Ex-Manager watch: Antonio Conte

[HildoSpur]

What’s the realistic alternative?

I hate this by the way. I want us to have different strategy, but realistically if this ownership and model is to stay then how do we maximise that?

The realistic alternative is clearly to back Conte to the hilt and let him get on with it.

 

[djhotspur]

Everyone’s demanding 352 because this guy is flat out refusing to play with 4231 or 433. I swear he wasn’t married to this system before Liverpool did Chelsea at home, now he can’t play 5 mins without it.

Yes but do you think we would have faired so well with those formations? They would simply have punished us more through the wings then they did. Its all well and good calling for new formations but every time we come up with these great ideas they back for massively like the 3 5 2 at united.
Do you really trust dier etc in a 2?

 

[dobbo22]

I'm not saying that Sess can come good because I'm pretty sure he is what he's always going to be at this point but there were plenty of players who weren't cutting it before Poch turned up and they turned into world beaters. Danny Rose wasn't pulling up any trees before Poch got hold of him. I always knew he was talented because I'd been watching him for the U18s but injuries and being played as a winger or a 10 was not helping him. Poch helped him become one of the best left backs in Europe. Kyle Walker was also not one of the country's best wing backs before Poch arrived but he became that with Poch's coaching. Dembele was anonymous before Poch got him involved. Let's not have anyone pretend otherwise. Under Poch he became an absolute beast and arguably one of the best midfielders in Europe. Poch even managed to get a tune out of Sissoko and Winks. My point is that even the most awful flop come good under the right coach. Conte doesn't seem to have that knack. Everyone is pretty much performing way below their best. Every single player at the moment is significantly below what we know they would be capable of if they were motivated, coached and playing in a system that suited them. I wouldn't earmark Sess for that kind of transformation at all but you never know. One thing is for sure, Conte hasn't brought the best out in anyone since he's been here.

You’re abit over the top with world beaters there…. World beaters mean you win things we got to a final. Poch had a far far better squad than what we have now. He had 4 defenders who can DEFEND FOR A START!

 

[Scott Spur]

I'm such a pessimist at the moment that I'm sure Levy is dragging the window out so that he doesn't have to invest any more money on Conte and make his mind up for him to walk in the summer.

Totally agree. IMO Conte is here until the summer and will then walk off into the sunset, or if things get real bad Levy will sack him in February, after the window has closed.

Then we’ll get the same old line that the new guy is assessing the squad and funds will be available in the summer. Rinse and repeat.

 

[Timberwolf]

Hard to defend Conte playing Sess yday.
Sess is toilet and another one of Pochs dreadful signings

I would summarise the situation as unambiguous owners, unbalanced flawed squad, several players playing well below their basic level, some players looking to have checked out and a manager that is very talented but clearly a terrible fit for this club

conclusion - burn it all down and start again. Don’t rehire Poch but get a good up and coming progressive manager

Sess has been pretty rubbish in general but I thought it made perfect sense to play him yesterday given our options. For all his faults he's quicker than Perisic and a better 1v1 defender, with a solid track record in big games against the likes of Salah. Perisic would've been caught upfield every time he went forward and Saka would've had (even more of) a field day.

The main issues were stupid mistakes, playing 2CMs - one of which is playing like a clogger - against 3 more technical midfielders - and our general lack of quality.

 

[muel]

The realistic alternative is clearly to back Conte to the hilt and let him get on with it.

I hope so!

I would still call that idealism though. Levy has never done that.

 

[NEVILLEB]

I think he's probably checked out when he didn't get the players he wanted having secured Champions League football.

Probably wrong but why else persist with a formation that's consistently failing.

 

[Rout-Ledge]

The realistic alternative is clearly to back Conte to the hilt and let him get on with it.

He said realistic, not fantasy.

 

[Yantino]

Unfortunately i think the situation is reaching its logical conclusion. The conclusion we all thought it would do when Conte was first appointed. How can a manager that demands top quality players in each position in order to play "his way", be aligned with the way ENIC conduct themselves in the transfer marketplace.

It is/was never going to work unless ENIC were going to change their strategy.

So, although i really like Conte i just cannot see this lasting much longer.

PS i do not blame him at all. He showed us what we was capable of doing - some of the football at the end of last season was superb and you could see what he was trying to do, but he isn't going to change his philosophy or even adapt it to try and get the most from what we have. The blame is on ENIC (again) for me and Levy for thinking he had a silver bullet by employing the likes of Jose and Conté rather than invest in the team.

 

[Scott Spur]

I don't disagree, but I feel there must be a reason behind it because Conte isn't stupid. I just think whatever the game plan might be to see all the work you've done preparing for it fall apart every game 10 minutes in through players failing to do the basics is infuriating.

It also doesn't explain how we are always so much better in second halves in games playing exactly the same formation and system.

Because it’s a crap system that doesn’t work in our league anymore, mainly because every other team has figured us out?

He isn’t stupid, he’s stubborn and that is the real problem. We play better in the second half when the players abandon the shackles of the system and get at it.

 

[parklane yid]

I can’t tolerate is style of football anymore!

we need to accept where we are as a club and appoint a long term strategy! Once we have decided firmly on what we want then appoint the manager to suit that philosophy.

 

[Stoof]

On a scale of 1-10 on the Spurs Apathy scale, I’d say I’m at Jose levels again.

I reckon this would be less so if they weren't having a good season. Still. Meh.

 

[Harrier]

Dier is a first choice at the moment and would be in a Pochettino team.. Son, Kane, Lloris, Sanchez, Davies and Dier all played under Poch and either underperformed or gave up on him. On top of that he was responsible for the Sessegnon signing and has two marquee signings out on loan in Ndombele and Lo Celso.

I love Poch, but I honestly think a lot of Spurs fans blacked out for those last six months. The way some people have mentioned his name tonight is completely revisionist.

Dier was seriously struggling for game time under Poch if you remember the sit down discussion had with Jose in AoN.

 

[Spurzinho]

I don't disagree, but I feel there must be a reason behind it because Conte isn't stupid. I just think whatever the game plan might be to see all the work you've done preparing for it fall apart every game 10 minutes in through players failing to do the basics is infuriating.

It also doesn't explain how we are always so much better in second halves in games playing exactly the same formation and system.

I would say that's pretty simple. Teams drop back and surrender space and possession. We are suddenly able to get the ball into our offensive players. Its not something we changed at half time. Sure, Once we've got that momentum we grow in confidence but the catalyst is the opposition changing their approach.

 

[carpediem991]

So sick of this all our defensive players are so shit. They are surely not perfect but most of them are capable to perform good enough so we are on top of Portsmouth or bottom half sides. And we are not, because of the way we play.

Look at Man United, they have now a confident foundation where they can suddenly play Lindelöf, Shaw and at times Maguire at the back and it works. Newcastle are winning game after game with Dan Burn at Left Back and Fabian Schär at Centre Back. Because their idea of football and squad management is working, not because these players are superstars...

 

[ralphs bald spot]

Yes but do you think we would have faired so well with those formations? They would simply have punished us more through the wings then they did. Its all well and good calling for new formations but every time we come up with these great ideas they back for massively like the 3 5 2 at united.
Do you really trust dier etc in a 2?

the problem isn't entirely the back line you could put who ever you want in it but when week after week you are outnumbered and out manouvered in midfield and can't keep the football worth a toss because you have no options on the ball largely because the system you play has been found out, then whoever you play at the back will come under pressure

 

[JollyHappy]

Unfortunately i think the situation is reaching its logical conclusion. The conclusion we all thought it would do when Conte was first appointed. How can a manager that demands top quality players in each position in order to play "his way", be aligned with the way ENIC conduct themselves in the transfer marketplace.

It is/was never going to work unless ENIC were going to change their strategy.

So, although i really like Conte i just cannot see this lasting much longer.

PS i do not blame him at all. He showed us what we was capable of doing - some of the football at the end of last season was superb and you could see what he was trying to do, but he isn't going to change his philosophy or even adapt it to try and get the most from what we have. The blame is on ENIC (again) for me and Levy for thinking he had a silver bullet by employing the likes of Jose and Conté rather than invest in the team.

I agree with that at the end of last season we played some good football with the same team (with Richy and Peresic as obvious upgrades). So why is it now all going so badly wrong?

Check out our team against Arsenal last season at home. Royal and Sess as full backs, Dier Davies and Sanchez at the back!

 

[djhotspur]

the problem isn't entirely the back line you could put who ever you want in it but when week after week you are outnumbered and out manouvered in midfield and can't keep the football worth a toss because you have no options on the ball largely because the system you play has been found out, then whoever you play at the back will come under pressure

So how do you explain every single second half where we dominate without changing formation? Yesterday we looked fine until 2 huge mistakes from Lloris then it changed the game.
you have hojberg in there who’s a cart horse and can’t move the ball or cover the ground quickly which doesn’t help.

 

[djhotspur]

I agree with that at the end of last season we played some good football with the same team (with Richy and Peresic as obvious upgrades). So why is it now all going so badly wrong?

Check out our team against Arsenal last season at home. Royal and Sess as full backs, Dier Davies and Sanchez at the back!

Because it’s a much improve arsenal team. That arsenal side had only Gabriel starting out of the back 4 put out yesterday. They had no partey who was injured too.

 

[kris havard]

Most pundits had us 3rd at the start of season, this was based on our squad on Conte. The way things are going we will probably finish 6th and that is on Conte. He has made decent players worse and as for the tactics…….

and I am in no way a Levy supporter, I figured that guy out years ago but he shouldn’t be taking the flack for how we are playing.