Although Tottenham are in the thick of the top-four race in the Premier League and are, in fact, in fourth ahead of Liverpool and Newcastle, there is a feeling that Spurs could part ways with manager Antonio Conte.
That feeling has been echoed by the man himself, with Conte even publicly admitting he could be fired before the season ends. There are plenty of intelligent Spurs fans who have been swayed to the “Conte Out” camp, such as Cartilage Free Captain’s Ryan Ratty.
When it comes to the basic skills a manager needs, such as his tactical acumen, Conte is undoubtedly one of the best in the world. His accomplishments with Juventus, Chelsea, Inter Milan, and the Italian national team speak for themselves. However, in many of those cases, his final split was far from clean, and he hasn’t exactly lasted long at any of his recent stops.
Let’s examine why Conte, who was seen as an “out of their league” hire by many, could be on his way out of Tottenham.
Never the best fit
Going back to the perception that Antonio Conte was out of Spurs’ league, it’s important to delve into how flawed this level of thinking is. The idea of “fit” is more important than comparing the quality of the manager to the perception of a club’s level, because, as Spurs have shown over the years as a former Champions League Finalist, that level can fluctuate over the years.
Daniel Levy has set Spurs to be a team that consistently competes for the top four but not the title. They are a cyclical team in the sense that every few years, they will be able to assemble the right collection of ascending talents who reach their peak and can compete with any team in Europe, potentially winning the Premier League (or even the Champions League) in the process.
Conte isn’t the kind of manager who is great at working with a long-term project, developing youth, and being patient with the ebbs and flows. He is an ambitious, headstrong individual who wants his way, his ideas executed, and the top players he wants to win. Conte has the same mentality as a manager that he did as a player. He is highly competitive. And that approach can rub people the wrong way, especially at a club like Tottenham that realistically can’t compete with, say, Manchester City every single season.
So in that sense, Conte was always going to be a difficult fit for Spurs. He will see a club rebuffing his transfer ideas or not executing his ambitions as a sign of disrespect, and he is willing to use press conferences to get that message across, including in unorthodox manners that other managers would avoid.
A feeling of turmoil
Now that approach can lead to a feeling of turmoil. Antonio Conte wears his heart on his sleeve, and while that can help him win over the respect of some of his players and connect with them psychologically in spite of his frightening intensity (who can forget the “I prefer to kill him” quote?), it eventually wears thin.
Conte dethroned Juventus as the perennial champions in Serie A after initially being the one to restore the Bianconeri to their former glory. Yet he could not stay at Inter Milan because he did not want to be a part of a rebuild after the club’s parent company had serious financial difficulties.
Now at Tottenham, Conte is part of some sort of media controversy on a monthly basis, which is a part of his strategy. Because Conte is so ambitious and wants the club to push harder to win titles, he uses the media to threaten to leave to put pressure on the club.
On some level, that is respectable and shows how much Conte cares about winning and holding a club to its highest standard for the supporters. Again, that goes back to his mentality as a player.
The problem with doing this is it begins to cause turmoil within the locker room, makes players feel uneasy, and even causes fans to groan. Each of these threats becomes emptier than the last, the whole stunt approaches a level of comedy rather than seriousness, and the situation becomes untenable if the manager’s own performance and decisions are put in question.
The Richarlison situation
Tottenham have made major signings in an attempt to back Antonio Conte, giving him arguably more support on the transfer market than any other manager. Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur were signed from his former club, Juventus, and have been among the best players in the Premier League at their positions.
This past summer, Spurs signed one of the best players within the league, bringing in Richarlison from Everton after the Brazilian pretty much saved the Toffees from relegation.
Richarlison has been used so infrequently and jerked in and out of the starting lineup that the man known for being a great team player for Everton and Brazil has publicly expressed his frustrations. Although that rarely comes off well, Richarlison probably sees no other way to get his point across and is legitimately confused and exasperated.
Because it is pretty baffling. Yes, competition for spots in the Spurs attack with Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, and Kulusevski is not easy, but after spending 60 million pounds on Richarlison in the summer, you’d think Conte, who has complained so much about the level of players Spurs sign, would do more to work with such a quality player. We all saw what he is capable of at the World Cup and for several seasons at Everton. He can be a legitimately world-class attacking player.
Richarlison hasn’t performed at his highest level for Tottenham, no, but how can a player get in a rhythm when he is constantly being pulled in and out of the lineup? The 25-year-old has played just 661 minutes in the Premier League across 7 starts and 10 substitute appearances, receiving fewer minutes than several players who, quite frankly, aren’t at his level.
The example of Richarlison points to something important about Conte’s arguments and press conference antiques. How can a manager who demands more from the club be taken seriously if he is being pinpointed as the reason for the most expensive incoming asset’s under/mis-utilization? Conte’s inability to work with Richarlison should not be a damning indication of his future, but it is a profound example of his inconsistency and his lack of fit as the club’s manager.
Remember, Spurs are paying Conte 15 million pounds per season. There is a certain expectation that comes with paying an established manager that kind of money. Conte is expected to elevate Spurs. Daniel Levy and the club are not expecting it to be the other way around and for them to endlessly feed him with transfers. He is supposed to make the existing and incoming players better, and as the Richarlison situation continues to unfold, Tottenham’s leadership may question their return on investment in Conte’s salary in that respect.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.