Ex-Manager watch: Antonio Conte

[TOLBINY]

He's not been given scraps, Mourinho was on the other hand and no one is defending him. Just look at the squad, the players that kept their spot are Kane, Son, Hojbjerg, Dier, Loris and and Doherty. In the windows since Bergwijn, Dele and Lamela were replaced by Richarlison, Kulu and Gil. Sissoko, Winks, Lo Celso and Ndombele by Sarr, Bentancur, Bissouma and Skipp, also Reguilon with Perisic and Alderweireld with Lenglet. If I am not missing anyone, the one in bold are signed by Conte as clear upgrades to the "scraps" that Mourinho had. That's 6 players that he wanted, add to that Romero who I don't think he'll complain about too much. All this in 2 windows.... it's not enough but the narative that he is a miracle worker with a shit squad is BS

If I am not mistaken, only Kulu and Lenglet started on Sunday, and as far as Lenglet is concerned, if he was the LCB that Conte wanted we would either have signed him outright or loan with option to buy.

How often have Kulu, Richarlison and Bentacur (throw Romero in as well) all been fit and available at the same time this season?

He's got maximum two defenders in Romero and Perisic (who is not really a defender) that he actually wants - and it is no coincidence that we keep shipping goals when you look at where the week area of our squad is.

Romero is the only defender / wing back worth keeping long term (maybe Spence).

 

[neogenisis]

A miracle with this group of players is what he said. I don’t know why you’re belittling our achievement.

Players or no he said it was a miracle, and I'm not belittling it just stating that Conte didn't come down in a beam of godly light, wave his magic knob over everything and Arsenal crumbled. We got Cleague last year and now Arsenal are top of the league this year. I said it earlier somewhere missing out on the Cleague seems to have been Arsenals sliding doors moment and we are a fucking shit show. Leys fault, Contes fault, the tea ladys fault, we are a shit show.

 

[spursfan77]

Players or no he said it was a miracle, and I'm not belittling it just stating that Conte didn't come down in a beam of godly light, wave his magic knob over everything and Arsenal crumbled. We got Cleague last year and now Arsenal are top of the league this year. I said it earlier somewhere missing out on the Cleague seems to have been Arsenals sliding doors moment and we are a fucking shit show. Leys fault, Contes fault, the tea ladys fault, we are a shit show.

Let’s see where we are when we get some players back and if some others actually regain some form. Top four is still within our reach, still in the fa cup and still in the champions league. Not really a shit show on the pitch if you take a step back, especially if performances improve.

 

[djhotspur]

Perisic is a wing back for us, not a winger.

Bentacur is one of our two CMs so is defensive. We literally play with midfielders whose primary roles are to defend.

Romero is a centre back.

Yeah bentacur and hojberg have both elevated their goal scoring way beyond what they have achieved before…. Funny that

 

[Metalhead]

I agree. Arteta did what was needed to sort the team out. Forget Conte, I'm talking about Levy doing the same for Poch

Well yes, this is arsenal's Poch moment and it remains to be seen whether Kroenke will continue to support him and get him who he needs. That's not to try and take the topic away from its theme - it's just thinking about parallels with where we were under Poch.

 

[Gilzeanking]

The 'shock and awe' quote re Conte's effect chimed in with a perspective I've had recently. He goes to clubs and does ridiculously well straight out of the gate eg Chelsea, Inter. With those clubs his miracle was to win leagues.

With us the miracle (with a bit of help from Arse) was to get CL. That is over now and we're past the s and a effect.

I can't believe he'll be with us after June and a 7-0 vs City tomorrow could end it all by Friday ...but the CL was his remarkable s & a achievement and shouldn't be forgotten.

 

[Joshua shepherd]

Perisic is a wing back for us, not a winger.

Bentacur is one of our two CMs so is defensive. We literally play with midfielders whose primary roles are to defend.

Romero is a centre back.

The wing backs in this formation are our prime attacking outlets, hence the number of assists from perisic.

Romero was already there when Conte came in so irrelevant to the original point.

Bentancur is a CM, that does not make him a defensive player, he’s contributed with goals, assists and pressing from the front so if you believe that Conte wants him sitting deep at the edge of our box, then that’s on your lack of understanding.

 

[carpediem991]

The wing backs in this formation are our prime attacking outlets, hence the number of assists from perisic.

Romero was already there when Conte came in so irrelevant to the original point.

Bentancur is a CM, that does not make him a defensive player, he’s contributed with goals, assists and pressing from the front so if you believe that Conte wants him sitting deep at the edge of our box, then that’s on your lack of understanding.

Didnt most of them just come from set pieces?

 

[Wheeler Dealer]

I don't think fans are throwing Conte under the bus because of Spence. It's because Royal had been so poor and he hasn't given Spence a chance.

Conte is being thrown under the bus because of the style he is playing

We all knew his style of play before appointing him, so why are we surprised with what he’s dishing up. Conte, Mourinho and Nuno are and were totally unsuitable for this club under current ownership and fan’s expectations of decent, attractive football

 

[dace]

Sitting on the fence with Conte.
Do not enjoy the football.
However perhaps the players Conte wants must do not want us.
More players are running down their contracts to get the signing on fee rather than the club, this is something Levy etc will have to get their heads around.
Are the players Conte wanted ie Bastoni really doing well?
Sad days as a Spurs fan at the moment. COYS

 

[Joshua shepherd]

Didnt most of them just come from set pieces?

Some, yes. But even without the set pieces he’d have our second highest number of assists behind kulusevski.

 

[Wig]

Dier - not good enough
Sanchez - not good enough
Tanganga - not good enough
Doherty/Royal/Spence - not good enough
Davies - squad player
Lenglet - squad player
Sessegnon - not good enough
Gil - not good enough
Lucas - perma-crocked
Son - fallen badly out of form
Lloris now - fallen out of form

No matter what Conte has been "given" - the squad is still full of players who are not reliable enough to start regularly.

ANd - on. top of that - the players you listed above - Bentancur, Romero, Kulusevski, Richarlison- have all missed big chunks of the season through injury - so, if he does not have the "good" players available, and has to play the others - why would anyone expect consistent results or performances.

Right now - setting injuries aside - we need two starting CBs, a starting RWB, and a back-up RW - at a minimum. they don't all need to come in in January - but stop talking about "backing the manager" until he has been properly backed. Yes money has been spent - but it hasn't been enough, and there are gaping holes that still need to be filled.

Bang on.

 

[boy-C]

Conte is just being Conte, the very same Conte Levy begged to come and manage us, we all knew what Conte was like, what type of football he played, what he would demand and if he didn't get what he wanted we all knew it wouldn't work.
So the way I see it is Levy has to back him if he wants to retain any credibility as Levy knew very well the situation when he hired him, he would have to (fully) back him or he would walk.
So if Conte quits or is sacked the reason for it is totally Levy's fault for being unwilling to make good on the promises made to Conte when he hired him.

 

[ultimateloner]

The point is Arsenal get actually have a plan and they continue to sign and be in the convo with or without Champions League football. We short change managers. Our fanbase is practically read to throw Conte under the bus because of Djed Spence, its laughable.

Arsenal was terrible before this season, and hardly anyone expected them to perform at this level this season. They sunk really low by their standards, just as Man Utd did.

It's part of a rebuild process which we are going through now.

We probably have more sinking to do before it improves judging from what happened to Arsenal and Man Utd. No point complaining too much at this point.

 

[ralphs bald spot]

Conte is just being Conte, the very same Conte Levy begged to come and manage us, we all knew what Conte was like, what type of football he played, what he would demand and if he didn't get what he wanted we all knew it wouldn't work.
So the way I see it is Levy has to back him if he wants to retain any credibility as Levy knew very well the situation when he hired him, he would have to (fully) back him or he would walk.
So if Conte quits or is sacked the reason for it is totally Levy's fault for being unwilling to make good on the promises made to Conte when he hired him.

but do you think Conte is delivering at this moment in time ?

 

[TOLBINY]

Let’s see where we are when we get some players back and if some others actually regain some form. Top four is still within our reach, still in the fa cup and still in the champions league. Not really a shit show on the pitch if you take a step back, especially if performances improve.

Yes, the performances by and large are poor, but that's Conte's style. When appointed I don't recall people saying we could look forward to exciting football and him developing players, he has very little 'form' for that, but he does have 'form' for delivering trophies when suitably backed.

Add two decent CB's to Poro, Romero and Udogie and two attackers (assuming Kane and Lucas leave) and I am convinced we will see a great improvement.

 

[parj]

The wing backs in this formation are our prime attacking outlets, hence the number of assists from perisic.

Romero was already there when Conte came in so irrelevant to the original point.

Bentancur is a CM, that does not make him a defensive player, he’s contributed with goals, assists and pressing from the front so if you believe that Conte wants him sitting deep at the edge of our box, then that’s on your lack of understanding.

Well there lies your lack of understanding. A two man midfield against 3 has to win the ball back and control it. Being outnumbered and outplayed means they are playing much more defensively, therefore, making them defensive.

Go on sofascore and check out the average heat maps. Bentacur's heat map looks like Casemiro's rather than Fernandes or Eriksen. Not even Partey or Xhaka are as defensive as our 2 CMs.

 

[wadewill]

The problem at the moment to me is that he doesn't seem to care anymore, his demeanor isn't like it was before.

He just looks like he has checked out and is happy to plod along to the end of the season, given up arguing with Levy about what needs to be done etc... what's the point

And who can blame him, we are exactly the same.

Levy wont sack him to save himself a few quid, he will line up Poch at the end of the season and we will be right back to where are in less than a years time.

 

[boy-C]

but do you think Conte is delivering at this moment in time ?

No I don't think Conte is delivering but I don't think he's been given everything he's been promised and needs to be able to deliver.

 

[DiVaio]

Some, yes. But even without the set pieces he’d have our second highest number of assists behind kulusevski.

Without set pieces in Premier League he has one assist. Less than Kulu, Benta, Hojbjerg and Richarlison. The same as Lenglet, Bryan, Davies, Emerson and Kane.