Four managers in one season 

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Nottingham Forest have sacked their third manager of the season, following the dismissal of Sean Dyche after Wednesday night’s 0-0 draw with Wolves. The result meant that the Reds had picked up just two wins and three draws from their last 10 league games and now sit just three points above the relegation spots in the Premier League. Forest’s decision to part ways with Dyche means that the English manager’s time at the club lasted just 114 days and spanned just 25 games across all competitions.

“Nottingham Forest Football Club can confirm that Sean Dyche has been relieved of his duties as head coach,” read a short statement on the club’s website in the early hours of Thursday. “We would like to thank Sean and his staff for their efforts during their time at the club and we wish them the best of luck for the future.” Dyche was initially appointed to replace Ange Postecoglou, whose own spell at the City Ground lasted just 39 days, prior to the club sacking Nuno Espírito Santo in September.

As such, that now means that Forest are set to appoint their fourth manager of the season in a bid to fight off the very real threat of relegation. Since winning promotion to the Premier League in 2022, Forest have appointed four managers. Once they do find a successor to Dyche, it will put the club on five managers in less than four years. Only two Premier League clubs have made more managerial changes in that time – Chelsea (six) and Wolves (seven).

Over the course of his time at Forest, Dyche led the club to six wins, four draws and eight defeats in 18 Premier League games, amassing 22 points. Within the context of the wider league, that means that Forest were actually the twelfth best team during Dyche’s time at the club. However, due to the tenacity of the bottom half of the table, it also meant that Forest picked up just two more points than fellow strugglers West Ham and struggled to put significant distance between themselves and the bottom three.

Such form was clearly deemed unacceptable, especially when we consider how much money the club have spent on new signings. In terms of expenditure on transfer fees, Forest’s bill of €241.9 million is the seventh highest in the Premier League this season and their net spend of €111.6m is the eighth highest in the league this season, once we factor in income from player sales. As such, only seven squads in the English top-flight cost more to assemble in transfer fees than Forest’s, which perhaps explains why the club are now on the hunt for a fourth manager in a bid to realise the potential in their star-studded team.