Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Chronicle Live
Chronicle Live
Sport
Oscar Haley

'Shrewd' Newcastle United spending point used in criticism of Tottenham boss Antonio Conte

ESPN pundit Craig Burley believes Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte could learn a thing or two by watching how Newcastle United coach Eddie Howe conducts himself.

The atmosphere around Spurs and Conte and the moment does not seem to be an overly pleasant one, with the Italian manager appearing increasingly frustrated week after week.

Following their 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa on New Year's Day, the 53-year-old hit out at the "crazy" expectations around the club given their supposed lack of resources, claiming further that he needed to be backed in the transfer market better.

READ MORE: Antonio Conte 'bazooka' verdict hints at Newcastle's next step as Howe confirms transfer thinking

While there are some deficiencies in Spurs' squad, it's not as though they have not spent money under Conte. Last summer saw them bring in Cristian Romero, Richarlison and Yves Bissouma for big money, whilst also adding the likes of Ivan Perisic, Clement Lenglet and Djed Spence.

However, despite this, Conte still seems to be perturbed by his situation at Spurs, which stands in stark contrast to the atmosphere around St James' Park. Newcastle are flying right now under Eddie Howe having spent smartly and well since his first window in charge this time last year.

But one of the overlooked qualities of this Newcastle side is the improvement of the players who were already at the club prior to Howe's arrival. The likes of Joe Willock, Sean Longstaff, Joelinton and Miguel Almiron have all come on leaps and bounds since Howe took charge of Newcastle.

And ESPN's Burley reckons Conte needs to stop whinging about his lack of resources, and instead focus on getting the best out of his players like Howe does with the Magpies.

"I look at a comparison with Newcastle United. Yes, Newcastle United have ownership that could go out and spend, if you're not bringing in FFP, £500m," said Burley on ESPN.

"But that hasn't happened as of yet. They've signed Alexander Isak who was a big signing at £60m, but when you're talking, how many times do you hear Eddie Howe come out and say 'I can't work with Dan Burn, I can't work with [Kieran] Trippier, I can't work with Joe Willock, I can't work with Sean Longstaff, I can't work with [Chris] Wood and Callum Wilson, and a guy from the MLS by the way, Miguel Almiron,' no, no.

"It's how can we get the best from this group, how can we get them performing at their best, and yeah, they didn't get the best result at the weekend but we've seen with not a lot of money spent, with some shrewd, good quality pros, you can get a tune out of these teams that are not Manchester City and Liverpool, and haven't got the best centre-half, and the best goalkeeper and the best striker.

"That comes down to coaching. To some extent, we've seen it with Newcastle, who could have went into second place and all we're hearing, week after week from Antonio Conte is more money."

READ NEXT

Leeds United send 'don't mess' with us message after time-wasting as Meslier taunts Newcastle

Arsenal react to Newcastle 'threat' as Mikel Arteta opens up on 'set-up' that's shaken the top 6

Arsenal will see pumped Newcastle after chat and Guardiola turns air blue to prove Magpies point

Leeds United aim 'cheap' referee dig but Jesse Marsch is blown away by the size of Newcastle

Eddie Howe reacts to Newcastle and Leeds United brawl as 'nice guys' turn nasty and 2023 glimpse

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.