Vital Spurs Debate Section

Match Thread – Spurs Eye Leeds & Will The Break Help Conte Solve Our Scoring Issues

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New Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has an unbeaten record as we go into the November international break, but with a troublesome performance in our victory against Vitesse added to what is now four odd hours without a Premier League goal given the scoreless draw with Everton, he’s got his work cut out for him as we now move towards the Leeds United clash.

With Everton being yet another game without a single shot on target, Conte certainly won’t be helped with our international attackers off for duty – not least misfiring Harry Kane – so his chances of a quick fix over the break will be patchy at best. Everton was, however, a clean sheet, which is a start after more recent leaky performances, but any fan would be hard pushed to say it was a performance you’d have expected to see following the appointment of a ‘name’ like Conte.

For many, that will be a troublesome development of its own as we look to these players and continue wondering why they are now consistently underperforming based on how we know they can play.

It’s an important fortnight, and all we can do is cross our fingers.

Can Conte Turn Spurs Around?

Yes, With Time

No, It's Time For The Players To Take The Blame


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  • jod says:

    As I said before I don’t understand why Conte took the job, we aren’t his sort of club with unlimited funds. Just as strange is Newcastle (who now do have unlimited funds) appointing Howe. Its as if both clubs have decided to go against the grain in terms of managers. What we really need is another 3 year rebuilding exercise like we did when Pochettino arrived. I seriously doubt Conte will be around for long enough to do that. Maybe he can give the players a kick up the backside and get them performing somewhere closer to the level they should be at, but it would be a short term fix.

  • block 108 spurs says:

    IMO… Spurs players have got into a situation of apathy since poch left and jose arrived then covid started the lockdown, Jose and his style of management was not to their liking with Levy sacking him a week before league cup final, a terrible decision… Nuno was never a suitable manager for a big club like spurs, and players did not respond to him.

    Now we have conte a top class manager who has said spurs are a big, big challenge and he has to get the players fit and motivated in 1-6 months. So now players are back to training excessively as they did with poch and need to get their match playing decisions / passing much better. As we saw at Everton they are not doing the quick and decisive passing from defence to attack and hk10 / sonny / lucas not doing their decisions quick enough . A lot of work for conte to do and we will see soon how many players will depart from WHL… Levy and Joe / board directors will need to back up their promises of transfer funding we have seen mentioned in various media sources… COYS

  • jod says:

    block 108 spur – Here we go again, “spend more money”. No explanation of where it comes from, no concern over who we spend it on. There are two types of club in the premier league now. There are those who really can spend more than they earn, City, Chelsea and now Newcastle. Then there are clubs who can only spend what they bring in, us, Liverpool, Arsenal, West Ham. That also applies to United but their earnings are so much higher than anyone else’s that they are in their own unique bracket. But none of that registers, just pretend we’ve got lots and lots of money to spend and then criticise the club for not spending the imaginary cash.

  • BelgianSpur says:

    jod – so your solution is just doing the same all over again and expect different results?

    That hardly seems like a better plan. If that plan was ever going to work, it would have by now.

    Maybe at some point, Daniel Levy needs to stop being as arrogant as he has been, and he needs to start looking around him.

    You may not like the way Conte has achieved success but he has achieved success. You may talk up the way the club was managed with MP at the helm but that won us nothing.

  • BelgianSpur says:

    The Leeds game should hopefully tell us a bit more on what we can expect against teams in the lower half of the table.

    I am looking forward to it and I am backing Conte to get his first PL win as Spurs manager.

  • Allan says:

    Jod While I appreciate your comments I think that the simple solution is to sell some players then puchase better quality with the revenue produced plus top ups because to improve the team he will have to part with money .
    However the stumbling block is Levy as has been mentioned previuosly . He will only let our players depart for top and unrealistic money and haggle with other clubs on the fee they want for their players .
    Every chairman must be concerned if Levy rings .
    However at present what investment has been made by Levy has made little if any impact on the playing side of the club . Firing manager after manager doesn’t help to develop any type of team ethic and highlights Levy’s poor footballing decisions .
    At last he has made a seemingly good appointment ( after many pathetic failures ) in Conte who very quickly appears to have produced a positive response from the players and If the players are prepared to put some real effort and improve their individual performances then Levy will not have to buy a great number of players . Get rid of 3 or 4 and then replace with good quality . But he will have to produce cash to buy quality .

  • Niall D says:

    BS, couple of good posts there, Allan that’s( sort of) what I’ve been saying, now we let Aurier and Rose and to a degree CCV leave for virtually nothing, surely we could’ve gotten something for them rather than playing “hard ball” until it’s too late and we then just want a “bad apple” out of the club, I know we save on wages etc.. But surely if we lower (somewhat) our expectations of a players worth(see Kane), and actually get a decent price which is agreed by all parties surely this is the way forward.
    Was 100 odd mil plus two players devaluing Kane, at present I don’t think so.
    Let’s sell 5 squad players, for decent money and get 3 good first team ready players in for positions, we need, Mid field, striker, Central defender, we don’t need another r/L sided winger.

  • Geofspurs says:

    Personally I think most of the discussion that this forum has seen for a few months has nowhere to go …. apart from venting frustration. In reality, THFC needs to rebuild again, and we’re not far up from the bottom rung of that rebuilding ladder. It will probably take another couple of years before everything is in place for us to realistically compete for trophies …. maybe.

    Allan said that Konta appears to have produced a positive response from the players?? He’s only been here for two games and he probably did not even pick the team in either of them. Nuno won his first three league games, one of which was against City. Wasn’t that producing a positive response from the players??

    My point is that two or three or ten good, even great, performances (and wins) mean nothing. It will be up and down and up and down for a while. We can start talking about improving as a team when we have performed consistently well over six months minimum. And this will take time. Isn’t this obvious? And I daresay this forum will continue to travel in the same circlular discussions during this time. I think we need to control expectations and base them on the head rather than the heart …. which is not easy to do as a supporter. Just my opinion.

  • Allan says:

    Hi Geof
    I have read several positive comments ref Conte’s training methods from players and even expressing a desire to improve . Surely that’s positive even though he has had only one training session with the team .
    There is also a good Sky analysis of Contes use of wing backs which did make us control large parts of the game and with better passing in the final 3rd we would have won the match .
    If he can be given the funds and time to build a team who may win something then Levy will have to back him .
    No more of Levys managerial cock ups .

  • Niall D says:

    I suppose between games we all have moments of clarity Geof, this is your turn this week 😉😄.
    I think a lot of us have said this or similar, over the last season, I think the annoyance comes or came from lack lustre performances in and around match day, and it’s not so much about results but (for me)
    It’s about, no shots on goal, lest movement in the Premier ship, fewest goals scored.
    So yes change needs to happen and indeed Conte needs to assess who he wants out, but currently I suppose its all we can cling to, discuss and indeed analyize as the actual football, in the league anyway, is well below par.
    But indeed it will take time, but noticeable short term gain or improvement say between now and 2022 would be nice, if you remember we dropped like a stone around Christmas last year so why not shoot up like a rocket, starting now. 🚀😉

  • BelgianSpur says:

    Geof – That’s the way I see it too.

    The only caveat I would mention is that while someone like Conte needs time, he also needs a bit of backing. Before people start saying that we can’t afford this or that, what I mean by backing is decision-making autonomy, first and foremost. Give Paratici and Conte a budget, but let them decide on how to spend it. That’s something Levy has always struggled with, despite having proven his ineptitude time and again on the football side of things. He’ll continue holding the club back as long as he insists on managing this side of the club operationally.

    I think most fans can accept a rebuilding exercise providing there is a clear vision. That’s something which we have lacked in seasons past.

    There seems to be a disconnect between how we manage the squad (working with the players that are already there), and how we approach recruitment (looking at players individually, based on their own merits but with complete disregard of how those incoming players fit into the squad).

    This has often left us with imbalanced squads full of players with potential, sure, but sometimes with an embarrassment of riches in certain areas of the pitch and complete lack of depth in others.

    The cynic in me will conclude that this is because potential resale value is the main driver, so if we see a bargain to be had in the market, we buy that player regardless of whether we actually need that sort of player, and if there is no bargain to be had in areas of need, we do nothing.

    This method is never going to deliver results. It’s no good comparing us to the Liverpools of this world when they have beaten transfer world records at CB and GK to address areas of need.

    Find a manager to back, and let him roll out his vision. Let him identify the players who can play in his system, within the financial constraints of the club, but let him build the squad.

    I’m sure Conte took the Spurs job with his eyes wide open, knowing full well he wouldn’t have unlimited funds. Having said that, I’m sure there is a functional squad of 25 players to be assembled, that can both fit within the budget of a club like ours, and get results under the stewardship of someone like Conte. If it takes a couple of seasons to build, I can live with that. But at least, give fans that perspective.

  • Geofspurs says:

    BS …. Yes, part of the rebuild has to include Levy backing Konte otherwise the roundabout keeps spinning. That may mean Levy has to offload some players for less money than he would like …. but that’s the nature of the football beast. It’s probably better business to accept a smaller transfer fee rather than continue paying relatively high wages to players we don’t want and won’t use. But it will take more than one or two TW’s to effect the changes required. And supporters are not known for their patience.

  • Allan says:

    BS Your last sentence sums up I am sure the feeling of many . My perception is that all along the guiding principle for Levy has been to make money for ENIC and the shareholders . I am sure that many of these people do not really care about the footballing side of the club but just want their dividend each year .
    Surely the chicken and egg scenario ought to be used here . Produce a good side which will fill the stadium each home match thus creating more revenue for the club . If we were able to win some respected European silverware that hope fully would generate an opportunity to sell more club merchandise.
    Success can only breed success .
    I haven’t unfortunately been able to visit the new stadium but understand our club has some of the highest entry fees in the league .
    Our support appears to be 2nd to none and I was impressed by the noise on Sunday generated by our supporters drowning out Everton supporters .
    If Levy and ENIC really cared about the supporters then he ( Levy ) ought to have stepped away from the playing side leaving footballing men to give us fans some good footie and not the dross we have witnessed esp . this season . If Levy put as much effort into the footballing side of the club as he did the building of the stadium then we would have a good team and hopefully a staunch critic like me would be writing positive posts . Hopefully positive comments will come if Conte is given help and financial backing with a plan for the future .

  • PompeyYid says:

    I honestly believe that Conte has had reassurance of funds, plans etc before he joined, otherwise why would he?

    Yes we will probably go down the road sell to buy, maybe sell 5 buy 2 or 3, plus there will be the free agents out there who’s contracts end at the end of this season, there are quite a few of them, take 2 here, Ramagnoli, CB, and Kessie, CM, both of AC Milan, both wanting away, the rumour is both coming to us! but hey who knows!

    Take HK if we sell cos somebody wants him, with his TF we will have too buy 2 strikers or we end up in the same boat as we are now.

    I believe Paraciti, MDOF, is doing the rounds and chatting to agents now, remember Conte himself will be a big pull for us, so lets just wait and see, we might just be pleasantly surprised.

    Please don’t come back about DL this DL that, that’s the past we are talking the future and the appointment of a MDOF and AC are forward steps, albeit being baby ones, slowly but surely, just the start me thinks.

    Onwards and upwards….COYS

  • BelgianSpur says:

    Allan – I agree. But I suppose that as long as supporters continue to fill the stadium, Levy will conclude that there is no real problem.

    Geof I think you would be surprised at the patience Spurs fans could demonstrate if they had perspectives of a brighter future.

  • wentworth says:

    There is no doubt that we have to invest in new players. The funds have to be found and Levy must keep out of any dealings. He may be a good business man but a football man he is not.
    We could easily lose 5- 8 of our current squad and they would be forgotten in a heartbeat.
    Conte and and Paratici must be allowed to appoint the players they see as urgent replacements for the poor transfers that have been overseen by Levy.
    No more bargain basement cheapies.Be ruthless. Mistakes gave been made. Conte must already know the weaknesses. He can see the players that have reached a peak and will not improve or they are the wrong fit.They must be encouraged to seek employment elsewhere.
    3 decent players could make a massive difference. Lose 8 and sign 3. And then start working on our young players. We have the facilities. Now get the players to match.
    I await January with a little optimism. Not a lot.

  • 123spurs says:

    Even if conte last 18 months, hoping he can set a good foundation for the next man that comes in.

  • 123spurs says:

    We also need to stop buying prospects, to many failed attempts.

  • wentworth says:

    Exactly 123. We ( Levy) has made some awful buys. Jack Clarke, Ryan Sessegnon ( actually he was good at Fulham) Bergweijn, Lo Celso, Doherty, Aurier, Vinicius. Utter shambles.
    All these should be sold asap.
    We can and should do SO much better.

    • 62rovinella says:

      Good second half fight back by the lads,and they do seem a tad fitter…some tinkering in January and we could be pleasantly surprised….coys

  • Niall D says:

    Looks like many of us, are saying the same sort of thing here folks, hopefully now that Levy’s interference in the football side is being publicly criticised, hopefully he will recognise this obvious failing and take, a step back.
    WW 8 out 3 in is a bit extreme, however 8 out 5 in would be better.
    But I agree that Conte and Paraticis need to be given a budget and left to get on with it.

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