03 Sep 2026 07:04:18
So the window closes and we look like a weaker squad, with two decent players coming in and going straight out to Mr Ms preferred club! Forest went in for Leon Bailey of Villa, but were told no way was he leaving. So now I read that Leon Bailey has signed for Olympiakos!
This stinks!
03 Sep 2026 11:29:12
This is simply a misunderstanding. It's a way of investing in both Forest and Olympiacos.
Many big clubs buy players and ship them out to other clubs they either have an interest in or their owner is involved with. Why? It is Marinakis' money, not Forest's, and if the players are sold for any money, it goes into Forest's account.
1. The player is an asset for the owning club - Forest in this case. But the owning club is not paying their wages.
2. If the player does well, their value increases, or they come to the owning club and improve their squad. Even if their value goes down, whatever they are worth is still money Marinakis has put into Forest when they are sold.
3. It doesn't cost the owning club money. The money belongs to the owner of the club, who has put the money in themselves, in our case, at least.
It is a way of allowing Marinakis to buy more players for Olympiacos without breaking FIFA financial rules. It doesn't harm Forest at all - in fact the money is buying Forest an asset we can liquidate into cash in the future.
Effectively, it allows Marinakis to invest in players for his other clubs, but the actual money goes into Forest's assets when we sell the player. Both clubs benefit from the money spent, not just Olympiacos.
{Ed001's Note - it is not just that though. We were discussing this last night on the pod, why did Marinakis not bring the best players from Olympiakos over to Forest? They didn't sell for big money to Hull(iirc), and they were in positions you needed players, so could have helped Forest out a lot. It is a very odd way to run the multi-club model.}
03 Sep 2026 12:28:39
It's not something any of us should feel comfortable with, really. It's a get around for clubs. We may benefit financially from it ultimately, but it's all noise and I wish they were banned.
RC, on another post you said we were stronger than pre the window and Anderson was irreplaceable. A great player (we've had 4-6 months to plan for his departure), but we've tried to replace him with an Austrian on a free who has a terrible injury record and McAtee who doesn't naturally play there but has talent. Both are unproven.
OG obviously expected more than Munoz - see his comments in the last week - and we went around bidding for players like anyone's business (and failed).
We obviously thought we needed more (which I agree with).
A lot rests on Delap, but if he doesn't score 10/12 goals, we can't be top half. The most likely scenario is we scrap around in the bottom half but don't get relegated. But I wouldn't rule out a relegation scrap. What if Sels or MGW get injured?
OG is here for the 13.5m a year. A truly mammoth package. He's a great manager, but I suspect he thought we'd get more (hence the numerous bids).
03 Sep 2026 13:09:44
We definitely have a squad place empty.
03 Sep 2026 13:17:30
Oh, I forgot Jair Cuhna is 21. We have 23 senior players, so that leaves Two squad spaces left.
We are probably still looking for a MF and GK.
{Ed001's Note - the players Olympiakos sold to Hull were, can you guess? Oh yes a goalkeeper and a midfielder!}
03 Sep 2026 12:55:21
Ed - good point made. Not thought of it like this. Goalkeeper looks strong for sure.
03 Sep 2026 13:08:50
@Ed001 Glasner had the final say on transfers. Maybe he had other targets and didn't want anyone from Olympiacos?
It feels like Forest went for mostly under-22 midfielders once they decided they weren't willing to pay £60M for Bergvall and a couple of others. It could come back to bite Glasner on the arse, if Forest are too weak in MF. I'm not convinced blaming Marinakis on that one is correct.
{Ed001's Note - Marinakis has the final say on everything. Not Glasner, Marinakis.}
03 Sep 2026 14:25:23
They (Marinakis and/or Glasner) have definitely taken a risk. If we get a couple of MF injuries or Sels gets injured, I agree that they are going to look pretty silly.
03 Sep 2026 15:02:34
Unlike the seemingly better run clubs, we left a lot until the end of the window, and got nobody we wanted in that last week (as Munoz was already done).
M prob felt confident given Og's more upbeat view in press conferences that there would be 2/3 arriving.
Anyhow, it didn't happen and we are in a strange position. Weaker as a team yet with a stronger (probably) manager. But that's not a squad that's going to do well in much.
MGW may be next off. Hope not.
03 Sep 2026 16:45:45
I don't think the team is weaker. I also think they were trying to sign a MF from the beginning of the window, and the failure was to sign who they wanted at a realistic price. They obviously wanted Bergvall or Fofana.
The first team looks stronger. It's the holes in the squad, in terms of backup, that are the bigger worry.
First choice, we are stronger or the same in every position apart from Anderson's.