Where did it all go wrong for Nuno Espírito Santo at Tottenham?

Former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte faces an uphill struggle

Nuno: ill-fated son of José
Nuno: ill-fated son of José
(Image credit: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Not long after sacking José Mourinho in April, Daniel Levy assured Tottenham’s fans that the club’s next manager would be a very different animal. His replacement, the chairman implied, would favour “free-flowing, attacking” football, not the defensive-minded tactics favoured by Mourinho. But what did Levy then go and do, asked Jason Burt in The Daily Telegraph. He “went out and hired Nuno Espírito Santo” – a man renowned for being a “Mourinho-lite character whose first impulse is how to stop the opposition”. Sure enough, it didn’t work out. After a string of uninspiring performances – culminating in a 3-0 home thrashing by Manchester United last weekend – the Portuguese was sacked on Monday.

“Nuno’s tenure began splendidly,” said Alyson Rudd in The Times: he won his first three Premier League matches; in August he was named manager of the month. But the defeats quickly mounted. Tottenham have lost five of their last seven Premier League games. Players are starting to look “forlorn” and the fans are volubly dissatisfied.

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