The Nuno Espirito Santo stat that shows Ange Postecoglou is lucky to still be in a job at Tottenham
Posted By Joe E
November 12, 2024
9:03 am
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Tottenham lost to Ipswich Town on Sunday to continue their poor start to the season.
Spurs sit 10th in the table after 11 games, and, historically, this position has given Daniel Levy a decision to make over his manager’s futures.
Indeed, Levy hasn’t been afraid to pull the trigger on his managers in similar situations.
Tottenham were seventh in the table when they sacked Jose Mourinho in 2021, Andre Villas-Boas was sacked while Spurs were in the same position, while Harry Redknapp was sacked after finishing fourth with the north London club.
Ange Postecoglou seemingly isn’t under a lot of pressure right now, but there is reason to suggest he is lucky to be in a job, especially when you compare his results to Nuno Espirito Santo’s.
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Nuno Espirito Santo compared to Ange Postecoglou this season
Nuno Espirito Santo was largely seen as a failure at Spurs.
The Portuguese gaffer was sacked after just 10 league games back in the 2021/22 season, picking up just 15 points in the process.
However, that record is comparable to what Postecoglou is doing this season.
Nuno’s record at Tottenham
Ange Postecoglou’s record this season
Games
10
11
Wins
5
5
Points
15
16
Points per game
1.5
1.45
Premier League only
As you can see, Postecoglou is performing slightly worse than Nuno in terms of points per game, and his fixture list has also been more favourable.
Chris Sutton said that Nuno was sacked too quickly by Tottenham, and he may be right based on how Nottingham Forest are performing this season.
Postecoglou’s fixtures compared to Nuno’s
If you look at Tottenham’s fixtures this season compared to Nuno’s first 10 games, you can see who had the easier ride.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s Tottenham results
Ange Postecoglou’s results this season
Tottenham 1-0 Manchester City
Leicester 1-1 Tottenham
Wolves 0-1 Tottenham
Tottenham 4-0 Everton
Tottenham 1-0 Watford
Newcastle 2-1 Tottenham
Crystal Palace 3-0 Tottenham
Tottenham 0-1 Arsenal
Tottenham 0-3 Chelsea
Tottenham 3-1 Brentford
Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham
Manchester United 0-3 Tottenham
Tottenham 2-1 Aston Villa
Brighton 3-2 Tottenham
Newcastle 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham 4-1 West Ham
West Ham 1-0 Tottenham
Crystal Palace 1-0 Tottenham
Tottenham 0-3 Manchester United
Tottenham 4-1 Aston Villa
Tottenham 1-2 Ipswich
Nuno had to face off against four of the traditional big six in his first 10 games, while he also had to come up against Newcastle United just after their takeover, an improving Aston Villa side and a big derby game against West Ham.
Meanwhile, Postecoglou has only faced two of the traditional big six so far, while he’s faced off against two newly-promoted teams, dropping points in both games.
Of course, Nuno’s run of picking up just six points from his last seven games was unacceptable, but, overall, his record as Spurs boss isn’t all that different to what Postecoglou is doing this season.
Tottenham fans turned on Nuno quickly, but it feels like Postecoglou is being given more leeway.
Postecoglou’s football sometimes feels like it’s style over substance, and, that style may be what is stopping his job from coming under serious scrutiny at the moment.
A trip to the Etihad is up next, and if Spurs fail to win that game, Postecoglou’s points haul after 12 games begins to look very concerning.
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