Ex-Manager watch: Antonio Conte

[spursville]

I'm not saying they're terrible, but I'm just not convinced that Højbjerg and Bentancur can dominate or control the midfield in the EPL or CL - when they're outnumbered or not. Perhaps Bissouma will make a difference. We could do with a peak form Kante and Modric!

 

[journeyman]

It’s hard to argue that we wouldn’t have better options in all types of scenarios if we’d snapped up Eriksen on a free and let Gil off on loan.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Conte continuing to start Son doesn't irritate me at all. We all know what type of player he is and eventually he'll snap out of it.

Emerson on the other hand is nothing but a rotational player. We all see it and it's aggravating to me that Conte can't. He's just not good enough in attack in a Conte system and he never will be.

Spence and Doherty need to get some starts. IDK if they are the answer either but we need to find out.

I completely agree that Royal is a big problem when it comes to our attacking patterns but I also think Conte was content to enter into the season with him as our first choice RWB so to him he really isn’t a rotation player. Which for me is incredibly baffling and one point were I do question Conte’s thinking.

Personally I thought getting a new starting RWB should have been the first priority for the summer transfer window and i honestly can’t believe the only addition we made in that role is a youngster that Conte doesn’t seem to rate and who will probably hardly play this season.

Ether way, considering the tactics we employ, I don’t see us every being that progressive or dynamic with Royal starting. Which as you highlight is a problem for us tactically.

That being said Royal isn’t the cause of all our problems and it’s easy to scapegoat him because his weaknesses are so often highlighted. In a defensive sense he’s very solid on the whole and would probably be a good FB in the right tactic. But really he is a problem (in these tactics) and at some point that problem will have to be addressed if we want to progress.

 

[sidford]

Not many who will disagree that on the main our performances have been average at best and very hard to sit through. It's one thing doing that and getting positive results but it's another when you lose.
We're still very early in season so no need for panicking or over the top reactions but another few defeats while still playing uninspiring football and the questioning of Conte will certainly grow.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Another one for me tonight was having Bissouma and Skipp on the bench but not bringing either of the CMs off when both accumulated yellows late on with Sporting springing counter attacks.

I will admit he could’ve made some changes tonight but then again until about the 80-85th minute we’d looked more like winning than losing or at least on for a decent point, then we concede a big chance, a goal from a set piece in 90th min and switch off for a 2nd minutes later, if it had finished 0-0 or we’d nicked it 1-0 the narrative would still be that the performance wasn’t great but we’d be lauding conte knowing what he’s doing.

He won’t always get it right but I Love Antonio ?? and have full faith in him just enjoy the ups and downs because overall he and Paratici are taking us in a positive direction.

Im not ignoring the negatives or where conte could’ve done better or the team could’ve done better but I just think there is so so much to be positive about right now about the club, the squad the manager and the direction we are going why get so so angry and frustrated when the performance isn’t quite where we want it or his team selections or subs aren’t how you wanted them to be (completely not aimed at you btw I just mean some who’ve come in here all worried and ready to criticise, look at the bigger picture surely)

Back to the point though I do agree with your post that in heindsight he could’ve made more subs and a bit earlier but he will have his reasons and plans and that is good enough for me, Conte is a master, we are lucky to have him.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Love Don Antonio to death, but just wish he would give Djed a chance at RWB.

I genuinely think he would transform our team - we're missing that bit of electric pace.

We're playing far too slow and predictable atm.

Yea ? with you there mate but surely tonight in a tough away game vs Sporting would’ve been too much of a risk right?

Now home to out of form Leicester… that could well be a good time to try him but I think conte will wait until a league cup game tbh as he’s very cautious and won’t play players until he fully trusts them.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Sorry pal but if you don’t think:

- Dropping an in form Kulusevski to facilitate a massively out of form Son

- Signing 6 players, preaching on the importance of having a strong squad as opposed to a strong XI then making 1 sub

- Attempting to swap your wing backs at 0-0 in the 90th minute

- Playing Emerson when he’s comfortably the worst wing back at the club

is bizarre, then I don’t know what to say to you.

Tbh mate I don’t like the energy your bringing across. I think back to Nuno times and the club was so so toxic, it was all a complete mess, right now there is so so much to be positive about.

Sure Kulu probably should’ve started but until the 80th minute we looked on for a good away point and we were the team who looked more like winning, the final 10-15 mins were a disaster sure but I just don’t see the point in stressing so much like it seems that you are about all these things conte could’ve done better in your opinion as if he’s clueless and driving the club into the ground, why not just take a deep breath, look at the bigger picture, focus on some positives and enjoy the ride.

But hey some people just love to focus on the negatives and think they know better than one of arguably the best 3 managers in the world right now who currently has us sitting in 2nd ?

Ciao Ciao.

 

[13VanDerBale13]

There’s simply no backing him, when it comes to selecting this man, EVERY GAME ??‍

 

[WiganSpur]

He's either got to drop both Kane and Son in a bold move to get a reaction (whilst not destroying confidence) or make at least a couple of changes to the personnel behind them (Bissouma, Doherty/Spence) to see if that would help bring them into form.

If Royal and that CM partnership are still there with Kane and Son starting against Leicester you can just imagine it being the same again. He needs to change something other than the centre backs and left wing backs who aren't really the problem.

Kane, Son, Bentancur and PEH all need to feel the heat of competition a bit though imo. Suddenly after being dropped the next game they'll come out firing.

 

[mpickard2087]

While everyone (rightfully) focuses in on wing backs or needing Kulusevski in the team I just don’t think we have the type of centre midfield players to make 343 or 352 work currently. Contes Chelsea had Kante doing about ten mens work in the centre of the pitch allowing them to play 343 and Inter Milan had Barrella and Eriksen, two fantastic ball players alongside Brozovic. None of our CMs are near Kante and none of them are dynamic little ball players either. To be honest we needed Eriksen to then allow us to move to a 352. It would mean two attackers miss out but I think the balance and performance of the team overall would be far higher than it is right now.

Nah people like to whip the central midfielders constantly for some reason. They’re not perfect the perfect players, yes it would be nice to have someone who can play some wonder passes in there, but they fulfil their remit well enough virtually every week and do the job they’re supposed to be doing. Tactically there are some games where they get outnumbered and we probably should be adaptable, but against most teams it’s not been an issue and it should be said that all tactics have their strengths and weaknesses, where there is an element of risk etc and vulnerability. Conte-ball might look light and open in midfield sometimes, but we play with a fairly low block and get everyone back in a 5-4-1 and they think with sheer weight of number and many defenders behind them they’ll be fine. And tbf most weeks we are.

Conte always says his teams/his football strives for balance. The centre backs and centre mids are primarily there to be the 5 functional, disciplined players who provide the platform. Make us defensively secure and tough to breakdown. With the ball they should be able to bait the opposition on to us, play out from deep, and execute planned, not really ultra elaborate tbh, pattern plays and up-back-through’s to release those ahead of them into decent positions. Now over the last 6 months vast majority of games, they’ve done all this pretty well. Defensively we’ve been good, and they’ve done the stuff with the ball. Even those who get lamented a lot – the Hojbjerg’s, Davies’ Sanchez’s, etc – have by and large carried out these patterns of play and give those up front a supply line.

The main problem at the start of the season, as I keep saying, is those primary 5 attacking players. The wingbacks and forwards. Some aren’t playing well, some are limited, and even in wins they’ve been very wasteful. They see a lot of ball, they’re not doing nearly enough with it.

Son is really badly out of form. Kane (whatever his goal stats) is really badly out of form. Richarlison is never going to be the most refined player and his touch/pass often lets him down. Between them I don’t think that trio is overly balanced, and even on good days will cough up the ball plenty. Emerson is Emerson, painfully limited for the role. Even Perisic I have said a few times now, early days and yeah we get some moments of class, I was expecting a lot more. I thought he’d be ultra aggressive in his work and looking to attack the final third, I’m wanting to see a lot more.

Games like tonight the midfield and defence had a bit of a dip for once this season, and it couldn’t compensate for our misfiring attacking unit – which it has done so far. But mainly it, and to go back to the original argument, the midfield, has been fine. For the tactics and our play to look better, we need the attacking unit and individuals to start firing, get back towards the form and efficiency and of the back end of last season, stop fucking the ball away and barbecuing attacking scenarios, and hopefully find the solutions to some of our deficiencies on the flanks.

A very sluggish start to the season further forward is where the heart of the matter is currently.

 

[spursfan1991]

It is only 1 loss, so no need to throw the toys out of the pram but the reason why some spurs fans are getting worried is because there are Jose 2nd season vibes about what we are seeing.

- Highly praised transfer window
- shit performances but good results early on
- almost the same starting 11 every week.
- when watching the game at home, you are doing something else whilst the game is played on the background because the game is so uninspiring.

As long as we keep winning then it is ok but if the shit performances follow shit results with no changes being made to the team then he will lose the dressing room and he will start to lose the fans.

 

[Mark_147]

That’s an odd comment because
Firstly - Emerson as a fullback a actually pretty good (we just don’t play a system that suits him)
Secondly- trippier is still an international quality wingback who many agree would be an upgrade on Emerson.
but im equally lost as to why Emerson keeps getting picked ahead of a fit Doherty. He was a big part of our successful run at the end last season and gave us much better shape and attacking threat.
I don’t know why he’s not back in the starting eleven by now.

Conte has said Doherty had a serious injury and isn't back to full fitness.

 

[robotsonic]

He's going to have to do something to give them all a massive kick up the rectum I think, akin to when he lost his shit and started talking about not being the right man for the job, so this is where he'll really need to earn his money. Because they do need really need to start playing to their level soonish and if he can't get them there then maybe for some reason he isn't and it's another manager we've managed to break.

Very frustrating watching a bunch of players play so far beneath what they're capable of, and so is just playing them week-in, week-out hoping that they're going to pick up form. It's understandable for a couple of games while we're picking up points anyway, but if a couple of results start to go the other way then surely he's got to take a couple of them out of there for a couple of games. Some of the lads somehow look tired already and at some point Antonio will just have to ring the changes whether he wants to or not as they'll be shattered.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Tbh mate I don’t like the energy your bringing across. I think back to Nuno times and the club was so so toxic, it was all a complete mess, right now there is so so much to be positive about.

Sure Kulu probably should’ve started but until the 80th minute we looked on for a good away point and we were the team who looked more like winning, the final 10-15 mins were a disaster sure but I just don’t see the point in stressing so much like it seems that you are about all these things conte could’ve done better in your opinion as if he’s clueless and driving the club into the ground, why not just take a deep breath, look at the bigger picture, focus on some positives and enjoy the ride.

But hey some people just love to focus on the negatives and think they know better than one of arguably the best 3 managers in the world right now who currently has us sitting in 2nd ?

Ciao Ciao.

I don’t agree with the serious negativity or concern, especially at this point, but I completely appreciate why it’s there. Essentially we are currently in football limbo ie consistently bad football but good results. I’m sure the atmosphere in general would be the same if it were the opposite, good football but consistently bad results. This is also somewhat exacerbated by Conte not feeling he can yet rely on a number of the new players he’s brought in over summer resulting in a majority of line ups not looking too dissimilar to those from last year that we all know are lacking. Insert the definition of insanity quote here.

Coming out of a period of Nuno and Jose and seeing what we are seeing currently i understand why many fans are concerned. For me Conte was always going to be a hard sell if/when things aren’t clicking because he can often be a dull watch. In all honesty I never much enjoyed watching his Inter team because I’m just not a fan of his style of football. That being said he isn’t Nuno or Jose and is more progressive in comparison. But still, his tactics are very much based around counters and crosses which can look at times, and especially when not working, like a Jose/Nuno mk2. When this happens it’s understandable that some fans are just that little bit quicker to be concerned or criticise. I too share some of those concerns but not to any extreme degree because I know how Conte works and it can often be slow and painful going at first. That being said there’s no guarantee we will get going of course after all every club/group of players is different

We all want to see progression especially after a summer transfer window where we have seen a lot of new faces join yet thus far we have seen very little this season. Each glimmer of hope has often been met with a decidedly stale performance right afterwards. Unfortunately this is just the growing pains of Conte but this will change at some point, in this case no team can stay in limbo for ever, something will have to give. I wouldn’t be surprised tho if we continue with our stop start performances for a little time longer. I can completely see us playing really well against Leicester then falling apart against Arsenal or Vice versa.

Ether way, for now patience is required and I am still expecting a significant upturn in performances at some point in the next 1 to 2 months but I also fully respect those who are disgruntled and concerned because currently this isn’t a million miles away from what has come before when looking from the outside in.

 

[JCRD]

I don’t agree with the serious negativity or concern, especially at this point, but I completely appreciate why it’s there. Essentially we are currently in football limbo ie constantly bad football but good results. I’m sure the atmosphere in general would be the same if it were the opposite, good football but consistently bad results. This is also somewhat exacerbated by Conte not feeling he can yet rely on a number of the new players he’s brought in over summer resulting in a majority of line ups not looking too dissimilar to those from last year that we all know are lacking. Insert the definition of insanity quote here.

Coming out of a period of Nuno and Jose and seeing what we are seeing currently i understand why many fans are concerned. For me Conte was always going to be a hard sell if/when things aren’t clicking because he can often be a dull watch. In all honestly I never much enjoyed watching his Inter team because I’m just not a fan of his style of football. That being said he isn’t Nuno or Jose and is more progressive in comparison. But still, his tactics are very much based around counters and crosses which can look at times, and especially when not working, like a Jose/Nuno mk2. When this happens it’s understandable that some fans are just that little bit quicker to be concerned or criticise. I too share some of those concerns but not to any extreme degree because I know how Conte works and it can often be slow and painful going at first. That being said there’s no guarantee we will get going of course after all every club/group of players is different

We all want to see progression especially after a summer transfer window where we have seen a lot of new faces join yet thus far we have seen very little this season. Each glimmer of hope has often been met with a decidedly stale performance right afterwards. Unfortunately this is just the growing pains of Conte but this will change at some point, in this case no team can stay in limbo for ever, something will have to give. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised tho if we continue with our stop start performances for a little time longer. I can completely see us playing really well against Leicester then falling apart against Arsenal or Vice versa.

Ether way, for now patience is required and I am still expecting a significant upturn in performances at some point in the next 1 to 2 months but I also fully respect those who are disgruntled and concerned because currently this isn’t a million miles away from what has come before when looking from the outside in.

Good post and youre right, we should not be overzealous with the criticisms but I think some of the concerns are warranted. I made a point that it isnt even that fact that the football isnt entertaining, dont think I care about that, its more that even what we are trying to do we are doing it poorly and it isnt convincing.

I can see the positive in this result and that is - whatever we were doing ... was not sustainable and it never was. So hopefully Conte looks at this and changes a few things, perhaps less rigid - and allowing others to come into the team, and settign us up to go out there with a bit more fluidity and pace rather than walking and ambling around.

 

[shelfboy68]

Contes interview saying that we lost focus but what about the other games so far, it's been going on in most of them as well.
If it's happening on a frequent basis as is the case wtf is going on and what does he intend to do about it is on 12m a year.

 

[k1cks77]

This is also somewhat exacerbated by Conte not feeling he can yet rely on a number of the new players he’s brought in over summer resulting in a majority of line ups not looking too dissimilar to those from last year that we all know are lacking. Insert the definition of insanity quote here.

see this is what is confusing me, kulu and bentancur were signed on the last day of the january window, from a different league and thrusted straight into the line up and both were exceptional (lets all forget about kulu’s first thirty minutes in our shirt shall we).

for some reason despite some players being acclimatised to this league, being more experienced and having had a preseason with conte and under his guidance for 2 months he doesn’t seem to want to trust them. I get that circumstances forced his hand in january and this team has been getting results, but surely he isn’t as naive as to think that the teams he’s put out have been playing well overall like they were at the end of last season.

 

[chrisd2k]

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

Prepare yourself

 

[bubble07]

Bottom line though is we had 2 big chances to score

Richarlson header and Royal shot back post

They had 2 real chances. The 2nd goal and when Edwards shot from 6 yards

It was an even game. Its just if we had fresh legs we could have won this

 

[journeyman]

Nah people like to whip the central midfielders constantly for some reason. They’re not perfect the perfect players, yes it would be nice to have someone who can play some wonder passes in there, but they fulfil their remit well enough virtually every week and do the job they’re supposed to be doing. Tactically there are some games where they get outnumbered and we probably should be adaptable, but against most teams it’s not been an issue and it should be said that all tactics have their strengths and weaknesses, where there is an element of risk etc and vulnerability. Conte-ball might look light and open in midfield sometimes, but we play with a fairly low block and get everyone back in a 5-4-1 and they think with sheer weight of number and many defenders behind them they’ll be fine. And tbf most weeks we are.

Conte always says his teams/his football strives for balance. The centre backs and centre mids are primarily there to be the 5 functional, disciplined players who provide the platform. Make us defensively secure and tough to breakdown. With the ball they should be able to bait the opposition on to us, play out from deep, and execute planned, not really ultra elaborate tbh, pattern plays and up-back-through’s to release those ahead of them into decent positions. Now over the last 6 months vast majority of games, they’ve done all this pretty well. Defensively we’ve been good, and they’ve done the stuff with the ball. Even those who get lamented a lot – the Hojbjerg’s, Davies’ Sanchez’s, etc – have by and large carried out these patterns of play and give those up front a supply line.

The main problem at the start of the season, as I keep saying, is those primary 5 attacking players. The wingbacks and forwards. Some aren’t playing well, some are limited, and even in wins they’ve been very wasteful. They see a lot of ball, they’re not doing nearly enough with it.

Son is really badly out of form. Kane (whatever his goal stats) is really badly out of form. Richarlison is never going to be the most refined player and his touch/pass often lets him down. Between them I don’t think that trio is overly balanced, and even on good days will cough up the ball plenty. Emerson is Emerson, painfully limited for the role. Even Perisic I have said a few times now, early days and yeah we get some moments of class, I was expecting a lot more. I thought he’d be ultra aggressive in his work and looking to attack the final third, I’m wanting to see a lot more.

Games like tonight the midfield and defence had a bit of a dip for once this season, and it couldn’t compensate for our misfiring attacking unit – which it has done so far. But mainly it, and to go back to the original argument, the midfield, has been fine. For the tactics and our play to look better, we need the attacking unit and individuals to start firing, get back towards the form and efficiency and of the back end of last season, stop fucking the ball away and barbecuing attacking scenarios, and hopefully find the solutions to some of our deficiencies on the flanks.

A very sluggish start to the season further forward is where the heart of the matter is currently.

??? Perhaps the best analytical post I’ve read on Spurs Community this season. Or at least I completely agree with this assessment!