Postecoglou & Lange (& Paratici) Watch

The problem's not each individual young signing, it's that it's been every individual signing. If the club are going to sign such players, having a proper understanding of where they are in their development and how to progress that development is essential. We've not had that and until we do, we'd be better off not signing more of the same.

 

We had that for a point, most obviously with Dele, but that tailed off terribly around the summer of 2018

At some point somebody really should do a deep dive into the last two years of Poch's time with us, because for the last eighteen months of Poch's tenure he did seem to be trying to wring out every last drop from a small group of players and barely acknowledged the existence of the others, which not only stalled the development of Foyth, KWP, Sanchez and a few others, but also meant that Llorente was doing little more than collecting dust and, occasionally, his wages. In some cases this was understandable, most obviously Janssen and GKN as neither were working out so giving them regular chances is counterintuitive, but when a chunk of the squad is kicking their heels on the bench every week it's clear that better squad management is required

And that also carries over to the summer of 2019 and beyond, as at that point Poch needed to bed in not just the players brought in that summer (which was hampered by Sessegnon arriving injured and Lo Celso getting nobbled on international duty soon after arriving) but we still hadn't bedded in Foyth or KWP, while also changing the formation in spite not having the personnel required for the formation we were changing to

 

The main issue seems to be loan selection, especially for young players. We seem to get them in without a real plan. Same goes for a lot of the academy loans. Skipp last season and Parrott this year seem to be the gold standard but we get it wrong too often.

 

It’s probably not helped we’ve chopped and changed managers. Poch, Jose, Nuno and Conte since Nov 2019. Players are generally signed for a manager and their system and every single one of those managers plays a different brand.

But in general, I think the club should always be looking at the Gil’s and Sarr’s of the world. Even if it takes one or multiple loans for them to get up to scratch, these types of talents who are coveted by many of Europe’s elite generally turn out very good players in time.

 

There's also the factors we can't control, such as managerial changes

If we loaned a player to (to pick a name out of the air) Plymouth due to them playing free-flowing football, but then a run of bad results sees them sack their manager and go for a smash & grab merchant instead, that can mean that a loan goes from being the right sort of loan to a complete disaster in a short space of time - which is exactly what happened when we loaned Massimo Luongo to Ipswich, as when we loaned him they were managed by Paul Jewell - but when they hit a bad patch of form they brought in Mick McCarthy and apparently gave Luongo PTSD, given he was recalled within weeks of McCarthy's arrival

At the very least, though, any and all future loans need to have a baseline of minutes played in order to prevent a repeat of the farces that Jack Clarke and Nile John went through, neither of which were our fault as both clubs then went over their loan quota after the deals were signed off on, but we certainly need to stop inadvertently loaning our U23 players to other teams' U23 teams

 

The Torygraph has done a piece on our fitness coach Giampiero Ventrone

Encounter Gian Piero Ventrone at Hotspur Way, Tottenham’s multi-million-pound training base, and the friendly handshake and warm smile you will likely receive is precisely in keeping with the genial image the silver-haired, 62-year-old conveys. But looks can be deceiving.

“Often I would be at the point of vomiting by the end, because I was so tired,” Zinedine Zidane once said of Ventrone’s gruelling sessions. The legendary Italian fitness coach did not earn his nickname ‘The Marine’ for nothing.

It was over the best part of a decade at Juventus in the late 1990s and early 2000s that Ventrone first gained notoriety for the brutal training sessions that have become his trademark over a gloried career. For those who could not keep up, Ventrone installed a “bell of shame” to be rung by any player succumbing to the ignominy of quitting.

“The bell hasn’t come yet, but we’ll see,” Spurs defender Ben Davies told Telegraph Sport this week, smiling as he considered the prospect of training sessions becoming even harder.

Eight weeks after Antonio Conte took charge of Tottenham in November, a telling statistic flashed up on the screen during their EFL Cup quarter-final victory over West Ham. Under previous manager Nuno Espirito Santo, Spurs had been ranked bottom of the Premier League for distance covered each match. In less than two months, Conte had moved them top.

The Italian manager has long held a fearsome reputation for the relentless work ethic he both purveys and expects from his players. “He is like a police sergeant,” said Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini. “When you finish training, you are dead. Not tired. Dead.”

Where Nuno had just one fitness coach during his brief Spurs tenure, three of Conte’s six core staff members - the Italian trio of Costantino Coratti, Stefano Bruno and Ventrone - are conditioning specialists.

The effects have been evident. Spurs went nine league games unbeaten after Conte took charge, and propelled themselves into the Champions League places with a free-scoring run in recent months, before what Davies described as “a blip” in the recent defeat against Brighton and goalless draw at Brentford.

That Tottenham failed to have a shot on target in either of those games is a concern Conte will hope is forgotten against Leicester City on Sunday, as his side looks to get back on track in a nailbiting top-four battle. The one thing not lacking is work rate.“The stats clearly show that we are definitely fitter [under Conte],” said Davies. “We are running more and keeping our intensity up for longer in games. That’s a result of the work we’ve put in on the training pitch.“It’s hard, but we’ve been drilled that to achieve any sort of result you need to work hard. On the fitness side of things, that’s definitely showing.”Much of that is due to Ventrone. A member of Marcello Lippi’s staff when Juventus reached three successive Champions League finals between 1996 and 1998, Ventrone had spells at French and Chinese clubs - most recently under Fabio Cannavaro at Guangzhou - before joining Conte at Spurs.A man who practises what he preaches, he is seen most mornings in the Hotspur Way gym or swimming pool before putting the players to task with equal vigour.

“He really is a workhorse,” said Davies. “He works us very hard, but you know that he has our best interests at heart.

“He’s been in the game for a very long time so who are we to question his methods? It clearly works. He knows when to lay off us, but he pushes us to be better.

“It’s great to have his experience around the place, not just on the fitness side but as a person. He’s been there, done it and been around some of the best in the world, so he can translate some of that experience onto us.”

Davies admitted watching Manchester City and Liverpool triumph in Champions League semi-finals this week was a reminder of what Spurs have missed since they last played in Europe’s premier competition in 2020.

“It’s our target, it’s where we want to be,” he said. “And as we saw [this week], those are the games you want to be involved in - that’s the pinnacle.

“We are within touching distance of it now. There are a lot of boys at Spurs who experienced it last time, but there are a lot who haven’t, so it’s a massive aim for everyone.”

Conte last week blamed defensively-minded opposition for Spurs following a streak of 25 goals in seven games with successive blanks. Agreeing, Davies said: “When you are on a good run, doing well offensively and scoring a lot of goals it makes complete sense for the opposition to try and shore things up. The last two teams that we’ve played against have probably put two banks of five and made it very difficult for us to play against.

“But that’s another challenge we’re going to face and we have to overcome that. That is a result of your success. It’s a double-edged sword.”

With Liverpool lying in wait next weekend, Sunday’s game against Leicester City could be crucial to keep tabs on Arsenal, who sit just two points ahead. A potentially season-defining north London derby looms on May 12.

“We’re working now towards the end of the season and we aren’t going to stop,” said Davies. “We’ve put ourselves in a great position, given ourselves every opportunity and it’s in our hands now.”

 

Romano says Conte wants to lead a revolution here and that the club’s doing all it can to keep him.

Reports elsewhere have also said the club want Conte to stay and that we’re gonna give him every available £ to spend on the squad, with the idea of going for proven quality this summer instead of our usual model of going for players with potential.

A backup keeper, LCB, two WBs and a striker are supposedly on the agenda. I’m hoping we look for a creative mid too!

 

"We're finishing the season with only 15 players"? No, we're not.
This is the kind of **** that annoys the **** out of me. Why say this publicly?
We can't change the squad right now. Don't alienate anyone in it. It's not ****ing hard.

 

Well that's going to inspire the likes of Harvey White, Jamie Donley and Dane Scarlett, isn't it?

 

His maths ain’t great but he ain’t far wrong, I make it 18 available. 17 really when you consider Winks is one of those…

Edit: In fact arguably 16, seeing as Austin as 3rd choice is unlikely to ever actually play this season.

 

There's a hair replacement joke in there somewhere...

 

Conte will earn a £2.5m bonus if we secure CL footy.

 

Cheap at twice the price.

 

Oh well, looks like we'll be selling Jack Clarke then...

 

Di Marzio says that Luis Campos is close to joining PSG as Sporting Director

Just in case Gary Neville starts suggesting new roles for Paratici...

 

My ****ing manager

What an appointment.

I would ask everyone to grade Conte’s season but I think I pretty much know everyone’s response.

 

Back him 100% or GTFO Levy/ENIC

 

He is an elite manager and we have some elite players. I hope that the owners realise what we currently have and how rarely such situations and potential opportunities arise. I believe that Levy didn't realise the imperative to seize the opportunities of 2010/11 and 2015/16 and 2016/17...and in a flash, they were gone.

Sport is about 'the moment' and utilising it to the 'max'. When you're 'on top' is the time to exploit your success, not to hesitate and wait and see, only to subsequently seek to regain lost ground and opportunity.

Carpe diem, Daniel, my old son. Carpe diem.

 

So, who do we think that it was...?