Ex-Manager watch: Antonio Conte

[Archibald&Crooks]

You really are a hater, A&C.

I’m sorry?

I have always given credit where I think it’s due but OK, I’m a hater

 

[Dillspur]

Have to agree. You don't invest 1.2bn in the stadium without ambition even if ENIC are safeguarding their investment

When did ENIC invest 1.2b into the stadium? That news to me, I thought the club were paying back over the next 30 years?

 

[Erik ten Hank]

We should change the picture of the forum's winner emoji to Conte's face

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

I think they want to win things and would be happy if we did. But I also think the way they have gone about it makes it very clear that they are happy to be competing and if a trophy comes our way, lovely, but they haven’t pushed for it by going that extra mile when it was needed. I think that’s obvious.

Conte is a good start to putting that right but forgive me if I don’t start fist pumping just yet. It’s going to take a lot more to convince me that this leopard has changed it’s spots.

But I am a lot more hopeful.

If my failure to run around claiming the slate is clean just yet, after finally getting one thing right makes me a ‘hater’ then I guess that’s what I am

Ryan Nelson & Saha spring to mind.
Sissoko instead of Winjaldium or Mane.
Not paying an extra £2-5mil to get Grealish done
No signings for 3 transfer windows or whatever it was.

Part of the reason for not 'going the extra mile' may be excused by the activities leading up to the stadium build but at the same time his pennypinching and not paying that extra few £mil to get a Porsche instead of a Peugeot has cost us on many occasions.

But leopard and spots is bang on, over 20 years there are so many black marks its hard to forgive and forget but I'm also hopeful now with the set-up in place, this is why I think Paratici is such a great move as he will be the buffer and he will be so determined to drive us to success and he's a strong enough character to tell Levy how it is.

 

[wiggo24]

I think they want to win things and would be happy if we did. But I also think the way they have gone about it makes it very clear that they are happy to be competing and if a trophy comes our way, lovely, but they haven’t pushed for it by going that extra mile when it was needed. I think that’s obvious.

Conte is a good start to putting that right but forgive me if I don’t start fist pumping just yet. It’s going to take a lot more to convince me that this leopard has changed it’s spots.

But I am a lot more hopeful.

If my failure to run around claiming the slate is clean just yet, after finally getting one thing right makes me a ‘hater’ then I guess that’s what I am

Yeah I don't think this is that controversial. The investment needed to make top 4 most seasons (which is basically the financial sweet spot in terms of outlay/input) isn't that much more than we generally tend to spend and can now spend with the new stadium. What costs a LOT more is the difference between actually competing for the title and competing for the top 4 - the difference is 100s of millions without any guarantee of significantly more income than if you'd just finished fourth.

That's the final step which they've been unwilling to take and in doing so we've regressed past even the "challenging for top 4". It'll take a bit of investment to get back there, and then a lot of investment to get us to where we were in 2017. Yet to be seen how far they'll go or whether we'll tighten the purse strings again as soon as we get CL qualification.

 

[Timberwolf]

So do you honestly believe Levy/Enic don't care if we win things, and are content to just take part?

I believe Levy and ENIC want to win things and, while the general consensus is that they're awful, if you take a step back and look at where they've taken the club in the past 20-odd years, it's been incredibly impressive.

I do also, however, think that Levy (and thus ENIC) has prioritised the bottom line over ambition at times. It's pretty clear that Levy took Poch and his relatively cheaply assembled squad for granted and didn't give him as much backing as he probably deserved, while also not backing Harry at a crucial juncture when we were still in the title race but in need of reinforcements.

I understand it's bad business to just throw money at a problem, but I do feel there have been crucial junctures where, with one or two key signings, we could've achieved a lot more. Instead we rested on our laurels, the opportunities passed and we had to pick up the pieces later.

They're still a lot better than most ownerships, but I certainly think Levy's penny wise, pound foolish approach has cost us on many, many occasions, despite all of the great stuff he has done to grow the club.

 

[Trix]

When did ENIC invest 1.2b into the stadium? That news to me, I thought the club were paying back over the next 30 years?

They own the club mate. The ground, the training ground, the players contracts, ALL of it. The club's debt is their debt. They are paying it back. How do people not understand this?

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

9

ENIC didn't invest 1.2 bn, they used the clubs income plus loans
I doubt ENIC have spent more than 140m of their own money, and are now sitting on a 2bn plus asset
It's fantastic they have got Conte in, and all credit to them for that.
It will be fascinating to see how they finance any excess spending this financial year. More loans, equity injection, who knows. I look forward to how this is going to work
Once again though massive congratulations to them for getting in what I hope will be our best manager since Billy Nick
Would even take best manager since Poch, as long as he wins something and gets us back as a top 6 side ?

I always find this a weird stick to hit ENIC with because I think you'll find there have been no owners in the modern era who have completely self-financed a stadium build. It's a case of saddling the debt on the club. But if it increases the ability of the club to generate revenue exponentially then it's obviously makes complete sense.

 

[panoma]

Over the last week or so I've questioned wether it's worth it to devote so much feelings and time into football and Tottenham. Today I wish we had a game every single day.

It's crazy how much can change in a few days.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

There is no reason for Levy to leave his position as chairman. He's as good as they come as far as the commercial dealings are concerned. He's been brilliant throughout covid etc as far as the financials etc are concerned. He's just awful at the football side of things. If he Leaves that to FP and Conte that will be perfect imo. All Levy needs to do is set out a clear remit, make sure he stays within the budget given, and then back the fuck away.

This 1,000x and it does seem like 20 years in he is now realising this, fingers and toes crossed.

It would make his life easier and our lives easier haha, happy days all round.

 

[Gb160]

Can't you take the Enic/Levy waffle to one of it's many threads?
I'm here for the thick haired Italian chap.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

I said when we were all down in the dumps with Nuno that a big part of the reason for that is because we felt like there was no direction or hope.

Now we have Conte and Paratici combination we have so much hope, being a football fan imo isn't about waiting to win stuff and celebrating then its about having the hope and belief that there is something to believe in, that could be a few top top class players or it could be a manager with a clear philosophy and plan or it could be a combination of those but its all about having hope.

We now have that and the feeling around the club has been transformed in 24 hours, love to see it.

 

[McFlash]

It's debateable how much of that is his choice though imo. I believe(and I don't know for a a fact) he's not had too much choice in the matter, but that's just my opinion.

To be honest, that wouldn't surprise me at all. He appears to be a massive (or little!) control freak and I think that sometimes blinds him.
If there's been pressure from above for him to relinquish some of that control, it can only be a good thing.
No matter how good we are at stuff, sometimes we're too close to the picture to see it clearly so being able to listen to advice is sensible.

That, in my opinion, has been Levy's biggest problem. He's so engrossed and driven that he hasn't been able to trust other people with his vision.
Hopefully he's now had the nudge needed to step back and refocus.
That can only be good for us as a club.

 

[Dillspur]

They own the club mate. The ground, the training ground, the players contracts, ALL of it. The club's debt is their debt. They are paying it back. How do people not understand this?

How are ENIC paying it back? If they sold tomorrow, would they take the debt with them or would it be left for the next ownership?

 

[Dakes]

Levy is a glorified CFO, you're right he is smart but as ITK and other reports have said before he has always been far too involved in the football side thinking he knows best or listening to poor advice from people who think they know best, both of those have led to a mish mash at times non-existent strategy and poor signings and manager hires and poor decisions on when to sell certain players and when to pay that little bit extra for the right player.

A smart man like him should have recognized a long time ago that his footballing brain is limited and that he should leave it to people who understand football and that he should focus on what he's good at, overseeing finances and setting budgets and butting out. This is what frustrates me most about the man because he is intelligent.

Paratici for example was quoted saying that sometimes it is worth paying for example £5million extra for a player to ensure you get them if you're confident they're the right one to get, Levy however see's the players more as assets and commodities and sees the value's of them rather than seeing the overall football picture and how it fits together.

He sees price, not value.

 

[pablo73]

It's without question an ambitious and incredibly exciting appointment but let's wait to see if Levy follows through on the promises to back Conte in the transfer market before we get too giddy about how ambitious ENIC are.

Let's hope he does and that we see a real sea change in mentality at the club from top to bottom.

 

[Dakes]

I see Levy has given up his office at the training ground. He’s obviously got the message.
That stadium is his pride and joy, must have been gutted at what happened last Saturday.

For real? Does that also mean no more breakfasts with the squad? If true, this is excellent noos.

 

[spids]

Ryan Nelson & Saha spring to mind.
Sissoko instead of Winjaldium or Mane.
No signings for 3 transfer windows or whatever it was.

Part of the reason for not 'going the extra mile' may be excused by the activities leading up to the stadium build but at the same time his pennypinching and not paying that extra few £mil to get a Porsche instead of a Peugeot has cost us on many occasions.

But leopard and spots is bang on, over 20 years there are so many black marks its hard to forgive and forget but I'm also hopeful now with the set-up in place, this is why I think Paratici is such a great move as he will be the buffer and he will be so determined to drive us to success and he's a strong enough character to tell Levy how it is.

These are great examples. I have also been annoyed when Levy won't go from £25M to £30M to get a first team upgrade player (e.g. Jack Grealish) but is happy to spend what is effectively the difference on a squad or youth player (e.g. Jack Clarke) who ultimately will almost certainly never be a major player for us.

I do give Levy some credit for strategising a long game i.e. prioritising the upgrade of infrastructure over the team. The new stadium and the training ground are major factors in Conte coming and attracting world class talent moving forwards, and the stadium revenues mean we can compete in terms of top salaries even if not top transfer fees (but that is where having a DoF like Paratici who specialises in free transfers comes in).

Hopefully, with Covid pandemic no longer affecting football revenues, the stadium revenues really starting to come rolling in, the new commercial deals (Getir, Cinch, and potentially a new stadium naming rights sponsor), and hiring a manager like Conte, in tandem with a DoF like Paratici, we are all set to fully focus 100% on the first team and success on the pitch.

The only way Levy / ENIC can increase the value of the club further now is to regularly get to the later stages of the CL, win domestic trophies, and secure bigger slices of TV and prize money. That is why I truly believe we are entering a new phase where the club is going to compete properly.

Exciting times.

 

[WannaDanceWithUdogie]

Toni conteee
Toni conteeee
He loves spaghetti, he drinks moretti
he fucking hates chelseaaaaaa
1234

 

[philll]