Nuno Espirito Santo looks on from the dugout
Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest host Spurs with an eight-point gap to them
Nuno Espírito Santo has Nottingham Forest dreaming of the Champions League as this historic club enjoy Christmas Day in the top four for the first time in 30 years.
Ahead of the visit of Tottenham Hotspur on Boxing Day, there is a tangible feel-good factor on the banks of the River Trent and Nuno is firmly on course to be in the conversation to win manager of the year.
The brilliant, bearded Portuguese has recovered from a difficult first season of fighting relegation and points deductions to underline that he is a very shrewd operator at this level.
At Wolves, during four largely transformational years, he reached a Europa League quarter-final, FA Cup semi-final, won a Championship title and finished twice in the Premier League’s top seven.
Yet it has to be remembered that when he arrived at Forest just over 12 months ago, there were some doubts. He had recently won a league title and a major cup in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ittihad but, in England, his appointment was regarded in some quarters as a gamble.
That scepticism was unquestionably down to his nightmarish tenure at Tottenham at the start of the 2021-22 season, which lasted just 17 matches.
Unhappy players, frustration over tactics, plus five defeats in the last seven league matches ended in a ruthless dismissal on the first day of November.
Portuguese faced several problems during tenure
There can be no revisionism over his time at Spurs, but it is tempting to wonder whether much has changed at the club over the years. It is the only smear on an otherwise impressive managerial CV in the Premier League.
Nuno was dealing with a multitude of problems during that short period in charge, many of which Ange Postecoglou finds himself tussling with now. Postecoglou will arrive at the City Ground with his philosophy coming under intense scrutiny, and defeat there will only increase the pressure.
Nuno knows from personal experience that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy does not tolerate underachievement. He never likes to look back, but has since admitted it was the wrong time to take the job.
Nuno was probably about fifth choice in the selection process, after moves to appoint Antonio Conte, Paulo Fonseca and Gennaro Gattuso – and even re-appoint Mauricio Pochettino – failed.
After sacking Jose Mourinho, Levy had promised “attacking, entertaining football” and the return to Spurs’ “core DNA”.
Nuno’s teams at Wolves and Forest have produced some outstanding attacking performances but the game model is not to control matches.
‘NunoBall’ is primarily to soak up pressure, flood midfield and break on the counter-attack, a strategy which has helped Forest claim wins over the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Aston Villa this season.
Only Everton have had less possession than Forest in the Premier League this season. Would Levy have accepted such a statistic?
Spurs were going through period of transition
At Spurs, Nuno’s appointment came during a period of transition, with finances restricted during the Covid-19 pandemic. The major talking point that summer revolved around Harry Kane, who was considering his future after yet another campaign of underachievement for the club.
Manchester City launched a lengthy pursuit of the England captain, making a number of bids that Levy rejected. Kane insisted there had been a gentleman’s agreement to sell him, and Nuno was working throughout pre-season against the backdrop of potentially losing his star player.
Nuno Espirito Santo and Harry Kane
Uncertainty over Harry Kane’s Spurs future disrupted Nuno’s brief time in charge
There was further turbulence with Kane also reporting late for training. The situation was resolved only days before the start of the season.
Nuno pressed to sign Adama Traoré from Wolves and a back-up forward to Kane, but neither materialised. It was also a time when the Covid pandemic was ongoing, and Nuno never appeared comfortable.
With the majority of his family living in Porto, and England still under lockdown restrictions, he had serious concerns over what the future of football would look like.
This was the Zoom era of press conferences and Nuno struggled to get his message across in the media and, ultimately, to build a rapport with fans.
Spurs supporters never saw this side of Nuno, but he has always valued the relationship between a club and their community. Over time that has become very apparent at Forest. In recent weeks, his compassionate side has emerged in visits to hospitals and his memorable press conference with Warriors United, a local club for children and young adults with learning disabilities.
Management will always be ultimately about results on the pitch, however.
It seems like a trick of the imagination now that Nuno won the manager of the month award for August at Spurs. That included a win over champions Manchester City on the opening day. Yet it began to fall apart after the international break. Heavy defeats by Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Arsenal triggered deep concern, and Nuno was gone after the 3-0 loss by Manchester United on Oct 30.
With his tactics, style of play and demeanour all under scrutiny, it was an easy decision for the Spurs hierarchy to make. During the home defeat against United, both Nuno and Levy were subjected to negative chants from Spurs fans and there was only going to be one winner.
‘I was proud to manage them, but it’s over. We move on’
Was Nuno given enough time? Probably not, but there is little doubt that the situation did not show signs of improvement.
Nuno is concerned only with the future now and, more specifically, the old trope of taking one game at a time. Forest are eight points above Tottenham and Nuno is having to find new and inventive ways of dampening talk of European football next season.
Perhaps he is better suited to clubs the size of Forest and Wolves, where he can build a team slowly and implement his philosophy.
Ahead of the Boxing Day game, he reflected a little on his time at Spurs. “I learn a lot from every experience and every club, good or bad things,” he says.
“I was tremendously proud to have been able to manage such a huge club but it’s over, I finished and we move on. The past is the past and I’m now delighted to be focused on Forest.”
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