by Shortly after Nottingham Forest’s promotion to the Premier League was achieved, Evangelos Marinakis promised to provide “the ammunition” to establish the club as a force in English football.
Although no supporters could question his ambition, Marinakis’ grandiose plans always risked backfiring themselves.
An estimated £150 million was spent on thirty signings, following an unprecedented transfer onslaught which eventually saw the club charged with breaching financial regulations.
Do the rules need to be changed? Definitely. It’s an uneven playing field and stifles competitiveness.
Forest will argue that the rules restrict billionaire owners like Marinakis from making a proper investment, and how the current process is all a burden towards the big six who can rely on much more commercial and day income. .
Marinakis was not going to waste the opportunity to try and maintain Forest’s momentum, having been frustrated by restrictions in the Championship.
He is an owner who changed Forest, and raised expectations. he has cleared debt, and provided millions to improve facilities and the daytime experience. Club staff often say that he is always keen to help where he can, and is fully committed to improvement.
But PSR [Profit and Sustainability Rules] is there a reason and all the clubs signed up to it at some point.
Forest allegedly broke those rules in their first season back in the top division for 23 years.
Many other clubs, including Manchester United, Newcastle, Wolves and Aston Villa, have been forced to revamp their entire transfer strategies to comply with PSR.
Last season, Leicester were so afraid of future breaches that they stopped spending so much that you could make a reasonable argument that relegation was avoided.
Forest are now worried about whether they will face sanctions later in the season, which could range from a transfer ban or fine to a points deduction.
Nuno Espirito Santo has made a great start since replacing the popular Steve Cooper, but taking points would send the club into a relegation battle.
There was always a fear that Forest was sailing too close to the wind. They only had the option of building a new team after promotion, but not as crazy.
For all the notable signings such as Morgan Gibbs-White, Taiwo Awoniyi and Danilo, there have also been poor and/or unnecessary additions including Jesse Lingard, Emmanuel Dennis and Jonjo Shelvey. A number of signings are yet to kick a ball for the club.
As the wage bill increased, players were added without any major sales going the other way.
So,, what is the next step?
Their main defense will focus on the deadline day sale of Brennan Johnson to Tottenham, as we first reported on January 2.
By rejecting offers of £30 million and £35 million from Brentford in June and July, and eventually receiving £47.5 million, they followed what Profit and Sustainability should be about.
It is a completely different case from Everton, whose alleged breaches occurred over a longer period with financial losses for five consecutive years and what was considered consistent overspending.
Manchester City will also face renewed scrutiny and their 115 charges – which they strongly deny – and the investigation appears to be moving at a snail’s pace, but it is a much more complicated business.
Forest has an ace up its sleeve in “super silk” Nick De Marco KC, called Lionel Messi the sports lawyers.
De Marco will represent Forest before an independent commission and has an excellent previous record on Financial Fair Play cases.
Earlier this season he successfully defended Harry Toffolo from a lengthy ban following the Forest left-back’s historic 375 betting breach.
He will be fully prepared, and Forest also aim to maintain a transparent dialogue with the Premier League.
Everton’s response to their accusations last year was defiant, insisting they would “strongly contest” the allegations and that Forest will refuse to go down a similar path in arguing their case while still cooperating with the Premier League.
Marinakis is likely to adopt a siege attitude and urge the club to circle the wagons, using the charge as fuel to boost their hopes of a third consecutive campaign in the Premier League.
Lessons must be learned, and while his financial support and intentions are commendable, Forest must avoid this happening again.
Although the rules will always be discussed, this charge is a wound that feels completely self-inflicted.
