FOUR managers in one season?! Sean Dyche sacking the latest twist in Nottingham Forest's demise - but ex-Arsenal chief Edu is most to blame for unforgivable slide towards relegation

Dyche actually posted the best win percentage of any Forest manager under Marinakis (47.1%), ahead of Steve Cooper and Martin O'Neill. He recorded 10 wins in 25 games across all competitions alongside 10 losses and five draws, and took Forest into the Europa League knockout stage playoffs.

He also took over a team languishing in 18th in the Premier League with only one win from their first eight fixtures. Confidence in the squad had plummeted after Ange Postecoglou's 39-day stint in the dugout, and Dyche lifted it quickly, delivering four victories in his first eight outings.

Forest also started the new year strongly in the league, beating fellow strugglers West Ham 2-1 at the London Stadium before holding leaders Arsenal to a 0-0 draw. However, wedged in between was a shocking FA Cup third-round defeat to Championship side Wrexham, which saw Dyche come under huge pressure for the first time.

A divide between coach and fans began forming, and a subsequent away win at Brentford and progress in the Europa League only served to paper over the cracks. Dyche kicked off February with a disappointing 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace at the City Ground and a dismal 3-1 loss in a six-pointer at Leeds, which made Wednesday night's clash with Wolves an absolute must-win.

Forest ultimately came up short again, after peppering the Wolves' goal with 35 shots. Cameras panned to a visibly exasperated Marinakis throughout the contest, and as boos rained down on Dyche after the final whistle, it was obvious what would come next.

According to The Telegraph, Marinakis called a crisis meeting after the stalemate, and despite resistance from some board members, decided sacking Dyche was necessary to salvage the season. Doubts had been growing in the Greek owner's mind for some time.

Some players are said to have approached Marinakis to voice their displeasure over Dyche's tactics and managerial approach. The board was also allegedly frustrated with the no-nonsense Englishman's comments after games, as he regularly appeared to try to direct any fault away from himself and onto the players.

Indeed, after the penalty shootout defeat to Wrexham, Dyche ranted about the fringe players in the squad: "They showed their hand and won't be knocking on my door saying, 'Why aren't I playing?' again, that's for sure, that first-half group. I could have taken all of them off [at half-time]. You have to look in the mirror because that's unacceptable to the badge."

After a 3-0 hammering by his former club Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in December, Dyche said: "I don’t think we started right, the whole collective feeling in the group. We were well short. 

"We’re trying to get the mentality in the players that everything they and the club wanted is there in front of them. It’s not going to go away so they have to be ready all the time, every day in training and every matchday. Then, when you come to places like this, you’re ready to go and impact the game. I didn’t think we had a feel of that today right from the off."

Dyche was seen as the ideal cure for Postecoglou's chaos initially; a pragmatic coach who favours direct football. However, once results took a turn for the worse, the players began to wonder whether the ex-Burnley boss had any plan B, as reported by the Daily Mail.

Physical improvement came above ball work in training sessions, and Dyche demanded a lot of running, which alienated certain stars and left others feeling fatigued heading into game days. All of that translated to a brand of football that was the definition of dreary.

Implementing a rigid, low-possession 4-2-3-1 formation that became a 4-5-1 when defending, Dyche favoured long balls up to a target man, usually summer signing Igor Jesus, in a bid to gain territory in the most efficient way possible. That is, and has always been, his way.

It should have been foreseen that team talisman Morgan Gibbs-White would be stifled in that system, and Elliot Anderson's passing range would go to waste in a far deeper role than usual. Dyche also shot himself in the foot by playing centre-midfielder Nicolas Dominguez on the left wing and almost completely overlooking James McAtee and Taiwo Awoniyi.

Forest clearly only thought about the short-term when appointing Dyche. He was never going to be the man to bring the maximum out of a squad boasting so much talent.

It's not Dyche's fault they got it wrong. Forest are in this mess because of poor decision-making behind the scenes, primarily from their global head of football, Edu Gaspar.

The former Arsenal sporting director famously butted heads with Nuno Espirito Santo last summer, which ultimately led to the Portuguese being axed just three games into the campaign. Edu was responsible for the 13 signings Forest made in that transfer window - most of which came later than Nuno wanted and differed from those on his target list - which cost the club almost £200 million ($273m), and none of them have lived up to expectations.

Brazilian frontman Jesus has done okay, but only two of his 11 goals have come in the Premier League, while the likes of Dan Ndoye, Omari Hutchinson and Arnaud Kalimuendo have made practically zero impact. According to the Mail, Edu also overruled Dyche in the January transfer window.

Dyche wanted Premier League proven performers such as Dwight McNeil - who he worked with at both Everton and Burnley - Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope, and Brighton centre-half Lewis Dunk, knowing the importance of strength and grit from his past experience in relegation battles. Edu instead opted for 22-year-old German left-back Luca Netz, Manchester City's No.2 shot-stopper Stefan Ortega and Italian striker Lorenzo Lucca on loan from Napoli, where he had only scored one Serie A goal in the first half of the season.

It remains to be seen whether Lucca will be able to adequately fill in for long-term injury absentee Chris Wood, who did not make a single appearance under Dyche and has been sorely missed. There is an argument to suggest Forest had enough cover already with Jesus and Awoniyi, and that McNeil would have been a far more useful addition.

Marinakis is often made out to be a problematic character by outsiders, and sacking a third manager in the space of seven months won't help him alter that public perception. It is, however, his ambition, drive and financial might that put Forest back on a course towards the top end of English football after so many years in the wilderness.

Nuno was also central to their rise, which is why Marinakis handed him a new contract in June last year, but he then made his position untenable by publicly throwing his toys out of the pram. Although it's fair to say that choosing Postecoglou to succeed Nuno was a misstep, Marinakis's reasoning was sound; the endearing ex-Tottenham boss's entertaining style of play was more befitting for a club aiming to break up the 'Big Six' monopoly in the Premier League.

Dyche, too, made sense to offer immediate stability. They were both miscalculations, not outright blunders. The same cannot be said, however, for the appointment of Edu. 

"Recruitment has been woeful, and Edu is responsible for that - he was also the one who fell out with Nuno and put all of this in motion," says GOAL senior writer and die-hard Nottingham Forest supporter Chris Burton. "Edu should never have been given so much influence. He’s dictating who is signed over the manager, which is always a recipe for disaster. Marinakis can’t run everything himself and needs to be able to trust others. Edu is not delivering on that show of faith."

Burton added on Forest's chances of finishing the season on a high: "We can stay up and that's why the board have acted now. We need someone to motivate the players again - another Cooper type with more tactical acumen." Three years on from his exit, Cooper still holds a special place in the hearts of the Forest faithful for ending their 23-year Premier League exile and creating an unshakable sense of unity in the dressing room, with many believing he deserved more time.

The man billed as the frontrunner to step into Dyche's shoes, Vitor Pereira, had a similar effect at Wolves. The Portuguese tactician inherited a squad facing relegation in December 2024, five points from safety in 19th, and guided them to a 16th-place finish, masterminding huge wins over Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester United along the way.

Pereira is still highly respected despite a sour end to his time at Molineux, with bosses wielding the axe at the start of November. Wolves went into a steep decline, but only after the manager's transfer wishes were ignored and talismanic trio Matheus Cunha, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Nelson Semedo departed.

BBC Sport claims that Forest have already opened talks with Pereira, who previously worked with Marinakis at Olympiacos, winning a league and cup double. There is no reason he couldn't galvanise the team like Cooper once did; it's certainly not as daunting a job as Wolves was.

Forest have more than enough quality to stay up, and enjoy a deep run in the Europa League, with Fenerbahce up next in the playoffs. Relegation is unthinkable. If Pereira or whoever gets the role next can steer the ship away from danger, the real work will begin in the summer, and getting rid of Edu should be the first port of call.