There were very few voices of dissent when Nuno Espirito Santo’s short reign as Tottenham boss came to an end.
It was November 2021 and more than the fact they were eighth in the Premier League with a disappointing record of eight wins from 17 games it was a matter of style.
‘Clearly not the right fit,’ was the verdict from those at the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust.
These reflections, three years on, offer an intriguing perspective as Spurs travel to Nottingham Forest, flying high in fourth under Nuno, difficult to play against, threatening on the break and fuelled by the goals of Chris Wood.
Nobody at the City Ground is complaining about the way they are going about it while Spurs fans are locking into another existential crisis about what it is they really want and expect from their team.
Ange Postecoglou has revived an identity for flamboyance and flair after four years under Jose Mourinho, Nuno and Antonio Conte. Goals are guaranteed. So too, thrills with results teetering in the balance even when one side is three up.
Tottenham sit eight points behind Nottingham Forest ahead of their Boxing Day showdown
Yet they wallow below midway in the table, besieged for weeks by injuries and eight points adrift of Forest after Sunday’s demoralising 6-3 thrashing at home against Liverpool.
‘I am responsible for it,’ said Postecoglou. ‘I am the one choosing the path we’re on. It’s difficult, I don’t like seeing our supporters having to experience a game like that.
‘I don’t like the players giving everything and feeling the way they do. And all the staff, because everyone works hard and they’re all doing a great job. But ultimately, on a day like that, everyone leaves fairly deflated and disappointed and unfairly judged.
‘That’s my responsibility. Of course it weighs on me very heavily. But my biggest responsibility is to try and change the course of this club and bring success. And as much as I take it pretty hard, I still feel like my role is to make sure that we stay the course.’
He is criticised by experts for failing to rethink his cavalier style just as Nuno was bemoaned and ultimately fired by Spurs because his football was dry and lacking adventure.
‘In today’s world we search for perfection and it doesn’t exist,’ said Postecoglou. ‘Whatever road you go down there’s going to be some pain and challenges.
‘People say I should be more defensive minded so that means I need to temper my attacking approach. Make it more defensive to achieve what? Achieve perfection. And if you’re too defensive, people say you should be a little bit more attacking, for what purpose? To be perfect. None of that exists.
‘Some people will always just look in the black-and-white terms of just results. If I’m winning, then I’m great. My system is great, my beliefs are great, my philosophy is great and if I’m losing everything isn’t.’
There were very few voices of dissent when Nuno Espirito Santo reign at Tottenham ended
Tottenham’s crisis is eased with Rodrigo Bentancur back after a seven-match ban and Ben Davies vying to return after injury.
The transfer market opens next week, but Postecoglou fears it could be more difficult than ever to sign players in midseason because of changes to European competitions.
The Spurs boss said: ‘Sometimes in January you would find a couple of clubs thinking, ‘we’re not in the Champions League so maybe just release a couple from our roster’ and that doesn’t exist now.
‘European competitions are still in the balance. So that probably adds another layer of difficulty to it. But we’ll endeavour because there’s definitely a need for us to reinforce.
‘We’ll just see how successful we are in that. Improving the team may be a bit challenging, but improving the depth of our squad, I think there’s always possibilities out there.’
