From harnessing the club’s exciting youth talent to more attacking football, there are plenty of issues to resolve after Antonio Conte’s exit
Daniel Levy finds himself in the familiar position of searching for a new manager after ending Antonio Conte’s 16-month spell in charge.
Conte’s departure from Tottenham has felt inevitable for some time but the Italian accelerated the process by lashing out at the players, fans, and even Levy himself, over the past couple of weeks.
The acrimonious nature of this latest split should signal an end to the club’s recent policy of hiring “win now” managers to attempt to capitalize on Harry Kane and Son Heung-min‘s peak years and end a 16-year trophy drought.
It is a strategy that had some merit but one that has undeniably failed. Mauricio Pochettino was the last “project manager” employed by Levy and would be a popular choice among fans to oversee a second rebuild in north London, while Julian Nagelsmann, Oliver Glasner, and Luis Enrique are other names in the frame.
Conte’s former assistant Cristian Stellini will take charge until the end of the season, leaving Levy plenty of time to mull over his next move.
Here are five pressing issues on the to-do list of whoever comes in:
Embrace the club’s ‘DNA’
Levy’s open letter to supporters in May 2021 in which he acknowledged that Spurs had “lost sight of their DNA” and vowed to appoint a manager who would usher in a “free-flowing, attacking and entertaining” style of play, has haunted him ever since.
A couple of months after that statement, the club’s managing director Fabio Paratici appointed Nuno Espirito Santo, a man not exactly associated with “Total Football”, before turning to Conte, himself hardly a proponent of the possession-based style. With Mourinho preceding Nuno and Conte, each of Tottenham’s last three managerial appointments is renowned for cautious tactics.
Fans will tolerate reactive, counter-attacking if it’s producing results, and for a while under both Mourinho and Conte, it did. But when the wins dry up, tolerance is swiftly replaced at first by frustration and then even worse apathy. Spurs fans have had enough of being bored; they want to be entertained again.
Historically, Spurs have prided themselves on playing – or at least attempting to play – free-flowing, proactive football. That has been lost over the past few years and the next manager’s first priority is to ensure that monotonous, one-dimension football is consigned to history.
Build around youth
Tottenham has used the 11th oldest starting XI in a Premier League fixture this season – during a 2-0 defeat against Manchester United in October – and have relaxed their long-established policy of investing in youth to recruit more experienced players in recent transfer windows. The signing of 34-year-old Ivan Perisic last summer is the most obvious example.
A rebuild around youth is required and Spurs do not have to look far for inspiration: Premier League leaders Arsenal has the second-youngest team, on average, in the division, only behind Southampton. The good news is that the Spurs already possess a strong nucleus of young talent.
Players under the age of 24 on the club’s books include Cristian Romero (24), Emerson Royal (24), Pedro Porro (23), Djed Spence (22), Destiny Udogie (20), Oliver Skipp (22), Pape Matar Sarr (20), Ryan Sessegnon (22), Bryan Gil (22) and Dejan Kulusevski (22), while Dane Scarlett (18), Alfie Devine (18) and Jamie Donley (18) are the jewels in the academy. Rodrigo Bentancur (25), Yves Bissouma (26), and Richarlison (25) also theoretically have their best years ahead of them.
Identifying exciting, up-and-coming youngsters to add to an already talented group should be central to the club’s recruitment moving forward.
Overhaul the defense
Despite having a defensive coach and playing defensive football, Spurs have conceded more goals (40) than any other club in the top half of the table. Even West Ham in 18th place has a superior record.
Individual errors have cost Spurs time and again. They have committed the joint-most in the Premier League this season (seven) along with Aston Villa, with Hugo Lloris having the dubious honor of being top of the individual charts (with four).
Lloris has been an exceptional servant to the club, but a long-term successor is required. Brentford’s David Raya has been linked and would fit the bill as a modern sweeper keeper. Adding a left-sided central defender is another transfer window priority with Clement Lenglet set to return to Barcelona in the summer.
The spurs have a few exciting full-back options, however. Udogie has earned rave reviews in Serie A while on loan at Udinese, Spence put in a man-of-the-match display as Rennes beat PSG last weekend, and Porro has offered a glimpse of his attacking capabilities since joining from Sporting Lisbon.
Romero, meanwhile, showed why he is one of the most highly-rated central defenders around during Argentina’s World Cup win and has the tools to become one of the best center-backs in the world if he is able to better control his aggression. Adding a left-footed center-back to compliment him and a new keeper should give Spurs a solid base from which to build on.
Take domestic cups seriously
Although he wasn’t in attendance at Bramall Lane as he recovered from gallbladder surgery in Italy, Conte’s tenure began to unravel sharply after the FA Cup defeat against Sheffield United.
Supporters were furious at the manner of the loss against a Championship side that had rested its key players and with the decision to name Kane and Romero on the bench. With Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool all eliminated in the early rounds, the FA Cup represented a great chance for Spurs to win silverware, and they blew it, perhaps pushing Kane closer to a summer exit in the process.
Spurs have suffered numerous calamitous defeats in domestic cups in recent years. Over the past five seasons, they have gone out to Crystal Palace, Norwich City, Everton, Middlesbrough, and Sheffield United in the FA Cup and to Colchester United and Nottingham Forest in the League Cup.
The simple fact is that unless Spurs become acquired by a state – there were rumors of Qatari investment earlier this year – they are unlikely to win either Premier League or the Champions League anytime soon. The prospects of winning a domestic trophy, though, should be far greater.
Act like they want to be there
Normally a pre-requisite, but then Conte frequently gave the impression that he was doing the club a favor during his time in charge, despite being paid a reported £15m for the privilege.
The argument that Spurs were fortunate to have Conte had some weight last season when he unexpectedly led them to a fourth-place finish, but it has grown increasingly weak this campaign when performances have been poor, results haven’t been much better, and the prospect of winning a trophy dashed by early March.
Conte’s criticism of his players’ lack of commitment after the draw against Southampton, came across as hugely disingenuous considering he had allowed his contract to dwindle down without giving any indication of his plans beyond the end of this season.
There are of course plenty of reasons why Conte may have preferred to have spent the last few months in his native Italy than in north London. He suffered three bereavements in as many months, including one of his coaches Gian Piero Ventrone, and has had health problems of his own after undergoing gallbladder surgery. It has been a deeply difficult time for him personally, and that should be acknowledged in any critique of his work.
But having a manager who openly criticized the club’s culture and lack of silverware as though he were a guest on Arsenal Fan TV and who allowed speculation over his future to become a distraction for months on end helped nobody. Conte’s apparent ambivalence towards Spurs is partially why fans have begun pining for Pochettino, a manager who had genuine affection for the club.
