For the first time in a few weeks, Antonio Conte has been able to work with some clarity at Tottenham Hotspur.
That isn’t down to any easing of issues, that the Italian has himself significantly contributed to. It is instead that this trip to Manchester City is a rare game unencumbered by greater complications, other than those Conte constantly dwells on.
He knows Spurs can’t financially compete with the champions, regardless of how ambitious they get, due to the Abu Dhabi ownership. He also knows that disparity further influences a fixture that will always be primarily dictated by Pep Guardiola’s philosophy, which means are completely justified in playing a countering approach.
That has been an issue for Spurs of late, provoking debate, but not here. It removes any doubt for this game. It is one reason why they have such a good record against Guardiola’s City, with some of their best recent results coming at otherwise fraught periods.
It says much that, for all the gloom around Tottenham right now, they don’t quite need a result on Thursday as much as they did last January.
Then, Spurs had lost three games in a row with even the enthusiasm from the stirring 3-2 victory over City being immediately soured by 1-0 defeat to Burnley. That actually brought Conte’s most agitated media performance at the club yet, that still makes recent comments seem rather tame.
The Italian might say that his complaints from that day still stand.
“I’m trying to do everything to change the situation but the situation is not changing. Someone has to speak about the race for the fourth place, and the reality from the last five games is we have to pay attention to not fight for the relegation zone. This is the truth. This is the reality,” he said.
“When this type of situation happens, maybe there is something wrong. I don’t want to close my eyes, I want to take my responsibility, if I have the responsibility. I am open, I am open for every decision because I want to help Tottenham. From the first day I arrived here I want to help Tottenham. I repeat: I am too honest to close my eyes and continue in this way, and also take my salary. But it’s not right in this moment.”
You could say the threats still stand, too.
This entire period for Spurs has been overshadowed by questions over whether Conte could walk, whether Spurs would send him walking, and the growing feeling that he will finally go in the summer.
The more things change, etc… it brings to mind the comment of one Juventus executive during the Italian’s time there between 2010 and 2014. “Just let him spend a bit more, to stop him whining.”
Spurs aren’t that Juve, mind, since they were serial champions. But then this isn’t quite February 2021 either.
There are a few little wrinkles.
These last five games aren’t quite as bad as last year, and it’s been exactly that number since everyone returned from the World Cup, which should explain a certain inconsistency. Spurs have won two, drawn two and lost two, although one of the victories did come in the FA Cup. That still means they have a competition to win, however, and they are just five points off the Champions League places with the last 16 to come.
It isn’t that bad, and certainly isn’t as bad as various points last season, but the concern from a game against City is that it could threaten to spiral.
That’s why, as daunting as a trip to the champions would be for anyone else, it’s almost as well that Spurs are facing one of the sides they have such a good recent record against.
It’s just, oddly, this isn’t the City they’re normally used to either. It won’t quite be a case of Spurs seeking to detail a team that are on almost unstoppable form.
If City do lose this, it will only be the third time in Guardiola’s career he has lost three consecutive competitive games in one season.
The last was between 4 April and 10 April 2018, when defeats to Liverpool in both legs of a Champions League quarter-final bookended a 3-2 loss to Manchester United. The first was at the end of his second season with Bayern Munich, and two of the defeats were in a league campaign where they had already confirmed the title.
The wonder, especially against Conte’s countering plan, is whether Guardiola alters anything himself. This is already a different City to the one that has allowed Spurs to develop a run of four wins out of the last six against them, given the Catalan has played a false nine throughout that.
He now has the truest nine possible, in Erling Haaland, but he is still generally trying to play the same way.
The issue for Conte is that, if he has a clear idea of what his approach should be, Guardiola has spent the last few days trying to figure out how they can get the ball into the Norwegian much more quickly.
It is another game that could represent a juncture in the season. The results between these two teams have only gone one way of late, which is with Spurs. The two teams themselves have recently been forward and back. This may at last offer more clarity - or just cloud things further.
