Ex-Crystal Palace boss says Oliver Glasner and Evangelos Marinakis ‘deserve each other’ after Forest move

Alan Pardew has fumed at Oliver Glasner’s decision to go to Nottingham Forest, claiming he and owner Evangelos Marinakis ‘deserve each other’.

The ex-Crystal Palace boss was officially confirmed as Vitor Pereira’s successor at the City Ground on Monday.

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Forest announced the departure of Pereira on Thursday – despite the club previously intending to extend his contract earlier this summer.

And Glasner, who was a free agent after leaving Crystal Palace at the end of last season, will fill the void in the Reds’ dugout.

This marks yet another change in management at Forest, with the Austrian becoming their fifth permanent manager in a 12-month period.

Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche and Pereira have all been in the Forest hot seat over the past year, with the former three all being given their marching orders.

And while Pereira avoided the sack, talkSPORT understands the 57-year-old was left completely blindsided by the move.

But it’s a call which many will have come to expect from Forest owner Marinakis, who has earned a reputation for making sudden and unpredictable managerial decisions.

Glasner’s appointment also adds extra spice, given his old club Palace were demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League due to UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules, with Forest taking their place and pushing for the motion.

Pardew ‘astounded’ by Glasner move

One man who wasn’t impressed by Glasner’s latest move is former Crystal Palace manager Pardew, who took a dim view to his choice of club given the recent history between the Eagles and Forest.

He told talkSPORT’s Hawksbee and Jacobs: “Well, let me tell you he doesn’t want to come back to Crystal Palace soon.”

Pardew then claimed that Marinakis may just have met his match in Glasner, whose departure from Selhust Park came in explosive circumstances.

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In January, the 51-year-old announced he would leave the club at the end of the season, doing so in a bombshell press conference.

He also revealed that captain Marc Guehi was set to leave for Manchester City, before taking aim at the club hierarchy again days later.

Glasner said he felt ‘abandoned’ at Palace, but went on to guide them to Conference League glory at the end of the season.

And Pardew believes both Glasner and Marinakis’ unpredictable behaviour in the past makes them a fitting pair, as he continued to express his disapproval over the manager’s choice of club.

The ex-Premier League boss continued: “Listen, this guy [Glasner] – they deserve each other in my opinion.

“He [Marinakis] is trigger happy. This manager is volatile – he had volatile moments at Crystal Palace.

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“He’s done an unbelievable job and, really, to do what he’s done – to go to a club that actually replaced Crystal Palace because they put in a heavy complaint about dual ownership and they dropped to the Conference. 

“So there are big feelings about Nottingham Forest, and then where does he end up? Going and managing Nottingham Forest.

“You couldn’t make it up. I mean I’m astounded by his decision. But okay, good luck to him.”

Oliver Twist

As mentioned, there is no love lost between Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, after the Eagles lost their place in last season’s Europa League to the Reds.

Forest even wrote to UEFA to express their concerns regarding Palace competing in the Europa League, which they had achieved by winning the FA Cup.

The two-time European champions then made a cheeky £35million bid for Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta in January when the French star’s future was uncertain, but he ultimately stayed put.

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Palace subsequently made the most of their demotion as they went on to win the Conference League, which secured them a berth in next season’s Europa League.