Measuring the damage of Nuno’s brief reign at Tottenham

Nuno Espirito Santo has been shown the door at Tottenham Hotspur after just four months in charge, so how much long-term damage did the Portuguese manager’s reign cause?

Everyone knew this was coming, especially after the chorus of boos and overwhelming abundance of negative sentiment during Saturday’s 3-0 debacle against Manchester United. We all know who is to blame for Tottenham’s most recent failed experiment. Unfortunately the culpable party, Daniel Levy, isn’t going anywhere.

Speaking of the chairman, it was he, on the behest of Fabio Paratici, who settled on Nuno after over two months in search of a manager. You might recall Spurs broke the record for the longest time without a manager. Nuno was Tottenham’s sixth or seventh choice to take the helm, so nobody is surprised to see how quickly things deteriorated.

It took Levy half as long to find a manager as it did to sack the one he appointed. While large portions of the blame falls squarely on the chairman’s shoulders, it is Nuno who lost his job. In fairness, the Portuguese manager had to go.

What long term damage did Nuno cause Tottenham?

Luckily, Nuno’s brief tenure didn’t cause too much irreparable damage that wasn’t already inflicted on the club. Four months isn’t long enough to inflict permanent damage on a club, a silver lining in this fiasco.

Much of the long-term damage had already been inflicted prior to Nuno’s appointment. While about seven players aren’t good enough to play at this level, there are a handful of others, due to lack of commitment and desire, who don’t deserve to wear the shirt.

Nuno was unable to get wholesale buy-in from Spurs’ players, most of whom were clearly disinterested in the gaffer’s strategy, philosophy and man-management style. While the negativity around and within the club is overtly palpable, it’s by no means irreversible.

Depending on which coach is appointed, confidence, motivation and inspiration can all quickly return. Disinterested players can find a new lease on life, but make no mistake, the squad of players are at fault for their unacceptable level of disinterest.

Nuno is responsible for bringing Christian Romero, Bryan Gil and Emerson Royal aboard, all of whom still have the opportunity to succeed at Tottenham. Spurs are in eighth place, but only two points adrift of sixth place Arsenal.

So while it was a dreadful four months under Nuno, most of the damage caused during his reign is of a temporary nature. Take it with a grain of salt, though, as Nuno took charge of a severely wounded beast, one that will need years, no matter who the manager is, to return to the eminent heights of 2019.