Ex-Manager watch: Antonio Conte

Was a poor performance. Players look tired tbh.

Some of the over reaction is a bit of a joke but genuine questions must be raised around how Emerson keeps getting game time and Son is being picked over Deki. Makes no sense.

Anyway let’s see where we get to in the next game

HodisGawd said:

I can see the knee-jerking has started in earnest. It was just one of those days, the forwards didn't click and the team turned off at the end against a side that, while inferior, are dangerous. It happens so often in football. We move on.

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I think on the back of a terrible performance (despite us winning) against Marseille, people are concerned. We were playing so well last season, what’s changed?

HodisGawd said:

I can see the knee-jerking has started in earnest. It was just one of those days, the forwards didn't click and the team turned off at the end against a side that, while inferior, are dangerous. It happens so often in football. We move on.

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I don’t know how you can watch us this season and accuse people of knee jerking. We’ve looked this bad all season and finally got caught out tonight.

spursfan77 said:

I think on the back of a terrible performance (despite us winning) against Marseille, people are concerned. We were playing so well last season, what’s changed?

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Front line isn't firing properly. Winning whilst playing badly is papering over the cracks.

SargeantMeatCurtains said:

Conte has been backed to the hilt by this club. More so than anybody in history. He needs to start having questions asked about him.

The football is shit, his team selections make no sense and he either doesn’t use the subs bench or uses it too late to make any difference. We tried to change our fucking wing backs in the 90th minute. What’s he fucking playing at?

A genius could’ve seen that our results weren’t sustainable when we have been playing as poorly as we have done this season. Changes are needed. Emerson and Son shouldn’t see the starting XI for the foreseeable future. Emerson never.

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Thank you

$hoguN said:

Was a poor performance. Players look tired tbh.

Some of the over reaction is a bit of a joke but genuine questions must be raised around how Emerson keeps getting game time and Son is being picked over Deki. Makes no sense.

Anyway let’s see where we get to in the next game

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I’m yet to see anybody overreact. Overreacting would be calling for Conte’s sacking which, to my knowledge, nobody has said.

Questioning our performance after a season of consistently poor performances isnt over-reactionary. Nor is questioning his team selections when he’s dropped a player in top form for a player who is playing to the detriment of the entire team. It’s also not over-reactionary to question Conte’s lack of subs when he’s been given 6 new upgrades to this squad.

Who is overreacting?

SargeantMeatCurtains said:

I don’t know how you can watch us this season and accuse people of knee jerking. We’ve looked this bad all season and finally got caught out tonight.

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Yep its not knee-jerking however I think there is too much negativity right now certainly in the match thread (as usual lol).

We are 2nd in the league, we aren't out of 2nd gear in most matches, its a long long season, just wait until we click more into gear.
I'm honestly not worried at all, trust in Conte guys.

That being said some of our weaker performances to me say more about the weaker areas and players in the team/squad more than anything. As Conte said it will take another 2-3 transfer windows to get to where we need to be.

Its games like this one where a more creative midfielder would be good as we all said in Summer. Mabye giving us the option to mix it up and go 3-5-2 or just put a more creative CM on instead of PEH for example.

Under Conte at Inter he had Barella and Erisken, at Chelsea he often brought Fabregas on off the bench, I think we lack this and I'd be surprised if it wasn't on our next to do list.

Pazienca guys.

I think we'll see a shake up against Leicester.

I think Conte was correct in not changing a winning side despite performances.

agrdavidsfan said:

It’s not, I’ve struggled to stay awake to watch our games we look tired and lethargic every game there’s not an ounce of creativity in this team.

laughable, how poor we are actually name me a game this season that we dominated? Or looked good? Or controlled the game? Or created clear chances.

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Fulham and Southampton were good and well deserved victories. The rest has been pretty bad.

ravenspurs said:

It's just not working right now and he needs to make some changes. IDC who but he needs to sit a few of Emerson, Son, PEH, Bentancur, Davies, and Richarlison.

A message needs to be sent that this isn't acceptable. We're not going to continue scraping results with the form we've shown over the past month.

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You've listed some of the better performers there, bar Son and Emerson (who at least tried). I'd be looking chiefly at Kane and perhaps Romero. It is obvious that we're missing energy and impetus at the moment. Probably won't happen, but I wonder what Spence would be able to bring to the side.

fishhhandaricecake said:

Yep its not knee-jerking however I think there is too much negativity right now certainly in the match thread (as usual lol).

We are 2nd in the league, we aren't out of 2nd gear in most matches, its a long long season, just wait until we click more into gear.
I'm honestly not worried at all, trust in Conte guys.

That being said some of our weaker performances to me say more about the weaker areas and players in the team/squad more than anything. As Conte said it will take another 2-3 transfer windows to get to where we need to be.

Pazienca guys.

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Some would’ve had you believe we were top of the table and flying under Nuno after being top of the table after three games. People kept championing the old phrase “winning when you play badly is the sign of a good team” when it was quite clear, like it has been this season, our performances are not sustainable.

People will jump on me for trying to compare Nuno to Conte but it’s more comparing the mood amongst the fans. It’s tiresome coming on here and getting accused of overreacting and knee jerking when it’s pretty clear we’re in a bad way.

Conte is obviously the man to improve things but he’s making some incredibly bizarre decisions currently.

We need our forwards actually playing well, if Son is shit and Kane is only scoring headers of course we'll struggle.

Hoddle&Waddle said:

I think we'll see a shake up against Leicester.

I think Conte was correct in not changing a winning side despite performances.

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If Bissouma ,kulu , lenglet and Doherty don't start against Leicester, then I would really be concerned.

This loss is akin to the loss to Burnley last season. I'm sure he will turn it around. We hated it, he would have hated it 10x more.

But it's a shame after the first loss of the season and we have names of our ex managers popping here and there, missing them and comparing with them. ?‍ Ffs.

has anyone seen any of his post game quotes?

fishhhandaricecake said:

Yep its not knee-jerking however I think there is too much negativity right now certainly in the match thread (as usual lol).

We are 2nd in the league, we aren't out of 2nd gear in most matches, its a long long season, just wait until we click more into gear.
I'm honestly not worried at all, trust in Conte guys.

That being said some of our weaker performances to me say more about the weaker areas and players in the team/squad more than anything. As Conte said it will take another 2-3 transfer windows to get to where we need to be.

Its games like this one where a more creative midfielder would be good as we all said in Summer. Mabye giving us the option to mix it up and go 3-5-2 or just put a more creative CM on instead of PEH for example.

Under Conte at Inter he had Barella and Erisken, at Chelsea he often brought Fabregas on off the bench, I think we lack this and I'd be surprised if it wasn't on our next to do list.

Pazienca guys.

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Your final point makes is baffling considering myself and many others were calling for a creative player all summer but all the noise was that the Conte system doesn’t need one/ Conte didn’t want one. We blatantly lack a passer in the midfield. Tielemans was an obvious purchase with a year left.
Also the ‘we haven’t even got out of first gear and we’re still third’ line would be significant if we showed any sign of leaving first gear. It’s been poor, for the most part, all season. A shift in gear might not come.

taricco said:

has anyone seen any of his post game quotes?

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Spursplay post match interview.

Hakkz said:

Did we play well whatsoever before 90?

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In parts, yes. First half certainly had moments of okish attacking.

But that wasn't what I was making a point about. It was that they switched off defensively, and lost concentration. Which conte warned about.

The lack of energy was concerning. And yes, conte needs to shake things up on the first 11.

Needs time to implement the system properly though. Said it himself.

I love Conte and he was my top choice to be Spurs boss.

We do generally look more solid as a team, organised and restrict opposition chances, but the football is pretty dire, and it has been all season. Every single first half this season we've been poor, we look really lethergic. People are even making things up that we are conserving energy in the first half to defend him, nah not for me. You can't just try to win a game of football in the second half every week and keep getting away with it.

I'm not a fan of the football, I think the system stifles us. We rely on wingbacks when we don't have any good ones apart from Perisic who can't play every week. The system by design focuses our play down the wingbacks where we have Emerson who I like as a defensive player but he's terrible creatively. It's a serious flaw in the whole system. I also think at times we need 3 in midfield and should start just two upfront so we can control games a bit more. Or stop playing 3 CBs and two wing backs as it seems too defensive.

There's no way we are winning trophies playing a wing back system with Emerson as a wing back. Again this isn't picking on him, he's a good player but he's a square peg in a round hole, he's not a RWB and our system fails at this point. It just blunts us attacking wise.

Conte's team selection's are baffling. Keeps playing Son despite him not turning up at all this season? If Kulu played from the start today we could have won such was his impact in the last 20 minutes, but no Conte yet again starts the game playing with ten men. Son should have been dropped weeks ago but he's still starting and reeking the place out. Conte seems really reluctant to make subs. I know we aren't dropping both of them but we can't carry both Son and Kane and Son is clearly off form and has been ALL season.

I think us being unbeaten has glossed over the start of the season far too much, it's like people just refer back to that as soon as you dare to criticise. We can't keep playing poorly every week and continue to get away with it.

My hope is the team will click, it's clear that Son and Kane are off form and without them we look an average impotent side, a functional midfield, solid defence but no magic or threat, especially if Kulu is benched.

The season hinges on getting Kane and Son firing because without them we are fucked basically. I still think Conte will be a success with us but this season so far has been uninspiring to say the least. I imagine we will be like this until at least Xmas, and then hopefully kick into gear, but again I find it hard to see how the system will flourish when we keep playing a functional midfield two and Emerson at RWB.

Anyway onwarda we go, for me I am still waiting to see the Conte plan really take off. At the moment it leaves a bit to be desired.

I said the transfer window would only be successful if we trust the players we brought in and used the players we have.
Davies, Royal, Hoijberg, Son, Kane all can blow hot and cold, Conte has to be brave enough to bring them off in games or rotate them more.
Spence, Bissouma, even Gil provide something different yet aren't trusted it seems.