Antonio Conte’s rant have some merit – your move chairman Daniel Levy
Two Fridays ago when Antonio Conte delivered his first extraordinary press conference, Tottenham Hotspur were at pains to point out that he was aiming his anger not at the club or chairman Daniel Levy, but at the “impatient” fans.
When Conte conducted extraordinary press conference number two after the 3-3 draw with Southampton on Saturday, that pretence was demolished. The head coach came out swinging at everyone, including Levy. It was a declaration of war and, as Telegraph Sport columnist Jamie Carragher said, a provocation to dismiss him.
“Conte wants to be sacked in this international break,” Carragher wrote on Twitter. “Spurs should just put him out of his misery and do it tonight.”
Levy did not do that, but he still has a decision to make before facing Everton away in their next Premier League game on April 3. Does he sack Conte or does he risk suffering the slow torture of the Italian continuing to sour the atmosphere before his contract runs out at the end of this season?
Conte’s words – which can be heard in full in the below YouTube clip – were those of a man who wants out now. He has taken down all and sundry and, despite his emotional, intense nature, it is not a rational response.
Levy’s hope will have been to see out the season with, hopefully, Spurs consolidating themselves in fourth place and once again qualifying for the Champions League. At that point, a more serene departure for Conte could have been arranged with an equally calm process to appoint his successor. It would have left the impression that Levy was in control of the situation.
Instead Conte has pulled the pin, lobbed the grenade and is waiting to see what damage is caused.
So what should Levy do? Firing Conte brings its own risks. At this stage he cannot lure Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi, Celtic’s Ange Postecoglu or Sporting’s Ruben Amorim and, while Luis Enrique is available, out-of-work managers of his standing do not tend to rush into jobs at this stage of a campaign.
Rehire Mauricio Pochettino? That would be a huge admission of failure from Levy, who will have spent around £50 million to sack him, bring in three managers, dismiss them and bring him back after the Argentinian lost his job in the first place for criticising the club for a lack of investment.
It does seem Pochettino wants to return, but for Levy it would be humbling given he convinced himself that everything was right at the club bar the manager.
Maybe Levy will appoint an interim and again turn to Ryan Mason, who was put in charge after the dismissal of Jose Mourinho. But that would appear a backward step that would also rile the already disgruntled Spurs fans who have struggled with Levy as their chairman over the past three years.
Maybe Levy will look at the Premier League table and convince himself that he and Spurs can tough it out. He will not want to be bullied into a decision, but that would also be a risk. When Conte was hired it was clear that Levy could not afford another managerial failure. It felt like it was a coup. Now it has turned into a fiasco.
Do brutal Conte claims stand up?
By Tom Prentki at St Mary's Stadium
Antonio Conte’s tempestuous reign as Tottenham Hotspur manager will surely soon end after an astonishing post-match press conference following the 3-3 draw at Southampton, which has pushed the Italian’s relationship with the club close to breaking point.
In a bewildering 10-minute diatribe, the former Chelsea and Juventus manager made a series of accusations about his players and the club and believes that no progress has been made this season. Here, we consider whether those claims stand up to scrutiny.
“They don’t want to play under pressure. They don’t want to play under stress.”
No side have conceded more away goals since the Premier League restarted following the World Cup break than Tottenham (14), with Spurs winning only two of their seven games on the road during this period. Like Liverpool, it is patchy away form in particular that is threatening top-four ambitions.
On Saturday, there was a fragility in the back three of Cristian Romero, Eric Dier and Clement Lenglet, and Spurs have already conceded the same number of goals (40) this season as they did last season with 10 games still to play.
“The club has the responsibility for the transfer market, every coach that stayed here has the responsibility. And the players? Where are the players?”
Tottenham brought in 10 players this season for a combined fee of more than £150 million. Six of those featured at St Mary’s on Saturday but the two flagship signings, Romero and Richarlison, have fallen short of expectations. Richarlison left the field in tears after only four minutes with an injury.
The £60 million forward scored three times at the World Cup but has failed to register a single league goal for Conte, with his two coming in the Champions League. The forward told Brazilian television that he should have been picked for the recent game against AC Milan, and Conte responded by calling him “selfish”. After the game at Southampton, Oliver Skipp said that “after every game, he [Conte] never really speaks”. If the dressing room has not yet been lost, it appears to be far from harmonious.
“If I have to compare last season and this season, we have to improve, but now we are worse.”
At this point last season, Spurs were seventh with 48 points. This term they are fourth with a point more, but Newcastle and Brighton would overtake them if they were to win their games in hand. Liverpool are also in pursuit of the final Champions League place.
Offensively, Spurs are marginally better so far this season. They have scored seven more goals and, on average, have more shots both on and off target. There has been a significant dip in the number of times they are winning possession in the final third, an indication perhaps that Conte’s team have become accustomed to sitting deep to hit teams on the counter-attack.
With Son Heung-min having scored only six league goals and Richarlison not contributing, Tottenham have been reliant on Harry Kane, who scored his 21st league goal of the season at St Mary’s, four more than last season’s total of 17. It is easy to overlook the enormous impact he has had this season, given the incredible feats of Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Tottenham’s wider malaise. Whether it is Conte or someone else, the manager’s hand will be severely weakened should he depart this summer.
“Twenty years there is the owner and they never won something but why? The fault is only for the club, or for every manager that stays here. I have seen the managers Tottenham had on the bench.”
This is the part of Conte’s tirade that will make most uncomfortable reading for chairman Daniel Levy, who was present at St Mary’s and jeered intermittently by sections of the Spurs support.
Levy might point to Champions League qualification in five of the past eight seasons, including reaching the final in 2019, as success, especially as the club prepared to move to their new home. But those fans who are the butt of jokes about empty trophy cabinets and who are witnessing Arsenal’s best season in years will know just what he means.
As Conte suggested, he has been successful throughout his career, as has Jose Mourinho. Why not at Spurs? The word Conte kept coming back to was “fire” when describing what the players and wider club culture are lacking, but while some of his complaints clearly do have merit, Conte’s own actions in destabilising morale cannot be underestimated. Some of his other diagnoses appear accurate but how to cure them is likely to be the job of a new manager.
