Author: editor

Hired in the summer as one of several choices look at by Tottenham, Nuno Espirito Santo is clearly a good man. In his time at Wolverhampton, the Portuguese built up a strong reputation at the club and was also a force in the local community. Having arrived at Wolves as a project builder who was arguably out of their usual catchment, though, he had time to build something genuine at Molineux.

Fans were keen to see something come to life that would be impressive and were thus patient. Tottenham fans, though, have seen a golden era slip through their fingers with Mauricio Pochettino.

The wasted time with Jose Mourinho is one thing, but some fans worry a second season is being wasted with Nuno. The coach is clearly a poor fit for the playing staff he has, and his attitude so far has bordered on moody at times. Clearly, the Portuguese feels the pressure and the relative lack of warmth that his appointment was greeted with. The fact his contract comes with a break clause after one year says a lot more than perhaps the club thought it would.

This is clearly a project that is not working at the moment, and the coach could already be moving towards the sack. Dreadful results have come in bunches, and a shock loss to Vitesse in the UEFA Conference League was only overshadowed by ex-coach Mourinho being thumped 6-1 in the same competition.

Nuno, then, needs a win this weekend. It does not matter how it arrives, but beating old rival West Ham United is absolutely essential. The Hammers beat a good Genk side 3-0 in the UEFA Europa League, and also won at Everton in their previous match.

Can Tottenham and Nuno turn things around?

A win against the Hammers would at least be a big name scalp to add to the list. West Ham have become a really successful team and unit under David Moyes, and it appears that they are in a far more harmonious place than Spurs are. Derailing that feel-good factor and taking points off a likely rival for European qualification would be a huge step forward for a team that appears to be going in the wrong direction.

Though he was never the #1 choice for anyone, the mood music around Nuno’s arrival set in tone a fatalistic feel that has bled into the season. The coach clearly feels the pressure and the lack of respect for his previous work, and lacks the same comfort he had at Wolves. Spurs fans are sick of seeing seasons wasted, though, with every season since the 2018-19 season a major letdown so far.

Therefore, expect to see Spurs make a quick decision if things keep going wrong. Another poor result at the weekend, though, could already derail the Nuno project before it even has a chance to grow to anything like the size his Wolves project was allowed to.

As a South Londoner himself, Eberechi Eze will be under no illusions about the quality of Crystal Palace. A community club with a strong connection to the local area, there are many players who have worn the blue and red of Palace who are from the area. Eze, then, joins a long list of players who have done a fantastic job representing the community and the area of the city. At only 23, he has the world at his feet: struggles to make it in the senior game eventually changed when Queens Park Rangers offered him a chance.

Signed as one of the many young players brought in by Frank Lampard as part of his UK revolution at Chelsea, Ben Chilwell enjoyed a tough first season at Chelsea. The player started well under Frank Lampard, before enduring a tough drop-off in form prior to the former Blues manager being sacked. The arrival of Thomas Tuchel seen Chilwell adopt his spot as a left-sided wing-back, but the player has not been seen a single time so far this season.

As one of the most underrated players in Europe, Josip Ilicic is a player with a growing fanbase. The player has played for various clubs in Serie A, but has shone spectacularly for both Fiorentina and Atalanta. His time in Bergamo, though, is arguably the most impressive peak of his career. The Slovene has been one of the best playmakers in the Italian game for several years, and dovetailed perfectly with Alejandro Gomez and Duvan Zapata. However, for much of the last year, there has been talk that Ilicic would leave.