Gary Lineker Reveals X-Rated Message Nottingham Forest Players Should Have Delivered to Evangelos Marinakis After Sean Dyche Sacking

Gary Lineker Reveals X-Rated Message Nottingham Forest Players Should Have Delivered to Evangelos Marinakis as Chaos Deepens After Sean Dyche Sacking

There are turbulent seasons, and then there is whatever is happening at Nottingham Forest right now.

Managerial upheaval has become the norm at the City Ground, and the latest chapter — the sacking of Sean Dyche — has prompted sharp criticism from some of English football’s most recognisable voices. Among them, Gary Lineker did not hold back.

In fact, he revealed the X-rated message he believes Nottingham Forest players should have delivered directly to owner Evangelos Marinakis during reported committee-style meetings that preceded Dyche’s dismissal.

It was blunt. It was exasperated. And it cut to the heart of what many believe is the club’s central issue: a complete lack of stylistic direction.

From Nuno to Postecoglou to Dyche: A Season of Whiplash

Forest’s 2025-26 campaign has been defined less by tactics on the pitch and more by turbulence off it.

The season began with Nuno Espírito Santo at the helm, rewarded with continuity after guiding Forest to a seventh-place finish and European qualification the previous year. Stability, it seemed, had finally arrived.

It lasted until September 9.

Nuno was dismissed early into the campaign, and in came Ange Postecoglou, fresh from his tenure at Tottenham. The Australian’s appointment signalled a dramatic stylistic pivot — high pressing, aggressive positioning, front-foot football.

It also signalled instability.

Postecoglou endured an eight-match winless run and lasted just 39 days. Unwanted history followed him out the door.

Enter Sean Dyche.

If Postecoglou represented flair, Dyche represented pragmatism. Defensive structure. Direct play. A survival specialist brought in to steady a wobbling ship.

Yet the results never fully aligned. Ten wins in 25 matches proved insufficient. A goalless draw against rock-bottom Wolves was followed by boos cascading down from the stands — and shortly after midnight on February 12, Dyche was gone.

Three permanent managers in one season. A fourth now on the horizon.

Evangelos Marinakis

Evangelos Marinakis and the Players’ Committee

Reports suggest that Evangelos Marinakis met with senior players before deciding Dyche’s fate. The idea of a players’ committee influencing managerial decisions has sparked fierce debate.

On The Rest Is Football podcast, Alan Shearer addressed the reports directly.

“There are reports, and it looks as if they’re pretty solid, that he gets a players’ committee in and speaks to the players and finds out what they feel,” Shearer noted. “By all accounts that’s what he did after the game.”

Gary Lineker expanded on the dynamic — and did so with characteristic candour.

He pointed out the obvious tension: players’ perspectives are rarely neutral.

“If you’re in the team, you’re generally happy with the manager. If you’re not, you’re not,” Lineker said. “Players will also look for an excuse — they might blame the manager.”

And then came the X-rated message.

Lineker suggested that if Forest’s players truly wanted to address the underlying issue, they should have confronted Marinakis with a far more direct challenge:

“Hang on a minute mate, you need to decide what f*cking style of football you actually want us to play.”

It was delivered half in humour, half in frustration — but the point landed.

Flip-Flopping Without Identity

The core criticism is not just managerial turnover. It is philosophical inconsistency.

Nuno’s Forest were compact and counter-attacking. Postecoglou’s iteration sought to dominate possession and press high. Dyche reverted to defensive rigidity and direct transitions.

Three managers. Three vastly different approaches. One confused squad.

Players thrive on clarity. Systems require repetition. Identity demands time.

Instead, Forest’s dressing room has been subjected to abrupt tactical rewiring every few weeks. As Lineker quipped, the players must be asking themselves: “Who’s coming next?”

This isn’t simply about preference. It’s about coherence.

When recruitment, training methods and match preparation all pivot repeatedly, long-term development stalls.

Responsibility at the Top

Alan Shearer was unequivocal: the responsibility ultimately rests with the man making the appointments.

“If you’re looking at Ange and looking at Nuno and looking at Sean Dyche and now you’re looking for your fourth manager in a season, sometimes you have to say to yourself: ‘Am I doing my job right?’ And clearly he’s not.”

Marinakis is a larger-than-life figure in European football. A billionaire shipping magnate, owner of Olympiacos, ambitious and unafraid of decisive action.

Some argue that strong personalities are essential in modern football ownership. Vision, passion and high standards can elevate clubs.

But passion without patience can breed volatility.

Forest’s campaign — one that once carried the promise of European adventure — now feels like a battle for Premier League stability.

The Players’ Perspective

The notion of players influencing managerial decisions is not new, but it remains controversial.

On one hand, dressing-room sentiment matters. Morale, trust and tactical belief are crucial ingredients.

On the other, empowering players to shape managerial futures risks undermining authority structures.

Lineker’s criticism wasn’t directed at the players themselves. Rather, it targeted the broader dysfunction.

He implied that if those committee meetings occurred, they represented an opportunity — not to critique Dyche alone, but to challenge strategic confusion at board level.

In essence: decide what you want this club to be.

Vitor Pereira Wolves

Vítor Pereira Waiting in the Wings

Reports suggest that Vítor Pereira is poised to become Forest’s next head coach.

The Portuguese tactician previously worked under Marinakis at Olympiacos. That familiarity may prove significant.

Pereira’s teams have typically favoured structured pressing and positional discipline, though his style has evolved across different leagues. If appointed, he will inherit not just a squad in transition, but an environment hungry for continuity.

The Europa League campaign continues. Premier League survival remains the immediate priority.

But without clarity from the top, even the most capable manager risks becoming another short chapter in a chaotic season.

A Historic Campaign at Risk

What makes this situation particularly frustrating for Forest supporters is the squandered opportunity.

Last season’s seventh-place finish signalled progress. European qualification raised expectations. Momentum seemed real.

Now, instability overshadows ambition.

Lineker’s X-rated message may have drawn laughs, but beneath it lies a serious point. Clubs cannot oscillate endlessly between philosophies and expect seamless results.

Identity in football is not a switch. It is cultivated.

Marinakis: Villain or Visionary?

There is nuance here.

Marinakis is not apathetic. Quite the opposite. His intensity and emotional investment are well-documented. He demands excellence. He reacts swiftly to underperformance.

For some, that decisiveness is admirable. For others, it is counterproductive.

In modern football, the balance between ambition and stability is delicate. Too passive, and stagnation sets in. Too reactive, and chaos follows.

Forest appear closer to the latter.

The Road Ahead

If Pereira takes the reins, he will be the fourth permanent manager of the season.

The players, regardless of committee meetings, must adapt again. New instructions. New expectations. New terminology.

The question now is whether Marinakis will commit — truly commit — to a long-term vision.

Because if the cycle continues, the problem will no longer be managerial suitability. It will be structural.

Gary Lineker’s X-rated message may have been delivered with a wry smile, but it captured a broader sentiment reverberating beyond the City Ground.

Decide what you want to be.

Without that answer, no manager — however experienced — can bring lasting stability.

And for Nottingham Forest, stability is no longer a luxury. It is essential.