Opinion: Tottenham’s slide could cost them Antonio Conte

Following a disastrous defeat to relegation-threatened Burnely, Tottenham manager Antonio Conte tore into the club in his post-match press conference, leaving more questions than answers.

What we have to decipher now is if this is just another Conte blowup, or if this is something far more serious.

It is clear and obvious to every Spurs fan that the club has some serious issues it needs to fix. And while earlier in the campaign it seemed that one of those problems was the manager (again), the club seemed to actually make the right call to hire Conte, one of the world’s best.

And for a while, at least in league play, he seemed to have righted the ship. In the first nine Premier League fixtures, Spurs won six and drew three, taking 21 of a possible 27 points and seeming poised for a top-four finish.

Then Spurs do what we are accustomed to. They lost three straight, yet somehow followed it with their best performance of the season to stay in the race for a Champions League place. 

But now, a 1-0 loss to Burnley – the fourth in five matches – for Spurs completely wiped away any positives from the win over Man City at the weekend, and now we are left wondering if Antonio Conte has had enough and is on his way out.

It is not only clear at this point that Spurs don’t have the quality players to contend for trophies and Champions League places, but they might not for some time. They could even miss out on European football entirely next season.

Conte was also clearly not impressed by the January transfer dealings, where two players were brought in but four were shipped out, even acknowledging that the squad had been “weakened” numerically (Sky Sports Italia).

But something that stuck out more than the results and transfer window disappointment was some of Conte’s comments after the defeat at Turf Moor.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “I think Tottenham called me to improve the situation, but I am too honest to close my eyes and to continue to tell, ‘I want to finish the season in this way, but my salary is good’. I am not this type of person. I have ambition.”

I think Conte is saying that he has the ambition needed to win, and that is not being matched by those at the club.

Antonio Conte is a serial winner, that much is clear. He won as a player at Juventus, and as a coach at Juve, Chelsea, and Inter Milan.

And while he does have to bear some responsibility for results (he is still the head coach), a lot of the problems have nothing to do with Conte at all.

In a lot of ways, it seems he already has one foot out the door at Hotspur Way, but who can honestly blame him?

Maybe it could be another overreaction to yet another disappointing loss. Or it could be something worse. 

More than anything, Antonio Conte wants to win. Not just reach the top four, but wants to win league titles and cups. It’s apparent that Spurs aren’t up for the challenge.

If Conte walks, I don’t think many Spurs fans would blame him. The team needs a top manager more than ever, yet the dysfunction within the club could be the catalyst for yet another disaster.

With a match against Leeds at the weekend, a loss could put the nail in the coffin and see Conte walk out on the job. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen. Actually, let’s hope he doesn’t just leave before the match even kicks off. 

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