Ex-Manager watch: Antonio Conte

[double0]

Can we get back to supporting our Tottenham good or bad believe in Conte pray Levy release the finances and trust Paratici find the right players.

#No more booing!
#Trust the process!

 

[brasil_spur]

The first half against Liverpool was appalling mate we had 2 shots got pushed back most the half, 35% possession and aside from the Perisic header and a debatable ‘penalty’ on sess we offered fuck all threat and creativity.

The 2nd half yes we looked much more like the team at the end of last season that won a lot of matches and played on the whole good football.

And this is the problem. It seems many fans like you can't objectively tell the difference between a first half that was actually ok, apart from the 2 goals that came through fuck ups (both scored by last seasons joint golden boot winner and one of the best players in the PL BTW) and a first half that was appalling.

35% possession is how we play, we don't play a high possession based game under Conte, especially with key players out injured, you need to get used to that.

We hit the post and had a clear cut penalty denied within the first 30 mins. Read / listen to Ally G on another reporters view on the first half - it really wasn't appaling.

 

[KaribYid]

I don’t think many posters are arguing with the idea it’s a process or that we can improve on conte. But it would be nice if he stopped hinting he might leave every time something goes wrong. Feels like the first step to progress is his deal

Except he hasn't done that since Burnley? He's actually done the opposite and has been speaking about how he needs time to build something. He's consistently saying in his press conferences that given time and backing that he'll see this process through. He has on multiple occasions drawn comparison to Klopp and how he's spent time and money building a poor Liverpool side into what it is today.

He is as committed to the project as he can be without throwing away his leverage.

It's a section of our fan base that aren't committed to this project.

 

[PeeEyeEmPee]

And this is the problem. It seems many fans like you can't objectively tell the difference between a first half that was actually ok, apart from the 2 goals that came through fuck ups (both scored by last seasons joint golden boot winner and one of the best players in the PL BTW) and a first half that was appalling.

35% possession is how we play, we don't play a high possession based game under Conte, especially with key players out injured, you need to get used to that.

We hit the post and had a clear cut penalty denied within the first 30 mins. Read / listen to Ally G on another reporters view on the first half - it really wasn't appaling.

You saw the first half as ok, others saw it as poor. Why is your analysis any more "right" or objective than any other? Yes 35% possession is how we play, and a lot of people will always have a problem with it whether they get used to it or not. Most people will agree the second half was a lot better and expect THAT to be the way we try to play. On that basis, it's a perfectly valid opinion to consider the first half to be below standard.

 

[KaribYid]

A year ago we were staring down the barrel of genuinely falling behind the rest of the top six and sit comfortably in that Villa/Everton of a few years back zone of 6th/7th.

We literally could not attract a manager after sacking Jose a week before a cup final. Whether you think it was the right or wrong decision, it was an absolutely terrible look for the club.

Our fan base was seen as delusional and having unrealistic expectations by most outsiders and right now it's proving to be true.

A few years ago, we would have been overjoyed just to be in the CL. Scratch that, this time last year it felt like we were years away from ever playing CL again.

We have it so good compared to where we thought we were heading last year. That final home game defeat against Villa at the end of the Mourinho season where the players didn't even do a lap of honor was a low point. Look where we are now compared to then.

It's absolutely shocking (although maybe it shouldn't be) how negative our fans are. How entitled large sections of our fan base has become. The lack of perspective to see how far we've come from the shambolic period of 2019-2021 (end Poch, Jose, Nuno) to where we are now is disappointing to say the least.

I'm not sure what these fans think giving up on the Conte project would achieve but it's more likely to look like the manager search of 2021 and the BS that followed except there won't be a world class manager who would be willing to bail us out.

 

[Japhet]

It's a very vocal minority though. Vocal enough that even Kane has spoken about it now and others are now realising what I have seen for a while. This fanbase has become toxic and I can't even fathom a legitimate reason as to why?

I see so much hatred towards our own players. Many commented on Richarlison's world cup announcement video on twitter by mentioning Emerson. Yes they made it about another player and his apparent lack of ability.

The booing at half time is utterly ridiculous and redundant. You're there to support the team, not get on their backs.

I'm sorry but this fanbase is getting ridiculous these days. They refuse to listen to what Conte says and instead say "you can't always believe what he says". They don't like when he starts certain players, even if he gives them justifiable reason to such as injuries or they're not up to scratch tactically at the moment, they forget we're now at the end of a packed first half of the season where we are top 4 and topped our UCL group. They bemoan the lineup and write off games before they even start. They write off signings before they have played.

This is an over the top entitled fanbase now. Hate to say it. But it is.

I used to go to games every week years ago but it became economically unsustainable for me. I'd hazard a guess that a whole load of people who can afford to go now are entitled wankers who are used to getting what they want and are similarly used to kicking up a stink if they don't. Maybe that's the price of success (or in our case huge investment), but it's a high price to pay

 

[PeeEyeEmPee]

Are we just using "entitled" when we actually mean "has a different opinion to me" now? I'm seeing it thrown around a lot

 

[dontcallme]

A year ago we were staring down the barrel of genuinely falling behind the rest of the top six and sit comfortably in that Villa/Everton of a few years back zone of 6th/7th.

We literally could not attract a manager after sacking Jose a week before a cup final. Whether you think it was the right or wrong decision, it was an absolutely terrible look for the club.

Our fan base was seen as delusional and having unrealistic expectations by most outsiders and right now it's proving to be true.

A few years ago, we would have been overjoyed just to be in the CL. Scratch that, this time last year it felt like we were years away from ever playing CL again.

We have it so good compared to where we thought we were heading last year. That final home game defeat against Villa at the end of the Mourinho season where the players didn't even do a lap of honor was a low point. Look where we are now compared to then.

It's absolutely shocking (although maybe it shouldn't be) how negative our fans are. How entitled large sections of our fan base has become. The lack of perspective to see how far we've come from the shambolic period of 2019-2021 (end Poch, Jose, Nuno) to where we are now is disappointing to say the least.

I'm not sure what these fans think giving up on the Conte project would achieve but it's more likely to look like the manager search of 2021 and the BS that followed except there won't be a world class manager who would be willing to bail us out.

I think the problem is we over analyse. It results in us wanting improvement in all areas too quickly that are simply unrealistic.

We constantly have lists of positions we need to buy but then understand the new players need time at the same time as is expecting instant improvement.

Conte is building something good at the same time as getting good results. Performances might be frustrating but times are actually good right now.

 

[fletch82]

If the goonies weren't top of the league or above us hardly anyone would be making a fuss
It's people that can't handle the whole banter, social media stuff mainly.

 

[SpartanSpur]

A year ago we were staring down the barrel of genuinely falling behind the rest of the top six and sit comfortably in that Villa/Everton of a few years back zone of 6th/7th.

We literally could not attract a manager after sacking Jose a week before a cup final. Whether you think it was the right or wrong decision, it was an absolutely terrible look for the club.

Our fan base was seen as delusional and having unrealistic expectations by most outsiders and right now it's proving to be true.

A few years ago, we would have been overjoyed just to be in the CL. Scratch that, this time last year it felt like we were years away from ever playing CL again.

We have it so good compared to where we thought we were heading last year. That final home game defeat against Villa at the end of the Mourinho season where the players didn't even do a lap of honor was a low point. Look where we are now compared to then.

It's absolutely shocking (although maybe it shouldn't be) how negative our fans are. How entitled large sections of our fan base has become. The lack of perspective to see how far we've come from the shambolic period of 2019-2021 (end Poch, Jose, Nuno) to where we are now is disappointing to say the least.

I'm not sure what these fans think giving up on the Conte project would achieve but it's more likely to look like the manager search of 2021 and the BS that followed except there won't be a world class manager who would be willing to bail us out.

I think everyone in and outside the club needs a break after this tricky spell.

I'm fully behind Conte and yet I concede that this season so far has not been very enjoyable at all. The frustration is there because I know this team and these players are capable of being so much better than they've shown this season, and I really hoped we'd kick on after the summer. Thankfully results-wise we've been pretty solid despite these issues (start of the season player form - especially up top, then later in the season fatigue and injuries) so I'm just hoping we can regroup after the WC and start realising some of our potential. If the club can bring in a couple more starters this January like they did last time then I think we'll really be cooking.

 

[Dougal]

How long has the Spurs admin been doing this?

 

[easley91]

Are we just using "entitled" when we actually mean "has a different opinion to me" now? I'm seeing it thrown around a lot

It is definitely entitled. And we as fans of a club who have won nothing since 2008 have no right to instantly expect results when even the manager himself has said it will take multiple more windows.

I get the first half performances haven't been great, but we just needed to get through to the World Cup break in a decent position in the league and cups. We have done and are doing that with tonight and Saturday left to get through. We have had four of our five forwards injured at one point or another.

End of last season I saw very entertaining performances where we kept clean sheets and scored goals. We are more than capable of winning and performing well under Conte. You have heard multiple times from different people we don't set out to start games the way we do.

As much as people in this day and age hate having patience, that is what we need. Especially for a manager as good as Conte. Let's face it, how many managers would have got us where we are with what some deem a below level set of players through a packed schedule and countless injuries?

There are positives to take from this half of the season. Onwards to January and the second half of it.

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

A year ago we were staring down the barrel of genuinely falling behind the rest of the top six and sit comfortably in that Villa/Everton of a few years back zone of 6th/7th.

We literally could not attract a manager after sacking Jose a week before a cup final. Whether you think it was the right or wrong decision, it was an absolutely terrible look for the club.

Our fan base was seen as delusional and having unrealistic expectations by most outsiders and right now it's proving to be true.

A few years ago, we would have been overjoyed just to be in the CL. Scratch that, this time last year it felt like we were years away from ever playing CL again.

We have it so good compared to where we thought we were heading last year. That final home game defeat against Villa at the end of the Mourinho season where the players didn't even do a lap of honor was a low point. Look where we are now compared to then.

It's absolutely shocking (although maybe it shouldn't be) how negative our fans are. How entitled large sections of our fan base has become. The lack of perspective to see how far we've come from the shambolic period of 2019-2021 (end Poch, Jose, Nuno) to where we are now is disappointing to say the least.

I'm not sure what these fans think giving up on the Conte project would achieve but it's more likely to look like the manager search of 2021 and the BS that followed except there won't be a world class manager who would be willing to bail us out.

I totally agree. It seems to be a combination of impatience and lack of perspective, fuelled by engaging in negative football twitter echo chambers, and Arsenal doing better than us.

 

[C1w8]

I take fan base to mean our entire support, everywhere

Not just in the stadium

The fan base might be 99.99% outside of the stadium, but it's those inside the stadium and their emotions that are going to resonate with conte and the management/coaching team.

The booing also creates a story for media, so snowballs into creating an sense of atmosphere around the club. Its not the volume of the people booing that matters it's their impact, and the impact is not insignificant.

 

[soup]

Are we just using "entitled" when we actually mean "has a different opinion to me" now? I'm seeing it thrown around a lot

Who is more entitled or deserving? The fans who want/demand we win something and are willing to sacrifice some flair to win? Or the fans who want/demand entertaining football but are willing to sacrifice some trophies to see it. Those who demand patience or those that aren’t patient? It’s just personal preference surely? Neither can ever be ‘right’ due to it being purely subjective.


I don’t think having an opinion is at all entitled, I think the entitlement comes when you feel your opinion is the only correct one…but of course I could be wrong on that. ?

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

And this is the problem. It seems many fans like you can't objectively tell the difference between a first half that was actually ok, apart from the 2 goals that came through fuck ups (both scored by last seasons joint golden boot winner and one of the best players in the PL BTW) and a first half that was appalling.

35% possession is how we play, we don't play a high possession based game under Conte, especially with key players out injured, you need to get used to that.

We hit the post and had a clear cut penalty denied within the first 30 mins. Read / listen to Ally G on another reporters view on the first half - it really wasn't appaling.

Ha trust me mate I know the difference between a good performance and not thank you , especially a Conte team as I've posted tons of information on his tactics and style of play in the past but you're perfectly entitled to see the first half performance differently if you like.

It also depends on your expectations, sure you could call that half 'ok' instead of 'appalling' if you like but for me given how out of sorts Liverpool have been and how we handed them the initiative so easily and only had 2 shots to their 7, stood off them for most the half in areas we should've closed them down and Dier gave Salah a goal on a plate and we were 0-2 down at half time with the game all but over as a contest, for me that was fairly appalling overall, ESPECIALLY when in the 2nd half we were a completely different team which shows how we 'could've' played in the 1st half.

The guys on MOTD did a 1st vs 2nd half analysis which was pretty spot on imo.

Fully aware that we play a slightly lower possession style under Conte but regardless of that we were the home side playing against an out of form Liverpool side who'd not won away from home in the league in many matches and we let them stamp their authority on the match from minute 1 of that first half. If you don't want to look at possession then look at simple stats such as the fact we only had 2 shots to Liverpool's 7 in the first half, regardless of style we let them impose themselves far too much and they looked far more of a threat than we did and they were 2-0 up...

Aside from that, the most compelling clear and obvious argument in my favour regarding our first half performance being poor was the simple fact that in the 2nd half we had 13 shots, pushed them back, dominated pretty much the whole half, scored a goal and could've had many more, the first and 2nd half performances were absolute night and day and most fans will agree with that.

Not sure why you're so frustrated if people perceive the 1st half as a not very good performance anyway if you think differently then fantastic but I and many others know that we can play much much better than we did in the 1st half and the 2nd half was clear evidence of that, if we'd played like that all match we would've won the game.

I'm fully behind Conte as I've said from day1 but that doesn't mean he and the team are immune from any criticism and yes we have/had a lot of injuries going into that game so I wasn't surprised by the poor 1st half performance as we had our LWB playing as a 2nd striker but at the end of the day the 1st half performance was very poor and aside from the one chance from Perisic and Sess getting in behind for the foul by TAA we barely created anything all 1st half and Liverpool looked very dangerous every time they broke especially into the channel behind Dier where D.Nunez was running. 2nd half we sorted it out with some tactical tweaks by Dier pushing further on from RCB and bringing Kulu on to create an overload and by switching the ball from side to side quicker but by then it was too late.

 

[brasil_spur]

You saw the first half as ok, others saw it as poor. Why is your analysis any more "right" or objective than any other? Yes 35% possession is how we play, and a lot of people will always have a problem with it whether they get used to it or not. Most people will agree the second half was a lot better and expect THAT to be the way we try to play. On that basis, it's a perfectly valid opinion to consider the first half to be below standard.

Because there is a right and a wrong to things. I'm not saying take my word - take the word of renowned journalists who spend all day covering football instead. It's only a certain portion of the FIFA generation, plastic Spurs fan base that are seeing mediocre performances against one of the world's best teams and calling them appalling.

Below standard - yes agree. Appalling - over dramatisation by hysterical half-supporters.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

You saw the first half as ok, others saw it as poor. Why is your analysis any more "right" or objective than any other? Yes 35% possession is how we play, and a lot of people will always have a problem with it whether they get used to it or not. Most people will agree the second half was a lot better and expect THAT to be the way we try to play. On that basis, it's a perfectly valid opinion to consider the first half to be below standard.

Completely bang on.

 

[brasil_spur]

Ha trust me mate I know the difference between a good performance and not thank you , especially a Conte team as I've posted tons of information on his tactics and style of play in the past but you're perfectly entitled to see the first half performance differently if you like.

Fully aware that we play a slightly lower possession style under Conte but regardless of that we were the home side playing against an out of form Liverpool side who'd not won away from home in the league in many matches and we let them stamp their authority on the match from minute 1 of that first half. If you don't want to look at possession then look at simple stats such as the fact we only had 2 shots to Liverpool's 7 in the first half.

Aside from that, the most compelling clear and obvious argument in my favour regarding our first half performance being poor was the simple fact that in the 2nd half we had 13 shots, pushed them back, dominated pretty much the whole half, scored a goal and could've had many more, the first and 2nd half performances were absolute night and day and most fans will agree with that.

Not sure why you're so frustrated if people perceive the 1st half as a not very good performance anyway if you think differently then fantastic but I and many others know that we can play much much better than we did in the 1st half and the 2nd half was clear evidence of that, if we'd played like that all match we would've won the game.

I'm fully behind Conte as I've said from day1 but that doesn't mean he and the team are immune from any criticism and yes we have/had a lot of injuries going into that game so I wasn't surprised by the poor 1st half performance as we had our LWB playing as a 2nd striker but at the end of the day the 1st half performance was very poor and aside from the one chance from Perisic and Sess getting in behind for the foul by TAA we barely created anything all game and Liverpool looked very dangerous every time they broke especially into the channel behind Dier where D.Nunez was running. 2nd half we sorted it out with some tactical tweaks by Dier pushing further on from RCB and bringing Kulu on to create an overload and by switching the ball from side to side quicker but by then it was too late.

Again the first half wasn't that good, and it certainly was worse than the second half. But the words being used here are "appalling" - the first half was not appalling by any standard.

If you want to call the first half below par or not very good, then that's fine, as both are fairly accurate, but over dramatising the performance using inflammatory vocabulary means you will get called out on it.

 

[PeeEyeEmPee]

It is definitely entitled. And we as fans of a club who have won nothing since 2008 have no right to instantly expect results when even the manager himself has said it will take multiple more windows.

I get the first half performances haven't been great, but we just needed to get through to the World Cup break in a decent position in the league and cups. We have done and are doing that with tonight and Saturday left to get through. We have had four of our five forwards injured at one point or another.

End of last season I saw very entertaining performances where we kept clean sheets and scored goals. We are more than capable of winning and performing well under Conte. You have heard multiple times from different people we don't set out to start games the way we do.

As much as people in this day and age hate having patience, that is what we need. Especially for a manager as good as Conte. Let's face it, how many managers would have got us where we are with what some deem a below level set of players through a packed schedule and countless injuries?

There are positives to take from this half of the season. Onwards to January and the second half of it.

Is it entitled to want/expect to continue improve from how we ended last season? Or to be critical that we haven't?