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Nottingham Forest have moved swiftly after a bruising start to the season, appointing Sean Dyche on a deal through 2027 to replace Ange Postecoglou, who was dismissed after just 39 days and five points from eight league matches. Dyche, 54, arrives with Ian Woan and Steve Stone in his backroom team and takes charge first against Porto in the Europa League, then Bournemouth in the league.
The club’s rationale is clear. Forest need structure, clean sheets and a sense of calm after another turbulent managerial turn. Dyche built a reputation for all three at Burnley across a decade that yielded two promotions and a rare European qualification, then kept Everton afloat amid chaos and points deductions. The question is not whether he can organise a team. It is whether the league he re-enters is now less forgiving to the style that made him.
What Forest get on day one
Dyche’s teams are associated with a compact 4-4-2 or 4-5-1, aggressive duels, heavy use of long passes and a ruthless focus on set pieces. That identity is not a caricature. Even neutral analysis describes his Burnley as “gritty” and “compact,” built on a low block and direct progression. At Everton, the profile barely changed, with Jordan Pickford’s long distribution increasing and a sizeable share of goals arriving from dead-balls.
There is also a measurable set-piece edge. Since Dyche’s arrival at Everton in February 2023, 31 of their Premier League goals up to December 2024 came from set plays, about 42.5 percent of their total in that span. In 2024–25, even during a poor attacking run, eight of Everton’s league goals — more than half at that time — still came from set pieces. That specific efficiency tends to travel well between clubs, because routines and coaching detail are portable.
Snapshot: Forest’s managerial reset
| Item | Detail |
| New head coach | Sean Dyche, contract to summer 2027 |
| Replaces | Ange Postecoglou, dismissed after 39 days |
| League position on appointment | 18th, five points from eight matches |
| Immediate fixtures | Porto (Europa League), Bournemouth (Premier League) |
| Backroom team | Ian Woan, Steve Stone (both ex-Forest) |
A league that has changed around him
The Premier League Dyche returns to is leaner, quicker and more vertical. Teams press higher and more often. Data shows a league-wide drop in PPDA and an uptick in high turnovers last season, with Liverpool leading that intensity under Arne Slot. Even clubs outside the elite now force the ball forward at speed after regains. The baseline athletic and tactical demands are higher.
There is nuance though. Direct weapons are not out of fashion. In fact, they are back with a spreadsheet’s blessing. This season has seen a surge in long throws and more goals from set pieces across the division, as analysts frame them as efficient, controllable sources of xG. One Opta-led review pegged a quarter of early-season Premier League goals as set-piece strikes, while reporting a sharp rise in long throws into the area compared with the previous campaign. Dyche’s method sits squarely inside that trend.
Tactical currents Dyche must swim with
| Trend in the league | What it means for Forest under Dyche |
| Higher pressing intensity, lower PPDA averages | Build-up will be pressured. Dyche’s preference for earlier, longer passes can bypass a press, but second-ball structure must be immaculate. |
| Data-driven set-piece focus across more clubs | Margins shrink. Forest will need variety in routines and better first contacts to maintain an edge. |
| More vertical transitions at the top | Off-ball distances must tighten to avoid being stretched after long clearances, especially against elite counterattacks. |
What changes on the pitch
Expect an immediate reset in three areas: distances between units, the intensity of first contacts, and set-piece choreography. Dyche’s out-of-possession line typically sits a little lower than mid-block, with wingers tucked to create a bank of four that protects the half-spaces. He favours clear role definitions for the centre-forwards: one contesting direct balls and another hunting knockdowns. That can look old-school on the surface. The trick in 2025 is the detail that surrounds it.
At Everton, Dyche’s side conceded 51 league goals in 2023–24 despite long stretches under takeover uncertainty and deductions. The attack struggled, but the defensive platform held well enough that a modest uptick in finishing would have made the season look different on paper. That defensive resilience is exactly what Forest are buying.
Likely adjustments by phase
| Phase | Anticipated tweaks |
| Build-up | More direct distribution from goalkeeper and centre-backs, earlier balls into channels. Extra work on compressing the pitch for second-ball wins after long passes. |
| Out of possession | Lower average block, compact 4-4-2/4-5-1. Priority on body shape, clearances to zones, and dominant first contacts. |
| Set pieces | Complex near-post screens, crowded keeper zones, aggressive back-post runs. A recycling plan for phase two to maintain pressure. |
Where “old-school” meets modern
“Old-school” is often shorthand for two things: direct passing and risk management. The first is not inherently out of date. Several of last season’s best-coached teams mixed controlled build-up with vertical punches when the press dictated it. The second has become a premium skill. If a coach can engineer 10 more defensive box touches by centre-backs instead of full-backs, or two extra clean restarts after clearances, the cumulative effect is significant.
The modernity test is less about style and more about flexibility. Dyche’s Burnley were sometimes criticised for a rigid 4-4-2 that rarely morphed in possession. The league now asks for situational adaptations, like tucking a winger into midfield against overloads or flipping to a back five late to protect a lead. If Dyche shows that level of in-game agility at Forest, the “old-school” tag loses its sting.
The cultural fit at the City Ground
Forest’s squad has felt like a collage across recent windows. Dyche tends to prefer tighter cores, clear hierarchies and a handful of trusted lieutenants who transmit standards on the grass. The arrivals of Woan and Stone, both with Forest roots, hint at a deliberate attempt to connect message and club identity. For a group that has struggled to look like a team, that may be the most valuable change in the short term.
There is also the matter of expectation. Evangelos Marinakis has not been shy about setting ambitious targets, including talking up European ambitions. Dyche inherits a Europa League campaign mid-stride and a league table that has no sympathy for transitions. Short-term survival and knockout nous are his specialist subjects, but the leash will not be long.
Who might thrive, who must adapt
Every Dyche team has featured certain archetypes. A dominant aerial centre-back who relishes first contact. A selfless runner up front who accepts that 60 minutes of graft for 30 minutes of territory can be a good trade. Tough-minded full-backs who can defend their back post and take no risks in their own third. If Forest can match personnel to those roles quickly, performance stabilises fast.
Role archetypes under Dyche
| Role | Requirements | Notes |
| Target forward | Aerial duels, hold-up, first-contact reliability | Unlocks the entire second-ball game that Dyche prioritises. |
| Runner forward | Channel sprints, pressing triggers, back-post attacks | Exploits flick-ons and loose balls. |
| Set-piece threats | Timing, blocking, bravery | Forest will drill choreographies that create traffic around the keeper. |
| Full-backs | Conservative positioning, strong 1v1s, back-post awareness | Limits concession of cut-backs which have killed Forest. |
The risk column
There are two immediate risks. First, territory without counter-release. If clearances and long passes are not followed by compact, aggressive second-ball hunting, possession simply boomerangs back under pressure. Second, transition defence. A lower block shortens the pitch vertically, but any gaps between units can be ruthlessly exploited by teams that run combinations through the half-spaces.
The league’s tactical climate sharpens both concerns. More teams are trained to squeeze you after first contact, and more work the ball wide quickly to isolate full-backs. The margin for error on distances is small.
Verdict: survivable style, decisive details
Dyche’s methods can survive, and even prosper, in a modern Premier League that is quietly rediscovering the value of direct gains and set-piece returns. The style alone is not the debate. The issue is control. If Forest win first and second contacts, if set plays return a steady trickle of goals, and if in-game tweaks become more frequent than in Dyche’s Burnley prime, the “old-school” label will feel like a compliment rather than a warning.
What will decide the season is not whether Dyche goes long. It is whether Forest can play short passages well enough when the game state demands it, and whether their distances hold when the ball turns over. Those are modern problems for any coach. Dyche has solved them before. Forest have hired him to do it again.