It was always going to end this way. As predictable as another Fast and Furious centred around family, or the 90th rebranded version of the Death Star being destroyed. You did not have to be a soothsayer to predict Antonio Conte’s Spurs regime would go up in flames.
As much as this failure can be attributed to a club completely losing its way and stumbling to grasp instant gratification, it also is a damning indictment on a coach whose whole persona is about big titles and big results.
As much as his self-destructive outburst after the collapse at Southampton might have been taken as some inspirational speech, it is severely undermined by the reality of Conte’s time at Spurs, which has seen his methods fail and his reputation in the Premier League dwindle.
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If you had gazed over Conte’s career before November of 2021 when he arrived at Spurs, it was clear this relationship would not last long. You at best would get two seasons out of him, but the fact Spurs did not even meet that tells its own story.
For all his title success with Juventus, Chelsea and Inter shaped a glorious career, there were enough red flags, particularly in his second season at Stamford Bridge to give Spurs pause for thought. A firebrand like Conte needs instant success to justify the collateral damage that will unravel later. At a club who have not lifted silverware since Gordon Brown was Prime Minister, this created extra pressure for a limited period.
The way he had fallen out with his best striker in Diego Costa, and the ongoing feud with the Chelsea hierarchy began long before results started to spiral. But the most damning indictment was the failure to retain Champions League football, something all of his three successors: Maurizio Sarri, Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel managed.
Chelsea’s severe dip in the second half of the 2017/18 campaign was drastic. Going from second on New Year's Day to fifth in May did not speak well of Conte’s ability to manage. His departure was sour, even after winning an FA Cup against a future Spurs head coach in Jose Mourinho at Wembley, the relationship was beyond repair.
There also was a flawed argument underpinning those cheering on his Spurs appointment, one that relied on painting the Chelsea squad he took over in 2016 as average, which is just horrendously wrong. Even if the club had languished in 10th the year before, the majority of the squad had lifted the title in 2015.
He had Thibaut Courtois, Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill, John Terry, N’Golo Kante, Nemanja Matic, Cesc Fabregas, Eden Hazard, Willian, Pedro and Costa. This was not a squad of underachievers at a club lost in the wilderness.
Conte benefited from inheriting a highly talented squad filled with some outstanding individuals who outperformed their expected numbers in the 2016/17 campaign. He deserves immense credit for cultivating that success, but the attempt at revising history was silly.
The great highs and suddens lows of Conte make him a potentially brilliant but highly combustible figure, one that a club that was reeling after the pretty miserable reign of Mourinho and a bizarre short stint of Nuno Espirito Santo could have probably done without.
This is not to say Conte got nothing right, as best proven by his ability to get fourth over Arsenal at the back end of last season winning eight of the last 11 league games. Though the nuance within that period of joy came from fewer games, allowing Conte the room to work on team shape and instructions in between.
One of the things that aided his first season at Chelsea was no European football, getting knocked out of the League Cup early and rotating heavily in the early rounds of the FA Cup. Once Champions League football came into the mix, problems began in terms of performances but also Conte’s ability to inspire the same performances.
Again, this was not a shock when the same happened with Spurs this season, neither was his 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 shape becoming less impactful once opponents learnt its strengths and weaknesses.
This was always going to be an issue for Conte, because his go-to solution for any problem seems to demand more from his hierarchy in the transfer market, even if they have spent heavily in the previous window. Few coaches are as demanding as Conte in this aspect and up against a shrewd operator like Daniel Levy who has never been regarded as a lavish spender, where else did they think this partnership would head eventually?
The broader problem with Conte, similar to Mourinho, is that the “results-first”, boom and bust maverick appears less and less effective in the Premier League. The clubs at the top of the league are not only financially strong but the top two since 2018, Manchester City and Liverpool, have proven you can build strong foundations in the turbulent world of elite football.
Conte’s original impact was aided by a landscape in 2016 that had just welcomed Pep Guardiola to the Etihad and Jurgen Klopp still starting Lorius Karius, Dejan Lovren, Nathaniel Clyne and Alberto Moreno. On his return, both had won titles, both had established a firm trust in their methods and high performances.
Arsenal were laughed at for sticking with Mikel Arteta during the winter of 2020, a time when Mourinho’s Spurs convincingly beat them 2-0. Few saw a reality in which Arteta’s Arsenal could be closer to the top than Mourinho, but now that result feels like an anomaly, Spurs are currently 20 points behind their fiercest rivals who are dreaming of their first title since 2004.
Levy is now looking for his fourth permanent appointment in the dugout since 2019 when he parted ways with Mauricio Pochettino. You do have to ponder for both parties, was that a beneficial decision?
Spurs look further away now from the league title than they ever did under the Argentine, whose results were undeniably slipping in 2019, but had proven with the right investment and time could create a team capable of blooding the nose of the league’s biggest hitters. A Poch return might not be the only route back to creating a strong connection with supporters, but again, you did not need to be a genius to see where the Mourinho era would lead four years ago when that change was made.
Spurs were known for their high-energy, progressive brand of football. There was a process, even if it got mocked by rivals for no trophies, that led them to a Champions League final. The trope of the “elite manager” with “big titles” has proven twice now to fail miserably, leaving them with a less entertaining football team, a more divisive atmosphere and wasted time.
Not only is that approach less effective, it feels counterproductive to who Spurs are, what they are set up to be and how they have been run.
I do not know what club in world football can satisfy Conte’s tireless demands and given the problems he brings, I am not sure which of the major clubs would have the patience to deal with them after this fiasco. Spurs are a mess, but Conte’s time in the Premier League should be over now.
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