As the old adage goes, never go back. Unless your opponents areTottenham Hotspurand your name is Nuno Espírito Santo that is.
On a night when Nottingham Forest desperately needed to get their Champions League challenge back on the rails, Ange Postecoglou’s side couldhardly have been more obliging opponentsuntil they finally mounted a late flurry after Richarlison had pulled a goal back with three minutes to play.
Dr Tottenham had already helped Crystal Palace end their search for a first win of the season at the ninth attempt back in October and then allowed relegated Leicester to record their solitary victory in a run of 15 straight defeats. So watching the manager who lasted only 124 days in north London before being sacked in November 2021 guide Forest to their first double over his former club since 1997 has to go down as one of the more predictable results of the season.
Nuno had said beforehand that revenge was not on his agenda on only his second return to this stadium since he became the shortest reigning permanent manager in Tottenham’s history. But you could tell this meant so much more as he celebrated Elliot Anderson’s opener after just five minutes and Chris Wood’s 19th goal of the Premier League campaign not long afterwards.
In fact, the only time Nuno or any of his players showed the slightest sign of nerves against an underwhelming Tottenham side came as Forest ran down the clock during an agonising five minutes of stoppage time. After a few bear hugs for his players and a quick wave to the travelling supporters, he was back down the tunnel within 60 seconds of the final whistle to leave the stage clear for his players.
This was classic Nuno-ball: score two quick goals on the break and then defend for your lives. Yet it is a trap that numerous opponents have fallen into this season and why he will deservedly feature highly on the contenders for manager of the year, even if Forest do not end up finishing in the top five.
Of course it is tempting to wonder at this point what might have happened if Nuno hadn’t been sacked by Tottenham after a home defeat to Manchester United only 17 games into his tenure in October 2021. Spurs were eighth at the time having scored only nine goals from their opening 10 league matches, with Harry Kane still trying to get over the disappointment of failing to force a move away.
Despite winning August’s manager of the month award thanks to a victory over Manchester City, it always felt as if he was on borrowed time in north London after Daniel Levy had initially been more interested in appointing Hansi Flick, Erik ten Hag, Antonio Conte, Paulo Fonseca, Gennaro Gattuso or even bringing back Mauricio Pochettino before settling on the former goalkeeper.
After José Mourinho’s ill-fated reign the previous season, Daniel Levy had promised to appoint someone who would bring back “free-flowing, attacking and entertaining” football to the club, whose motto is basically a variation on Del Boy’s “he who dares wins”. Postecoglou seemed to fit that bill during his first season in charge as Spurs entertained on their way to fifth place yet the early promise has given way to disappointment, even if the Europa League could yet offer unlikely salvation.
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After an uncharacteristically robust defensive display in the second leg of their quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt in midweek, Postecoglou attempted to channel his inner Nuno by selecting a combative midfield trio and leaving James Maddison on the bench along with the increasingly influential Lucas Bergvall. However, as early as the fourth minute when Morgan Gibbs-White produced a wonderful pirouette to take the ball away from Pape Matar Sarr before shooting in the same movement, it was Forest who undoubtedly looked more up for the fight.
Anderson thumped in the opening goal from the resulting corner and after some more slapstick defending prompted by Rodrigo Bentancur, Wood’s goal – shortly having another disallowed for offside by VAR – was the prompt for another group hug on the Forest bench as Postecoglou scowled in the direction of his. One of the complaints about Nuno during his brief spell at Spurs was that he had been too quiet or uncommunicative at the training ground but the same cannot be said at his present club, where he seems to have formed a close bond since replacing the popular Steve Cooper last season.
“Since Nuno’s got there, they’ve come up with a gameplan that suits the players they have,” acknowledged Postecoglou in the buildup. Simple stuff really. With an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City up first on Sunday, Forest face a month that will define their season. Home games against Brentford, Leicester and top-five rivals Chelsea on the final day should be crucial to their chances of reaching the promised land. You can be sure that Nuno has a plan for all of them.