Jamie Carragher has shared what Steve Cooper told him was an absolute nightmare about managing Nottingham Forest. The Reds departed with their head coach on Tuesday to end his two-year tenure.
Nuno Espirito Santo is the man tasked with reviving the club’s fortunes. He checks in after spells managing Wolves, Tottenham and Al-Ittihad, with Forest his third club in the Premier League.
Carragher was a huge fan of Cooper. He’s spoken fondly of the Forest head coach previously, with his son James having been managed by him previously in the Liverpool academy.
Evangelos Marinakis decided to pull the plug on Cooper’s time at Forest. It came on the back of one win in 13; including a 5-0 drubbing at Fulham where Marinakis tossed his matchday pass into a bush outside of the stadium.
Carragher shares private conversation with Cooper
The Sky Sports pundit has explained what Cooper has told him in the aftermath of his departure from Forest. It’s fair to say that Cooper will be crestfallen to lose his job given the rapport that he built with the club’s fan base.
Carragher has now explained what Cooper told him about managing Forest. Unsurprisingly, it had something to do with the sheer number of players that he was having to deal with at the football club.
Carragher told the Stick to Football podcast: “I spoke to Steve Cooper. He said I do think that is probably the one club where the manager, and I know this, there are players coming in where he hasn’t got a clue and he said something about it. I thought fair play to him.
“He said it’s not the player’s fault. The manager can’t just go I don’t want him. They are good lads, he said. He said two or three of them are good players as well. So he can’t just go I never bought this one, I’m not playing him. They’re decent lads. And he said that training ground is a nightmare in that sense how do you put a session on?
“He said he has a lad from Argentina who scored the winning penalty in the World Cup. He said I can’t even get him on the bench. When you are doing the team shape or whatever it’s not like you are saying to a couple of young lads to go and train with the under-23s. They are proper players.”
Cooper bemoans number of players at Forest
The recruitment plan definitely needs more joined-up thinking at Forest and Cooper probably has a point. The Reds signed 23 players following promotion to the Premier League, another seven in January and a further 13 during the summer just gone.
At any level that just isn’t sustainable at all. It’s hard to imagine any football club being truly successful with that number of signing on a frequent basis and it’s now important that the club learn the error of their ways.
Cooper leaves Forest with the best wishes of absolutely everyone. He’s a top head coach and perhaps more crucially in this day and age, he’s a top man, highlighted by the work he’s done for the city and community.
Forest now embark on a different chapter under Espirito Santo. It feels likely that he will want new signings in January and hopefully, the hierarchy can prioritise quality over quantity this time around.
Receive a digest of our best Nottingham Forest content each week direct to your mailbox
