No matter where he’s gone over his 12-year coaching career, Oliver Glasner has left his mark.
He took LASK Linz from the Austrian second division to the Europa League, guided Wolfsburg to the Champions League, and spearheaded Eintracht Frankfurt to their first European trophy in 42 years. However, his crowning achievement came in South London.
During a two-year stay with Crystal Palace, Glasner led Crystal Palace to their first ever major trophy with the 2025 FA Cup, before overseeing their maiden European campaign. Palace would have been in the Europa League had Nottingham Forest not challenged their eligibility with Uefa over John Textor’s ownership interests in Palace and Lyon. Glasner had the last laugh, though, guiding Palace to the Conference League title while Forest fell in the Europa League semi-finals.
Despite the newfound rivalry between the clubs, the Austrian decided to swap Selhurst Park for the City Ground. Becoming Forest’s fifth manager since the start of the 2025/26 season was never going to be straightforward. After opening the campaign with back-to-back home defeats to Leeds United across the league and Carabao Cup, Forest recovered with draws against Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur before securing a 2-1 victory at Aston Villa.
Since then, however, they’ve taken just one point from five matches, losing four and slipping to 19th in the Premier League.
Improvements under Glasner
Despite being mired in the bottom three, Forest have shown considerable improvement under Glasner. Particularly when it comes to progressing the ball.
The Tricky Trees are consistently looking to move possession forward, with diagonal passing patterns through the half-spaces helping them advance into dangerous areas. Rather than slowly circulating possession, Forest are moving through midfield with greater urgency and creating high-quality opportunities. They rank third in the Premier League if results were decided on Expected Goals, behind only Arsenal and Manchester City. That’s a conspicuous improvement from 2025/26, when they finished 15th.
At the heart of this transformation are James McAtee and Morgan Gibbs-White. McAtee has emerged as Forest’s midfield quarterback, breaking defensive lines with incisive passes and recovering possession through well-timed interventions. Gibbs-White, meanwhile, continues to demonstrate why he’s one of the Premier League’s finest playmakers, leading the division with eight big chances created.
Forest aren’t just doing a good job of creating chances in the final third. They’re also limiting chances at the other end. The Tricky Trees rank second in the Premier League for xG conceded, behind only Arsenal.
Only Bournemouth have allowed fewer shots from inside the penalty area, while only Manchester United and Brighton and Hove Albion have conceded fewer efforts from outside the box. Based on their underlying numbers, they should be in the Champions League positions… so why on Earth are they in the relegation zone?
Toothless in front of goal
The most obvious explanation is their profligacy in front of goal. Despite boasting the Premier League’s third-best xG differential and generating more xG than their opponents in seven of their nine matches, Forest have scored just six goals, the fewest in the division.
Few players have embodied this frustration more than Liam Delap. Forest shattered their transfer record to sign Delap from Chelsea for £45million, earmarking him as Chris Wood‘s long-term successor.
On paper, the Englishman possesses many of the attributes Glasner demands from his strikers. He’s physical, makes explosive runs in behind, has an ability to link attacks, and a willingness to lead the press. Glasner built his Palace attack around Jean-Philippe Mateta, transforming the Frenchman from an inconsistent goalscorer into one of the Premier League’s most effective centre-forwards. Delap offers a similarly imposing presence. But he’s yet to replicate Mateta’s penalty-box movement or finishing consistency.
For all the chances Forest are creating, Delap has repeatedly failed to provide the finishing touch. With Igor Jesus still recovering from a calf injury, Glasner may be tempted to turn to Wood against Man City this weekend, either as a replacement for Delap or alongside him. However, Forest’s problems extend beyond their finishing.
Changes taking time
Glasner inherited a team accustomed to sitting deep, absorbing pressure and attacking on the counter. His approach demands something different: coordinated pressing, aggressive wing-backs and rapid reactions whenever possession changes hands. That transition hasn’t been seamless.
Forest have covered less ground than their opponents in each of their last five league matches, a worrying trend for a side attempting to implement such an intense playing style. Their struggles aren’t necessarily down to a lack of effort, either. Poorly coordinated pressing and slow reactions to second balls can force players to cover more ground without making the team any more imposing out of possession.
The consequences have been particularly evident when defending direct attacks. Despite Forest’s impressive defensive statistics, they’ve repeatedly been undone by straightforward balls over the top. Brentford‘s second goal last time out was the fourth Forest had conceded following a long ball from an opposition goalkeeper.
Forest are restricting opponents to relatively few chances, yet they’re still conceding avoidable goals through individual errors and lapses in concentration. Glasner doesn’t need to abandon his system, but he does need to fix coordination between his back three and midfielders, ensure his players are better positioned to compete for second balls, and find a way to sustain their intensity throughout 90 minutes.
Is Glasner safe?
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has developed a reputation for pulling the trigger on underperforming managers. And even the Austrian’s impressive resume won’t protect him indefinitely. For now, however, Glasner appears determined to make changes on his own terms. After the Brentford defeat, he reportedly refused one player permission to travel home independently, insisting that he return with the rest of the squad on the team coach. It’s no more Mr. Nice Guy. Glasner is taking the gloves off and demanding greater commitment from his players.
“I feel now maybe I made too many compromises in some stuff, and it’s always compromises,” he said.
“It’s a clear way. I will tell [the players] what we want to do, what we have to do, and if the players buy in, I think we can have a turnaround, and if not, the sixth manager [since the start of last season] will come in. I think the performances are better than the ones [the other four managers] have been, but it’s the same.
“And if things won’t change, you will ask the sixth [manager to come in].”
The underlying numbers suggest Glasner is closer to finding the answers than Forest’s league position would indicate. But football isn’t played on spreadsheets, and creating chances means little if they aren’t converted.
Glasner has already laid the foundations for a successful project, but can he transform those promising performances into points?