William Gallas believes Antonio Conte paid with his job for telling the truth about the Spurs players and the club, but added that the Italian has to take some responsibility for his system not working.
It was already evident even a few weeks ago that the marriage between Conte and Tottenham was not going to last beyond the end of the season but the 53-year-old left the club with little choice but to pull the plug on the project immediately after his tirade against the squad last Saturday.
Gallas admitted that he expected Levy to sack the Italian after his comments but suggested that the decision might cost Tottenham a place in next season’s Champions League.
The former Spurs defender told Genting Casino (as relayed by Football.London): “Knowing Daniel Levy I am not really surprised that Antonio Conte has left the club.
“In football, you have to be diplomatic and it can end in parting ways if you say what you think.
“I personally feel that many people will have agreed with much of what Antonio Conte said after the draw at Southampton, including myself.
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“Now I feel Tottenham could be in trouble in terms of qualifying for the Champions league. We will see if Daniel was right come the end of the season.”
Gallas added that Conte was right in pointing to bigger structural issues at the club as the reason for their lack of recent success.
However, he admitted that the 53-year-old cannot be absolved of blame for the club’s recent results.
The Frenchman continued: “I think his answer, when he gave that interview, I think he gave that answer because people can criticise how he makes the players play – his tactics and system – I think he said something very interesting.
“He said ‘How many managers have managed Tottenham and how many times have Tottenham won the Premier League?’ That is a fact.
“A lot of different managers have trained the Spurs squads but in the end, they don’t have the results they want to get. That means they have to change something.
“They have to bring quality players to try and compete, to try and win the Premier League.
“Tottenham is always in the same position fighting for fourth or fifth place. The last time they were close to winning anything was when they went to the Champions League final in 2019.
“They went to the final, but they didn’t win it. They have finished runners-up once in the last ten years.
“Something has to change in the club for Tottenham to go to the level where they will be very difficult to beat. They have everything there.
“I’ve been there. They have the facilities – the training ground is just unbelievable – they have the stadium. There is something missing.
“I think they need to bring in the right players to have a squad that is capable of competing for the Premier League title. It is that simple.
“Sometimes it’s difficult for people to hear the truth, because managers are expected to play the role of a diplomat.
“At the same time, people can blame Conte too because, like I said, it is his system, his tactics and he sets up the team to play in a certain way. I think, in this situation both sides have to take some responsibility.”
Spurs Web Opinion
If Daniel Levy and the Spurs hierarchy felt that they would have had a better chance of finishing in the top four if Conte had stayed, they would most certainly have not sacked him.
The club’s decision to pull the plug suggests that the Italian has completely lost the dressing room and they thus believe that a top-four finish is more likely without Conte.
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