Its de-ja-vu for Nottingham Forest fans, if you cast your mind back 12 months Mark Warburton had just been sacked, despite guiding them to safety on the final day of the season just six months prior. The club escaped relatively unscathed from the relegation battle which saw them stay in England's second division with a 3-0 home win over Ipswich that saw the now ex Nottingham Forest striker Britt Assombalonga score a brace that cemented Forest's place in the Championship for another season.
Forest were two points above the drop when Warburton took over on March 14th 2017, but guiding an underperforming side to safety without a transfer window was clearly not enough to allow him to take charge for the entirety of the following season.
By December 12th 2017, just one day after an embarressing 1-0 loss to struggling Sunderland, Warburton was sacked, his term in charge lasting just nine months, only managed the side 37 times. After his sacking last season Nottingham Forest were put into the hands of the under 23's manager Garry Brazil, this the third time Brazil has had to make the step up to manage the first team in the past five years.
Thankfully, this time Gary Brazil's spell was short, lasting just eight days in charge before former Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka became the new manager, sadly the ex Real Madrid assistant manager was unable to have a positive effect on the club despite spending upwards of 20 million pounds. The Portuguese coach invested heavily in young talent from abroad, though it seems it is experience that the youthful Forest side seem to be lacking. Karanka lasted 3 days short of a year in charge, before his sacking on the 11th January 2019. An almost carbon copy of the clubs management activity just a year prior.
Once again begging the question what are the owner looking for in a managerial sense? How can you give a manager less than a calendar year to sort out a club that were fighting to stay in England's second division just a year ago?
Having explored the expansive footballing style associated with managers from the continent, in the form of Karanka, Forest fans demanded someone with a sense of familiarity, in an attempt to bring some pride back into the club.
Martin O'neill, a two time winner of the European Cup with Nottingham Forest was without a job after leaving his post as the manager of the Republic of Ireland international side, the board wasted no time securing his services just a week after the sacking of Aitor Karanka. The ex-Irish international brought in another fan favourite in the form of ex Forest starlet Roy Keane as his assistant.
O'Neill may have the fans on side due to his heroics as he guided the club to two European cups in the late 70's, but with a reputation for agricultural football the honey moon period may be cut short. Nottingham Forest FC have now been out of the top flight of English football since 1997, unfortunately it will take more than a familiar face and route one football for them to return to the Premier League anytime soon. O'Neill has now been in charge for three games at the club, bringing him two losses, to Bristol City and Birmingham City, as well as a win at home to Wigan. Unless him and his right hand Roy Keane can bring some passion back to a lacklustre Forest side O'neill could become Nottingham Forest's 17th sacked manager since 2006.
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