Sport
Tottenham left repeating mistakes of the past
Nuno Espirito Santo must be grateful to Manchester United. Their demolition at the hands of Liverpool rather overshadowed Tottenham Hotspur’s meek defeat by West Ham United on Sunday. But as the two managers prepare to lock horns in north London this weekend, Nuno will be feeling the heat just as much as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
This time two years ago, Mauricio Pochettino was still the Tottenham boss. An indifferent start to the season led some to question whether the Argentine had taken the club as far as he could. Just five months on from Spurs’ appearance in the Champions League final, Daniel Levy had to decide whether to back or sack Pochettino. He chose the latter – and it has been all downhill since then.
No doubt seduced by the Portuguese’s charisma and stardust, Levy installed Jose Mourinho as Pochettino’s replacement. It did not work. Mourinho has long left his jobs under a cloud having fallen out with everyone in the building. The only difference at Tottenham was the absence of success before the meltdown.
When Levy dismissed Mourinho earlier this year, he assured Spurs supporters that he would not make the same mistake again.
“We are acutely aware of the need to select someone whose values reflect those of our great club and return to playing football with the style for which we are known – free-flowing, attacking and entertaining – whilst continuing to embrace our desire to see young players flourish from our academy alongside experienced talent,” the long-serving chairman said in a statement.
Fast forward six months and Tottenham fans are bemoaning an insipid display against West Ham in which their side had no shots in the second half.
Spurs lack creativity, guile and attacking intent. They rank fourth-bottom for expected goals this season, ahead of only Newcastle United, Burnley and Norwich City. The Canaries are the only side to have taken fewer shots than Spurs up to now. It is fair to say the “free-flowing, attacking and entertaining” football envisaged by Levy has yet to materialise.
Nuno is not to blame for all of Tottenham’s ills. He inherited a team which only finished seventh last term. Harry Kane looks as out of sorts as he has ever done. Other players have been inconsistent both between and within games.
But nor has Nuno given Tottenham fans anything to hold on to. There have been precious few convincing displays in the league. There are no signs of a grand plan or master vision to take the club forward. A record of four defeats in nine games shows that Spurs are also too easy to play against. Performances and results are both missing right now.
The 3-1 defeat by Arsenal in September remains the nadir, but in some ways Sunday’s loss at the London Stadium was more worrying. Spurs’ showing against Arsenal was so abject that it could perhaps be described as a bad day at the office in which nothing came off. The 1-0 loss to West Ham was more akin to a capitulation.
Tottenham retreated into their shells after falling behind in the 72nd minute. Their entire second-half showing was dismal; both before and after Michail Antonio’s goal, they created little of note. Nuno did not turn to his bench until there were six minutes left on the clock. Most concerning of all was his post-match declaration that Tottenham were the better team and had had the match under control.
Nuno never felt like a long-term appointment at Spurs, but Levy no doubt believed he could do a decent enough job until next summer at the earliest. A defeat by Manchester United on Saturday could leave him wondering whether he has got yet another big managerial decision wrong.
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