Tottenham finally has their man as Nuno Espirito Santo named Head Coach

After months of speculation and the highs and lows associated with the longest coaching search in recent memory, Tottenham Hotspur has named Nuno Espirito Santo Head Coach.

Tottenham appoint new Head Coach

The timing was interesting, given it was approximately 8 pm at night when Tottenham made the announcement that Nuno Espirito Santo was appointed the new Head Coach of Spurs until 2023.

Similarities but different than Jose for Tottenham

Like his predecessor, Santo is a Portuguese coach and while also like Jose Mourinho, Santo is a client of super-agent Jorge Mendes, the similarities do not extend much past that. Add in the fact that Santo has never coached one of Spurs arch-rivals and any talk of Santo just being a Jose clone should disappear over time.

While Santo is certainly a coach that has a pragmatic side, as we saw with Wolerhampton’s injuries this past season, Nuno is really known for an aggressive attacking brand of football.

Matt Doherty, who did not have his best season this past year managed 20 assists under Santo at Wolves, so obviously he knows how to make something work. Further, his work bringing Wolves to the top-flight and managing the Wanders to seventh should not be counted lightly.

What Santo did with Wolves should not be undersold

It would be hard to argue that this past season was more competitive in the Premier League than the two prior. However, this past season everyone was praising Marcelo Bielsa for his 9th placed finish with Leeds. Santo did him two better with seventh-placed finishes in back-to-back campaigns, playing a brand of football that frankly, teams did not want to face.

Ultimately, Tottenham has lost that edge they had under Mauricio Pochettino where teams did not like facing Spurs because you knew you were going to be in for it. The idea of soft is something that Santo should be ready to address in this team.

In the end, Santo is not as sexy or clear-cut of a pick as say Antonio Conte but Nuno should restore some of the pride and character that has seemingly left the club. With a lot to do in short order, we hope Santo hits the ground running and can just say welcome to Tottenham!