Nottingham Forest Appoint Oliver Glasner as New Head Coach
Nottingham Forest have turned to serial European winner Oliver Glasner as their new head coach, making one of the boldest appointments of the summer – and reigniting a simmering feud with Crystal Palace in the process.
From survival to sacking – and a ruthless reset
Glasner replaces Vitor Pereira, dismissed last week in a decision that stunned much of the Premier League. Pereira had delivered exactly what owners usually crave: safety and a European run. Forest stayed in the top flight and reached the Europa League semi-finals, where they fell to eventual champions Aston Villa.
It still wasn’t enough.
Owner Evangelos Marinakis has never hidden his ambition. Survival is a minimum, not a milestone. The message in Pereira’s abrupt exit and Glasner’s arrival is clear: Forest want to move from clinging on to the Premier League to shaping it.
A coach with a habit of lifting trophies
If the brief is to win, Glasner’s CV fits the job description.
The 51-year-old arrives on the back of a remarkable spell in south London. He led Crystal Palace to two major trophies in two seasons, first lifting the FA Cup, then adding the Europa Conference League with a 1-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano in May. Demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League because of ownership complications at the club, Palace could easily have drifted. Glasner turned that frustration into a European triumph.
Before that, he wrote his name into Eintracht Frankfurt folklore. In 2021-22, Frankfurt claimed the Europa League, their first major European title in more than 40 years. It was a run built on organisation, intensity and a team that relished the biggest nights.
Wolfsburg, Frankfurt, Palace. Each time, Glasner left behind a side that punched above its weight on the biggest stages. Forest clearly believe they are next.
Glasner’s vision – and Forest’s demand
Glasner spoke with the conviction of a coach who knows exactly what he has signed up for.
He described himself as “delighted” to join Forest and talked of “a clear vision” shared with Marinakis and the club’s hierarchy. The key words from his first address were “trust”, “commitment” and “potential” – a manager staking his reputation on a long-term project, but under no illusions about the expectations.
He called Forest “a club with incredible prestige and history, a two-time European Champion with one of the most passionate fan bases in football”, and set out a simple aim: build a team that can take the club to the next level and make supporters proud.
The short term, though, is not about slogans. Glasner’s “immediate focus” is on meeting players and staff as pre-season begins and getting to work on the training pitch. His promise was blunt: he will “work tirelessly” to represent Forest with pride and bring success on the pitch. No caveats, no hedging.
Marinakis backs “a winner”
If there were any doubts about why Forest made this move, Marinakis removed them.
“In our discussions with Oliver, it was clear that we share the same vision, the same ambition and the same relentless desire to succeed,” the owner said, underlining that this is not a consolidation hire. It is a statement.
Marinakis spoke of his long-held goal: to re-establish Forest “among the leading clubs in England and Europe”. Competing is not enough. The target is to “win, to challenge for major honours” and to build a club that can stand proudly over many years.
His description of Glasner was pointed. “Oliver is a winner,” Marinakis said, crediting his “leadership, his personality and the style of football his teams play”. Forest believe they have found the man to lead “the next chapter”. With that, the bar is set.
The Palace tension that won’t go away
Glasner’s arrival at the City Ground comes with a twist. This is not just a high-profile coaching move; it drops straight into an ongoing tension between Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace.
Last season, the two clubs were effectively competing for one Europa League spot off the pitch. UEFA eventually ruled that Forest would enter the Europa League and Palace would not, because then co-owner John Textor also held a controlling interest in Lyon. Palace were pushed down to the Conference League.
The decision did not go down quietly in south London. Palace supporters responded with a graphic banner targeting Marinakis during a 1-1 draw with Forest at Selhurst Park on August 24. The FA charged Palace with misconduct over the incident.
The irony? Glasner then turned that Conference League “consolation” into a historic moment, guiding Palace to European glory and securing Europa League football for them next season. Forest, by contrast, now find themselves without European competition.
The tension flickered again in Forest’s official announcement of Glasner. His work at Selhurst Park was referenced, his trophies acknowledged, but the club stopped short of naming Crystal Palace. Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt were mentioned explicitly. Palace were not.
It felt deliberate. A small detail, but in the context of recent history, a telling one.
A new era, and a demanding stage
So Forest step into pre-season with a coach who has lifted European silverware in two different countries and turned underdogs into contenders. The squad he inherits has already shown it can survive and scrap; Glasner’s challenge is to add structure, belief and a winning edge that lasts beyond a single campaign.
This is not a quiet rebuild. It is a high-wire act at a club that expects progress quickly, under an owner who has made it clear that simply staying up is not a plan.
Glasner has walked into pressure cookers before and walked out with trophies. Now he takes on a club that still measures itself against European nights from another era.
The question is no longer whether he is a winner. It’s whether Nottingham Forest are ready to match his standards.
