There’s nothing like an old rivalry that’s been going on for decades. Shared history. The years of animosity. Small grievances have accumulated over time. The meaning that permeates what might otherwise often be a mundane football match.
But the new rivalries are also a lot of fun.
Take Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers, who face each other this weekend. Since Forest’s return to the Premier League, this match has been overflowing with beef, the mutual dislike driven by several elements, including:
These new rivalries clearly lack the broader context that would make them attractive enough for a wider audience to participate in, but, in some ways, they make more sense than traditional local derbies, the mutual dislike more immediate .
This is one reason why you have to watch the match between the two teams this weekend. Another reason is that this is a meeting between perhaps the most aggrieved teams in the Premier League this season. The two teams who believe they have been treated the harshest by the refereeing decisions.
Forest and Wolves have arguably been the two most impactful teams in the division this season in the great refereeing culture wars. It’s the derby of complaints. The classic of injustice. The “infamy infamy, they all blame me” confrontation. It’s Nuno Espirito Santo versus Gary O’Neil, two managers united by their time in front of the cameras, explaining why they think they were treated harshly.
It all goes back to the very first weekend of the season, when Wolves were rightly unhappy that Manchester United’s Andre Onana had taken off a few of their players and failed to award a penalty. They received an apology from PGMOL for that one, the first of many this season in a series of questionable decisions, culminating (for now) with Max Kilman’s disallowed header last week against West Ham United, described by O’Neil as “perhaps the worst decision I have ever seen.” As an added kick in the ribs, O’Neil was accused of using “inappropriate and/or inappropriate” language/behavior. or threatening” following his post-match protests.
Forest will offer a similarly long list of grievances, including a series of unawarded penalties they believe have been hindrances, with Willy Boly being sent off against Bournemouth essentially for winning a tackle, referee Paul Tierney incorrectly returning the ball to Liverpool after a header. injury (Liverpool scored a winner soon after), as well as a few other examples. All of this has led them to add former Premier League manager Mark Clattenburg to their squad as a ‘referee analyst’, a move that can be charitably filed under ‘unusual’.
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Some of the complaints from both teams are founded, others are not. We’re definitely not going to debate them all here, as it’s a pretty easy way to rob yourself of all the joy you still have in football.
Instead, it is perhaps more interesting to consider how the two managers’ behaviors differ in how they express their annoyance.
Nuno is a more austere presence, giving off the impression of a man exasperated by his third puncture of the month but who really expects nothing better from the universe. He doesn’t have a sign in his office that says, “Same thing, different day,” but would it surprise you if he did?
O’Neil is more optimistic, which gives his eroded trust in the authorities a slightly more tragic vibe. Here is a man who believed in everything good and pure, but who no longer knows what to think. He doesn’t want to believe that there are dark forces at work, who for whatever reason are attacking him and his club, but the evidence is mounting. His solemn declaration that some poor decisions in the defeat to Fulham in November “finally turned me against VAR” had the air of a little boy who, with a heavy heart, had stopped believing in Santa Claus.
O’Neil’s sense of lost innocence, a more wide-eyed, incredulous despair, makes him slightly easier to love, or at least feel sorry for. Nuno is no less outraged when he feels his team have been wronged, but he is more weary of it all.
GO FURTHER
How much has Nuno changed the forest? And will that be enough?
It’s not just about managers. The owners were also heavily involved: after Forest’s late defeat to Liverpool a few weeks ago, which they blamed on a poor decision, their owner Evangelos Marinakis appeared on the touchline to stare at referee Paul Tierney . Jeff Shi, the Wolves president, was slightly more quiet this week but offered some strident thoughts. “If it weren’t for a number of incorrect or controversial decisions, we would be even higher in the rankings,” Shi said in a statement questioning the usefulness and existence of the VAR system.
Perhaps the two men will unite in a brotherly struggle, an “enemy of my enemy is my friend” sort of situation, healing the wounds that have recently opened with their hands across the divide. Before the match, they will compare the wording of their numerous apology letters from PGMOL. During the game, they will look at each other on the sideline and raise understanding eyebrows. Then, a joint press conference.
Nobody really wants another match where the debate is dominated by controversial refereeing decisions, but in this match it would be a mistake if that didn’t happen.
(Top photos: Getty Images)