Craig Burley has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur should have appointed Graham Potter rather than Antonio Conte as the Italian is not suited to long-term projects.
After a fine start at the helm, the wheels seem to be coming off for Conte at Spurs, with the club falling to two back-to-back home defeats against Southampton and Wolves.
The Italian has been vocal about how he sees the current Tottenham project as different to the ones he has taken on before.
He has insisted it will take time for the North Londoners to close the gap on the best teams in the Premier League, given their philosophy of investing in young, up and coming talent (Sky Sport Italia).
Potter was one of the names mentioned as a contender to replace Jose Mourinho at Spurs last summer (Evening Standard) but the Brighton boss distanced himself from the job at the time (Sky Sports).
The 46-year-old was once again linked with the Tottenham job before Conte’s appointment at the start of November (The Sunday Mirror – 10/10/2021, p61).
Burley believes that the Seagulls boss would have been a bit fit for Tottenham’s philosophy.
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The pundit told ESPN FC: “I’ve always been concerned about the longevity of this [Conte at Spurs].
“I’ve always felt that a different approach, a longer-term approach for Spurs, if that is their mentality, [would be] somebody like Graham Potter.
“I just don’t think Conte has the patience for this kind of management of a football club, when others are going out there spending. At Tottenham, you’re only going to get the first part in the main.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Potter was always the guy I wanted at Spurs but we do not know if the Brighton boss was approached and was not overly keen on taking over.
Like most Spurs fans, I was very excited at Conte’s appointment but I always thought that his typical public outbursts were a possibility once results started to suffer.
I am now starting to get quite infuriated with Conte’s repeated insistence that Tottenham are not of the standard of the teams he has managed in the past.
While I accept that we are a long way away from the best sides in the league, I would prefer him to get on with his job rather than constantly digging out the squad publicly.
Some Spurs fans might feel that the Italian is just being honest but his comments come across as trying to cover his own back.
I would rather see a Tottenham manager who is proud of representing the club rather than one who constantly belittles the club.
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