FORMER Manager Watch: Nuno Espírito Santo

[rez9000]

Jol didn't fall into the job.
Levy didn't think he was a big enough name for the fans, so was brought in as assistant with the plan he would take over.

Was just a much quicker transition

Really?! never ever heard that before. Interesting, thanks for sharing.

It should be noted that Jol's eventual succession was Arnsen's plan, not Levy's. You're right on the fact that Jol wasn't deemed big enough (ironically), but Arnesen and Jol were tight with each other and Jol was encouraged by Arnsen to essentially work around Santini, even giving contradictory instructions to the players, which contributed to Santini's resignation and Jol's succession.

 

[rez9000]

Came in to say exactly this. Would those who wanted him....even at £50 million still want him now? It's tricky giving players a manager wants early on. We'd be saddled with him now or he'd have prolonged Nunos exit.

And, as happened, at the time, some are still confusing what the actual issue was.

The issue for me, and most, wasn't that we failed to land Traore - it was the fact that Levy interfered with a decision made by Paratici and Nuno, in contravention of what was suggested would be the case after Paratici's appointment, for financial reasons.

Regardless of Nuno's future fate, at the time he was the coach and he wanted a player. His DoF felt that the transfer was justified and their judgement was vetoed by the chairman. That is the issue. Not that we failed to land a specific player.

So, no, there's nothing wrong with being bothered by the failure to land Traore because it was indicative of a chairman who was doing what he wasn't supposed to be doing. Similar to agreeing to appoint Nuno in the first place.

 

[Ledders Army]

And, as happened, at the time, some are still confusing what the actual issue was.

The issue for me, and most, wasn't that we failed to land Traore - it was the fact that Levy interfered with a decision made by Paratici and Nuno, in contravention of what was suggested would be the case after Paratici's appointment, for financial reasons.

Regardless of Nuno's future fate, at the time he was the coach and he wanted a player. His DoF felt that the transfer was justified and their judgement was vetoed by the chairman. That is the issue. Not that we failed to land a specific player.

So, no, there's nothing wrong with being bothered by the failure to land Traore because it was indicative of a chairman who was doing what he wasn't supposed to be doing. Similar to agreeing to appoint Nuno in the first place.

It probably suggests Levy was never fully behind the appointment of Nuno. Was always a stop gap until Poch became available when he didn't win the champs league this season. The appalling standard of football has forced Levy into an early change. Hopefully if we get Conte Levy will back him & Paratici's decisions in the transfer market

 

[NEVILLEB]

No they wouldn’t. Pochettino didn’t for example.

The quality of football, the lack of a game plan, the lack of progression and probably the lack of personality meant that he couldn’t stay

See above

 

[Danners9]

What a relief. I feel able to comment on Spurs again now this is over.

Feel a bit for him. Thrown into a job he was never suited for, probably didn't really want after leaving Wolves. Appointed late in the summer under difficult circumstances and already facing an uphill battle to win over the fans, but dearie me did he make it harder than it needed to be. The City game was a very nice surprise, but that was the peak. Even the wins since then have felt lucky. The way games were managed looked so amateur. I haven't even watched all the games to be able to comment but splitting the squad for the Europa Conference then losing was not a good sign at all. Talking about controlling the game (vs West Ham) while not laying a glove on them was delusional. Taking so long to change the game after conceding was really poor. The A team had a whole week to work together for the West Ham game and they concede to Antonio from a set piece. A goal so obvious even the media were talking about West Ham's threat from set pieces before the game.

Most of the games I saw looked like a bunch of stuff happening. No real idea what is coming next, no idea how to attack each team, just chaotic 'playground football' as Hoddle put it on Saturday. Not helped by a string of useless performances by certain players, of course, but if you're the manager you have to at least try and I never got that impression. Even conceding early to Newcastle showed a lack of preparation. Given the news of the takeover and raucous atmosphere it was painfully obvious they would come out of the blocks quickly. Just lucky they are crap, but even then it was a nervy end. Same as Palace. Season after season we know they press and harrass at home against Spurs. No answer to that one. That was the beginning of the end for me. Turned it off after 60 mins or so.

The players need to take some responsibility as well. The performances some of them have been putting in will not be tolerated by Conte. We have been in decline for a while, which is Levy's doing of course. He doesn't get away with it, either. That comment about Spurs DNA and then appointing Nuno was either a complete lack of understanding, a complete betrayal or having to get a manager (any manager!) after missing out on everyone else. Perhaps all three.

We're now looking at a situation where a shot on goal against Everton is considered progress. Better beat Vitesse, too. And then bring on January. Levy must have made promises to Conte. I would say there is nowhere to hide if he doesn't support the manager, but there always is somewhere to hide. He is Teflon, after all.

 

[ohtottenham!]

Sorry, Loco, but I'm not having that. I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree.

The fans are tangentially responsible for Nuno's sacking, but it was the chants of 'we want Levy out' that stung our chairman. It's also been reported that Paratici had run out of patience, with his reaction to Cavani's goal being to furiously walk down the tunnel when it happened in a towering rage.

The fans are not responsible for the piss-poor management that we've experienced under Levy. It was his decision-making that ultimately led to Nuno's appointment. It's unfortunate that Nuno was the fall guy, but it wasn't the fans that put him on that cliff-edge by appointing him, it was Levy.

And Nuno was a desperate man at the end, as evidenced by his roundly-derided substitution. The reason for his being so desperate was because he was never fit-for-purpose. He was what he was: an average manager who was expected by the club to overachieve to a degree unprecedented in football.

If I take my expensive car to a garage, expecting it to be put under the care of their top mechanic and they instead employ a trainee who promptly screws the thing up, I have every right to be angry at the garage. I can also be critical of the work the trainee did. I'm not criticising the trainee himself, but his work is fair game. And likewise, the work of the management of the garage who decided to employ the trainee to do the job in the first place.

We, the fans, are not responsible. Some of us have been a little harsh on Nuno, or have expressed disproportionate rage at him not achieving targets he isn't equipped to meet, but we didn't hire him and we certainly didn't fire him.

I agree with you. It’s still always about Levy in the end whether we get Conte, Pep, Klopp, Nuno or Sam Allardyce. The uncomfortable, critical spotlight and pressure on Levy is the reason we hopefully get Conte. It’s probably been going on in the background for a while re Conte negotiations during Nuno’s tenure.

As our “CEO”, he’s happy to talk about Spurs DNA in a message to us fans re a coaching appointment. The logic never stacked up obviously – from the get-go and outcome re Nuno.

It’s about Levy’s own DNA in the end as he’s the one that makes the decisions that determine the direction of the club. It’s definitely not in his DNA, purely from observation as a fan with regard to the last 21 years of Levy's tenure, to appoint someone like Conte. Great news!

He’s been “forced” into it due to pressure to deliver, which is long overdue. Hope Conte’s backed as far as possible with both finances and time.

 

[glacierSpurs]

View attachment 99083
See above

There are so much more than just these stats.

Kane was upcoming and hungry under Poch - in fact many of the young players were so hungry and fit and fighting for Poch (and perhaps for their future as well as Dier and Dele, even Winks were trying so hard to perform and they were quite a regular called-up to the national squad).

Kane under Nuno was soooo sulky, and that is definitely affecting the whole squad morale as well, who was never dropped soon after he came into the team after the season started despite playing so badly subsequently.

Nuno's moody nature was so much worse than Poch I reckoned. And the family-brotherhood bonds Poch instilled within the squad has definitely helped in his motivation too, whereas I think Nuno was always fighting alone in the squad, which we saw too often Hojbjerg cuts a frustrated figure we didn't see even under Mourinho.

Simply, the squad was ready to give Poch time and they saw results. Nuno seemingly lost the dressing room real quick and players totally didn't seem convinced of him at all.

 

[dontcallme]

There are so much more than just these stats.

Kane was upcoming and hungry under Poch - in fact many of the young players were so hungry and fit and fighting for Poch (and perhaps for their future as well as Dier and Dele, even Winks were trying so hard to perform and they were quite a regular called-up to the national squad).

Kane under Nuno was soooo sulky, and that is definitely affecting the whole squad morale as well, who was never dropped soon after he came into the team after the season started despite playing so badly subsequently.

Nuno's moody nature was so much worse than Poch I reckoned. And the family-brotherhood bonds Poch instilled within the squad has definitely helped in his motivation too, whereas I think Nuno was always fighting alone in the squad, which we saw too often Hojbjerg cuts a frustrated figure we didn't see even under Mourinho.

Simply, the squad was ready to give Poch time and they saw results. Nuno seemingly lost the dressing room real quick and players totally didn't seem convinced of him at all.

Carragher explains the difference in the stats pretty well.

 

[littlewilly]

This guy made two or three of the stupidest and most naive selection and substitution decisions I’ve seen in a long lifetime of watching football. In return, this nincompoop earned millions of pounds. Nice guy or not, he should have gone three weeks ago.

 

[piedpiper]

And, as happened, at the time, some are still confusing what the actual issue was.

The issue for me, and most, wasn't that we failed to land Traore - it was the fact that Levy interfered with a decision made by Paratici and Nuno, in contravention of what was suggested would be the case after Paratici's appointment, for financial reasons.

Regardless of Nuno's future fate, at the time he was the coach and he wanted a player. His DoF felt that the transfer was justified and their judgement was vetoed by the chairman. That is the issue. Not that we failed to land a specific player.

So, no, there's nothing wrong with being bothered by the failure to land Traore because it was indicative of a chairman who was doing what he wasn't supposed to be doing. Similar to agreeing to appoint Nuno in the first place.

He would be surplus to requirements now though would he not? Or do you believe he was the missing link to make Nuno a success? Thanks enjoyed your reply.

 

[jpascavitz]

Some of the reports doing the rounds today are a bit harsh and seem to be twisting the narrative that liken NES to Ted Lasso ffs. I'm sure every manager does some odd drills to get players out of their comfort zones.

I actually think over time NES could have been decent for us. It was a tough start to the season. Coming off of a COVID campaign, international mess, Kane saga, etc. he had to play most of the traditional top 6 already. What really hurt him was the lack of buy in over recent weeks from the players, who often get away with the blame, and the lack of seeing anything developing.

Even though Poch didn't start off fantastic with us, I remember thinking even in pre-season, "OK. This team is going to run and press." and that was enough for me that year. It was something different, it looked like they cared - you could see what was being worked on. That just was never the case for NES' spurs. The first game or two, even though we didn't create a TON of chances, there was a SMALL bit of identity. The players throwing themselves at everything, swift counter attacks, and I was OK with that. But when that fell off after the first month, it's was only downhill from there.

As many others said, seems like a great guy, and hope he gets a shot somewhere else.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

I hope he gets a break from football and comes back when he is ready.

Just wasn't the right fit for us, but I hope his next job (depending on club...) goes better for him

Yep football management is so so much about the 'right fit'.

Nuno was the right fit for Wolves for 3 successful years but he was never the right fit for us, wish him well in the future.

Conte however should be the right fit for us, we need his personality and enthusiasm.

I said when Nuno was in charge that his body language and interviews were poor and uninspiring and a few people say why does that matter, hopefully now they can see that it matters because being a football manager isn't just about tactics and points, you need to be able to motivate the players and get the fans on side to believe in you.

Nuno was a 'nice guy' but lets not lie, he was very dull and boring, the fans warmed much more to Poch's personality and style of play which is why he was ultimately given more time, for Nuno I do feel sorry for him to an extent as it was a very very tough situation to walk into but he didn't help himself with being so cold with the media etc and it seems that was also replicated behind the scenes with the players which is why they weren't motivated by him and why we were 20th for running stats.

The players also need to take a real look at themselves and stop acting like spoilt brats and I can't wait for Conte to kick them into shape.

Never the right fit for us but good luck to him in his next role.

 

[ZiggySpurs]

No Nut November

No NuNo

 

[Aphex]

Yep football management is so so much about the 'right fit'.

Nuno was the right fit for Wolves for 3 successful years but he was never the right fit for us, wish him well in the future.

Conte however should be the right fit for us, we need his personality and enthusiasm.

I said when Nuno was in charge that his body language and interviews were poor and uninspiring and a few people say why does that matter, hopefully now they can see that it matters because being a football manager isn't just about tactics and points, you need to be able to motivate the players and get the fans on side to believe in you.

Nuno was a 'nice guy' but lets not lie, he was very dull and boring, the fans warmed much more to Poch's personality and style of play which is why he was ultimately given more time, for Nuno I do feel sorry for him to an extent as it was a very very tough situation to walk into but he didn't help himself with being so cold with the media etc and it seems that was also replicated behind the scenes with the players which is why they weren't motivated by him and why we were 20th for running stats.

The players also need to take a real look at themselves and stop acting like spoilt brats and I can't wait for Conte to kick them into shape.

Never the right fit for us but good luck to him in his next role.

Spot on. Modern management is about communicating with the fans and media, Nuno was terrible at it. Ok maybe you can get away with it if you are winning and or playing good football, but Nuno wasn't doing that either. He was basically failing badly at every KPI you can think of.

The players have no hiding place now, I suggest some will be shipped out quickly.

 

[Haddock]

Have any of the players said their farewells to Nuno on social media?

 

[Gassin's finest]

It started so positively with that win against City. I know its been said plenty, but I really do think H returning to the squad fucked it all up. The positivity was palpable after that game.

 

[Demba]

Who is Nuno?

 

[glacierSpurs]

I have a better chance of taking over than Conte. Adjust your expectations accordingly, and it will make this process easier.

BTW pal, your turn have to wait. Sorry. ?

 

[Bluto Blutarsky]

BTW pal, your turn have to wait. Sorry. ?

I turned Levy down...

 

[whitesocks]

And, as happened, at the time, some are still confusing what the actual issue was.

The issue for me, and most, wasn't that we failed to land Traore - it was the fact that Levy interfered with a decision made by Paratici and Nuno, in contravention of what was suggested would be the case after Paratici's appointment, for financial reasons.

Regardless of Nuno's future fate, at the time he was the coach and he wanted a player. His DoF felt that the transfer was justified and their judgement was vetoed by the chairman. That is the issue. Not that we failed to land a specific player.

So, no, there's nothing wrong with being bothered by the failure to land Traore because it was indicative of a chairman who was doing what he wasn't supposed to be doing. Similar to agreeing to appoint Nuno in the first place.

This is your take on what we were told, and that's fine.
My take is that Nuno, Paratici (and mendes) all tried to convince Levy that traore could play as a striker and so the second striker budget should be made available for him.
Traore is a great player - unplayable at times - but a striker he isn't. You do not have to research very long to find this out.

I don't expect any better from paratici - he likes to get deals done and will say anything. He's a salesman/deal-maker. But nuno was meant to be the man of integrity. He was meant to be honest. A football man. But the first time he is asked for an opinion, he sides with old friends against the interests of the club. Down to hell you go, nuno. This is life.

Of course we don't know this to be absolutely true, and we'll never know. But we know that we haven't a second striker, which is disgraceful. It is consistent with the view that nuno and paratici thought they could bounce Traore through at the last minute... to fill a gap... he is not suited to... to any extent.

I'm glad that Levy stood up to the scheming ~characters. Credit where credit is due.
I can't say I'm unhappy nuno has been sacked, so that is one problem gone. Paratici hopefully knows now that he can't get away with this shite.