The Greek shipping magnate is strongly rumoured to be close to another takeover of the club.
Nottingham Forest owner Fawaz Al Hasawi
Nottingham Forest fans have boarded the takeover rollercoaster for the third time this season as it emerged late last night that Greek shipping magnate Evangelos Marinakis was in an advanced stage of a deal, as reports the Guardian.
The current Olympiacos owner tried to purchase the club in the summer, and was at such a stage where he ended up picking manager Philippe Montanier, however, the deal fell through.
Since then, things have gone from bad to worse for current Forest owner Fawaz Al Hasawi, with the fans staging protests against the beleaguered Kuwaiti businessman, and the hashtag #FawazOut becoming almost as popular as the club’s normal one.
It speaks volumes of Al Hasawi’s reign that fans would prefer someone who’s had to battle criminal charges in Marinakis as opposed to the current owner, who purchased the side in 2012, and with good reason too.
Nottingham Forest fans
Marinakis, despite his unfounded allegations, has shown he knows how to run a football club going by his record with Olympiacos, who have won six consecutive league titles and three Greek Cups under his ownership.
Olympiacos are now essentially the Celtic of Greece in that they have next to no competition, and that’s down to the way Marinakis has handled the club.
Olympiacos’ Pajtim Kasami celebrates at the end of the match
It isn’t all just about success however, as Marinakis is a fan of a footballing structure, something which cannot be implemented while Fawaz has full control, as no-one will work for him.
Marinakis not only chose Montanier, but he was also seemingly responsible for the hiring of director of football Pedro Pereira, who was in charge of the summer transfers before resigning after four months.
Nottingham Forest’s Hildeberto Pereira, a summer loan signing, celebrates scoring their third goal
While that particular experiment didn’t work out, it seems Marinakis has learnt from his lesson, as – according to the Guardian – it is Marinakis who called for Frank McParland to be the club’s new director of football and influenced the decision to bring Warburton in, suggesting he’ll take a more domestic approach with his structural hirings.
Ultimately, all Forest fans want is a well run club, and going by his record in Greece, Marinakis can provide that – which is more than can be said about Al Hasawi.
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