It took 17 games for the tide to turn against Nuno Espirito Santo. Never have the rumblings of discontent against the new Spurs boss been as audible as they were in the 3-0 defeat to Manchester United, but this was the culmination of a growing crescendo of anger from the club’s supporters.
As the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium berated him with chants of “we want Nuno out”, his only relief came in the fact that his name was sometimes interchanged with “Levy”.
In the short term, Nuno will bear the brunt of decisions made higher up the chain and long after he is gone – whenever that will be – questions will remain about the selection process that has seen four managers in the hot seat in less than two years (if you include Ryan Mason, who took temporary charge towards the end of last season).
There are factors which he has not been able to control, such as the temporary demise of Harry Kane; a Golden Boot and Playmaker Award winner under Jose Mourinho, he has one Premier League goal since his failed attempt to join Manchester City.
Nor can Nuno help that he is presiding over a dressing room well aware that he was behind Gennaro Gattuso and Paulo Fonseca on Spurs’ wish list. A deflated Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg ended his post-match interview on Sky Sports with “I’d better not say too much” as he reflected on his side’s apparent lack of motivation.
His manager, meanwhile, would not accept that his message was not getting through to the players. “You can have the right message, the right idea and things don’t go [well],” he said. “It’s not because of the message or understanding of the message. It’s the game of football.”
Spurs ended Saturday’s debacle without a shot on target – a continuance of their record in the second half of the 1-0 defeat to West Ham. The numbers are not flattering and are certainly not a reflection of the “DNA” which Levy promised to bring back with his summer appointment.
Nuno’s side are averaging fewer goals per game and fewer attempts per game than under Jose Mourinho, but conceding more goals.
Mourinho was fortunate, to some extent, that his reign unravelled behind closed doors and so he was spared the in-person venom directed at his successor.
In light of the Portuguese’s departure, few expected that Levy would turn to the similarly conservative approach adopted at Molineux in recent seasons. Those who hailed Wolves’ European push after winning promotion were largely impressed by the results, not the manner in which they were obtained.
Tottenham’s managing director of football, Fabio Paratici, promised “we’re going to be attacking”, but Spurs are not even averaging a goal a game.
Nuno’s tenure is still in its infancy but he has already overseen three 3-0 losses (and narrowly avoided another in the north London derby at the Emirates).
It all began with such optimism with an opening day victory over champions Manchester City and at the start of September, Tottenham were top of the league. By the end of October, their manager was on the brink.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3BujQcA
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