This week, Nottingham Forest announced the hiring of Nuno Espirito Santo as their new head coach. The Portuguese coach replaces Steve Cooper, who was with the team for just over two years.
As Espirito Santo gets settled at the City Ground, some information from his time at Wolves may cause concern for the club’s die-hard supporters.
The 49-year-old spent four years at Molineux, leading the team to promotion to the Premier League and eventually into Europe. He left with a 47% win percentage and ultimately, the club was in a better place than when he arrived in the West Midlands.
Like any manager, he was not without his shortcomings, though, and now that Espirito Santo is at the City Ground, Forest supporters may be a little concerned about one of them.
The supporters of Forest will want Espirito Santo to address whatever he did at Wolves.
This morning, a piece from The Athletic evaluated Espirito Santo and some of the work he completed at the Wolves.
A brief excerpt from the article implied that the head coach wasn’t too fond of Wolves’ academy system.
It is alleged that he didn’t even go to under-21 games, instead depending on his agent and close buddy Jorge Mendes when he required a player.
One thing that Forest supporters usually agree on is that the academy is the beating heart of the team.
Mendes, a Espirito Santo agent, has had some prior experience with Forest, albeit with very little success. Even though the club is already in the Premier League, such a plan would undoubtedly cause fans great concern.
Academy interest can impress the new head coach.
To be fair, since the team was promoted to the Premier League, Steve Cooper hadn’t truly brought in a player from the developmental divisions.
With 42 players added since that incredible day at Wembley, naturally, the previous boss had plenty to choose from in his senior squad; however, the academy certainly shouldn’t be discounted and Espirito Santo can impress Forest fans by taking an interest in it.
Given the current situation, it will be difficult for anyone to come in from the B-Team and make an impression in the Premier League. Oliver Hammond did make the bench a couple of times, while Detlef Esapa Osong came on for a few minutes in the Carabao Cup.
However, Espirito Santo shouldn’t ignore it. Over the years, Forest has earned millions in transfer fees, which makes the team extremely proud.
It is unfair to judge the new Forest head coach solely on his actions while he was at Wolves; perhaps he gained insight from the experience. But dismissing Forest’s academy won’t cut it, and Espirito Santo can’t treat the academy with the same attitude he did at Wolves.
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