Has a manager ever slammed his club and players as hard in Premier League history? After a bad 3-3 Southampton draw, Antonio Conte absolutely obliterated the structure, players, and management of Tottenham in an extraordinarily fiery interview.
And here I thought Jose Mourinho was going to be wind up being manager that left Tottenham in the most chaotic way possible.
After a dreadful 3-3 draw away to bottom-feeders Southampton, Antonio Conte absolutely ripped into his players and Tottenham’s hierarchy as he claimed they were selfish, losers, ambitionless, and content with failing.
Essentially, Conte said exactly what Juventus legend Giorgio Chelini called Spurs (you know, the “history of the Tottenham” quote) after Juve knocked Tottenham out of the Champions League a few years ago, but Conte did so as the Spurs manager.
Can we just all agree that Tottenham is the biggest joke in the Premier League? Sure, there are worse teams than Spurs and teams that don’t have a tenth of the past glories Tottenham’s dusty trophy cabinets possesses, but there’s not a club in all of English topflight football that has more bottle jobs, phonies, and “settlers” than the players and management at the North London club.
Today’s pitiful draw against Southampton was only the latest incarnation of the rot that has engulfed this football club ever since their glory days of the 1960’s, but it may be the result that gets Antonio Conte, Daniel Levy, and 3/4ths of this Spurs squad fired.
Spurs, the team that is currently in 5th place in the Premier League and is challenging for a Top-4 spot, was 3-1 up against Southampton, the team in 20th place and desperately fighting against the black hole of relegation, with a little over 15 minutes to go in the game…and they ended up drawing.
Okay, the penalty called on Pape Sarr in the 88th minute (which James Ward-Prouse converted to level the game) was never a penalty, but that doesn’t excuse how Spurs found themselves in that hopeless position.
It’s impossible to fathom how a team with a backline of Ben Davies, Clement Lenglet, Eric Dier, Christian Romero, Ivan Perisic (who was a sub) Pedro Porro, and Fraser Foster (GK) gave up two goals in fifteen minutes to a team that not only has scored the 2nd least number of goals coming into the game (20), but also was starting relegation in the face as they sat in 20th position.
Oh, who am I kidding? Obviously, I could have seen this backline folding faster than a mobster after getting nabbed by the FBI as that is Tottenham, and this team in particular, has done in its modern history.
I’m sorry if this comes off as cruel and crass, but Clement Lenglet is a failed Barca center back, Fraser Foster was a career relegation-level keeper, Ivan Perišić is washed up and a mercenary, Christian Romero had a few half-decent seasons with Atalanta (a team that’s never won Serie A in Italy) before his Spurs move, Ben Davies is a midtable player at best, and Eric Dier is one of the worst anticipating center backs in the Premier League.
Aside from Pedro Porro (who proved himself in Portugal and hasn’t had enough time in Spurs’ setup for me to judge), none of these players should be in the starting lineup of a team with the financial power and trophy ambition as Tottenham, let alone consistently start (not including Foster) for at least 3+ seasons.
And, in Foster’s case, he should have been replaced in the offseason for a young, upcoming keeper to learn the goalkeeping craft under Hugo Lloris’ (the normal starter) stewardship.
Nonetheless, the fault isn’t only on the Spurs backline as the midfield and offense was just as flat and lethargic, even though they scored 3 goals. In order to win games like this, players from either the midfield or offense has to take the game by the scruff of the neck and will on the rest of their lacking teammates to victory.
Sometimes Harry Kane (who did score today) or Heung-Min Son have done so in the past, but there have been too many instances where they became too phased out of the game to make a meaningful impact. And today was one of those days.
In spite of Spurs’ 3 goals, Southampton pretty much controlled the match as they had 51% possession, 19 shots (2 more than Spurs), 7 shots on target (4 more than Spurs), 454 passes (5 more than Spurs), an 84% passing accuracy (1% better than Spurs), and 10 corners (7 more than Spurs).
Yes, I get Conte’s playing style is to let opposing teams dictate play so Spurs can hit them on the break when they make a mistake, but these stats are pitiful. As a Top-4 hopeful, you CAN NOT allow the likes of Southampton (no offense) to rack up 19 shots, 7 shots on target, 10 corners, out pass you, and out possess you in a single match. You’ll never win meaningful football games if you do.
So, that’s why Conte has gone off the rails and finally slammed this Spurs club for what it truly is: a group of undiscplined, selfish settlers that wish for nothing more than to collect a paycheck at the end week.
Obviously, that’s not every Spurs player (i.e.: Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son, Pierre-Emilie Højbjerg, Pedro Porro, Hugo Lloris, etc.) or personnel member, but there are too many who proudly take that distinction. And it’s wrought this club so low to the point where the sitting manager has to unload one of the harshest critiques in a post-match press conference in Premier League history to call it out and hopefully get a reaction.
I’d honestly be shocked if Antonio Conte survives to the end of April, let alone gets a contract extension, but Spurs really can’t do too much better than the Italian in my eyes. His teams may play boring, pragmatic football, but at least he cares wholeheartedly for the success of the football club and fanbase.
Unfortunately, that’s not something I can say about at least 75% of Spurs roster or hierarchy.
Man, have the wheels fallen off.
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