Jamie Carragher has criticised Tottenham’s decision to appoint Nuno Espirito Santo in the first place but insisted he could understand the club’s decision to sack him.
Nuno and his coaching staff lasted just ten Premier League games and four months at the helm of Tottenham, with the North Londoners winning five of those matches.
However, it was his style of football that many Spurs fans had their reservations about as the Portuguese coach did not show any signs of implementing the ‘front-foot, attacking’ football promised by Daniel Levy in the summer.
Carragher insisted that the 47-year-old was never a good fit for a club like Spurs.
The former Liverpool defender said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football: “I can understand [why Spurs acted so soon].
“I can never justify a manager losing his job after 10 Premier League games, it doesn’t feel right, but I don’t think Nuno at Spurs ever felt right either.
“I don’t feel this is a bad sacking, I think it was a bad appointment initially. Nuno’s style of football was at odds not only with the ‘Tottenham way’ but also the ‘top-club way’.”
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Carragher also suggested that Nuno’s aloof demeanour in press conferences played a part in his downfall as the Tottenham fans were not able to connect with him.
He said: “I also think Nuno’s demeanour played a part. He’s very reserved, doesn’t give much away, and in this day and age that plays a big part in what the supporters feel towards a manager.
“They hang off every word and analyse and dissect what a manager says. You get absolutely nothing from Nuno, that his way, that’s fine, but that wasn’t going to work at a club like Tottenham.”
The Sky Sports pundit pointed out that while the results themselves did not warrant a sacking for Nuno, it was the lack of any encouraging signs in their performances that would have concerned Tottenham.
Comparing Mauricio Pochettino’s first ten league games at Spurs, which saw the club pick up quite similar results to this season, the former Reds star pointed out that there were signs of a more attacking approach under the Argentine, which was absent under Nuno.
He added: “Were Nuno’s results that bad to deserve being sacked after 10 Premier League games, I’d probably say no. But the performances aligned with the results is why he lost his job.
“Tottenham’s best manager for 30 years was Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs fans would love to go back to the football he produced.
“Pochettino had a really tough start, he mentioned when he came on Monday Night Football how he feared he would lose his job after a difficult opening 10 games.
“Nuno had more wins and more points from his first 10 games, but the reason Pochettino survived was that there was something to get behind in terms of the performances.
“The rank in terms of goals under Nuno is almost the worst in the Premier League, xG is one of the worst. Under Pochettino, even in those 10 early games, Spurs were on the front foot, they created chances, and they were exciting to watch.
“Tottenham’s wins under Nuno haven’t been convincing, they have been by the odd goal. It is as much about performance as it is results, and compared to Pochettino, Nuno’s stats are telling.”
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That is a comprehensive analysis from Carragher that explains Tottenham’s reasons for their decision quite well. His point about Nuno’s demeanour is particularly interesting as Alasdair Gold also made a similar point in his recent YouTube videos.
While Nuno was always very respectful to the club and fans, he did seem to give generic answers for almost every question, which made it difficult for the fans to connect with him.
In the current social media age, managers perhaps do need to show a bit more enthusiasm to win the fans over.
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