Opinion: Nuno Espirito Santo- A great managerial choice for Spurs

When Spurs were on the hunt for a manager, it felt as though they were getting rejected time after time. So much in fact, that people jokingly made starting elevens out of the managers that Tottenham failed to acquire!

Therefore, people were inclined to believe Nuno would be a failure because of how many managers were asked before him.

Now, I must preface when I began writing this it was before the games versus Crystal Palace. The result has definitely cast doubt in my mind, but I still believe Nuno has the quality to get Spurs back to how the season began, with winning ways.

Before I get to why he was great choice from who there was available, first I’ll talk about several issues that popped up from the previous game.

To start with, his choice of players against Crystal Palace was very questionable. Harry Winks over Tanguy Ndombele and Ben Davies being subbed on are both wrong decisions in my opinion. Winks shouldn’t have a look in for a Premier League start, especially because of his performances in the last year.

Another thing that needs to be worked on is the player’s discipline. I have to say, I love Tanganga’s aggressive playstyle. But Nuno needs to help Tanganga make sure it doesn’t get out of hand.

Lastly, is the general style of Nuno’s football. From an outsider’s perspective, you would think Tottenham are the much weaker side battling to survive from the get-go. When actually it is the other way around despite Spurs’ unfortunate injuries.

I know some people would have already turned on him from that disastrous performance, but I don’t think you should yet.

Give him some more time and see where Tottenham are after another month. There are plenty of difficult games to test Nuno and we will see how he fares.

So, with all of this being said, we shouldn’t take away from the 3 Premier League games prior to Crystal Palace.

Nuno had achieved a record of 4 wins and 1 loss in the 21/22 season before the Crystal Palace game. Surprisingly, the loss was from a shock defeat against Paços De Ferreira.

On a much better and more important note, however, in the Premier League Spurs were the only team to have a perfect start. Spurs fans couldn’t wish for much more.

Being the only team to have 3 clean sheets has to be spoken about. Especially having played against the league champions, Manchester City.

The main reason for the clean sheets is that since the appointment of Nuno, Tottenham were playing like a different team defensively.

There have been no errors leading to goals from the centre-halves which was rare in the previous season. Towards the end of the 20/21 season, Dier and Sanchez were making constant mistakes leading to goals.

Now, Dier was an August Premier League player of the month nominee and it wouldn’t have been shocking to hear Sanchez was nominated as well.

Nuno would have certainly played a huge part in their rejuvenation, so it would be unfair not to attribute a large amount of this success to him.

It isn’t just Dier and Sanchez that Nuno has refreshed, Dele is another benefactor. He still has a mountain to climb if he wants to reach the heights previously achieved in his career.

Nevertheless, Dele is already much better than he was while Jose was the manager. And if he continues getting regular game time, I am sure he will carry on improving with each match.

Seeing what Nuno did with Wolves, also fills me with hope and confidence for Spurs not only this season but many in the future. He brought a Championship side to the Premier League through a first-place finish.

Once he had done this, the following season, Nuno managed to help Wolves accomplish a 7th place finish that came with a spot in the Europa League.

So, on top of his skill to revamp players to a previous or upgraded level of skill, he has a much more valuable power. The power I am referring to is his ability to overachieve with sides. And that is exactly what Tottenham need.

And for that reason especially, he was a great managerial choice, despite the recent result against Crystal Palace.

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