now and then by the Romanian side and, maybe, the La Liga outfit. I don’t give a hoot for the Merseyside club’s successes from the eighties right up to the 2005 final. I’m indifferent to {‘that