Sean Dyche has been named the new manager at Nottingham Forest, making him the third boss Forest have employed this season.
Nuno Espirito Santos began the year there after a strong campaign in 2024/25, but a clash with the owner led to his dismissal on September 9. Santos was replaced by former Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou, who lasted all of 40 days at the club before his subsequent sacking after Forest's 3-0 thumping at the hands of Chelsea last week.
And so the Reds, who currently sit in 18th place in the Premier League table after managing just five points in eight games, were forced to turn to Dyche, who has a reputation for stabilizing clubs in poor states, much as he did at Everton when he was appointed as the successor to Frank Lampard in January of 2023.
The problem for Forest so far has been two-fold, one of which Dyche is well-equipped to help them solve, the other, well, not so much.
Only West Ham (18) and Wolves (16) have conceded more goals than Forest's 15 so far this season, and the attack hasn't provided much either, scoring just five times, three of which came in the season-opening win over Brentford. The other two came in 1-1 draws to Crystal Palace and Burnley.
Dyche's scheme likely won't increase their scoring, as evidenced by Everton managing just 42 goals last season, besting only the relegated sides in that category, although half of that season saw the Toffees led by David Moyes. For his career, Dyche's teams average just 0.85 goals per match.
He may do well to solidify Forest's backline, however, with the plan to keep them in the Premier League by not allowing goals and hoping they can hit a few on the counter. But the irony here is that Forest's squad was built to score goals, as the defending options outside of Murillo are not up to par.
This will be a tough task for Dyche, as he also has the Europe League to be concerned with, and there are questions about whether the team is deep enough to sustain all the fixtures.
Dyche will get to see his old side twice this season, as Forest and Everton have yet to face off this campaign, with both matches coming in December. Forest travels to Hill Dickinson on December 6, with the reverse fixture coming a few weeks later, on December 30, the final match of 2025 for both sides.