Internal tensions are taking place at Tottenham Hotspur perhaps best demonstrated by manager Antonio Conte publicly calling for unity while also refusing to commit his future to the club after this summer. Anyone with a brief knowledge of the 53-year-old’s profession will know that he is no stranger to this kind of ambiguity, as he is known for manipulating his reputation as a fighter. Proven win to keep his boss honest. It usually ends abruptly.
Conte has never played more than three years at any club since starting his coaching career at Arezzo in 2006. In recent times he has enjoyed great success at the club. Juventus, Chelsea and Lien Milan — until disagreements with senior figures over future strategy contributed to the sudden departure.
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Spurs know what they’re signing up for – anticipating anything else for Conte would be like catching a cat and expecting it to bark. But the club feel the drama is a price to pay if he delivers something missing from modern-day Tottenham: trophies. After all, the other pieces are ready for Tottenham – a stunning £1billion stadium, state-of-the-art training ground and, in Harry Kaneamulet England captain on his way to breaking individual goalscoring records for club and country.
Tottenham hired Conte not to win not at all title – although it would be a start since their last silverware arrived in 2008 – would make a serious change in the Premier League, and possibly even the Champions League on base they reached the final less than four years ago. Given the lack of public comment by ENIC Group owner and chairman Daniel Levy, it’s hard to tell how far Tottenham’s hierarchy believes they will be when they appoint Conte in November 2021. But. most likely, the Italian military leader made it clear that yes. more work to do than they initially anticipated when hiring him.
Conte has spoken many times about the gap between Spurs and top clubs and the need for substantial, extensive investment in the squad. Later loser arrive Aston Villa Last weekend, Conte described securing a Champions League spot on the last day of last season like a “miracle” – a view with some truth that it needs a late demise from weapon to help them cross the line.
Speaking before the game on Wednesday with Crystal PalaceConte continues to waver between insisting he is happy at the club and hinting that he could leave if he is not 100% convinced about his future. The section is then effectively coded for: “Give me back the way I want or I’ll go ahead and train elsewhere.”
He calls this from a position of relative strength, assured of knowing that his 9 career titles as a manager and 14 as a player Juventus have won. lends irresistible appeal to his argument. Spurs listened to a considerable extent. Steve Hitchen served as Spurs’ chief scout since 2017, but left last February – three months after Conte’s arrival – after appointing Fabio Paratici as head of football. Sources told ESPN that Hitchen felt sidelined by Paratici as Conte’s close ally began pushing the club’s transfer strategy alongside Levy.
They also spent money, bringing in midfielders Rodrigo Bentancur and the winger Dejan Kulusevski last winter before summer net spending of around £145m, including the 33-year-old midfielder Ivan Perisican atypical Tottenham acquisition due to his age and severely limited resale value.
Conte wants more than that. Of course he did. He always does, and so will he this month. But the reason for the increased tension is that, to put it simply, he should get more out of the players he has.
Overall, football at Tottenham this season is very bad. Ahead Heung Min Son has been below his best, with just three goals and two assists in 15 league appearances. Sources close to the club have questioned whether Conte’s grueling training sessions are entirely suited to the physical demands of an unprecedentedly dense season with the World Cup in between.
Conte also possesses a mixed track record in developing young players and his desire to spend, mixed with the urgency to deliver, has left some trapped in the midfield – none other than defender Djed Spence, an extremely promising talent signed for £ 19 million, who has made 4 Premier League substitutions for a total of 7 minutes (plus injury time). Alluding to disagreements over transfer policy, Conte has repeatedly described Spence as a “club signing.”
So if there is also an admission that Conte is not the type of manager to stick with for the long-term, that raises the question: when results start to slide, what else is there to recommend? he?
“We have to stay together and know that we can do something good if we have the time and the patience,” said Conte, who is famously one of the most impatient coaches of his generation. I said.
Conte claims he is the one who provides the foundations for success, and on Tuesday he asserted that he has always recognized that they cannot win instantly, which he has become accustomed to. “Now the mission is this, my big challenge is: to continue to work hard with the staff and the players, to improve the club, to create a solid foundation,” he said.
But what is that foundation? And does a club that appoints Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte as successive coaches have a clear, age-old DNA to develop from the outset?
Conte would benefit from Levy or majority owner Joe Lewis, better known to the public, in describing the club’s vision. Instead, that void has been filled by the fan’s vitriol, which has recently grown louder in Levy’s direction. That leaves Conte to defend a strategy he clearly doesn’t fully believe in or at least contradicts his past.
The difference seems to focus on Conte’s desire to win now in the face of the admission that Spurs want to build a mentally strong core group capable of winning trophies as more players are added. . That long-term vision will be like the model of City of Manchester or Liverpoolwith one or two targeted but premium extras every summer.
Ultimately, while Conte insists he is fully invested in Tottenham’s strategy and the club will point to the compromises they have made in return, the two sides are not really aligned. Maybe it’s inevitable in a marriage of convenience like this.
Either Conte needs to fully accept Tottenham is not a club that will spend endlessly in pursuit of glory, or Spurs need to be much bolder in the transfer market. Otherwise, this nasty alliance will only become more awkward over time.
