Oliver Glasner Continues Nottingham Forest’s 29-Year Manager Debut Curse

Oliver Glasner continued a manager debut curse that has lasted almost three decades as Nottingham Forest lost their opening fixture against Leeds United.

Following Forest’s 1–0 defeat at the City Ground via a late Anton Stach free-kick, Glasner became the seventh consecutive permanent Forest manager to lose his opening Premier League match.

Anton Stach scores bangers 💥 pic.twitter.com/TGnW685Y7k

— Premier League (@premierleague) August 22, 2026

Dave Bassett remains the last permanent Forest manager to win his top-flight debut—a 1–0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in March 1997.

The Last 7 Premier League Debut Matches

• Oliver Glasner (August 2026): Lost 0–1 vs Leeds United
• Vítor Pereira (February 2026): Lost 1–2 vs Fulham
• Sean Dyche (October 2025): Lost 0–2 vs Newcastle United
• Ange Postecoglou (September 2025): Lost 0–3 vs Arsenal
• Nuno Espírito Santo (December 2023): Lost 2–3 vs Bournemouth
• Steve Cooper (August 2022): Lost 0–2 vs Newcastle United
• Ron Atkinson (January 1999): Lost 0–1 vs Arsenal

The club was relegated in 1999 when Ron Atkinson started the curse, and it has continued under every manager since their return in 2022.

Managerial Turnover Under Evangelos Marinakis

Since owner Evangelos Marinakis acquired Nottingham Forest in May 2017, managerial appointments have been under close scrutiny and have been frequently rotated. Short tenures for recent head coaches mean immediate results often carry high stakes.

Manager	Appointed	Departed	Days in Charge
Mark Warburton	March 2017	December 2017	292 days
Aitor Karanka	January 2018	January 2019	368 days
Martin O’Neill	January 2019	June 2019	166 days
Sabri Lamouchi	June 2019	October 2020	463 days
Chris Hughton	October 2020	September 2021	345 days
Steve Cooper	September 2021	December 2023	819 days
Nuno Espírito Santo	December 2023	September 2025	629 days
Ange Postecoglou	September 2025	October 2025	39 days
Sean Dyche	October 2025	February 2026	114 days
Vítor Pereira	February 2026	June 2026	135 days
Oliver Glasner	July 2026	Present	Ongoing

“Complete Trust” Could Quickly Disappear

The new football season is kicking off around Europe and bringing its fair share of drama. With Glasner failing to lift the new manager curse, his days could already be numbered. He is the fifth Forest manager in less than 12 months.

His time at Crystal Palace also ended under a cloud as he criticized the club’s owners and ambition. Marinakis is unlikely to put up with any similar dissent.

Upon taking over at Forest in the summer, he cited the club’s vision and said he hoped to build a strong future in the long term.

“I’m delighted to join Nottingham Forest as head coach,” Glasner said. “From my very first conversations with the owner and the leadership team, it was evident to me that they have a clear vision for this football club and complete trust and belief in me and my staff to build a strong future together over the long term.”

In his programme notes before the Leeds match, he further emphasized that “togetherness will be key” to success.

No manager has lasted more than two years under Marinakis’s cutthroat ownership style. Glasner has the chance to immediately get revenge for the defeat as Forest face Leeds again at home in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.