Gab and Juls debate why Antonio Conte would want to replace Nuno Espirito Santo at Tottenham. (2:16)
When was the last time your seventh choice for anything worked out well? It might have seemed a little premature for Tottenham Hotspur to dispense with Nuno Espirito Santo on Monday after just 17 games and exactly four months in the job -- and replace him with Antonio Conte the very next day -- but his chance of success was irrevocably undermined from day one.
This is a Spurs squad still requiring a manager with the strength and vision to drag it forward from the Mauricio Pochettino era. Jose Mourinho tried to do so with his force of personality, but the players failed to respond to his combative approach -- markedly at odds with Pochettino's "band of brothers" feel -- and a functional style of football, also a stark contrast from what had gone before.
- Marcotti: Nuno's failure at Spurs was not all his fault - Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only) - Don't have ESPN? Get instant access
Nuno does not possess a body of work remotely comparable to Mourinho's, and so the authority of his position was absolutely paramount to ensuring he could be effective in implementing change. Yet how could any player truly buy into his methodology when they all knew the club appointed him only after failing with at least six other candidates?
