Tottenham Talk on Tuesday 2nd November
Tottenham Talk on Tuesday 2nd November
The central heating is on so my eyes dry out, sting and I get my usual winter vision problems, however there is nothing wrong with my Spurs vision, it's as clear as ever.
His eyes however, in his last press conference said everything.
Nuno had already been told his time was at an end and the sadness was there for all to see.
He remained professional, but as in a press conference before he said not all the players were committed, so Nuno never stood a chance.
Players get managers sacked.
Moura is not a superstar, he gives the ball away around the half way line a lot and the odd goal does not make up for his very inconsistent performances.
I saw no need to boo for taking him off, Nuno was throwing a dice to try and change the games fortunes.
When players are not playing for him you can't blame him for that.
Once again we saw what happens when the commitment isn't there, that comes from mentality.
That mentality will receive a temporary boost for everyone with the arrival of Conte as they have to all prove themselves to a new manager.
Some will be playing for their careers at a Top 4 or Top 6 club.
There are only a couple of clubs a few of them can go to, otherwise it is a stepdown and a stepdown with wages, that is motivation.
You might think we are conceding goals so it's all the defences fault, but it isn't, it's more the fault of those in front of them not performing their defensive role without the ball.
I have said it before that we need someone to replace Oliver Skipp and he needs to develop under someone else, perhaps Franck Kessié.
Skipp's passing isn't good enough, nor is his reading of the game at the moment, he looks a reactive player too much, which he can develop over time.
We are aiming for Top 4 and he is not a Top 4 player yet.
Hojbjerg cares, but I detected signs in that game where his shoulders dropped and an I can't be bothered, here we go again attitude.
He is frustrated by what he is seeing and perhaps he should return to playing the defensive role. He will be greatly lifted by Conte coming in.
The fans will be lifted too, which means Twitter might be a better place for a few days, toxic as it is normally, unless you block those folk pf course.
Conte has been in the training ground since yesterday and he stayed at The Lodge last night.
While he isn't able to take training, he will meet the players and staff.
The Italian has agreed an 18 month contract with an option to extend it and for those wondering if he will be backed, obviously transfer business was a part of the discussions.
He has also had a meeting with Fabio Paratici, whom he knows from Juventus, so again they will have discussed all footballing matters and particularly transfer business.
"I'm extremely happy to return to coaching and to do so at a Premier League club that has the ambition to be a protagonist again."
Some short-sighted fans may not be able to see that ambition and try to convince others but positive people who see more can clearly see it, like Conte can.
He went on to address last summer saying:
"Last summer our union did not happen because the end of my relationship with Inter was still too recent and emotionally too involved with the end of the season so I felt that it wasn't yet the right time to return to coaching but the contagious enthusiasm and determination of Daniel Levy in wanting to entrust me with this task had already hit the mark."Now that the opportunity has returned I have chosen to take it with great conviction."
I do not bet on Spurs, haven't done for 40+ years, didn't want to jinx them but yesterday lunchtime I backed Spurs to lift a trophy this season.
"The contagious enthusiasm and determination of Daniel Levy," as misread by a section of fans.
"His track record speaks for itself and his vast experience and trophies in both
Italy and England speak for themselves.
"I know first hand the qualities Antonio can bring to Tottenham, having worked with him at Juventus."I'm very much looking forward to seeing him work with the talented group of players."
My view is that things are not as bad as they seem.
The players have the skill, there is no doubt about that as many of them reached a UEFA Champions League final, which you don't do without ability.
Mentality has been the issue, application, confidence.
Having said that, we need a centre-back, a left-back dependant on Reguilon and also whether Sessegnon can play there, I have big issues with his frail mentality though.
Central midfield, wingers as part of an attacking trio both sides, Moura and Bergwijn are not the answer and a striker.
We will have to wait and see what happens with Harry Kane now, is he going to be perked up by Conte arriving, if so then a short term second striker may be needed as next year is when the fixtures become more important.
You are deeper into a competition then and rest may become an issue, the first half of the season isn't a problem if you shuffle your resources correctly, with weaker European competition in a group stage.
Conte is a ruthless manager, same as Mourinho.
If you are not up to scratch you will be dropped.
He sets a level he expects of you and you have to meet it.
Take Harry Winks, he now has his third manager in no time to impress and get his game back on track.
Can Conte revive him, can he revive Dele Alli, can he get their heads right with their game following suit?
Make no mistake, Conte knows the squad, he'll know what they are capable of, he'll know how to improve them and wouldn't have agreed to take the job if he didn't think he could turn Spurs into winners.
He knows the stadium income allows for investment in the team and he can see the potential in this moving forward as it is club generated money and isn't going to fall foul of any tightening of Financial Fair Play (FFP) as we have been told is going to happen.
Well that's it for this morning's offering folks.
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2 comments
I don't expect either to be a problem with Conté. I'm no great tactician but I suspect we'll see some immediate improvements on Thursday. Attitude; team balance; a confidence going forward; a confidence at the back that the midfield will pull their weight defensively and not leave the backs exposed & stretched.
There will be more longer term but I fully expect a quite different show on Thursday than we've seen much of recently.
COYS!!