Even after watching their team suffer the ultimate collapse at Craven Cottage, the Nottingham Forest supporters were singing at full-time and it was Steve Cooper's name on their lips.
They will be forever grateful for what he did for their club. Forever grateful that he took them to the Premier League and kept them there.
But after this, Cooper can only hope that Marinakis is not in a two-for-one mood, having already sacked the manager of the other club he owns this week.
He does not want to suffer the same fate as Olympiacos' Diego Martinez, although this fourth consecutive Premier League defeat piled on the pressure.
Not least because Marinakis was present at Craven Cottage to witness this deflating defeat.
Raul Jimenez and Alex Iwobi both scored twice for Fulham in an emphatic win
Iwobi set the Cottagers on their way by converting Willian's beautifully struck cross
Jimenez doubled the lead four minutes later with an emphatic shot into the top right corner
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Cooper looked like a worried man at full-time as he trudged to the other side, having sung his name from start to finish. He held up his hands in apology. They responded by showing their love for him. If this is goodbye, what a wild ride it's been.
History tells us that there have been seven Premier League managers whose last game was in charge of their club, away at Fulham. Steven Gerrard remains the latest victim, sacked after the 3-0 defeat of Aston Villa here in October 2022. Hoping that the curse of Craven Cottage would not come for him, Cooper made five changes to his team from their recent 1-0 defeat to Everton. including dropping Morgan Gibbs-White. Big calls. Precious, as we later discovered in the midst of this defeat.
By the time Fulham opened the scoring in the 30th minute, Forest can't say they weren't warned. They had already seen Raul Jimenez test Odysseas Vlachodimos with an impromptu finish, and Andreas Pereira hit the post with a 25-yard free-kick.
The opener was already coming and it finally came after Forest's Ibrahim Sangare carelessly surrendered possession in midfield. Fulham surged forward with Willian's inswinging cross and found Alex Iwobi, who was played onside at the back post by Murillo's foolishly deep positioning.
Fulham doubled the lead just four minutes later with even more naive defending from Forest. Iwobi passed to the unmarked Pereira, who poked the ball back for Jimenez to fire the ball past Vlachodimos. With so much space, it was no wonder that the visitors were separated.
“Sacked tomorrow morning,” sang the Fulham fans, while Forest supporters greeted the half-time whistle with boos. The changes, which included replacing half of his defense, had not worked for Cooper.
Fulham scored their third in the 55th minute when Jimenez outpaced Ola Aina before rounding the onrushing Vlachodimos. He poured salt into Forest's wounds and scored with a back heel, a cheeky finish from a striker happy to be among the goals again.
Every Fulham pass was now greeted by oles. They enjoyed their chilly night out and went into this match just two points ahead of the visitors. Never could they have imagined seeing such a walk in the park.
Jimenez rounded goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos before scoring with a cheeky backheel
Substitute Tom Cairney completed the defeat by scoring the fifth goal in the 86th minute
Nottingham Forest fans gave strong support to manager Steve Cooper despite the defeat
Marco Silva had celebrated every goal with great enthusiasm. He previously managed Marinakis' Olympiakos in 2015-2016 before stepping down due to personal reasons. It is believed that Silva and Marinakis still have a good relationship with mutual respect between the two.
As the second half progressed, it seemed more likely that Fulham would increase their lead than Forest would threaten the scoreline. That proved true as Iwobi secured his second of the night, seemingly prompting Marinakis' departure from the director's box. He had seen enough of this defeat and after his departure things got even worse for the visitors.
In the 86th minute, Tom Cairney broke behind Forest's leaky defense to meet Pereira's pass and make it a five-star display. “We want six,” chanted the greedy home fans, before reminding Cooper of the P45 that might be headed his way in the coming days.
Only time will tell if Cooper gets the chance to face Wolves next Saturday.