Should be leaving tonight after today. In the immediate aftermath I was angry at the penalty decision (and I still am), but some of that anger should be aimed at the whole **** show that Spurs under Conte have become. I can't wait for him to go
Tbh he should've gone after the Milan game but if he's sticking around for a bit longer/until the end of the season, I'm somewhat pleased he's going scorched earth as he leaves. His comments today were the first open attack we've had on the owners since they took over. Harry, Poch and Maureen all flirted with the idea but stopped short of open warfare. What Conte has just said has needed to be said every year since (by my reckoning) 2010, and I'm glad he's said it. Might be the single most helpful thing he's done for us. "Tottenham's story is this - 20 years there is this owner and they never won something. Why?" "The fault is only for the club, or for every manager that stay here," said Conte. "I have seen the managers that Tottenham had on the bench. You risk to disrupt the figure of the manager and to protect the other situation in every moment."
He's reportedly saying "Sign Bastoni this summer or I walk" now How about we let him walk, then sign Bastoni anyway?
I'm from the 'coach and players equally to blame' camp. However, if Conte has considered some of his players not pulling their weight for months, then waiting until now to go public is shameful - on him. There are a few players who show up every game. Davies and (surprisingly) Royal would be two of those in my opinion, even if they are the journeymen rather than the stars. Skippy has shown commitment. Hojbjerg has put in the hard yards for months, but is struggling and getting tetchy with teammates: is that a frustration in his own tiredness or in his colleagues lack of commitment. I always thought Sonny would give 100%, even if never going to tackle or work overhard to cover etc. But his general standard today and in recent weeks suggests a player unhappy with things around him. That's just a couple of visible examples, but sure there are more.
You're right PNP, but so is Conte. How much longer does this go on for? How many more managers do we appoint? How many players do we sign? How many more times do we as fans convince ourselves that 'this time it will be different'? The last 4 years have been nothing short of disgraceful. Any other owner in any other industry would be dragged in front of a tribunal to give a proper reckoning of their decision making. So yes, Conte is in the wrong place at the wrong time. And if he is solely to blame, he becomes the seventh poor appointment Levy has made. Seven. It has to end. It just has to end. Levy and ENIC took us as far as they humanly could with the new stadium. Since then, they have presided over a comedy of errors. Fewer moments that have made me more ashamed of being a Spurs fan than some in recent years, and I grew up in the 90's. Sacking Poch in the dead of night, appointing Maureen of all people to take over, leaping on the furlough bandwagon, seeking to appoint confirmed racist and homophobe Gattuso, deeming Nuno good enough for a club like ours, not being able to count to 11 and subsequently having to terminate Doherty's contract when he was already in Spain. These are farcical, comical decisions. And it goes on and on and on and on and on and the one common denominator amidst all of it is Daniel Levy and ENIC. To quote a dearly departed Gooner, "it's time to go".
Conte saying it how it is on his way out . It is only a matter of time before he leaves now and onto the next mug, rinse and repeat.
I’m not sure I agree that he should have gone at all. He is very much saying that the players have to do the job on the pitch and take responsibility for the manner in which they play. Not just the board, the manager and the coaching staff. I agree with him whole heartedly. No more excuses for players. Every time there is a loss, everyone wants to question his loyalty. As if players not knowing if he’s staying is a possible reason for lack of effort. Nonsense. I remember a similar outburst, although less explosive, toward the end of last season which resulted in the team going on a run that got us 4th. The players needed a kick, and so did the press for always attempting the same spins and manipulations. Hopefully a fire is lit. The team will bloody well need it, especially with the injuries.
Our league finishes in the past 4 years have been well above our historical average, despite the league having the strongest competitors ever. How anyone can think that shows evidence of incompetence is beyond me.
Historical averages are not useful in measuring success. America's GDP and employment levels today are well above the historical average, does that mean the administration should be above criticism or people should turn a blind eye when a few banks fail? Ambition is not built by comparing yourself now to what you used to be. It is built by envisioning what you could become. Dickens encapsulated this best when he showed how Scrooge was ultimately only moved to change by the ghost of the future. You've been a stalwart supporter of Levy and ENIC and I respect that, but I firmly believe they took us as far as they could with the new stadium, and for that they should be given a standing ovation on their way out. But I have seen no evidence in the past 4 years of progress and therefore say again: it's time to go.
"Before today I prefer to hide this situation and try to speak, to try to improve the spirit, the situation, with the words, with a lot of situations" Must've been somebody else kvetching in pre-match press conferences for the past eighteen months...
I don't think that he's right, at all. Who are these players that aren't giving their all and who don't care if we lose? Why is he still picking them and why didn't he try to get rid of them in the summer? People wanted Levy to go out and do whatever it took to win a trophy. He brought in supposed serial winners in Mourinho and Conte. They've both bored us rigid, blamed everyone at the club barring ****ing Chirpy and then flounced. Levy isn't perfect, but he's better than the alternative. He needs to do what he actually said and bring in someone we can get behind. No more of this dull, ineffective, sterile ****e from ****s who don't respect the club. I'd rather bring back ****ing Nuno. At least he didn't think he was doing us a favour. If Conte thought that he was right and had any balls, then he'd name names. He praises individuals, freezes out tons of players, then cries about what's left. It's laughable for him to talk about ambition while playing the least ambitious football ever. He's as convincing as his hairline.