Nuno Espirito Santo; is he the one?
The long and awaited news has finally come, we’ve appointed the man to replace Mourinho. Yes, Tottenham have appointed former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo as our new manager on a two-year contract.
Before we carry on, I must say that I am a bit suspicious about a “two-year contract.” Why two years? Most managers get a 4 or 5-year contract. Is this because Levy isn’t sure of Espirito Santo? Is it because he is still focused on Pochettino? Two years is when Poch’s contract is up. A two-year contract also means that if he sacks him, he won’t have to pay out so much. It also shows you how little faith Levy has in the ex-Wolves manager. We’ll have to wait and see.
Nuno left Wolves in May after four impressive seasons, during which time he took the club from the Championship to a Europa League quarter-final.
We sacked Jose Mourinho in April and replaced him with 29-year-old Ryan Mason until the end of last season. Then the wait and criticism came, and a couple of days before the training was scheduled for the squad, he is appointed.
Nuno’s comments on being appointed: “It’s an enormous pleasure and honour [to be at Spurs]. I’m happy and looking forward to starting work. We don’t have any days to lose, and we must start working immediately as pre-season starts in a few days.”
He won’t have long to wait to face his former club as we are going to Molineux to face Wolves in our second league game of the season on 22 August. Then there is the question over whether he will have Kane with him or not.
Levy thanks fans for their patience
Our new manager was brought in after Mauricio Pochettino, Antonio Conte, Paulo Fonseca, Gennaro Gattuso and a host of others were linked with the job this summer.
Levy’s comments after appointing Nuno to the job as Head coach, “We should like to thank our supporters for all their patience throughout this process. I’ve spoken already about the need to revert back to our core DNA of playing attacking, entertaining football, and [managing director of football] Fabio [Paratici] and I believe Nuno is the man who can take our talented group of players, embrace our young players coming through and build something special.”
What do the fans think?
Some of our fans have been taking to social media to voice either their agreement or concerns.
Nuno has been a free agent since leaving Wolverhampton Wanderers by mutual consent last month, having previously led them to promotion to the Premier League and two appearances in the Europa League before a hard campaign in his final season where he finished 13th in the league
The Majority of fans support him, while a hostile few have voiced their anger; some even thought it was a joke, others said, “He is out of his depth,” and that was just from the kind ones.
My thoughts
I wish him luck, and I hope he gets us back into the top four, however, I do have some doubts. But then again, my doubts over the years since Levy took charge has increased. As I have said, Levy is a great businessman but has shown us nothing while running the football side of the club.
The other concern I have, what happens if he does well; will Levy still look towards Pochettino when he becomes a free agent? I think Nuno will have to do something special to get an extended contract and be accepted by all the fans (even the Tottenham Board).
Then there have been question marks over his style of play, a bit too much like Mourinho some have said. While others say he can adapt to the situation that is before him. Levy has stated that he wants a more attacking manager, so I presume that he has ironed out his concerns with Nuno Espirito Santo. There is also the question of making more use of our academy players, which Levy is keen on our managers doing. I don’t know why Levy doesn’t just dispense with managers and take over himself.
His first game in charge is against City and then a trip to his old stomping ground where we face Wolves. He has got to hit the road running and also needs some fresh blood in the team, while others will be sold or released.
Good luck, Nuno, you will need it!
Glenn
My name is Glenn Renshaw.
I am currently a Premium Season Ticket holder (West Stand) in the new stadium. Before that – at White Hart Lane – a season ticket holder in various parts of the ground (mainly in the North stand).
Before becoming a season ticket holder, I stood on the shelf and various other parts of the ground since the 1950s. In 1987 I became one of the first to hold a Spurs Membership card. I was also a life long member of the Spurs supporters club (now defunct).
I go to all home, away and abroad matches.
I was born in 1955, Edgware, London (it was in the late 50s – as a baby – that my dad took me to Spurs to initiate me). I currently live in Berkshire.
I also collect all Spurs books (and have everyone printed), Spurs handbooks (from 1920s onwards, Spurs programmes (since the 40s).
Previously, I wrote for Spurs Fanzines: The Spur, Spur of the Moment, My Eyes have seen the Glory and various other Spurs fanzines’. I also wrote for the SpursWeb app & its website.
I currently write and work for spursnetwork.com and its website. I write its Reviews & Match reports and a lot more.
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