Philippe Montanier: The dead man walking who struggled with an impossible job

The history books will show that Philippe Montanier was given the sack on January 14 but, in essence, his brief reign at the City Ground really ended on August 28th.

#NFFC can confirm that the club have parted company with head coach Philippe Montanier. https://t.co/uWe14CZ5O2 pic.twitter.com/lobMR5tX0D

— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) January 14, 2017

August 27th, the day before the sale of Oliver Burke, had been a happy one. A third win of the season kept up the perfect start at home, with Leeds put to the sword. The threat of Monk's men had finally been nullified by a late and decisive blow from the ace up Philippe's smartly tailored sleeves - Burke netting for a fourth time in the season. Not only that, but the manager been given assurances that the 'Scottish Gareth Bale' would not be sold.

The sale of Oliver Burke the next day must have come as a hammer blow. Philippe had no time to spend the incoming money that, according to the boasts of the owner, had been a 'good deal'. None of us really knows whether he would have had it to spend anyway. Regardless of that, the sale undermined Philippe and set the tone. This wasn't a club on the up, aiming to challenge with bright young talent after all. It wasn't a job where you could succeed and make a difference, it was a job where you tried to prolong the sack for as long as you could.

That Montanier only finally lost his job in January is more down to the protracted takeover talks than anything else and it can't have been easy knowing that he was not the choice of either the current or future owner. No-one can blame him for sticking around to get his pay-off - that's pretty much the only perk to taking up the City Ground hotseat these days.

It feels such a shame that Philippe became just the latest in the list of managerial victims of the Fawaz regime. He cut a dashing figure on the touchline, delivered excitement on the pitch, blooded our youngsters, extolled the virtues of cheese and genuinely seemed a ruddy nice bloke. There was even a song for him, to the tune of Blondie's Denis, that deserved greater use.



Still, Philippe was the head coach in a continental-style club structure that, along with the Greek takeover, never materialised. Director of Football Pedro Pereira was soon gone, leaving the Frenchman the sole survivor of an abandoned strategy that could only have worked if we'd ever inserted the other pieces of the puzzle.

On top of all that, he must've been scratching his head at the never-ending injury saga which continues to be forgotten about amid Fawaz's circus.

That's not to say the former Real Sociedad boss was perfect, far from it. Over time, he took the bad hand he's been dealt and played it badly. He struggled to settle on a line-up, deployed players out of position and managed just two clean sheets, one in his last game. His teams weren't solid enough or good enough on the ball to dominate for long periods and suffered as a result.

Even victories left us scratching our heads at times. While Philippe can take much credit from the spirited showings in the early home games or at Villa away, say, the signs were there in all of those performances that there were many flaws in the team and squad.

None of us knows if he had any say in the transfers or whether that was the sole preserve of Pedro Pereira. The sad fact, however, is that none of the new arrivals has really worked. You could make a clear case that our best XI would not include any summer signings.

Then there were moments - such as the penalty argument between Henri Lansbury and Britt Assombalonga or Eric Lichaj switching positions with Matty Cash - in which you questioned his control over the squad. His laid-back approach probably wasn't suited to players that needed a boot up the proverbial.

Still, that criticism is harsh for a man who maintained his dignity and professionalism amid chaos. He'll at least be able to write off his failure as being a product of the conditions at a 'crisis club'.

His will be another reign defined by 'what ifs'. What if the Greeks had taken over? What if he'd been part of a proper club structure? What if he'd not had his bright young star sold against his wishes? What if he'd been able to pick from a fully fit squad?

Au revoir Philippe. No hard feelings, eh?