Nuno Espírito Santo appointed new Head Coach

[DCSPUR64]

First off let’s be honest, this is an appointment made largely because we’ve run out of time to attract most options.

As I said for the last week or so, I’d have been shocked if at this point we’d got a manager in who is already employed – not because of lack of money/penny-pinching as some are claiming but because they’ll all be weeks deep in planning pre-season etc, the most crucial training period of the year, at their clubs and it would take a humungous set of bollocks to jump ship, change your focus and mindset, and in literally a few days plan something entirely new at a new club and get started on the fly. Especially at a club suffering from instability and going through big change. By now it was always going to be someone out of work and a narrow field of options.

In the end we’ve clearly had to settle for what we could get in an ever diminishing field. If he’d been the clear choice he’d have been in weeks ago. I don’t think it’s mean-spirited to say in this case that if his reign does work out it will be due to a large dollop of luck rather than judgement on the clubs part.


As for my personal thoughts on Nuno… Well he’s clearly a competent coach with a solid CV and decent PL pedigree. But he’s not someone who’d have come to mind for me as a possible option.

As anyone who does take any notice of my posts knows, I am all about performance as the bedrock to what we do and how I see and assess football. I like and want pressing, I like and want possession. I like and want us to play the game in the opponents half. I expect this to a high standard, for 90 minutes. He’s been in the PL a few years now so we’ve had plenty to look at but I’ve never watched a Wolves game and been blown away by anything spectacular they’ve done – either with or without the ball – on a consistent basis and thought “wouldn’t mind a bit of that at Spurs”.

So ultimately I will say what I say for every manager we appoint – I’m open to what he can do, but we shall see. I will post as I always post and judge the guy purely on what I see served up on the football pitch. If I like what I see I will say so, equally if I don’t like it I will criticise it. Win, lose, or draw, and whatever position in the table we find ourselves.

Let it begin.......

Good post but in fairness, they lost their star man Jota, probably due to money. Hopefully UES will have more resources at Spurs and therefore be able to give us the wow factor in football.

 

[pedrodelawasp]

I’d be interested to hear a few more thoughts on the perception of Nuno’s ’footballing philosophy.’

There have been plenty posts in the next manager thread decrying his apparent tendency to setting up to play defensively.

Speaking with some friends outside of SC (who have no skin in this game, so to speak) they find that description somewhat off. Rather, they contend, he has a strong work ethic along with defensive and positional discipline instilled throughout his teams but he does want them to play and to attack the opposition when they can.

Perhaps much of the emphasis on defending for Wolves came about as pragmatism rather than adhering to an unshakable desire to defend first, foremost and above all else?

I’ll absolutely concede there will very likely be many posters in here who have watched more of Wolves than me, but for what it’s worth I never considered them a particularly boring or turgid team to watch. A caveat being that I actually tend to quite enjoy teams that implement a quick counter attacking style over high-possession sides.

Anyway, to wrap up what is a bit of a long post, I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to dismiss Nuno as a ‘boring’ or ‘defensive’ manager, certainly not when we’ve yet to see a single minute of what he’ll do at an entirely different club With an entirely different squad.

 

[glacierSpurs]

At long last our national nightmare has ended.

Here comes our new national nightmare!

Woke up to news on this. I'm gonna sleep back in - prefer the nightmare in my sleep until this new reality settles in. ?

 

[Who’s our next manager?]

Well,now that Nuno has been appointed we have 4 days to appoint a coaching team before pre season training starts....good luck with that,. Mason and King to kick off perhaps.

 

[davidmatzdorf]

i disagreed with your post because i really don't think this is true. He went defensive last year to save Wolves in light of injuries, player exits and tiredness... but i don't believe his time before last year backs up this claim.. Jesus, even the games against us the year before, you must have seen those?!?!

Arguably, the match that signalled the decline of Pochettino's Spurs was the one where Wolves came back from 1-0 down to win 1-3 in the last 20 minutes (December 2018). It was not only a shock (we were cruising), it was atypical of how the team had played for the previous 3 seasons. It wasn't atypical of the performances that followed.

Wolves achieved that by counter-attacking, but there was nothing defensive about their performance. They pressed and harried in midfield, rather than sitting deep and soaking up pressure. They won the ball, created transitions and disrupted our game management.

We've just spent the past two weeks watching an England team built on a solid defence, after spending a year moaning (somewhat unjustifiably) about Spurs' "shit defence" (the 4th best in the league in terms of goals conceded). We didn't concede many goals. We just conceded them at inopportune times, in a way typical of teams with weak mentalities.

What do people want? You can't have a well-drilled and reliable defence and play cavalier, devil-may-care football. You can adjust the balance from Mourinho-ball by actually drilling some attacking routines, rather than leaving Kane, Son, Lamela et al. to improvise. You can reintroduce a selectively pressing game (which Nuno will do, based on his previous teams), to win the ball high and create rapid transitions.

But last season demonstrates that, unless there is a solid team spirit (something for which Nuno has a high reputation), even good quality defenders will make mental mistakes at crucial times and your team will blow leads - that's what ruined last season, not having a "shit defence".

It's been the usual collection of grossly simplistic stereotypes, for weeks, as the managerial debate has degenerated into bathos - and it's going the same way again, all over this thread. Nuno's teams do not play deep-lying negative football. They play carefully-drilled, organised football, with rapid transitions and a focus on unsettling the opposition and attacking when they have disrupted the opponents' shape.

We're not going to play like Leeds, scoring 3 and conceding 3. Is that bad?

Maybe someday Pochettino will return, as he plainly desires. He would have been my first choice. In the meantime, we have appointed an experienced and skilled manager who has never before had the opportunity to manage players of the calibre of those in the Spurs squad.

 

[Who’s our next manager?]

Agreed. Even going back further Bill Nicholson and Keith Burkinshaw, our two most successful managers, didn't have much to write about and the latter got us relegated.
If Nuno can sort out the defence and gets to keep Son and Kane I think we could do well. I think he'll get the players onside.

Not forgetting Redknapp whose instructions to a substitute were ‘ run around a bit and make a nuisance if yourself’

 

[davidmatzdorf]

Not forgetting Redknapp whose instructions to a substitute were ‘ run around a bit and make a nuisance if yourself’

I wish I could kill off this bullshit. I can't, but I'll try to do my bit for accurate history.

The context for the "fucking run around a bit" comment was very specific. Roman Pavlyuchenko had just arrived at Tottenham. He couldn't speak or understand English. Redknapp was sending him on as a substitute for his first match. He realised he couldn't give him any instructions, because there was no translator and no common language.

After the match, he made a joke about this, that all he had been able to do was to tell Pavlyuchenko to "run about a bit". Because he couldn't make himself understood.

This has been turned into a summary of Redknapp's tactical instructions to Tottenham throughout his managerial tenure. It's bullshit.

 

[soflapaul]

Arguably, the match that signalled the decline of Pochettino's Spurs was the one where Wolves came back from 1-0 down to win 1-3 in the last 20 minutes (December 2018). It was not only a shock (we were cruising), it was atypical of how the team had played for the previous 3 seasons. It wasn't atypical of the performances that followed.

Wolves achieved that by counter-attacking, but there was nothing defensive about their performance. They pressed and harried in midfield, rather than sitting deep and soaking up pressure. They won the ball, created transitions and disrupted our game management.

We've just spent the past two weeks watching an England team built on a solid defence, after spending a year moaning (somewhat unjustifiably) about Spurs' "shit defence" (the 4th best in the league in terms of goals conceded). We didn't concede many goals. We just conceded them at inopportune times, in a way typical of teams with weak mentalities.

What do people want? You can't have a well-drilled and reliable defence and play cavalier, devil-may-care football. You can adjust the balance from Mourinho-ball by actually drilling some attacking routines, rather than leaving Kane, Son, Lamela et al. to improvise. You can reintroduce a selectively pressing game (which Nuno will do, based on his previous teams), to win the ball high and create rapid transitions.

But last season demonstrates that, unless there is a solid team spirit (something for which Nuno has a high reputation), even good quality defenders will make mental mistakes at crucial times and your team will blow leads - that's what ruined last season, not having a "shit defence".

It's been the usual collection of grossly simplistic stereotypes, for weeks, as the managerial debate has degenerated into bathos - and it's going the same way again, all over this thread. Nuno's teams do not play deep-lying negative football. They play carefully-drilled, organised football, with rapid transitions and a focus on unsettling the opposition and attacking when they have disrupted the opponents' shape.

We're not going to play like Leeds, scoring 3 and conceding 3. Is that bad?

Maybe someday Pochettino will return, as he plainly desires. He would have been my first choice. In the meantime, we have appointed an experienced and skilled manager who has never before had the opportunity to manage players of the calibre of those in the Spurs squad.

not sure whether to compliment more your analysis or the use of the word "bathos". never in a million years did i expect that in SC. i am cautiously optimistic myself that Nuno with a few solid additions will have us competing for positions 3-6. his ability to build that team spirit quickly could make all the difference in the world when it comes to the final standings as we're going to be tested early.

 

[TutanKlinsmann]

We might sign Christiano Ronaldo and probably Pedro Mendez back as well

 

[jolsnogross]

I wish I could kill off this bullshit. I can't, but I'll try to do my bit for accurate history.

The context for the "fucking run around a bit" comment was very specific. Roman Pavlyuchenko had just arrived at Tottenham. He couldn't speak or understand English. Redknapp was sending him on a substitute for his first match. He realised he couldn't give him any instructions, because there was no translator and no common language.

After the match, he made a joke about this, that all he had been able to do was to tell Pavlyuchenko to "run about a bit". Because he couldn't make himself understood.

This has been turned into a summary of Redknapp's tactical instructions to Tottenham throughout his managerial tenure. It's bullshit.

It was this and a bit more, as I recall. I think Tevez was playing for Man United at the time and Redknapp was commending his work rate and lamenting ours. "run around a bit" was both a joke and a point to the players via the media that teams should be under pressure when playing us and we shouldn't be so static.

 

[jolsnogross]

Say it soft and it's almost like praying ?

It almost feels like I should bless myself when I hear his name. Good luck to him.

Nuno naysayers on here don't have a leg to stand on. He is a proper coach and manager, getting wealthy young men to improve individually and become a team and exceed expectations. He will almost certainly be better than the 'big name' manager we've just let go. The task is to get back to the level we were at under Poch and he has plenty in his CV to suggest he should be given some time to implement his ideas and see if that happens.

 

[dickieven]

It's strange, whilst I am not overly excited by this appointment, most of my friends supporting other teams really think it is a good move for us and are a bit worried. Let's hope they are right!

 

[AnotherSpursFan]

He is decisive and tactical

Number 9 can no longer jog around the pitch nor demand to play when he is half fit

 

[Who’s our next manager?]

I wish I could kill off this bullshit. I can't, but I'll try to do my bit for accurate history.

The context for the "fucking run around a bit" comment was very specific. Roman Pavlyuchenko had just arrived at Tottenham. He couldn't speak or understand English. Redknapp was sending him on a substitute for his first match. He realised he couldn't give him any instructions, because there was no translator and no common language.

After the match, he made a joke about this, that all he had been able to do was to tell Pavlyuchenko to "run about a bit". Because he couldn't make himself understood.

This has been turned into a summary of Redknapp's tactical instructions to Tottenham throughout his managerial tenure. It's bullshit.

Thanks for that info but the post was suppposed to be in jest. I should have puta few ??after it to indicate that.
??and not for anyone to take it too seriously.

 

[Trix]

If Kane thinks he’s bigger than the club he should leave.

It's not about whether Kane thinks he's bigger than the club, more does the clubs ambition match his. They are two very different things altogether. Not that it's in his hands anyway

I've had a few rants over the last few weeks regarding certain issues I believe will become long term problems for the club. Until more signs of that come up I'll be back to giving the manager and playing staff my full support(not Winks). It was never anything against Santo and I hope he does well.

Coys(not Winks)

 

[Trix]

Well,now that Nuno has been appointed we have 4 days to appoint a coaching team before pre season training starts....good luck with that,. Mason and King to kick off perhaps.

Will be in the main the sports science guys/medical team same as every other year.

 

[Metalhead]

I've just been pretty angry with this club as of late, so it's hard for me to call it a fantastic club. But I'm sure in a few weeks I will be feeling different.

It's a fantastic club - unfortunately the decisions taken by those in charge of the club does leave a lot to be desired at times. Let's hope that whether by accident or design, this appointment works out well.

 

[Metalhead]

It's strange, whilst I am not overly excited by this appointment, most of my friends supporting other teams really think it is a good move for us and are a bit worried. Let's hope they are right!

I've had friends who support other teams say the same.

 

[TheHoddleWaddle]

Who the heck is this mendez geezer and why is everyone messing the bed over him? Some.super agent ?

Yet more theatrical, behind the scenes, conspiratorial nonsense.

Welcome to Nuno. Agree or not, he's here now. Being on his back from the off isn't the answer. Open mind and all that.

 

[wirE]

Given a two year contract. Easy to get rid of if this project turns sour. Anyways.. Welcome!